Dr. Janet Parker joined Cumberland University in fall of 2018 as Director of the Master of Arts in Education Program and Assistant Professor.  Prior to arriving at Cumberland, Dr. Parker was an assistant professor with Delta State University in Mississippi where she instructed undergraduate and graduate courses, chaired and supported doctorate students on dissertations, and served the campus community in multiple service projects including developing a partnership with local schools. In addition, she has taught courses at University of Phoenix and Columbia State Community College. She dedicated 30 years of service to students and teachers in K-12 education in elementary, middle school, and high school programs with diverse populations, serving in special needs classrooms, gifted programs, and general population instructional services. Dr. Parker was a Principal in private school settings in Louisiana and Tennessee, literacy coach, mathematics and literacy interventionist, and middle school and high school classroom teacher.

Dr. Parker holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Reading from Tennessee State University (2014), an Educational Specialist degree in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University (2001), a Master of Arts degree in English from Austin Peay State University (1985), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary and Special Education with a Fine Arts minor from Michigan State University (1978). With a focus in literacy, she holds multiple Tennessee state license endorsements and is National Board Certified with the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and LETRS trainer certification for Literacy. Her primary focus in recent years has been literacy; she has conducted research in early literacy of kindergartners in highest poverty areas and English Language Learners, and has presented this research at research conferences. Her presentations of creating interactive and engaging classrooms have been presented at international, state, regional, and local conferences.

She recently transitioned from full-time to adjunct faculty to spend more time with her family.

Jessica began her career at Cumberland University in the Fall of 2012. Prior to her arrival at the University, she was an Associate Director at the Middle TN YMCA, where she led the Brentwood YMCA youth sports program and various wellness initiatives at the Donelson YMCA.

Ms. Padgett holds a Bachelor of Psychology from Mount Holyoke College, A Master of Education in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership from the University of Washington, and a Master of Science in Physical Education from Cumberland University.

In addition to her intercollegiate career as an NCAA athlete in both women’s soccer and women’s crew, Jessica has served on the Board of Directors for Nashville Youth Soccer Association and has coached for Eagle Express and Wilson United Soccer Club.

Jessica’s published research includes that with the Academic Surgical Congress examining surgical resident wellness and opportunities for improvement.

Josh Mills grew up in Lebanon and then went to college at Tennessee Technological University, in Cookeville. While in graduate school, Josh went to Japan for a semester to teach English and help pioneer an electronic exchange program between TTU and Dohto University. This was in 2002, when the movement to online classes were new. While in graduate school, Josh developed a love of travel and other cultures, which eventually grew into a love of other languages. Mr. Mills poorly speaks Japanese, French and Spanish. Teaching composition is a lot of fun, and very interesting, but, done properly, takes a fair amount of time. When the pandemic began, Josh moved back to Lebanon with his family and started teaching at Cumberland.

For fun, Josh likes to read a lot, which makes being an English teacher a good choice. Listing books or authors or genres would become tedious fairly quickly, so basically everything except sports. Josh is going to start writing his first book this semester. For non-verbal fun, Josh enjoys juggling, meditation, and martial arts.

Chris Link is an Adjunct Instructor in the Sociology teaching Introduction to Sociology. He is employed full time at Friendship Christian School in Lebanon, Tennessee, where he leads the Social Studies faculty and teaches Dual Enrollment classes in U.S. History, Government, Political Science, Economics, and Sociology. Mr. Link also teaches electives in Criminal Justice and International Current Events.

He is a resident of Gallatin, Tennessee, and a graduate of Gallatin High School. Mr. Link completed his B.S. in Criminal Justice at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), M.A. in Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Master of Education (M.Ed.) at Lipscomb University. He has completed additional graduate work toward a M.A. in History at MTSU.

Chris has been involved in education and training for over 20 years, ten years with the State of Tennessee, primarily in Corrections, and a total of ten years with Metro Nashville Public Schools and Friendship Christian School.

Mr. Link owned and operated a promotional marketing and advertising company with his wife and two business associates for nearly 30 years before selling the firm to an industry competitor.

He has been married to his wife Becky for 40 years and is the parent of three adult children: Ethan, Seth, and Sarah. He is also the proud grandfather of two girls, Prefella and Rukmini Ballal-Link.