2023-2024 New Faculty

Dr. Marissa Bolin has a teaching and research expertise in rhetoric studies and the connections between literature and the law. She has taught at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Hollins University, and Roanoke College. After receiving a BA in English Literature and French Language and Literature from Hollins University, she received a MA from the University of York in the UK. During this time, her research focused on the effects of French discussions of natural rights on the rising advocacy for married women’s right in eighteenth-century Britain and its representation in novels. Her doctoral research at the University of York examined the conjunction between law and literature and the advocacy for married women’s legal representation within nineteenth century novels and novelists’ portrayals of circumstantial and testimonial evidence of married women’s legal injustices. Her current project examines the life and works of Caroline Norton, her role in nineteenth-century marriage law reforms, and her caricatured representation in nineteenth-century novels.​

Jameson Hinkle grew up in the Chicago area prior to moving to Virginia at 12 years old.  He spent 1 year as a federally funded intern biologist with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality prior to working for the US Geological Survey for 3 years.  He then entered graduate school for a Master’s of Science in Environmental Science at Virginia Commonwealth University where his research focused on a proof-of-concept study for the use of environmental DNA for Atlantic Sturgeon in the James River.  He also worked with colleagues on a Bull Trout reintroduction simulation with empirical population genetics data.  After graduate school he became a staff scientist in genetics at the University of Virginia prior to becoming a lecturer of environmental science and biology at Longwood where his research interests continue to be anything involving the landscape and genetics. 

RJ Magee is a professional educator, actor, director, casting director, and talent manager. Through his own casting office, RJ Magee Casting, he has done freelance casting for entertainment projects of all mediums. His most recent casting project, the hit reality series Theality TV, is currently streaming on Broadway On Demand. RJ began his career as a performer and his acting work has been seen at many professional theaters including Black Rock Theater, The Great American Melodrama, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Dollywood Entertainment, Tibbits Summer Theatre, Broadway Palm Theatre, Roxy Regional Theatre, and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in the world premiere Kerrigan and Lowdermilk musical "Flash of Time." RJ is a member of the Music Theatre Educators Alliance and has taught masterclasses at Weber State University, North Texas Performing Arts Academy, Elon University, Actors Launchpad, Actors Connection, Florida State Thespians Conference, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V, Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, and more. He has been called upon to share expertise by serving as an entertainment industry adviser to prestigious market research and management consulting firms EY-Parthenon and Third Bridge. RJ is currently an Associate Talent Manager for Baker Management in New York City. RJ is a proud graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Temple University (Bachelor of Arts), and Minnesota State University, Mankato (Master of Fine Arts).

Dr. Renee Mann grew up in Appomattox, Virginia. She has been a Registered Nurse for 23 years with experience in long-term care, Med-Surg, Telemetry, school nursing at an elementary school. She earned her RN diploma from LGH School of Nursing (now Centra School of Nursing), she obtained her BSN, MSN and DNP with a focus in Family Nurse Practitioner from Liberty University. During her DNP program she worked as a teacher assistant for Liberty University that assisted with simulations, grading and clinical rotations. In 2022, she practiced as a family nurse practitioner in a rural community for one year. She joined Longwood University Fall 2023 as an assistant professor in the Nursing Department. She is passionate about nursing and is interested in community health issues. She enjoys going for walks/hikes with her family, going to the movies, camping, and reading. On a personal note, she is married to her high school sweetheart, and they have three children together.​

Katrina Marks grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and earned her MA in Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where is currently a PhD candidate. She plans to complete her dissertation exploring narratives of race at plantation memorial museums throughout the U.S. South in winter 2023. She is enthusiastic about guiding students in speaking and writing and emphasizes the importance of these practices in the context of contemporary public discourse. In addition to visiting historical sites and museums, Katrina is an avid reader and lover of video games. The intersection of her interests in apparent in her recent article published in the Journal of American Literature, "'My Whole Life I've Been on the Run': Fugitivity as a Postracial Trope in Red Dead Redemption 2."

Dr. Lauren May is a Visiting Assistant Professor of English Education at Longwood University. She was born and raised in Hampton Roads, Virginia. She completed her BA in English Literature and MAT in Secondary Education at Christopher Newport University. She began teaching in Virginia Public Schools in 2016 and completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech in 2022. Before coming to Longwood, she was an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M International University. Her journal articles, conference presentations, and general research interests focus on early career English teachers, English teacher identities, dialogical self theory, and/or dialogic pedagogy. In her free time, Dr. May enjoys hiking and reading or both; sometimes she will hike to a beautiful location to peacefully read and just be in the wilderness. She lives with her husband, who is supportive and adventurous, and her two cats, who are snuggly and mischievous. 

Amanda Meszaros, MSN, RN, grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. She earned her BSN from Longwood University and her MSN from Chamberlain University. As a Registered Nurse, her experience is primarily in the Cardiovascular ICU but in other areas of nursing such as Medical-Surgical Telemetry, Pediatrics, and Maternal-Infant. Nursing and education are her passions, and she aims to make each person she interacts with feel cared for holistically and hopefully smile. Service is an integral part of her life mission; when able, she has been volunteering at Camp Easter Seals in New Castle, Virginia, since 2016. She spends several weekends during the year hiking various trails and visiting as many State and National Parks as possible. On a personal note, she will soon be married to her best friend and has an affectionate golden retriever and a lovable orange tabby cat that make every day a little sweeter. 

Dr. Miller has been a registered nurse for 30 years in the acute care, medical surgical setting as well as in the community.  She earned her BSN, MSN, and DNP, from Liberty University.  She is certified through the National League for Nursing, as a Certified Nurse Educator, and through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator. 

Dr. Miller and her husband have been married for 31 years. Their daughter Katie (24) is a pet photographer and soc​ial media designer. Their son Jesse (25) and his wife are expecting their first child this December!

Dr. Miller's research interests include quality and safety in nursing education. She loves refinishing antique furniture and baking sour dough bread. 

Dr. Pubali Mukherjee joined as an Assistant Professor of Marketing in 2023 in the College of Business and Economics at Longwood University. She completed her Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering, MBA in Marketing, and PhD in Marketing. Her research interest lies broadly in human-technology interaction. Specifically, she investigates consumer responses toward humanoid service robots and virtual influencers. Besides her academic experience, she has the entrepreneurial experience of being a digital content creator for four years. She is a dreamer, who strongly believes in “Dream is not that you see in sleep. It is something that does not let you sleep”. Dr. Mukherjee was born and brought up in India. She is a vocalist with training in Indian classical music. She is a passionate traveler and has explored different continents of the world including parts of Europe, Asia, and North America.

Dr. Amanda Starr grew-up in Virginia, Holland, and Texas. She earned a B.S. in Biology at Angelo State University and M.S. and Ph.D. in Biology at Texas Tech University. Her research interests encompass molecular genetics, microbe-host interactions, secondary metabolite production, virulent/pathogenic traits of microbes, and microbial ecology. Her Ph.D. was focused on the ability of a chytrid fungus to produce toxic substances to kill amphibians, while her postdoctoral work at University of Michigan Medicine was on Uropathogenic Escherichia coli and urinary tract infections in women. She has been teaching since 2011 in different modalities including: online, hybrid, remote, and in-person. These classes included introductory and upper-level microbiology courses, introductory biology, anatomy and physiology, intro cell biology and genetics, and perspectives in toxicology. She lives in Farmville, VA with her husband, children, and 2 mini-Australian Shepherds. In her spare time she loves crafting.​

Professor Anahi Trujillo Camorlinga, a Mexico native, grew up in Mecklenburg County, Virginia and earned her Master of Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures degree at the University of Virginia Polytechnic and State University. Additionally, she holds her Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Mary Baldwin College. She has taught at Charlotte County Public Schools, Southside Virginia Community College and Mary Baldwin College. In her new role as a Spanish Lecturer here at Longwood, Professor Trujillo looks forward to helping her undergraduate students bolster their language abilities and is excited to be a part of the Longwood community. Outside of the classroom, Professor Trujillo enjoys helping the local Hispanic communities by providing her interpretation and translation services. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, family and pup, staying active, playing volleyball and softball, and going out on adventures.   

Dr. Shimeng Wang joined the College of Business and Economics in Longwood University in 2023 Fall and currently is a visiting assistant professor of finance. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Finance from Purdue University and specialized in the effect of mutual fund manager’s beliefs on their return performances in her job market paper. In general, Dr. Wang is interested in empirical asset pricing and behavior finance. She has several working papers on mutual fund investment strategies and performance as well as event studies on stock return performance. She is also in pursuit of her CFP certificate. On a personal note, her family lives in Maryland, so she commutes between states during weekends and holidays and enjoys her family time with her fiancé and her lovely dog. They aim to explore as many state and national parks as possible during their spare time.

Dr. Wise’s interest in science and nature began as a child growing up in Ohio and southwestern Virginia. He studied engineering at Virginia Tech and environmental science at the University of Virginia. Upon graduating, Mike moved to Washington, DC and worked as a biological lab technician in the biology lab at the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural History Museum. A year later, he joined the professional policy-consulting community with a job performing wildlife risk assessments on contracts for the U.S. EPA. Four years later, he became a graduate student in the Biology Department at Duke University, where he completed his doctorate in 2003. He has continued to pursue his passion for nature in a variety of academic roles academia ever since, including post-doctoral positions at Bucknell University and the University of Virginia. Dr. Wise has mentored a diversity of students in guided research projects in his time at Duke, Bucknell, and the University of Virginia—work that has resulted in 17 peer-reviewed articles with 19 different student coauthors. Over the past twelve years, Dr. Wise has been teaching in the Biology and Environmental Studies Departments at Roanoke College, where he has developed and taught multiple courses, including new courses for the General Education (Inquiry) Program. In recent years, his professional interests have included pedagogical research, and he has published ten articles for journals related to the scholarship of teaching and activities for active learning. Dr. Wise is serving as a lecturer in the Biological and Environmental Sciences Department for the 2023-24 academic year, where he is teaching an introductory biology and a conservation-oriented upper-level course in the Civitae Curriculum.