W&L Welcomes New Fixed-Term Faculty, Fellows and Assistant Coaches Twenty-eight new faculty and staff members are joining the university this year.
Washington and Lee University has welcomed 28 fixed-term faculty members, fellows and coaches to new positions across the College, the Williams School and the Law School this fall.
These new additions are:
Emma Aldrich ’22, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering
Aldrich returns to W&L after earning a Ph.D. in biological engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. She also holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and biology from W&L. Her research and teaching interests include computational modeling of biological systems, molecular dynamics simulations, cancer immunotherapy and interdisciplinary science communication.
Brett Cain, Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Cain arrives at W&L after one year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He also served as a graduate researcher and teaching assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2024. Cain also holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in microbiology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research and teaching interests are medicinal chemistry, antibiotic discovery and development and the chemistry of cooking.
ShaLeigh Comerford, Visiting Assistant Professor and Head of the Dance Program
Comerford was promoted to visiting assistant professor and head of the dance program after nearly six years as an adjunct instructor of dance. She has been a guest professor at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the artistic director at ShaLeigh Dance Works since 2005. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in studio art, with a minor in creative writing, and a Master of Arts in visual and performing arts from Hollins University. Her teaching and research interests are disability-led artistic practice, accessibility in the arts, contemporary dance and choreography, devised and interdisciplinary performance, collaborative creative practice and inclusive pedagogy.
Michaela Cushing-Daniels, Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
Cushing-Daniels comes to W&L from the University of Pittsburgh, where she recently earned a Ph.D. in public policy and served as a teaching assistant. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in political science and government from Boston University. Her teaching and research interests include hyper incarceration, social policy, local politics and policymaking and federalism.
Raja Das, Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology
Das returns to W&L after one year as a visiting assistant professor at Trinity College for the 2025-26 academic year. He served as a postdoctoral fellow in earth and environmental geoscience at W&L during the 2024-25 academic year after receiving a Ph.D. in geospatial analytics from North Carolina State. He also holds a Master of Science in geosciences with a concentration in geospatial analysis from East Tennessee State University. His teaching and research interests include landslide hazards and risk modeling, InSAR-based ground deformation monitoring and machine learning for geospatial and earth science applications.
Clay Denstorff, Assistant Football Coach
Denstorff joins the W&L football staff from Allegheny College, where he served as an assistant coach for the last two seasons, including as recruiting coordinator during his last season. As a player, he was a two-year captain at Denison University, earning all-conference honors three times. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and was named the team’s top defensive player each of his final two seasons.
Zannatul Ferdous, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Ferdous arrives at W&L from George Mason University, where she was an adjunct professor of biology since January 2026. She has also taught at Trinity Washington University and the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and was a graduate student researcher at Imperial College London (U.K.) where she earned a Ph.D. in life sciences research. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology and a Master of Science in public health from Dhaka, a master’s degree in oncology and cancer biology from the University of Leicester (U.K.) and a master’s degree in data science from Eastern University in Pennsylvania. Her teaching and research interests are artificial intelligence and machine learning in biology and medicine, computational biology and bioinformatics, infectious diseases and molecular biology and genomics.
Bobby Griffith, Assistant Men’s Lacrosse Coach
Griffith was elevated to assistant coach after serving as a volunteer assistant coach during the 2026 season. Prior to coming to W&L, he served as a graduate assistant coach at Messiah University and was an assistant coach for the Team 91 Maryland club lacrosse team. Griffith holds a Bachelor of Science in political science from West Chester University.
Benjamin Hornyak, Visiting Instructor of Sculpture
Hornyak arrives at W&L from Virginia Tech, where he was a lead consultant in the prototyping studio. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative technologies from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in animation from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. His teaching and research interests include assemblage art, figural sculpture and 3D animation.
Ryan Jones, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Jones joins the W&L faculty after nine years as a researcher at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. He also served as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Colorado Denver, earning a Master of Science and Ph.D. in integrative and systems biology. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from Hope College. His teaching and research interests include evolutionary biology, systematics, arachnology and computational biology.
Maiko Kawano, Instructor of Japanese
Kawano comes to W&L from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she served as a graduate teaching assistant while earning a Master of Arts in Japanese linguistics. Her teaching and research interests include pragmatics, sociolinguistics, linguistic landscape studies and foreign language teaching.
Tucker Kindig, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach/Assistant Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Coach
Kindig joins the W&L Department of Athletics from Shenandoah University, where he was an assistant track and field coach for the past two years. His work experience also includes working as a sports performance coach at FASST Sports Performance in Winchester, Virginia, since 2021. Kindig earned a Bachelor of Science in exercise science and a Master of Science in organizational leadership from Shenandoah, where he was a member of the track and field team as an undergraduate student. As an athlete, he was a three-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion and three-time All-American in the throwing events. Kindig is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
Hye Rin Lee, Visiting Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
Lee arrives at W&L from the University of Georgia, where she served as a postdoctoral researcher and teaching associate at the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research. She has also served as an adjunct professor at California State University, Long Beach, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Delaware. Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology from Franklin & Marshall College and a Ph.D. in education from the University of California, Irvine. Her teaching and research interests include achievement motivation, self-regulated learning, learning technologies and analytics, equity in STEM education and psychological interventions.
Johanna Lehnert, Visiting Instructor of German
Lehnert was promoted to visiting instructor of German after joining the university as a teaching assistant in August 2025. She recently earned a Master of Arts in American studies and German from University Duisburg-Essen (Germany). She also holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and teaching from the University of Cologne (Germany). Her teaching and research interests are German as a second and foreign language, inclusive and project-based language pedagogy, content and language integrated learning and academic writing.
Quinn Lester, Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
Lester returns to W&L from Johns Hopkins University, where he served as a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the university writing program. He also served as a visiting assistant professor at George Washington University after serving as a visiting assistant professor at W&L in 2022. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics and religious studies from Pomona College and a Ph.D. in political theory from Johns Hopkins. His teaching and research interests involve American political thought, democratic theory and police studies.
Kathryn Levasseur, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Levasseur comes to W&L from Davidson College, where she served as a visiting assistant professor of biology. She holds a Ph.D. in integrative biology from the University of South Carolina. Her teaching and research interests are molecular ecology, conservation genetics and marine conservation.
Katherine Mann, Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics
Mann arrives at W&L from the University of Cambridge (U.K.) where she earned a Ph.D. in politics and international studies in 2026. She served as a visiting scholar at Columbia University in 2024 and as a visiting researcher at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) in 2023. Mann holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international affairs from the University of Georgia and a Master of Philosophy in international relations from the University of Oxford (U.K.). Her teaching and research interests include global politics, gender and politics and qualitative research methods.
Molly McLaughlin, Assistant Equestrian Coach
McLaughlin joins the W&L athletics department from Wofford College, where she served as an assistant coach for the past two seasons. She was also the head coach of the equestrian program at the University of South Carolina Aiken during the 2023-24 campaign, and she has built an extensive background in horse training and barn management. She currently serves as the barn manager for Meghan Perry Eventing in Aiken, South Carolina, overseeing the daily operations of a 20-plus horse training facility. McLaughlin holds a Bachelor of Arts in business from Randolph College.
Madison Neuner, Assistant Cross Country and Assistant Track and Field Coach
Neuner comes to W&L from American University, where she served as assistant coach for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams and assisted the Athletic Communications Office. A 2024 qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Neuner competed collegiately at Northeastern University before completing a graduate year at Syracuse University. She was the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Northeastern and earned First Team All-ACC honors in the same event while at Syracuse. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication studies from Northeastern and a Master of Arts in magazine, news and digital journalism from Syracuse.
Nandita Punj, Visiting Assistant Professor of Asian Art
Punj joins the W&L faculty after serving as a postdoctoral scholar in Jain studies at Arizona State University. She previously served as a senior lecturer at the University of Delhi (India) where she earned a Ph.D. in history. She also earned a Ph.D. in art history from Rutgers University. Her teaching and research interests include early modern South Asian painting, regional artistic networks, diasporic art and identity, 18th-century India, religion, ritual and visual culture.
Gabrielle Roehr, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics
Roehr arrives at W&L from the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as a teaching assistant in Latin, Greek, ancient history and literature while earning a Ph.D. in classical studies. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in classics and art history from New York University. Roehr’s teaching and research interests include Greek and Latin literature, classical mythology, women in antiquity, reception of classical literature and fiber arts in antiquity.
Mary Foil Russell, Visiting Director of the Black Lung Clinic
Russell comes to W&L from the Appalachian School of Law, where she was an assistant professor of law for three years. Prior to that, she practiced law in Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee, representing state and local governments and their employees. She holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in individual directions from Carson-Newman University. Her teaching and research interests are in state and local government and appellate advocacy.
Poorya Shobeiry, Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics and Engineering
Shobeiry returns to W&L after a year’s absence. He previously served as a visiting assistant professor of engineering during the 2024-25 academic year. Before W&L, he was a teaching assistant at the University of Missouri and Purdue University Fort Wayne. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Razi University (Iran), a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Iran) and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri. His teaching and research interests include control and autonomous systems, computational modeling and simulation and engineering education.
Francisco Tijerina, Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
Tijerina arrives at W&L from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a graduate student lecturer while earning a Ph.D. in Hispanic studies. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication and digital media and Master of Arts in humanistic studies from Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). His teaching and research interests are ecofeminism and environmental studies, gender and sexuality studies, climate and science fiction literature and Mexican and Latin American literature and theory.
Benjamin Valen, Visiting Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
Valen joins the W&L faculty from Syracuse University, where he recently earned a Ph.D. in social psychology while serving as a graduate teaching instructor and graduate research fellow through the National Science Foundation. Valen also holds a Master of Science in psychology from Syracuse and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from New College of Florida. His research and teaching interests include social psychology, prejudice and intergroup relations, LGBTQ+ stigma and health disparities and mixed-methods research.
Lily van Diepen, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics
Van Diepen was promoted to visiting assistant professor after serving as an adjunct professor at W&L since 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary classics from New York University as well as a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of Virginia. Her teaching and research interests are Roman history, Latin historiography, Roman law and Tacitus.
Christian Walkes, Postdoctoral Fellow in Southern Race Relations, Culture and Politics
Walkes comes to W&L from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he was an adjunct lecturer with the Museum of African American History. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and secondary education from UMass Boston and also holds a Master of Arts in educational studies from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in education from Harvard University. His teaching and research interests include critical theories of race and schooling, African American history and history of American education.
Jeremy West, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater
West joins the W&L faculty from the Silver Line Theater Exchange in Staunton, Virginia. He was the founding artistic director and also served as an instructor there. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Jacksonville State University and an MFA in staging Shakespeare from the University of Exeter (U.K.). His teaching and research interests include staging violence for theater and film, Shakespeare and Brecht theater.
