Faculty in Special Education and Global Studies; Program Chair.
BA, Ohio State University; MA, PhD, Ohio University.
Dr. K. “Yawa” Agbemabiese is currently faculty of Special Education at Bard DC and teaches elective courses in History and Women and Gender Studies. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Foundations, as well as a graduate certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Ohio University. Dr. Yawa completed a Masters of Art Degree in International Affairs, African Studies from Ohio University, and a Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Studies from The Ohio State University. Her current research focuses on education and gender dynamics amongst the Anlo Ewe of Ghana. Dr. Yawa is the founder of the Charles A. and Norma J. Grooms Education Foundation, which sponsors girls’ education in Abor, Ghana, and the owner of Dunenyo Education and Training Center, Abor, Volta Region of Ghana,West Africa.
Faculty in Global Social Sciences
DA (St. John’s University, NY); MA (History), University of Toledo; MA (English), University of Toledo; BA (History & Philosophy), University of Ghana.
Dr. Bekoe has been teaching since 1989, first in Ghana then in the United States. For over fifteen years, he worked with The College of New Rochelle as an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Development, Instruction, and Assessment. He later transitioned to Mercy College in 2019. His academic interests are reflected in the many areas of his teaching. Eric has publications in the Journal of Pan African Studies, Africa Today, African Studies Quarterly, and a host of other places. He was also Associate Editor of the PanAfrikan Times.
Faculty in American Social Sciences
PhD in Educational Studies at the University of Michigan; BA in History and Sociology at Rice University
Alex Honold began his career in education in 2013, teaching high school history in Dallas, Texas. He completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan in 2022, researching how students reason about causation in history and develop their own historical inquiries. While at U-M, Alex taught multiple education courses, instructed dozens of student-teachers, created history-related professional development for teachers and teacher-educators, and managed several public history projects related to environmental activism and incarceration in the state of Michigan. He also enjoys paddle boarding, hiking, and playing frisbee with his dog, Argus.
Faculty in Global Social Sciences
I am a DMV native (shoutout PG County!) and a current PhD students in Temple University’s Department of Africology. As a student & educator, my personal and professional concentrations are grounded in a Pan-Africanist abolitionist framework: my research interests lie in African diasporic sound & visual art, African gender & sexuality expression, and Afrocentric pedagogy. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, cooking, and channeling my inner Octavia Butler.
Faculty in Global Social Sciences
BA, MA, Miami University; PhD, SUNY Stony Brook.
Dr. Michael J. Sigrist trained in philosophy and has a special interest in the philosophy of history. His research focus and publications range over topics in ethics, value theory, personal identity, and the philosophy of literature. He is co-editor of Time and the Philosophy of Action published by Routledge in 2016. After living in Germany doing research at the University of Cologne, Dr. Sigrist moved to DC to teach philosophy in the Philosophy Department at George Washington University. He has also previously taught at American University and George Mason University. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Miami University, and a PhD from Stony Brook University. He lives with his three children in a beautiful neighborhood in Ward 7.
Faculty in Social Sciences
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; MCP, University of Maryland College Park; BA, Bard College
Lou Thomas has been an urban planner and researcher, video editor, touring musician, and most passionately, an educator. His love for knowledge and critical thinking was fostered at Bard, where he received a B.A. in Film & Electronic Arts, and he is very excited to be back at his old school in his adopted home of DC. Much of his published work has been on how to build environmentally and socially just cities that work for people of all ages. Previously he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Urbanism Lab at the University of Chicago (2020-2021) and has taught at the University of Maryland College Park, Hunter College, Georgetown, the University of the District of Columbia, and George Washington University.
