Colleen Slebzak, MA, MH, MS, and PhD [ABD]

Trained first in cultural anthropology (and in climate sciences), I moved into the field of psychology hosting a deep veneration for multicultural perspectives in my personal and professional approaches in all conversations I hold, in all aspects of teaching, and in all I aim to accomplish. I am truly passionate about breaking down cultural, linguistic, and societal barriers to understand perspectives and experiences that would otherwise go obscure to me. Every human has something unique to offer a conversation, and we learn something new with each interaction with a person, so I say, let them speak!
I am not a talk-at-you, you-write-as-fast-as-you-can, kind of teacher. Scholars and I talk our way through complex constructs and relate these ideas to our lives. We venerate and celebrate our neighbor’s opinions and perspectives. In our classroom, we lead by example, we personify an elevated presence in our actions and in our discourse, and we hold empathy and humanitarianism/social action to the highest degree in our learning environment (whether we are virtual, in-person, or blended). In this framework, I have yet to witness an instance of rudeness or conflict of any kind. We host different options, but we celebrate new perspectives and incorporate them into our own view of the world. We never give off an ill tone, we do not argue, we debate. We understand that although we may not always agree, we all have had different experiences that helped us shape our worldview. Scholars feel safe in our learning environment to share, ask, express, and expand on the content we uncover throughout the semester. They feel free to come off of mute/speak out in class, as we encourage and support one another, and we celebrate when our fellow peers excel (or we help them understand information if anyone gets lost). I want no one to feel awkward in saying “I don’t understand,” or “I am confused.” That lets me know I am doing something right, to have all of my scholars trust me to be vulnerable with me. I work hard to keep that family feeling in our classrooms. It is important to me and has become more important to some students than I had ever imagined (we keep in touch, and I am still their mentor). After the successful negotiation of our course, scholars leave as empathetic agents of social change.
My course design is somewhat plastic in that the content stays consistent; however, daily activities and supplemental content/materials will reflect your perspectives, i