Staff

Meet the Lifelong Learning Staff

• Meet Continuing Education
• Meet Distance Education

Continuing Education

Christianne Price
Program Coordinator
cprice3@twu.edu
940.898.3466

Christianne was hired in July 2010 as the Coordinator for Continuing Education programs. She came to TWU with experience in marketing and coordinating events, first as a political campaign manager and later directing external outreach for a commercial construction company in Fort Worth. Her relationship with TWU began as a child when her mother was a student completing her elementary education degree and brought Christianne to campus (her favorite place was the library).  Christianne has a B.A. in Government and a B.S. in Marketing from TWU and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration at UNT. Some of her favorite things aside from coordinating CE programs are attending church, learning to cook, exercising, reading, and spending time with her husband and their two cats.

Cindy Howell
Project Coordinator
chowell@twu.edu
940.898.3445

Cindy has been at TWU since July of 1989 and with the Office of Lifelong Learning since 1998. In her current position, she designs promotional materials for events sponsored by Continuing Education and maintains the CE website. Cindy has an Associate of Office Administration degree from North Central Texas College and is currently pursuing her Bachelor in Family Studies degree at TWU. She enjoys spending time with her family and photography.

Gwenn McKeehan
Continuing Education Accounting Assistant
gmckeehan@twu.edu
940.898.3408

Gwenn began in May of 2008 as the Continuing Education Accounting Assistant. She has over 20 years of accounting experience. Before coming to TWU, Gwenn worked in the accounting field in Chicago and in the Dallas, Ft. Worth area. Currently she is in charge of billing and processing payments for all of Continuing Education's non-credit workshops. Gwenn enjoys spending time with her son and attending his sport events.
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Distance Education

Dr. Lynda Murphy
Director of Distance Education
lmurphy@twu.edu
940.898.3405

Lynda was hired by the TWU Graduate School in 1993. Before that, she worked for 10 years at Navarro College in student services and served as an adjunct instructor in their fine arts program. Currently, she coordinates TWU’s distance education activities.

Dr. Keith Restine
Associate Director of Distance Education
krestine@twu.edu
940.898.3232

Keith has been at TWU since November 2006, but he has worked with students and technology far longer than that. He currently works with faculty to develop online courses. Keith has four degrees from four different institutions. Two of his favorite things are food from New Mexico and bike riding.

Alli Peterson
Certified Virtual Instructor & Instructional Designer III, Denton
apeterson@twu.edu
940.898.3486

Alli has been assisting faculty with their online courses since December 2003. Before working for Lifelong Learning, she worked at the library at TWU. Even then, she was still working in distance education. She helped online faculty with their electronic reserves and distance students with their research and article requests. She has a Master of Library Science degree from TWU. She is an avid reader and self proclaimed techno-geek.

Cynthia Johnson
Instructional Designer III, Dallas Center
cjohnson2@twu.edu
214.689.6550

Cynthia Johnson joined the Distance Education unit of Lifelong Learning in February of 2011. She works at the T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences - Dallas Center , to support the Nursing, OT and PT faculty that teach online. Cynthia earned a MS in Health Studies from TWU in 2008, with an emphasis in Higher Education, as well as studied Healthcare Administration graduate courses in 2006 at Midwestern State University. She was formerly the program director for the BS, BAS and the MS online degree programs in the Department of Health Studies at TWU. When she’s not at work, Cynthia enjoys playing the piano, reading and spending time with family.

Valerie Shapko
Certified Virtual Instructor & Instructional Designer III, Houston Center
vshapko@twu.edu
713.794.2042

In August of 2008, Ms. Valerie Shapko joined the Lifelong Learning team as the new senior instructional design specialist for the Institute of Health Sciences in Houston. For the past 10 years, she served as an instructional designer for institutions such as Sun Health, University of Phoenix and ECS. Valerie holds an Associate of Applied Science Degree in web site administration from The Art Institute of Phoenix, a Bachelor of Arts in computer science and communications from Brooklyn College, as well as a Master of Business Administration and Global Management degree from the University of Phoenix. She also has four years of teaching experience both in the classroom and online.

Dr. Nirisha Garimella
Certified Virtual Instructor & Instructional Designer II, Colleges of Professional Education & Nursing/Denton
ngarimella@twu.edu
940.898.4000

Nirisha, who joined the DE Team in May of 2010, works with faculty in the College of Nursing in Denton and the College of Professional Education. Originally from India, she moved to the United States in 2000 to attend graduate school. She earned her Ph.D. in Family Sciences at TWU, and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses for that department at TWU, as well as at Collin College. She has a 4-year-old who keeps her and her husband active. She loves cooking and eating different food and running in half-marathons.

Leslie Lindsey
Instructional Designer II, College of Arts and Sciences
llindsey@twu.edu
940.898.2263

Leslie became the Instructional Designer for the College of Arts and Sciences in April of 2010. However, her TWU roots go much deeper than that. She graduated from TWU in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in History, and is finishing her Master of Arts in History. As an undergraduate student, Leslie worked on-campus at the Write Site and in the Woman's Collection.  She was also part of the Pioneers Oral History Project and taught history as a GTA. Her interests include aviation history, cooking, and volunteering at her church.

Christopher Johnson
Instructional Designer II, College of Health Sciences
cjohnson44@twu.edu
940.898.2784

Christopher joined the Instructional Design team at TWU in August 2010. He is a second generation Alaska commercial fisherman, but left the family business after high school to seek a career in academia. He finished each of his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Texas State University -- San Marcos, majoring in mathematics. He was part of a team that transformed a lecture based college algebra program at the University of North Texas into one based on the emporium model pioneered at Virginia Tech. He loves to eat and exercise where the point of the latter is so he can do more of the former.

Diann Maurer
Instructional Designer I
dmaurer@twu.edu
940.898.2257

Diann joined the DE team as an instructional designer in April 2010. Originally from Indiana, Diann moved to Denton in the fall of 2009 to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Women’s Studies at TWU. Before becoming an instructional designer, she served as a graduate assistant for Distance Education. She has Bachelor of Arts degrees from Ball State University in Telecommunications (2007), Women’s Studies (2007) and Criminal Justice & Criminology (2009). Diann considers herself a lifelong student and maintains that what she has not learned in school or from family, she has learned by watching Star Trek.

Allison Mabry
Coordinator, Distance Education Communications
amabry@twu.edu
940.898.3411

Allison is the Coordinator of DE Communications. She has worked here since October of 2004, and in her current position she creates and executes communication plans for any internal, university-wide communications as it pertains to distance learners and faculty who teach online. She also maintains the DE website and helps with student inquiries. She has a Master of Journalism degree from the University of North Texas and loves to cook. 

Laura Macsas
Senior Administrative Assistant
lmacsas@twu.edu
940.898.3409

Laura joined the Lifelong Learning Team in March of 2009. She conducts administrative duties such as coordinating meetings, travel and purchases. She also interacts with students to provide answers, resources and contact information. She has been at TWU since 2007 when she started in the Bursar’s Office as an accounting assistant. Prior to coming to TWU, she co-owned Max’s Café and Grill in Krum, Texas. Her favorite pastimes are family time, reading, camping and working in the yard. Her pride and joy are her three daughters ranging in age from 18 to 25.

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