Cheryl L. Anderson, PhD, PT, MBA, GCS is a writer, educator, clinician and researcher. Cheryl is a licensed physical therapist and board-certified geriatric clinical specialist. Cheryl previously worked as Director of Health Policy for a rural health plan, Director of Operations for national rehabilitation firms, and as a consultant in long term care. She continues as adjunct faculty to several universities. Further, she consulted on several ventures with her state’s Department of Human Services in the area of systems change.

Her areas of interest include: health care, health policy (including Medicare and Medicaid), health management, rehabilitation, rural health issues, health promotion; issues of the elderly/geriatric, performance improvement, quality management, leadership, evidenced-based medicine, organizational development, and ethics.

Cheryl has advised and assisted students with dissertations, theses, capstones, and other major academic papers. She serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Social Change. An accomplished writer, Cheryl has published book chapters, home studies, peer-reviewed articles and other works in trade journals and lay publications. Extending beyond academia, Cheryl has authored many grants and been the principle investigator on several.

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Margaret Eaton,  BA,  Religious Studies; MDiv; PhD, biblical studies. Her dissertation topic was on the way an aspect of Hebrew stylistics was translated into the Greek of the Septuagint. She also has qualifications in linguistics and is writing a book on conversational strategies in the Hebrew Bible.

She is a distance educator in theological education and a translation consultant with the World Bible Translation Center. 

Courses taught: Classical Hebrew; Old Testament issues, such as oral tradition, literature, history, exegesis, theology; Koine Greek; New Testament issues; history; exegesis; theology.
 

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Debra Fisher, M.S.Ed, B.A., is president and owner of an independent education, learning, and communications consulting company that serves both individual graduate learners and institutions of higher education. When working with graduate learners, Debra perceives her role as that of a personal writing coach and academic advisor, providing guidance and encouragement during the prospectus, proposal, analysis, and publication phases of scholarly writing. Whether helping clients brainstorm a researchable thesis; providing theoretical guidance relative to research focus and/or positional development; recommending structural and organizational revisions to enhance the clarity and cohesion of an argument; or editing for grammar, mechanics and punctuation, she customizes her services to meet the specific needs of her clients. More than achieving the completion and committee approval of a scholarly manuscript, clients appreciate Debra’s emphasis on the development of skills that help them communicate effectively using all the techniques of good writing—skills that serve them well beyond their graduate program. Debra has enjoyed coaching-advising relationships with hundreds of learners who represent a broad spectrum of academic disciplines, and all have been awarded their graduate degrees.

Debra graduated summa cum laude (B.A.) with double majors in English and education from Grand Canyon University, a Christian liberal arts university in Phoenix, Arizona. With a minor in philosophy, critical thinking permeates all her work. She received her M.S. in education from Capella University with a specialization in instructional design for online learning, and she is presently pursuing her Ph.D. in educational leadership for higher education.

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Val Gerard, MA, PhD in Biology

• Science and medical editor and writer since 2001. Editing, copyediting, and writing of manuscripts, books, dissertations, grant proposals, etc. Topics range from ecology to epidemiology, from biochemistry to biomechanics, from environmental policy to paleontology, from natural products to swine nutrition. Focuses on organization, interpretation, and clear presentation of complex information.
• Past clients include professionals and students from Australia, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela, even the U.S.! Goals are successful completion of specific writing project, and helping clients improve their own writing skills for future projects.
• Val’s own work includes more than fifty publications in ecology, botany, zoology, physiology, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling (see her publication list), and one million dollars worth of successful grant proposals.
• Over thirty years of teaching experience, including scientific writing courses. Served as advisor and/or mentor to many graduate and undergraduate students.
• Past experience as associate editor, editorial board member, and/or reviewer for over two dozen scientific journals, including Science, and government funding agencies.

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Barbara Hawley, M.A., Ph.D. (organizational psychology), B.S. (management) has been mentoring dissertation and theses students for the past 7 years. As committee chair and professor of a thesis practicum, she has helped over 60 students successfully complete these requirements in that time. She has experience teaching both business and psychology courses at the graduate and undergraduate level.

Courses taught include organizational behavior, workplace etiquette, human psychology, personnel psychology, social and organizational psychology, business and society, business management, business leadership, child psychology, adolescent psychology, human growth and development, abnormal psychology, introduction to psychology, leadership and supervision, general psychology, introduction to sociology, strategic management (capstone for business and health care majors), group dynamics, service marketing, information management, consumer behavior, and human development.

Barbara has excellent mentoring skills, and is very quick at turning work around. She is personable and easy to get along with. Barbara enjoys helping her students reach their goals and complete their required work in order to graduate.

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Glenn Hilton has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal. He spent nine years as a telecommunications officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force before leaving to attend graduate school. After completing his graduate studies, he was a faculty member for 26 years in the Department of Computing and Information Science at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. During his time at Queen's he supervised numerous Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations, served on many examination committees in engineering and the natural sciences, reviewed many articles for research journals, published a textbook in computer systems, and published numerous journal and conference papers. During this time he also co-founded and was the first President of Andyne Computing Limited, which grew to be a successful public company marketing business software. His research and technical interests include computer systems, software engineering, telecommunications, computer security, and critical computer systems.

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Jeff Karon is a writer, teacher, and consultant who has helped students and professionals for over twenty years. He has edited, revised, and proofread publications that include reports, theses, dissertations, textbooks, proposals, essays, stories, and articles. His Ph.D. is in English (MLA) with a specialization in Rhetoric and Composition, a choice that signals his devotion to clarity and power in language. Prior to his years as an English professor, he studied and taught philosophy, critical thinking, and logic, publishing in these fields as well as in literary studies. He has led writing and editing workshops for students, teachers, and artists. Currently, he is leading creativity workshops and developing ways to build honor in the classroom and workplace.

As a writer and teacher, he believes that we should strive for excellence by practicing effective and fair techniques at all times. He has combined a life-long interest in the martial arts with writing: if you choose to work with him, he will ensure that your writing is powerful, not merely competent.

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Melody Lark earned a Ph.D. in political science and education, M.A. in international studies (politics and policy), MBA in finance and marketing, and BA in economics and administrative studies. She also earned two accredited certificates in adolescent substance abuse treatment. Lark has advised more than 80 doctoral students.

She focuses on: 1. Content (lyrics), which addresses the introduction; thesis, hypothesis, or research questions; literature review and synthesis; data collection, coding, analysis; literature review and synthesis; implications; recommendations; and conclusions. 2. University Guidelines, which includes the title page, abstract, level headings, tables, charts, citations, quotations, and references. 3. Mechanics and Style (rhythm), which includes grammar; word usage; punctuation; spelling; sentences that are active, clear, complete, concise, interesting, and relevant; smooth transitions for flow; and scholarly tone.

Topics: business, economics, education, ethics, government (international relations, law, policy, politics, programs) health, human resources, human services, philosophy, qualitative and quantitative research/statistics, substance abuse (enforcement, prevention, and treatment programs)

Scope of service: content editing; copyediting; hypotheses; thesis statements; research questions; data instruments (data collection, retrieval, coding, analysis, interpretation); research implications; recommendations; conclusions; proposals; longitudinal data analysis; cross sectional data analysis; defense preparation; report writing; grant writing.

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Suzanne Manness,  Ph.D., is an English professor who teaches APA, MLA, Chicago/ Turabian, Harvard, AMA, and AAA documentation styles in her research writing classes. She has edited many college textbooks and professional articles and has extensive experience in editing, proofreading, and formatting theses and dissertations. She specializes in proofreading and formatting articles for APA journals. She is known for a special ability to help international / ESL students, her attention to detail, and her quick turnaround time. She is popular among Nova, Capella, and Walden students.

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Dr. Diane Marin is a nurse with extensive experience in both nursing education and nursing practice. She is an expert in distance education for nurses and allied health professionals. She recently served as Dean of a School of Nursing. In addition Dr. Marin has extensive experience in clinical practice in nursing having been an executive and leader in the areas of home health and hospice. She managed large for profit and not-for-profit home health companies. She has also served as a consultant both in health care and in nursing education programs. Dr. Marin has authored several textbooks for nurses and allied health professionals as well as journal articles on home health, quality improvement and patient classification.

She is an action-oriented mentor who will provide support, guidance and insight as you work to refine and complete your dissertation. Dr. Marin currently consults and teaches for several national distance education universities in their schools of nursing.

She lives and works from her home in a suburb of Chicago. Some of her key professional accomplishments include:

• Designing and implementing 2 MSN programs for an online university
• Implementing an Associate Degree program in nursing that combines online learning with onsite clinical education
• Presenting at the International Conference on Telemedicine in London on remote patient monitoring in the home setting
• Achieving program accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for online BSN degree program
• Writing and publishing two textbooks for nurses and for medical assistants
• Leading the nations first national accreditation effort in home health for the JCAHO
• Directing clinical services for a national home health company consisting of 30 agencies

Education:

• PhD in Nursing (1990). Awarded as the John and Helen Kellogg Scholar
• MSN, Community Nurse Practitioner (1986)
• BSN, Loyola University of Chicago, School of Nursing (1974)

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Ronald B. Marks, PhD was a marketing professor, now retired from the University of Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri - Columbia, with a major in Marketing and minor in statistics. During his thirty year career, he taught undergraduate and graduate market research and multivariate statistics amongst other courses. He made extensive usage of SPSS, Minitab, and LISREL in both teaching and research. His research credentials in the use of multivariate statistics are evidenced in articles, such as: "A Structural Equation Model of Predictors for Effective Online Learning," Journal of Management Education, 29 (4), August, 2005 and "Psychometric Evaluation of the ADAPTS Scale," Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Vol. XVI (4) (Fall, 1996, 53-56)

He attended seminars in "Multivariate Statistics" at the University of Colorado and "General Structural Equation ("Lisrel") Models," (Introduction and Advanced) at the Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also conducted similar faculty seminars in Multivariate Statistics at the University of Wisconsin.

In counseling dissertation students and business clients, his experience is that "a problem well defined is half solved." Or as Tom Peters suggested in his best-selling book on management, "if you don't know where you are going, you are likely to end up somewhere else." That is, no matter how arcane the statistics employed, they will never compensate for poorly stated hypotheses and literature review. Hence, when consulting with students, he helps them first develop lucid, operational hypotheses and then determines which statistical methods to use, rather than the converse.

Scope: multivariate statistics, behavioral sciences, marketing research, research design, SPSS, Minitab, structural equation modeling (LISREL), survey research, web-based surveys, quantitative methods, correlation, ANOVA, MANOVA, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, factor analysis, methodology chapter editing, nonparametric tests (such as chi-square or Mann-Whitney U Test), statistical application to social science data (e.g. psychology, sociology, economics) and business data (e.g. finance, business, and marketing), can aid with set-up of data files, analysis of sample characteristics, can also help develop persuasive Power Point presentations for oral defenses or business presentations.

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Jim McDonough, PhD enjoys helping students and young professionals plan research, organize it, evaluate the soundness of the argumentation, and write and rewrite the English until it is publishable, and, sometimes, to publicize it.

He also enjoys helping persons with Ph.D.s prepare their dissertation or other research for publication by university presses and trade publishers.

Subjects taught in original language: Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Greek comedy, Greek tragedy, Greek and Roman drama, Greek philosophy, Menander. 

Subjects taught in English translations: mythology, religion, ancient history, slavery, feminism, ancient art, classical tradition, medicine (language and history), English composition, English literature (the classics), urban studies, musicology.

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Elizabeth L. Pearman, Ph.D. designs surveys, analyzes data using SAS and SPSS, develops research designs, and is a qualitative design and qualitative analysis consultant. She teaches masters- and doctoral-level research methods, qualitative methods, program evaluation, statistical programming, and lifespan development. She has served on 25 dissertation committees and has consulted with another 40+ doctoral students on design, statistics, statistical programming, and conceptualization.

She can make statistics understandable, will help you develop and edit your methodology chapter, assist you in understanding your data, help you with formulating your research questions, and guide you from the conceptualization of your dissertation/thesis to the defense so you will learn and understand your data, results, and study.

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Les Roka has been a public relations professor at Utah State University and the University of Utah. He received his Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication from Ohio University.

He empathizes with those undertaking extensive writing projects, and he is willing to help writers meet the challenge at virtually any stage of the writing process — from selecting topics to framing good research questions to organizing content and to presenting results and conclusions in clear, detailed language. He is comfortable in a fairly wide realm of topics, which extend beyond public relations, including journalism history, popular culture, criticism, integrated marketing communication, public policy issue management, crisis communication, and media message planning and management for organizations.

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Her areas of interest include: health care, health policy, health management, rural and urban health issues, health promotion specially changing behavior developing and utilizing evidenced based interventions, performance improvement, quality management, leadership, evidenced-based medicine, organizational development, and health disparities.

With over a decade of dissertation experience, Dr. Santos provides expert guidance and consultation on selecting a topic, narrowing your focus and crafting your research question (s), determining the best research design, specific step by step study implementation including designing tools, instruments, sample selection, and collection of data.  Her expertise also includes consultation and guidance on the construction of each chapter and productive ways to communicate and problem solve with your committee members.  Prior to Dr Santos’ role as a dissertation chair and methodology advisor, she spent over twenty years in the health care field in leadership and research roles in many areas of the country. 

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Elana Shippen, P.E., is a licensed professional engineer in mechanical engineering with 22 years of experience, including 14 years in the aerospace industry with the Boeing Company, where she worked as an engineering manager and lead project engineer in their commercial airplanes program. She has a very strong background in mathematics, engineering, technical communication, and project management.

Elana completed the Technical Writing and Editing Certificate Program at the University of Washington in 2001. She is experienced with various style manuals.

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Christine D. Tomei, PhD,  was a professor in departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures. She is currently working in academic research. Her book, Russian Women Writers (Garland Press, 1999) met with widespread critical acclaim and has become a standard reference in the field. It was also awarded the Heldt Prize for Best Book in 1999.

She has assisted graduate students at all levels in the preparation and presentation of research for over 10 years, with considerable success. Some of her students/advisees have gone on to win awards themselves.

She is proficient in MS-Office, including Powerpoint, Excel and Access, and has created documents in these formats for many purposes.

Courses taught: Freshman humanities, general education, English as a second language, Russian language; Russian romanticism & realism, women in Russia and the U.S.S.R., the silver age in Russia, Soviet socialist realism, Soviet film, nineteenth-century literature, Russian intellectual history, twentieth century, Russian literature, nineteeth-century Russian literature, Russian folklore.

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Dr. Jan Visser earned his Ph.D. in psychology in 1998. He worked as an assistant professor and currently combines teaching with a career as a fiction author. Jan has published twelve academic texts and two fiction novels. His scholarly writing is clear, concise, and to the point, while his creative writing can be described as passionate and engaging. Jan teaches Scholarly Writing and Research Design for Walden University, and he has extensive experience guiding students through the process of writing their thesis or dissertation. He consistently receives excellent evaluations from his students, who praise his commitment and the quality of his feedback.

Jan will help you design your research and write your thesis or dissertation. He can also give general advice on the use of statistics. His strengths include:

1. A thorough knowledge of research design and statistics, including t-tests, ANOVA, MANOVA, regression analysis, factor analysis, and cluster analysis—he can help you determine what type of analysis you should use for your particular research question.

2. A talent for spotting weaknesses in the design of a study—if you're still in the early stages of your research, he can help you improve your design and put you on the right track.

3. A knack for presenting complex material in easily accessible prose—he will not write your thesis or dissertation for you, but he will assist you in creating a well-written, comprehensible text.

4. Attention to detail—although Jan does not do copy-editing, he will point out errors in spelling and grammar, as part of his writing assistance.

5. A quick turnaround time—you'll have your stuff back before you can say floccinaucinihilipilification (this is a word, believe it or not).

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Barbara von Diether has an Ed.D. from Brigham Young University and was the graduate research and writing coordinator at Utah State University for 12 years. She counseled over 300 students a year who were seeking help with the graduate process, and published a Publication Guide for Graduate Students (Utah State University Press, 1980).

She was the final editorial review for theses and dissertations from 54 departments. She has an M.Ed. from Utah State University in education technology. President of the Utah Conference of the American Association of University Professors, she met with the Board of Regents and college and university presidents to resolve faculty conflicts. She wrote grants for research funding that supported graduate students.

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