2016 Cohort – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Alumni Accolades, March 2026

Ben Vinson III, IRT ’92
Dr. Vinson was named a Harvard Hutchins Center fellow at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute. Congratulations!

Stephen Zrike, IRT ’01
Congratulations to Dr. Zrike, who was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey as Secretary of Education. Read the official press release on this appointment.

Karina Fernández Montilla, IRT ’06
Karina received the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Award by the ACE Women’s Network in Massachusetts. The award honors a champion of change whose vision and contributions are focused on changing structural systems for the advancement of women in Massachusetts colleges and universities. Read more about the award and Karina’s work.

Karina also received a staff recognition award at the Black History Month Showcase that recognizes staff and faculty at Hampshire College who often work behind the scenes without enough appreciation. Congratulations!

I am honored to have been nominated and to be recognized alongside colleagues who are so dedicated to supporting transformative educational spaces like Hampshire College.

Moments of Joy, January 2026

What were the moments that made you smile, instances that brought you joy or accomplishments and success that buoyed your spirits this past year? Your joyful memory is a reminder of the bright spots within our community and important to highlight. A collection of these positive experiences are below. If you have a moment of joy that you would like to share in an upcoming issue, please let us know!

Alan Gao, IRT ’25
Here’s a photo of me making dumplings with my family. Every time I go home, we make dumplings together and it brings me a lot of joy, especially because food is an important love language for my family.

IRT Alumni Committee Update

Dear IRT Alumni,

On behalf of the Alumni Committee, we extend a warm welcome to our robust alumni network of over 3,000 educators, scholars, and professionals. We are thrilled to have you as part of our passionate community of change-makers!

As alumni, you have a wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise that can be invaluable to our IRT Scholars. We invite you to get involved in the alumni network and share your insights and perspectives with the next generation of educators and thought-leaders.

One way to get involved is to join the Alumni Committee. The Alumni Committee is a group of dedicated volunteers who work to strengthen the connection between our alumni. Committee members help to plan and organize events, provide mentorship to students, and advocate for the interests of alumni.

Associate Director & Manager of Programs Update, March 2023

Dear IRT Community,

As IRT enters the Spring season, we are continuing to advise scholars as they manage their graduate school acceptances and financial packages. We are encouraging them to savor the joy and acknowledge their efforts in this milestone. We are so very proud of them. As we well know, keeping up with coursework, working multiple jobs, participating in campus activities and applying to graduate schools is a fine balancing act.

We are also in the midst of reviewing applications for our next IRT scholar cohort who will begin their programming year with a 4 week virtual Summer Institute beginning in late June. By remaining virtual, all accepted scholars will have access to IRT faculty, College and University Consortium partners and all programming content. As with other organizations and institutions in service of diversifying the teaching profession, pivoting to increase opportunity and center equity remains the core of IRT’s work.

Alumni Accolades, June 2022

Karina Fernández Montilla, IRT ‘06 is a recipient of the 2022 Dr. Sue Estler University of Maine Higher Education Distinguished Alumnx Award. This award is given by the University of Maine Higher Education graduate programs in honor of Dr. Suzanne E. Estler, Associate Professor, Emeritus of Higher Education. Karina is Assistant Dean of Advising and Director of the James Baldwin Scholars Program at Hampshire College.

Teresa Gonzales, IRT ‘06 will be joining the sociology department at Loyola University Chicago this fall.

Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07 was appointed Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Allegheny College. Congratulations!