Adjunct Teaching & Learning Faculty Fellow

Meet your Adjunct Faculty Fellow

The Faculty Fellows at the NECC Center for Professional Development are available for individual and group coaching on all aspects of the teaching experience. Check out their bios below and reach out for tips, support and creative ideas for the classroom – or just to ask a question.

Picture of Maurisa Charest

Maurisa (Reese) Charest

Adjunct Faculty Fellow
Early College/Communications/Liberal Arts
Email: mcharest@necc.mass.edu 

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Maurisa (Reese) has been living in Massachusetts since 2012. She continues a fulfilling career of almost 20 years in Higher Ed. She has an AA, BA and MA in Theatre. She has created theatre programs for local dance schools and community theatres. At NECC, she has had the pleasure to teach so many outstanding students, including those in Early College. Maurisa has completed: Teaching and Learning Academy 2018, Certified in Mental Health First Aid USA, Study Abroad Program teaching Public Speaking in Greece 2019, iTeach Training 2020, Leadership Academy 2021 and currently excited to continue her journey as an Adjunct Faculty Fellow. Aside from teaching, she acts, directs, and writes plays.

Kristen Sparrow

Faculty Fellow
Assistant Professor, Computer Information Sciences 
Email: ksparrow@necc.mass.edu 

Kristen Sparrow is an Assistant Professor in the department of Computer Information Sciences. She taught as an adjunct at the college for 18 years before being hired as fulltime faculty member in 2018. Beginning 2019 she worked with the Accessible Media team at the college to provide professional development opportunities for faculty on the use of Blackboard, Microsoft Teams, and Kaltura Video software, as means to create accessible course materials.  Kristen is an advocate for Universal Design for Learning and was a co-presenter of “The Approachable Syllabus: Lessons in Universal Design for Learning & Beyond “(Acevedo / Sparrow) at the 2021 NERCOMP conference.

Kristen was a 2020 NISOD recipient and has received a COD (Course of Distinction) Award from Massachusetts Colleges Online for her hybrid/online course, Introduction to Computer Science.  In her free time Kristen enjoys running, gardening, knitting, and spending time with her family.