Faculty Profile

Born and raised in the Detroit Metropolitan area, Tara is passionate about learning and creating dynamic learning experiences. She obtained her undergraduate education from James Madison College at Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Theory & Constitutional Democracy. She then earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Dispute Resolution with a concentration in Employee Relations from Wayne State University. While in grad school, she interned for the mayor’s office where she coordinated projects that enabled her to develop project management skills. Upon obtaining her MA, she was hired to continue coordinating one of the projects and work as a project assistant on a business process reengineering project. From the mayor’s office, Tara transitioned into private industry for a few years as a Project Analyst/Implementer.   From there she returned to the nonprofit arena for 5+ years as Deputy Director of an Alternative Dispute Resolution agency. There she administered the day-to-day operations, technological initiatives, and the HR function. It was during this period that she went back to Wayne State University to pursue post-master’s studies in public policy and Instructional Technology.  She earned an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in Instructional Technology from Wayne State University with a concentration in Performance Improvement and Training.

Tara then decided to explore higher education to gain more direct experience in Instructional Technology. She worked at a University in Indiana for over a year before moving into her role as an Instructional Designer at Spring Arbor University in 2008. In 2012, she became the Lead Instructional Designer at Spring Arbor University. Over the years she has taught classes at Spring Arbor University and taught at two other universities. Currently, she is also an Assistant Professor of Education.

Tara enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as sharing the redemptive power of Jesus Christ.  She is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) within Toastmasters International where she holds leadership roles at the club and district levels.

When Tara joined the Office of Academic Technology (OAT), one of the things she found appealing was working with faculty to explore technology tools and instructional strategies to achieve their instructional objectives. Before SAU, she wasn't aware of how faith was integrated in classes and Jesus was the perspective for learning. The commitment of faculty to students academically and spiritually is still exciting to her.