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The University of �˻�ֱ�� College of Education Alumni Network will honor six outstanding alumni at the  on September 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. 

Julia Kelly Bialeski ’05 will receive the 2025 College of Education Outstanding Alumni Award. Given to a nominee who has demonstrated excellence through leadership and innovation, this award recognizes an individual who has become a pillar of their respective field or area through service, entrepreneurship or academic scholarship. They may have led or inspired change, risen to esteemed positions or exceptionally served their community. 

Bialeski has dedicated her 20-year career to leadership within public education. She has served as an elementary school teacher, instructional specialist, assistant principal, principal and coordinator of recruitment and hiring. As an instructional specialist for elementary science, Bialeski revised the Montgomery County Public Schools’ curriculum in an innovative way to combine content with a focus on developing students’ thinking and academic success skills. As a principal, she repaired damaged relationships between her school and community by partnering with the PTA to lead a book study on restorative justice in education with staff and by implementing other social justice efforts with the students, parents, community members and district leadership. As an assistant principal, Bialeski served as a coach for new assistant principals and as a mentor to teachers who were completing their coursework and internships to achieve their Administrator I certification. In November 2024, Bialeski’s book “Leading with Grace: Cultivating Hope, Authenticity, and a Focus on People Throughout the Leadership Lifespan” was published by SchoolRubric, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting and sharing information with educators around the world. Bialeski is currently the coordinator of recruitment and hiring for the �˻�ֱ��ard County Public School System (HCPSS), where she led an effort to redesign an outdated application and applicant tracking system, leading to more efficient hiring practices and helping to fill vacancies. She is also actively involved with the HCPSS Department of Special Education, Office of Teacher and Paraprofessional Development to establish a cohort of displaced federal workers who are interested in making a career change to special education.

Barbara Friedlander ’85, M.A. ’90, is the recipient of the 2025 Linda Pieplow Alumni Volunteer of the Year Award. Named in honor of the inaugural award recipient, Linda Pieplow, a career teacher and dedicated alumni volunteer, this award is given to a nominee who has demonstrated continued support, involvement and volunteerism to the College of Education.

Since 2018, Friedlander has served as an enthusiastic board member on the College of Education Alumni Network Board. She has volunteered countless hours to engaging alumni and designing professional development opportunities for everyone from current students to retired educators. By the time her tenure as president was coming to an end in 2024, Friedlander had led the Alumni Network to the highest levels of alumni engagement in its history and contributed to the board receiving two awards from the �˻�ֱ�� Alumni Association, the 2024 Network of the Year and the 2023 Do Good Service Award. Beyond her volunteer efforts with the alumni network, Friedlander also presented the idea for an Aspiring Teachers Conference that would leverage partnerships with the �˻�ֱ�� chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children, local school districts, �˻�ֱ�� Department of Education facilitators and the �˻�ֱ�� chapter of the Teacher Education Association for �˻�ֱ�� Students. Held in 2024, the conference was hugely successful in providing a unique opportunity for aspiring educators to engage in professional development, learn valuable strategies and acquire essential skills. Friedlander is not just a passionate volunteer; she is also a cheerleader, advocate and educational leader for the College of Education who strives for excellence in all that she does. Professionally, Friedlander served over 35 years in various roles with Montgomery County Public Schools and Frederick County Public Schools, including 20 years as a special educator. Currently, she is a national professional development specialist for FullBloom and an educational consultant providing professional development that promotes equity and inclusion practices. 

The Alumni Network will bestow the College of Education Alumni Student Impact Award upon two recipients: Linda Mason M.Ed. ’94, Ph.D. ’02, and Darryl Williams Ed.D. ’11. Intended as a lifetime achievement award, this honor is given to nominees who have dedicated their careers in service to students. It recognizes the contributions of alumni whose longevity in their positions or careers has allowed them to have a significant, positive impact on countless students.

Mason is a well-published researcher within the field of special education. Her work has examined underserved schools and students with disabilities in both urban and rural settings. Through her research beginning in the late 1990s, Mason pushed the boundaries of  (SRSD), an evidence-based writing practice that follows six structured stages. She was among the first to conduct SRSD research in middle and high schools, and her SRSD research and strategies are implemented in classrooms worldwide. Mason has developed several highly effective approaches to address the complex areas of reading to learn and writing. Her work has had a lasting impact not only on the students she worked with directly but also with special education students across the United States, Mexico, Europe and China with regard to general education and literacy education. Mason began her career as a special education teacher in the �˻�ֱ��ard County Public School System and has recently retired from her position as professor of special education and the endowed director of the Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities at George Mason University. There, she was responsible for directing, facilitating and disseminating research findings in the area of special education.

Williams’ dedication to educational equity began early in his career, as a high school math teacher and principal in Montgomery County Public Schools. There, he cultivated inclusive, high-performing learning environments and later rose to serve as associate superintendent, overseeing school performance, professional development and the school improvement process at 70 schools. His ability to inspire change and build capacity across systems later took him to the national stage as a network superintendent for the Houston Independent School District, where he led transformation efforts in some of the city's most challenged schools. As superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, he advanced strategic priorities in academic achievement, equity and postsecondary readiness while guiding more than 111,000 students and 21,000 employees through the complexities of a global pandemic. Now a senior advisor at Morgan State University’s Center for Educational Opportunity, Williams continues to mentor leaders and shape policies that center access and equity in urban education. Williams is not only a pillar in the field of educational leadership but also a dedicated servant to historically underserved communities. His career reflects the very best of the University of �˻�ֱ��’s legacy: leadership with purpose, innovation rooted in equity, and a lifelong commitment to student success.

Two alumni will be honored with the College of Education Alumni Changemaker Award: Daman Harris Ph.D. ’14 and Angela Stoltz Ph.D. ’19. This award is given to nominees who have “changed the conversation” in the field of education through their work in the pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion. This award recognizes alumni whose work has served or focused on historically marginalized populations and has offered new perspectives, broken away from traditional understanding or created notable change in experiences and outcomes. 

Harris’ partnership with the College of Education has been pivotal in bringing �˻�ֱ��’s Creative Initiatives for Teacher Education (CITE) program to Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS). CITE enables conditionally licensed educators and paraeducators to pursue or obtain their master of education degree in elementary education while maintaining their full-time positions. Harris has been a leading advocate for these learners, ensuring that as many educators as possible can access the necessary educational opportunities to advance their careers. The partnership model developed by the College of Education with AACPS through the CITE program serves as a prototype for future collaborations with other districts, aiming to extend educational opportunities to even more educators and paraeducators in our local communities. Harris began his career as a second grade teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools, has served as a principal and assistant principal for Montgomery County Public Schools, and is currently the senior manager for educator advancement and institutions of higher education partnerships for AACPS. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Building Our Network of Diversity (BOND) Project, a nonprofit that supports the recruitment, development, retention and empowerment of male educators of color. He is also the author of the 2023 book “The Antiracist School Leader: What to Know, Say, & Do.”

Stoltz is an associate clinical professor at the �˻�ֱ�� College of Education, where she provides exceptional instruction and serves as a principal investigator on numerous research projects and as the professional development school coordinator for the middle school math and sciences program. Her scholarly and professional contributions have shifted discourse and actions around science education and teacher education in the college through a sustained commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Her work centers on historically marginalized populations, challenging prevailing paradigms around educational experiences and outcomes for diverse students and communities. As an affiliate fellow for the �˻�ֱ�� Honors College, she initiated the first Piscataway-led course on campus and will soon lead a new course for the Biodiversity & Threats cluster. This course will extend existing relationships with tribal and environmental science partners who are co-developing K-12 science curricula to integrate Indigenous Knowledge to challenge assumptions about science and Eurocentric narratives in biodiversity discussions. Her work with the �˻�ֱ�� KidWind Initiative–a hands-on, clean energy design and construction student program focused on wind and solar power–engages students in STEM through the lens of renewable energy and exemplifies her commitment to integrating experiential learning opportunities in STEM education.