Thomas Monk, ‘99 BS Secondary Education, is assistant principal at a middle school for Los Angeles Unified School District.  

Cristina Gutierrez, ’25 BS Secondary Education, began her teaching career in January 2026 after being selected for a full-time secondary English position with Coral Academy following the completion of her student teaching at UNLV. While at the university, she served as a Global Ambassador and substitute teacher, experiences that helped strengthen her sense of community, adaptability, and cultural awareness. Gutierrez is passionate about teaching and enjoys reading, writing, and travel.  

Neil Woolf, ‘12 Ed.D. Higher Education Leadership, serves as president of New Mexico Highlands University. He also served as executive vice president at Southern Oregon University, associate vice president at Eastern Washington University, director of enrollment services at Nevada State University, and senior policy analyst for the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Vanessa (Haroan) Tu, 17 BA Psychology and '18 M.Ed. Special Education, is the founder of Bright Minds, a California-based behavioral health agency with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and technicians serving children with autism. Since graduating from UNLV, she has co-founded two startup ventures, launched behavioral services within California public school districts, and published a workbook for parents of nonverbal children on the autism spectrum. Her work focuses on building scalable care models that bridge clinical and educational settings. Her husband, Cheng Yang Tu, ’20 DPT, is also a UNLV alumnus.

Meghan (Bugni) Kular, '13 BA Elementary Education and '15 MA Curriculum and Instruction, opened a preschool, Kiddie Academy of Mountains Edge, with her husband Gurdev Kular, '12 BA Business, in 2023.

Rosemary Q. Flores, '19 MPA, is the associate director of the Teacher Academy Pipeline Project (TAPP) at Nevada State University. Prior to TAPP, she was the family engagement specialist at UNLV's College of Education MESA Family Network under the Abriendo Caminos/Opening Pathways grant. She is pursuing her doctoral degree from UNLV through the cultural studies, international education, and multicultural education program. Her daughter Tanya Amaranta (Amy) Polanco, '04 BA Elementary Education, is a public school teacher in California.

Kimberly Cook, ‘89 BA Criminal Justice and ‘96 M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, is in her 33rd year of teaching and is a high school librarian. Her daughter Laura Ann Koch, ‘17 M.Ed. Early Childhood Instruction and Curriculum, also graduated from UNLV.

Calvin J. Pouncy, ’09 M.Ed. Special Education and ’13 Ed.S. Special Education, retired from the Clark County School District after 16 years of service in special education and school social work. Throughout his career, he focused on supporting students facing extreme emotional, behavioral, and social challenges and promoting inclusive practices for at-risk youth and their families. He earned an MSW from Arizona State University and a DSW from the University of Southern California. He was also a varsity football coach at Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas, where he worked alongside coach Hernandez “Hunky” Cooper.

Janna Bernstein Rogers, '20 Ph.D. Cultural Studies, International Education & Multicultural Education is director of the College of Southern Nevada and an adjunct professor for UNLV's Lee Business School. She recently celebrated 11 years with NSHE. Janna married Steven Rogers on Aug. 17, 2025 (yes, like Captain America!).

Jillian McNiff Villemaire, '04 MS Sport and Leisure Studies, was promoted to full professor, awarded the 2025 North American Society for Sport Management Educator of the Year, and published Digital Innovations in Sport with Routledge.