Zachary Aidala, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology of Bloomfield College at Montclair State University, and has served as Honors Program Director since 2018. He earned a B.S. in Psychobiology from Binghamton University (SUNY), an M.A. in Psychology from Hunter College (CUNY), and a Ph.D. in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from The Graduate Center (CUNY). Trained as a neuroethologist, his research focuses on the sensory ecology of avian brood parasites and their hosts, with a specific interest in the functional role of color vision. At Bloomfield College, he regularly teaches Statistics, Research Methods, and courses centered around the biology of behavior such as Biopsychology, Sensation and Perception, and Animal Behavior. The NRHC has served as a formative and invaluable resource for both Dr. Aidala and his students. Many changes to the Bloomfield College Honors Program have been initiated by conversations with NRHC colleagues. In joining the NRHC Executive Board as Faculty Representative, Dr. Aidala hopes to continue learning about best-practices in Honors administration while simultaneously paying it forward students and colleagues alike.

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Dr. Aidala can be reached at aidalaz@montclair.edu.

Jessica McCort, Ph.D., is an associate professor of composition and rhetoric in the Literature, Culture, and Society Department at Point Park University, as well as the Director of the Honors Program. She earned her Ph.D. in English and American literature from Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in American literature and women’s writing. McCort's scholarship focuses largely on the appropriation of children’s literature, particularly Grimm’s and Andersen’s fairy tales and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, by American women writers. She was also the editor of a compilation of essays concerning the intersection of the horror genre and children’s and young adult literature and culture, titled Reading in the Dark: Horror in Children’s Literature and Culture. Her favorite courses to teach are Honors College Composition, Haunted America, and Feminist Fairy Tales. 

From her first trip to the NRHC Conference in Philadelphia, Dr. McCort recognized what an important formative experience participating in NRHC events is for both faculty and students. Since that time, she has become increasingly involved in the NRHC, and she is very excited to work with the other officers in NRHC leadership this year as the organization's President-Elect.

Dr. McCort can be reached at jmccort@pointpark.edu.

Hillary Sackett-Taylor, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Commonwealth Honors Program at Westfield State University, a small public comprehensive in Western Massachusetts. She holds a BA in Mathematics and Statistics from Smith College, MS and Ph.D. in Agriculture, Food, and Resource Economics from Michigan State University. Her academic expertise is in the field of environmental sustainability, with a focus on the management of ecology, food, and farming systems. 

Dr. Sackett-Taylor is a student-centered educator and passionate advocate for Honors education. She approaches her work through an anti-racist and anti-colonial lens, centering diverse lived experiences and ways of knowing. She believes in promoting the values of intellectual curiosity, community-engaged leadership, and social justice in her classroom and beyond.

Hillary lives in Northampton, MA with her husband, Andrew, and 1 year-old child, Lenox. She loves practicing the eight limbs of yoga, reading historical fiction, and attending the Fresh Grass musical festival at Mass MOCA every year. 

Dr. Sackett-Taylor can be reached at hsacketttaylor@westfield.ma.edu

Kat MacDonald is the Coordinator of the Honors Program and a faculty member in the English Department at Monroe College. She holds a Master’s degree in Mass Media and Communication from Fordham University and bachelor’s degrees in English, Communication Arts, and Women’s Studies from the College of New Rochelle. Before coming to Monroe College as a full-time faculty member (she was an adjunct first) in 2010, she served on the editorial team of Reader’s Digest. Kat just completed a four-year stint on the Executive Board of NRHC (she rotated through Vice President, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President). Kat is also a member of the NCHC Publication Board.

Serving the students in her college’s Honors Program has been most rewarding. She believes NRHC gives students the opportunity to present their research, collaborate with their peers, and become exposed to new ideas and places. She has had the pleasure of mentoring the Student Reps since 2013, when her first student served in Niagara Falls. Subsequently, two students from her institution served at Cambridge in 2015. Her students also served as Student Representative in Pittsburgh in 2017 and Baltimore in 2019. Watching the students grow and learn is extremely satisfying.

As Secretary, Kat hopes to streamline communications and create a lasting archive/repository of all NRHC documents. Kat hopes to continue to strengthen the NRHC Journal, Illuminate. Kat believes that honors is all about the students, and NRHC is here to help make that experience unforgettable. Kat can be reached at kmacdonald@monroecollege.edu. However, all NRHC-related business should be sent to northeastregionalhonorscouncil@gmail.com.

Dr. Michael Tasto is a Professor of Economics and Chair of the Department of Finance and Economics at Southern New Hampshire University. His primary research fields of interest is urban and regional economics and has been an Excellence in Teaching Nominee at SNHU in 2009 and 2010.

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He received his B.S. in Economics from St. John’s University in 2001, his M.A in Economics in 2006 and his Ph.D. in Economics in 2007 from Georgia State University. He has given numerous presentations at academic conferences, published peer-reviewed journal articles, and co-edited 2 books on entrepreneurship.

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He currently serves as Treasurer for the SNHU Professional Employees Association and was one of the lead negotiators for the Association’s 5-year faculty and staff contract (representing over 1,600 employees).

Dr. Tasto can be reached at M.Tasto@snhu.edu.

Tanya Radford, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of English and the Co-Director of the Honors Program at Dominican University New York. At Dominican, she teaches children’s and young adult literature, Enlightenment literature, and early American literature. Dr. Radford holds a BA and MA in English from the University of Utah and a PhD in English from the City University of New York - Graduate Center. Her current research focuses on representations of readers and the act of reading in children’s literature and popular culture.

As Web Coordinator, Dr. Radford will strive to maintain and continue to improve the website as an entry point for information and contact with the NRHC. To that end, she welcomes suggestions from visitors to the site.

When she’s not reading about reading, she enjoys hammock naps (or hammock reading followed by napping), mushroom hunting, and gardening. Dr. Radford can be reached at Tanya.Radford@duny.edu.

Chris Brittain is the Operations Manager of the Workforce and Professional Education Department at Ocean County College. He graduated from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Communication Media and in 2012 with a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Higher Education Administration. He has been working with Honors Programs in the Northeast Region for thirteen years, and served as the NRHC Web Coordinator from 2016-2019 and NRHC President and Conference Chair in 2021. He founded the Lock Haven University Honors Coalition and co-created the Pennsylvania Honors Development Conference in 2012. In addition to his involvement with the Northeast Regional Honors Council, he spends much of his time pursuing interests in photography and event-planning.

Chris’s email address is cbrittainnrhc@gmail.com.

Gwen Kay received her Ph.D. from Yale University, in the History of Science and Medicine. She specializes in 20th (and 21st) century American history, with a lens of science, medicine, and/or technology. She has been at Oswego State University since 2000, and involved in the Honors program since 2002. She has served as an Honors advisor, associate director, and currently serves as the director of the Honors program. In addition to Honors work, she has also worked in shared governance, representing Oswego at the SUNY level, and representing all 34 state-operated campuses at the SUNY level.

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Dr. Kay's email address is gwen.kay@oswego.edu.

AnnMarie DelliPizzi received a BS degree in Biology from Manhattan College and an MS and PhD in Pharmacology from New York Medical College. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the role of constrictor eicosanoids in models of angiotensin II-dependent hypertension.  Since 2004, she has taught at Dominican University New York (DUNY) where she currently holds the rank of Professor of Biology. In addition to teaching, Dr. DelliPizzi serves as the Coordinator of the Health Sciences Program and the Director of the Honors Program.   Outside of DUNY, she teaches both graduate and undergraduate pharmacology in the Nursing Department at CUNY Lehman College and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Pharmacology at New York Medical College. Dr. DelliPizzi has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the American Journal of Physiology, Hypertension, and the British Journal of Pharmacology and co-authored Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology Lab I and Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology Lab II.  She has been on the editorial board of Illuminate since 2018 and served as the NRHC Faculty Rep from 2019-2021.

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Dr. DelliPizzi currently resides in Rockland County, NY, with her husband, Matt, and is the mother of two adult children. Outside of the classroom and lab, she loves to dance, travel, bake and just spend time with her family.

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Dr. DelliPizzi can be reached at annmarie.dellipizzi@duny.edu.

Brooke Griffith is a junior at Thiel College where she is a member of the Dietrich Honor's Institute. Brooke is pursuing a double major in Public Policy and Social Psychology as well as minors in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies with an English certificate. Brooke hopes to become a lawyer for the mentally ill. Outside of the classroom, Brooke runs cross country and track. She also holds leadership roles as the membership vice president for the Gamma Sigma chapter of Alpha Xi Delta, a representative in the Student Government Association, and as the Secretary of Active Minds. 

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Brooke can be reached at BGrif426@thiel.edu.

Rhheaa Mehta is entering her third year at the University of Pittsburgh, pursuing a B.S. in neuroscience alongside a Chemistry minor with certificates in ASL, Public Communication of Science and Technology, and Global Health. She does research in neurodegenerative diseases under Dr. Udai Pandey, and has presented at the NRHC in 2023 and 2024 with sociology and medical ethics research. She's very excited to join her fellow Student Representatives in building a wonderful NRHC 2025 Conference.

Rhheaa can be reached at RPM81@pitt.edu.

Amanda Marie Olachea, a dedicated honors student at Dominican University New York, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Infrastructure with a minor in English, and is projected to graduate in May 2026.  Amanda is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Awarding Hope, a non-profit organization in Helendale, CA. She serves as President of the Debate Society and Anime Gaming clubs, editor of the honors program newsletter, and holds officer positions in the History and Elite Music clubs. Amanda's roles in the Student Government Association and the Charger Leadership Institute highlight her commitment to leadership and community service. She is particularly excited about being a student representative for the Northeastern Regional Honors Conference (NRHC).

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Amanda can be reached at amanda.olachea1@dc.edu.