Fall/Winter 2012-2013 - School of Education - University of Pittsburgh

ALUMNI NEWSAnnual Alumni Awards(continued from page 27)Assessment, Referral, and Tracking) Projectand the Early Learning Institute. Later, shestarted the consulting firm Early ChildhoodInternational and became highly regardedand much sought after in her field.Dempsey passed away on October 26,2011, following a four-month battle withpancreatic cancer.Department of Psychologyin EducationPamela Moss (MA ’80, PhD ’88) isrecognized as a leading validity theoristin the United States. Her work lies at theintersections of educational assessment,philosophy of social science, and interpretiveor qualitative research methods.Moss’ current research agenda focuses onvalidity theory in educational assessment,assessment as a social practice, and theassessment of teaching. She is currentlycoleading a project, funded by grants fromthe National Science Foundation and theInstitute of Education Sciences, to developan integrated assessment system for usewith teacher candidates and the practicingteachers who support their learning.2012 Falk SchoolOutstandingAlumni AwardsRob Marshall is an award-winning directorwhose films have been honored with a totalof 23 Academy Award nominations andhave won nine, including Best Picture. Hismost recent film, Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides, starring Johnny Deppand Penélope Cruz, has grossed more than$1 billion worldwide, placing it amonghistory. He currently is developing The ThinMan, starring Depp, as well as the movieadaptation of the Broadway musical Intothe Woods. His other directorial effortsinclude the Academy Award-winning filmsChicago and Memoirs of a Geisha. Chicagowas the winner of six Oscars, including BestPicture, and Marshall received the DirectorsGuild of America Award, an Oscar nomination,and a Golden Globe nomination, to name afew. His film adaptation of the best-sellingnovel Memoirs of a Geisha was the winnerof three Oscars, three British Academy ofFilm and Television Arts awards, and a GoldenGlobe. His film Nine was nominated for fourAcademy Awards, five Golden Globes, and10 Critics’ Choice Awards.For the last 20 years, Maura Powellhas been principal and owner of DominionDesign Associates, a successful full-serviceplanning, design, and construction companylocated in Alexandria, Va. Most recently, shestarted Terra Nova Design Group, a landscapedesign firm focusing on sustainablepractices, lighting, and irrigation. Powell isa Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED)-accredited professional.Her work has been featured on HGTV, inVERANDA magazine, and in the WashingtonDesign Center show house. Powell is thesister of Rob and Kathleen Marshall.Kathleen Marshall is an award-winningdirector and choreographer who won a 2011Tony Award and an Outer Critics CircleAward for Anything Goes. She also receiveda 2006 Tony Award for Best Choreographyfor The Pajama Game and a 2004 Tony Awardfor her choreography of Wonderful Town.Marshall was director and choreographerfor the 2007 Broadway production ofGrease and choreographed Boeing-Boeing.SCHOOL the top 10 highest-grossing OF EDUCATION films in www.education.pitt.eduAdditionally, Marshall has directed andchoreographed productions of Little Shopof Horrors; Seussical; Follies; Kiss Me,Kate; 1776 ; and Swinging on a Star.Her off-Broadway credits include TwoGentlemen of Verona, Saturday Night,Violet, and As Thousands Cheer. Shecurrently is the director and choreographerfor the musical Nice Work If You CanGet It, starring Matthew Broderick andKelli O’Hara. The production openedon Broadway earlier this year.2012 StudentLeadership AwardApril A. Mattix completed her doctoralwork in the Language, Literacy, andCulture Program at the School of Educationin 2012. Since coming to Pitt, Mattix hasdone significant work in the area ofliteracy education. Her background anddegrees in education, international affairs,and political science have contributed tothe unique sociocultural perspective shebrings to this work. She has activelyengaged in research throughout herprogram, conducting in-depth studies onteaching and the relationship of socialissues to their representation in the pagesof children’s literature. Mattix is currentlyan assistant professor in the College ofEducation and Human Development atGeorge Mason University.Mattix is a strong leader within the Pittsburghcommunity and has demonstrated herleadership abilities in a variety of forums.Within the School of Education, she servedas president of the Council of GraduateStudents in Education, a position to whichshe was elected by a body of her peers.28SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONwww.education.pitt.edu