Meet the UWC Team
Faculty Writing Consultants
UWC Associate Director of Writing
Jared Featherstone, M.F.A.
Jared Featherstone directs the University Writing Center and teaches courses in the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. He has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. His interests include mindfulness, cognition, contemplative writing, and pedagogy. He is a certified Koru Mindfulness Meditation teacher.
Assistant Professor of Writing and Liaison to CHBS
Lucy Bryan Malenke, M.F.A.
Lucy Bryan Malenke (she/her/hers) is the Writing Center’s liaison to the College of Health and Behavioral Studies. She also coordinates presentations and workshops for the UWC and serves as a writing and instructional consultant for students, staff, and faculty. Her areas of expertise include writing in the disciplines, peer review, and personal statements. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Penn State University and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her personal essays, short stories, and journalism have appeared in Earth Island Journal, Quarterly West, Sojourners, and Superstition Review, among others. Her book In Between Places: A Memoir of Essays is forthcoming from Homebound Publications (May 2022). In addition to all kinds of writing, her interests include racial justice, wilderness preservation, mindfulness practices, and service learning.
Faculty Associate
Kevin Jefferson, M.A.
Kevin Jefferson (he/him) is a Faculty Associate from the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. He has a background in 19th- and 20th-century British and American literature and a history of long road trips. His teaching and research interests include first-year composition and editing; rhetorics of place, the environment, and the West; and publishing student writing. He works with the student editors and faculty reviewers of the James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ) to promote, publish, and share undergraduate scholarship from all JMU disciplines.
Writing Center Specialist
Rodolfo ("Rudy") Barrett, M.S.
Rodolfo "Rudy" Barrett (he/him) is a Writing Center Specialist in JMU's Learning Centers and a lecturer in the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. He has worked in the UWC as both an undergraduate peer consultant and a graduate teaching assistant. Rudy's research interests include composition pedagogy, intercultural communication, and rhetorics of gaming.
Graduate Writing Consultants
Graduate Assistant
Julie Short
Julie (she/her) is a second-year graduate student in the WRTC program. She worked at the Wilmer Writing Center at the University of Lynchburg for three years and is excited to be a part of the team here. Her free time often consists of playing video games, swimming at UREC, and spending time with her four guinea pigs. She hopes to continue working with learning centers like JMU's in the future.
Graduate Assistant
Tiffany Nelson
Tiffany (she/her) is a graduate student in the M.A.T. Program in the College of Education. She recently graduated from James Madison University with an M.A. in American History. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, painting, baking, and other creative outlets.Tiffany hopes to teach A.P. U.S. History aftering completing the M.A.T. program.
Undergraduate Writing Consultants
Peer Consultant
Julia Dalton
Julia (she/her) is a senior Marketing major with a minor in Spanish and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies from Vienna, VA. In her free time, she enjoys running, cooking, or watching any Marvel movie. She is an active member of Outriggers, a peer consulting program outside of JMU's Student Activity and Involvement Office, and serves as Philanthropy Chair in her sorority. She hopes to work with events marketing in her future.
Peer Consultant
Alex Davis
Alex (she/her) is a sophomore Kinesiology major with minors in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies and Pre-PT. She writes for the opinion section of the Breeze, JMU's official newspaper. Alex enjoys rock climbing in her free time, and she is the Social Chair of Club Climbing.
Peer Consultant
Mary Davis
Mary (she/her) is a senior Health Sciences major with a double minor in Pre-OT and Special Education Non-Teaching. Outside of the Writing Center, she is involved in the JMU Club Gymnastics Team. Mary spends her free time at UREC, watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, or indulging in a Lava Cake whenever she can get her hands on one. She hopes to pursue a career as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist.
Peer Consultant
Bailey Espaillat
Bailey (she/her) is a senior WRTC major with a minor in Medical Humanities. She has served as an editor for JMU’s RhetTech undergraduate journal. In her free time, Bailey enjoys spending time with friends and working out. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in the field of health communication.
Peer Consultant
Sarah Foster
Sarah (she/her) is a double major in WRTC and SMAD with a concentration in Journalism and a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. On campus, she loves playing saxophone in the Marching Royal Dukes and volunteering with her co-ed music service sorority, Tau Beta Sigma. Outside of class, she loves listening to podcasts, keeping her plants alive, and petting cats.
Peer Consultant
Kristy Kocot
Kristy (she/her) is a junior WRTC major with a minor in Family Studies. Outside of the Writing Center, Kristy is involved in the JMU Delta Delta Delta sorority and enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, and riding horses. After graduation, Kristy hopes to attend law school.
Peer Consultant
Catherine LeHanka
Catherine (she/her) is a junior Psychology major and a Criminal Justice minor from Northern Virginia. She is an active member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and of the JMU Rock Climbing Club. Catherine loves reading, listening to crime podcasts, and spending quality time with friends and family. She hopes to attend law school and pursue a career as a criminal defense attorney.
Peer Consultant
Amy Linczyc
Amy (she/her) is a senior SMAD major with a concentration in digital video cinema and a minor in creative writing. She is from New Jersey and hopes to move to New York City after graduation to pursue a job in production. In her free time, Amy enjoys working out and spending time with friends and family. At JMU, Amy is a Member Services Assistant at UREC and serves as Vice President of Member Experience for her sorority.
Peer Consultant
LauraJean Logue
LauraJean (she/her) is a junior double majoring in WRTC and SMAD with a concentration in digital video and cinema. She is also pursuing a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. LauraJean is from Yorktown, VA, has an eclectic taste in music and literature, and loves spending time in big cities. Following graduation, she looks forward to traveling/ working abroad.
Peer Consultant
Jack Mairs
Jack (he/him) is a senior from Richmond, Virginia, majoring in Marketing. When he isn't studying, Jack enjoys hiking, playing video games, overanalyzing pop culture, and hanging out with friends.
Peer Consultant
Megan Nguyen
Megan (she/her) is a senior Computer Information Systems major with a minor in WRTC. She is a member of the Association of Information Systems Chapter at JMU and hopes to pursue a career as a UX/UI designer, writer, or researcher. Outside of classes, Megan enjoys weightlifting, stress baking, reading comics, and drawing digitally.
Peer Consultant
Ayana Oancea
Ayana (she/her) is a junior Engineering major with a minor in Mathematics from Merrick, New York. In her free time, Ayana enjoys cooking, traveling to new places, spending time with her friends, and listening to music. She hopes to work as a coastal resilience or structural engineer on climate change issues such as sea level rise.
Peer Consultant
Lily Parker
Lily (she/her) is a sophomore Anthropology major with a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. She is bilingual in English and ASL. In her free time, Lily enjoys visiting downtown Harrisonburg, overwatering her plants, and getting piercings (eight so far!). She isn't sure of her post-undergrad plans, so if anybody has any ideas, please let her know.
Peer Consultant
Kate Peppiatt
Kate (she/her) is a junior Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication major with minors in Spanish and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. On campus, Kate is an active member of Students Helping Honduras and Her Campus. She is also currently on the editorial board for the James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal. In her free time, Kate loves to read, travel, and spend time with friends.
Peer Consultant
Luke Pineda
Luke (he/him) is a junior Political Science major with a WRTC minor from Fredericksburg, Virginia. He spends his free time being an epic gamer, writing music, and binge-watching lots of anime. After JMU, Luke hopes to pursue a career as a political commentator.
Peer Consultant
Katie Schlesinger
Katie (she/her) is a senior Psychology major from Ashburn, Virginia. She is a member of SafeRides and enjoys running, hiking, and photography. After graduation, Katie plans to attend graduate school in hopes of becoming a school psychologist.
Peer Consultant
Rachel Tan
Rachel (she/they) is a sophomore Music Performance major with minors in Music and Human Services and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies from Richmond, VA. On campus, she is involved in Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministries. In her free time, Rachel enjoys composing music, cooking, dancing, and watching Marvel movies with her friends
Administration
Director, JMU Learning Centers
Laura Miller, Ph.D.
Laura Miller is an Assistant Professor of Writing and teaches for the School of Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication. Dr. Miller has a Ph.D. in Composition and TESOL and experience teaching English Language Learners. So What? The Writer's Argument, a first-year writing textbook she co-authored with Dr. Kurt Schick, is in its third edition. Dr. Miller conducts research on tutoring efficacy, writing mindsets, and tutoring outcomes.
Assistant to the Director, JMU Learning Centers
Joan Fahrney
Joan Fahrney's primary duties include administrative support to the Director, departmental human resource support for hiring, payroll, wage, and audit, data analysis and reporting, and coordination of the administrative support staff.
She is currently working toward her BA in Integrated Business Informatics and Human Resource Development. In her spare time, Joan enjoys time with her family, genealogy, and antiquing.
Technology and Program Support Technician, JMU Learning Centers
Alex Fletcher
Alex Fletcher provides administrative and informational technology support for the Learning Centers. His role is to assist program coordinators, peer educators, faculty, and staff on use of technology and the Learning Centers space, to troubleshoot and maintain equipment, and to oversee the Office Assistant team. He graduated from JMU in 2016 with a Major in SMAD's Converged Media branch and a Minor in English.
When not working on computers for work, he enjoys working on them at home with his hobbies of writing, game deisgn, and front-end web design.
