Maggie Donaldson, Director

Specialty Areas - Project Management; Curriculum Development; Chemistry, Biology & Earth Science; Laboratory Science

Joined March 2025

Maggie is a STEM Trainer with a focus on project management, combining her background in education, research, and program coordination to support innovative STEM initiatives. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA (Go Steelers!), she began her career as a high school science teacher at the Rochester School for the Deaf, where she discovered her passion for Deaf Education. That passion led her to join the research team at the SPaCE Center at RIT/NTID, where she contributed to studies on the impact of COVID-19 on Deaf Education, resulting in several publications. She later transitioned into project management with the NRSC Team at RIT/NTID, where she led efforts such as the annual Math Competition and helped develop and support a variety of STEM-related programs and activities. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys taking her service dog, Dublin, on walks, relaxing with her cat and dog, and finding cool new spots to hammock and unwind.

Publications: 
Meek, D. R., Skyer, M. R., & Donaldson, M. M. “I Learned as I Went”: an online distance education case study, The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, Volume 30, Issue 2, April 2025, Pages 248–267, https://doi.org/10.1093/jdsade/enae047

Meek, D. R., Green A. N., & Donaldson, M. M. "Together but Apart: Strategies to Improve Inclusive Classrooms." Cases on Teacher Preparation in Deaf Education, edited by Nena Raschelle Neild and Patrick Joseph Graham, IGI Global, 2023, pp. 42-66. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-5834-1.ch003

Donaldson, M. M., Meek, D. R., & Skyer, M. R. "The intersection of online distance education and deaf education: Perspectives from deaf and hard of hearing students and educators." Proceedings of the Association for College Educators-Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (ACE-DHH). Ed. n.p. San Antonio, TX: n.p.

Matt Howell, Trainer

Specialty Areas – Engineering, CAD, Mechanical, Electronics

Joined October 2020

Matt is a STEM trainer in M.E.L.D. (Mechatronic Engineering for Leadership in Deafness). A Model Secondary School for the Deaf Alumni who came from a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. He started off as customization manager for a sports uniform company dealing with graphic design, heat press, screen print, and embroidery for 5 years until he was successful in getting his dream job by working as mechanical design and quality engineering within the automotive technology field. He has worked within NASCAR, military, and motorsports fields. After 20 years of working in technology industries, he wanted to share his knowledge and experience in advanced technology with Deaf students. So, he became an Engineering and Automotive Technology teacher at North Carolina School for the Deaf for a couple of years before joining the NRSC Team. He has a huge passion in motorsports and automotive technologies. He enjoys traveling, hiking, and watching movies with his beautiful wife, son, and dogs. 

Cara Wilmot, Trainer

Specialty Areas - Literacy, Itinerant Services, Transition, and Specially Designed Instruction for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Joined June 2023

Cara is an academic and transition specialist and STEM Academy II Coordinator. She has a dual bachelor's degree in Deaf Education and Elementary Education from Flagler College. Her master's degree is in Special Education from the University of North Florida (UNF). She is a UNF Project SPIDERS scholar sponsored by the Office of Special Education Program. She is pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership, focusing on Deaf Education. She has 26 years of expertise in Deaf Education with specialties in Reading Intervention, Transition, Itinerant Services, and Specially Designed Instruction for DHH. She has taught students from birth to 22 across the continuum of services, from a self-contained classroom to inclusion support at all levels. She is trained in the following programs designed specifically for students who are DHH: American Sign Language - Expressive Skills Test, AvenuePM, Bedrock Literacy Curriculum, Bilingual Grammar Curriculum, Explicit Contextualized Vocabulary Instruction - Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Fairview Learning, Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading, Foundations for Literacy, See the Sounds Visual Phonics, Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction, and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons paired with Visual Phonics. During her free time, she spends time with her husband and two children. She loves reading, traveling, cooking, and trying new adventures. 

Harry Wood, Trainer

Specialty Areas - Science, Robotics, Coding/Computer Science

Joined January 2017

Harry is a STEM Trainer with a science background. He started out as the math/science specialist and now emphasizes learning through Robotics for STEM education. He tries to combine his 18 years of experience as a teacher of the D/d/HH with the best practices of STEM education into a cohesive model. Prior to his current position, Harry taught students in high school science at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind from 2003-2016. Originally hailing from Maryland, he provides support & enthusiasm in robotics and computer science/coding among many other things.  He has a love for gardening and golfing.

Santori S. Little, Administrative Assistant