Contact

Dr. Valerie Imbruce (She/Her)

Director

Dr. Valerie Imbruce is Director of the External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center at Binghamton University. Her teaching and scholarship focus on sustainable food systems, ecological agriculture, food justice, community engagement and place-based education. She also specializes in educational program design and assessment and academic advising. Her work has been supported by grants from SUNY, the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment of the Humanities and the US Department of Education. Imbruce is author of the book “From Farm to Canal Street: Chinatown’s Alternative Food Network in the Global Marketplace” with Cornell University Press. She holds a Ph.D. in Economic Botany from the City University of New York and the New York Botanical Garden and a B.A. in Environmental Science from Binghamton University. Read more about her work here: www.valerie-imbruce.com.

Dr. Imbruce has two boys, two English setters, a cat, and a betta fish. She loves to cook and explore cuisines of the world, and to spend time outdoors on the river, the lake, in the woods or just relaxing on the back deck.

Regina Nguyen (She/Her)

McNair Scholars Program Assistant Director

Shermont Bradwell (They/Them)

Diversity and Outreach Coordinator

Shermont is an Undergraduate Research Ambassador and a graduating senior. They major in psychology and are a research assistant in the Binghamton Human Sexualities Lab. 

Outside of school they enjoy watching drama and horror films and TV (not finished). You may also find them enjoying themselves in the nature preserve!

Susan Flynn (She/Her)

Faculty Fellow

Gervlyne Auguste (She/Her)

McNair Scholars Program Coordinator

Gervlyne Auguste currently serves as the program coordinator for the Ronald E. McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Scholars Program). She brings over 15 years of experience in educational and administrative management. Her academic experiences serve as an important framework that better allows her to understand and identify with a diverse range of students. Gervlyne's familiarities of being a first-generation college student with English as a second language present the main ideals that are the backbone of her educational philosophy. As a project coordinator, her primary mission is to help students navigate successfully through their academic careers while exploring their educational and career options. Her immediate responsibility is to prepare students to be self-sufficient and life-long learners. Her obligation is to contribute and remain attentive to issues pertaining to student services and retention. This is especially important when addressing the needs of underrepresented and underserved students.

In her spare time, she serves on several nongovernmental organizations as an advocate for better access to education, youth development and women owned businesses reaching life-long independence.

Gervlyne holds a Masters in Science degree with an Administration and Planning concentration from the University of Massachusetts in Boston and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Emmanuel College, Boston. 

Umme Ayman (She/Her)

Office Assistant