North Country Ambassadors
About North Country Ambassadors:
During the search process, job candidates may have a wide range of questions about what it is like to live and work in “the North Country”. These more personal or non-job-related questions can be important to job candidates, some of whom might wish to consult with others outside of the search committee or department members.
For this reason, we have recruited a number of faculty members to be North Country Ambassadors. Their role is to meet with job candidates to discuss what it is like to live in the North Country, using their own personal, community experiences to help answer questions that job candidates might have.
Faculty job candidates will be given the opportunity to meet with or speak to a North Country Ambassador of their choice. The Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty will work directly with the job candidate to arrange this communication and will not share any information about the request with the department or search committee.
The Ambassador meeting with a job candidate must come from outside of the department that is hiring; the ambassador will provide no feedback or information to members of the department or search committee to maintain the legitimacy of the search and hiring process and allow the candidate to gain valuable insight about our campus and community.
Shinu Abraham
Professor of Anthropology
My parents moved to the US from India when I was a year old, and I’ve spent most of my life in upstate New York. I graduated from Waverly High School near Elmira, NY, and then went to India to earn a BA in psychology. After that, I returned to the U.S to get an M.A. in International Communications from American University in Washington, DC. In my 20s, I worked for several years doing editorial work for a publishing company in Boston, after which I decided to return to school for a Ph.D. I began in the anthropology graduate program at Binghamton University, and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where I earned a Ph.D. in Anthropological Archaeology in 2003. My research focuses on early South Indian history, ancient Indian Ocean trade, and glass and glass bead production and trade. Right after graduation, I joined St. Lawrence University as a visiting assistant professor and was fortunate to be hired soon after as an assistant professor. I earned tenure and became an associate professor in 2010.
Although I grew up in rural upstate New York, most of my adult life was spent in urban settings, so moving to Canton after years in D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia did require some adjustment.
Interestingly, my life these days rather closely resembles my youth in Waverly, NY, which is a village just about the same size as Canton. I chose to stay in Canton because I love upstate New York and wanted to stay in the Northeast, and also because I really like the cozy environment and collegiality of a small liberal arts college like SLU. I live in Canton just walking distance from campus and have wonderful neighbors and friends. But most of my closest friends and family are settled elsewhere in upstate New York and New England, so I spend a lot of weekends away in Albany, Boston, and Connecticut.
I am also in a long-distance relationship – my fiancé is a professor of classical history at the University of Rome. Because we are both academics, we are fortunate enough to be able to see each other pretty regularly throughout the year, over long breaks or on research trips. I’m a homebody who loves to read, sketch, and teach myself piano, but I’m also a travel junkie who loves airports. I like to think I’ve struck a balance – I have both a comfortable quiet life here in Canton and an active exciting life on the road to see loved ones a few hours away, do fieldwork in India, and explore Italy and the rest of the world with my partner.
Matt Carotenuto
Professor of History & Hanson Associate Dean of
International and Intercultural Studies
I have been at SLU 17 years as a professor and now administrator. My family and I live in the village of Canton and my son attends Canton Central School. My wife works for St. Lawrence health as a nurse, so I am happy to discuss life outside of SLU and connect future employees and their families to opportunities in the community broadly.
Bill DeCoteau
Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience Program
I was born and raised in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. I earned my B.A. in Psychology from Mercyhurst University, a small liberal arts college in Erie, PA where I also played varsity hockey. I received my Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Utah through their Cognition and Neural Science program. Before becoming a faculty member for the Psychology and Neuroscience programs at SLU, I conducted post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, first in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department, and then at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research.
I have been at SLU since 2005. I teach Introductory Psychology as well as a number of courses related to biology of behavior including Introduction to Biological Psychology, Animal Behavior, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Human Neuropsychology. I also have taught summer courses in Denmark and Italy on the Neuroscience of Fear. My research involves the use of rodent models to study the neurobiology of motor and spatial behavior, memory, and human decision conditions. I have held positions on Faculty Council (the elected leadership body of the faculty), the Professional Standards Committee, and currently serve as SLU’s NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative.
Additional information about me that may be of interest: My wife is from Buffalo, N.Y. and is the Director of SLU’s Counseling Center. We have three children, two of whom were born here in the North Country. All of them have attended Canton’s public elementary, middle, and high schools. Our two oldest are in college at schools in the New England area. I have been very active in local youth sports, especially hockey and baseball/softball. Our family enjoys the outdoors, particularly camping and hiking in the Adirondacks. We take regular excursions to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and New York City. In 2014, I turned in my green card and became a U.S. citizen. I enjoy micro-brewed beer and almost any form of whiskey.
Ana Estevez
Professor of Biology & Psychology, Neuroscience Program
I was born and raised in New York City. Both of my parents are immigrants from the Dominican Republic and they met in NYC in the 1960s while working in clothing factories. I don’t know why, but I have been interested in the sciences since as early as I can remember (2nd grade?). I participated in science fairs as a high school student and knew I wanted to pursue a career involving science. I am a first generation college graduate. As an undergraduate, I attended Binghamton University and earned a B.S. in Psychobiology. I then moved to Detroit, MI to pursue a Ph.D. in Physiology from Wayne State University. After my graduate degree, I moved south to Nashville, TN to enjoy some warmer pastures while pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University. I was a post-doc, then a research associate professor, at Vanderbilt prior to moving to Canton to work at St. Lawrence University in 2005. I hold a joint appointment in the Biology and Psychology departments and all of my courses serve the neuroscience major. Research-wise, I’ve always been interested in the brain. My current research focuses on developing pharmaceutical agents that can be used to protect nerve cells from dying during a neurodegenerative disease or after an insult (like a stroke).
My service activities at SLU have included Faculty Council (elected body for faculty governance), and the Faculty Development committee. In addition, since my arrival at St. Lawrence in 2005, I have been a member of the Health Careers Committee, which advises and guides our pre-health students as they navigate the application process to graduate programs. I am currently a member of the Academic Affairs Committee.
In Canton, I volunteer for the Campus Kitchens projects when our students are away from campus on breaks and I am a member of the North Country Children’s Museum board of directors. I am an avid yoga enthusiast and attend different weekly classes at the Canton Yoga Loft. I also enjoy several of the fitness classes offered by the SLU fitness center. Typical weekends include game nights or pot-luck dinners with friends. I am a member of a couple of small book clubs and I appreciate the variety of books I have been able to discover via this venue. My husband Tim and I reside in the village of Canton.
Mert Kartal
Professor of Political Science, Director of NYC Program
I was born and raised in Turkey (in Karşıyaka, İzmir, to be more specific!), a place where community bonds are deeply valued. At 18, I left my home for college and soon started a journey that took me to Sweden, then Wisconsin, and back to Sweden again before I finally settled in Canton.
Soon after we arrived, my family and I knew the North Country was where we belonged. Canton’s close-knit community and peaceful lifestyle felt familiar; it reminded me and my partner of the warmth we both grew up with. We love how safe and welcoming it is, and it has been a perfect place to raise our daughter. She has embraced all that Canton has to offer— horseback riding, cross-country skiing, swimming, figure skating, acting, drawing, and playing the piano.
I am currently directing St. Lawrence’s Liberal Arts in New York City Semester for 2024–2025, so I am writing this from the city. We are all enjoying our time here, but convincing our daughter to move even for one year was no easy task. She has adjusted and found things to like about city life, but her heart is in Canton. She cannot wait to get back home and reconnect with her friends. My partner and I feel the same: We are grateful for the opportunity to experience life in the Big Apple for one year, but Canton truly feels like home to us.
At St. Lawrence, I am an Associate Professor of Political Science. I teach courses on international relations, European Union politics, and political corruption. I am a big believer in learning by doing, which has shaped my pedagogy. For example, through St. Lawrence’s Diplomacy Lab partnership with the US State Department, my students take on projects to develop policy ideas together with foreign service officers. In the summer, I lead a course in Europe where we attend sessions at several international institutions like the Council of Europe, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament.
Outside the classroom, I enjoy playing soccer (mostly with my students), volleyball with my colleagues, and cross-country skiing in the winter. My family and I also love to travel. During the school year, we explore the North Country, different parts of the US and Canada. In the summer, we travel further to Europe and Asia and try different cuisines.
To me, what makes the St. Lawrence community so special is the sense of connection. Here, people truly care about one another. And unlike the hustle of big cities like Istanbul or New York City, the slower pace of life allows us to enjoy each day with our loved ones. Canton has given my family and me a sense of belonging, and no matter where we go, we are always happy to return to our home here.
Allison Rowland
Professor of Performance and Communication Arts, Maurer Director of
Communication Across the Curriculum
I moved here first as a visiting assistant professor in 2014. After getting tenure in 2019, I was promoted to full professor in 2024. When I first arrived, I had no idea how much I would come to love it. Coming from Denver, I was spoiled by superb restaurants, top-notch athletic facilities, and a deep dating pool. It took me about a year of pouting before I adjusted to the charms of Canton and Potsdam. I am now a proud north country “lifer”, just like my partner, who also works for the University. We bought a house and had two children.
I have found SLU to be a nourishing place for my scholarship, teaching, and service. I have found the north country to be a nourishing place for my spirit. There is no shortage of local food options and outdoor adventures. I am happy to talk secrets on how to stay warm in the winter (fleece-lined leggings, a good coat, and a wood stove).
I have a unique role on campus as Director of the Rhetoric & Communications program. I like to call myself the public speaking champion across campus. I give workshops to students on speaking skills, and I get to work with faculty on developing speaking assignments as well. Trained as a rhetorical theorist, I have a forthcoming book that looks at the subtle ways in which we use evaluative language to describe various groups of people in public discourse.
Alex Schreiber
Associate Professor of Biology
I am an endocrinologist (hormones and development) who studies how humans and other animals adapt to extreme environments, such as high altitude, cold, and aridity. I moved to SLU in 2008 from Baltimore, MD. I have an 11-year-old daughter who attends a tiny alternative private school in Canton. As the child of a U.S. Foreign Service officer couple, I grew up in Bolivia, Brazil, Uganda, and Guatemala. I went to high school in New Orleans, so I say “y’all” a lot. After my undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado, I joined the U.S. Peace Corps and taught math and science in Kenya, East Africa, for two years. After earning a master’s degree in biology from Eastern Washington University and a Ph.D. in zoology from University of Rhode Island, I then spent 10 years doing post-doctoral research studying the developmental biology of metamorphosis at the Carnegie Institution/Johns Hopkins University.
Other than my typical biology lecture/lab courses (e.g. Hormones and Development, Cell Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology) I teach two courses in the First-Year Program: 1) “Epigenetics: Environmental Influences on Animal Development, Behavior, and Disease”, and 2) “Extreme Physiology”. I also teach two summer courses, one in East Africa (“BioExpedition Kenya”), and one in Nepal (“Himalayan Odyssey”). In both cases, students learn about conservation biology and high-altitude physiology. Every year I have 3-8 students who conduct research in my lab during the school year, as well as during the summer.
In addition to teaching and research, I facilitate a public lecture series called the ‘Science Café’, in which local North Country scientists and science aficionados present their research to the general public off campus. I am also writing a gigantic textbook titled “Integrative Endocrinology” for Oxford University Press.
Jen Thomas
Associate Dean of the First Year, Professor of Performance and Communication Arts
I am a first-generation college student. My family settled in Minnesota in the late 1880’s and the land of the family farm is still in the family. It was a big deal for me to leave “the land” and go to college in northern Minnesota. I received my B.A. in Theatre and English Literature from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. I moved with a handful of friends to Seattle after graduation and started working at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in their marketing and public relations department. A year later, I was recruited by my boss to move across the country to reinvigorate another regional theatre. So, a year later after arriving in Seattle, I found myself moving across the country with everything I owned in my 1985 Chevy Impala (his name was Maynard) to New Haven, CT to work at Long Whart Theatre. I stayed in CT for 3 years before heading back to Seattle. I worked in issoquah (a suburb of Seattle) for 3 years at Village Theatre as their Patron Services Manager. Finally, my partner encouraged me to apply for graduate school. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary by moving to Eugene, OR where I earned my M.A. and Ph.D. in theatre and a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. Immediately after graduation, I landed my dream job at Concordia College, my alma maer. We moved back to Minnesota and believed we were were we were supposed to be, until I couldn’t manage the 70+ work weeks and my kids were surprised rather than happy to have me at home for supper. One hiring cycle I decided to apply for “ideal”jobs only to see what would happen. I was devastated to get the offer from SLU, a funny thing to say because I knew I was saying goodbye to my home again.
We’ve lived in Canton for 8+ years now. My partner, Danny, works for a major technology company via the internet .We have three daughters in the public school system. We are active in supporting the schools through the parent organization and Danny is on the school board. We live in the village and have strong connections to all of our neighbors and joke about Canton being a contemporary “Mayberry.” We are happy to call Canton our home.
Aaron Todd
Associate Director of Outreach, Center for Career Excellence
I was born right here in Canton and was a “townie” as a student, graduating from St. Lawrence in 2000. After spending two years working as a graduate assistant in the athletic department, I moved to Maine, and later suburban Boston, working at Bates College, Merrimack College and Brown University in athletics communications roles.
After getting married and having three kids, I returned to St. Lawrence in 2016, working in athletics administration for five years before moving to the Center for Career Excellence in 2021. My primary focus in my current role is to create meaningful interactions between Laurentians in our nationally recognized alumni network and our students through networking and mentoring programs.
While I no longer work full-time in athletics, I still have some side sports-related side gigs; I teach a sports writing internship course through the English department and serve as a color commentator for our women’s hockey broadcasts on ESPN+. I also enjoy taking part in a local storytelling competition series called The Howl Story Slam, which is co-sponsored by North Country Public Radio and the Adirondack Center for Writing. (You can find the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts if you want to hear some great stories from North Country residents.)
My wife Wendy and our children have enjoyed the change of pace that Canton offered us after more than a decade in New England. The kids have thrived as students at Canton Central School, and we’ve found plenty of ways to be involved in the local community. I am a member of the Canton Golden Bear Booster Club, while Wendy (who gives back much more to the community than I do) serves on the school board, the Canton Hoopsters (youth basketball) board, and is the president of Canton’s Pee Wee Baseball organization.
As someone who grew up here, it was easy for me to see the advantages of raising a family in our small town. It has been interesting to see the benefits of living here through the eyes of my wife, who grew up on the Main Line outside Philadelphia. When we first moved here, it didn’t take her long to connect with people who have been here for decades while also finding plenty of friends who also did not grow up here, many of whom came to Canton because of their connection to one of the local colleges.
In addition to watching our three kids play a seemingly endless number of games with their various team sports, we also enjoy playing cards and board games, supporting local restaurants and other businesses, binge watching the latest Netflix shows, and walking our black lab/pit bull mix all over town.
Penny Vlagopoulos
Professor of English
I arrived in the North Country in 2014 from Laredo, TX (the other border), where I had my previous tenure-track position for five years. I think of my mostly first-generation college students there fondly and still, feel attached to the U.S. -Mexico border region. Before that, I lived in New York City for 12 years, a place I consider one of my homes and to which I return frequently. I earned my Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from Columbia University and had a stint as a visiting assistant professor at Boston University before heading south. I grew up mostly outside of Boston after an itinerant early childhood. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Greece and the rest of my family still lives in Athens, so I have always straddled worlds and I feel most at home when crossing borders.
My teaching and research focus on 20th- and 21st-century U.S. and global literature and film, with an emphasis on multiethnic literatures and issues of diaspora, cosmopolitanism, and globalization. I also teach courses at Riverview Correctional Facility in Ogdensburg, NY. Comprised of both SLU students and incarcerated students, these classes stem from my interest in social justice activism and my desire to be more involved in issues that are specific to our region. I hope to develop other kinds of community-based learning courses in the future. I directed the NYC Semester Program in New York City in 2016-17 and still serve as faculty coordinator. It has been a real joy to watch this program grow and to connect some of our best students with many of our most committed alumni. One of SLU's many benefits is its rich array of study abroad programs, and I hope to explore other parts of the world with my students in the future.
I have a third grader who is very sociable and has a lot of creative energy. He plays piano and soccer and his spirit of adventure keeps him excited about all kinds of activities. He attends the agriculture-focused North Wind After-School program, run by the Cornell Cooperative Extension, and has learned so much there. We often go on day trips around the north country and beyond, from visiting the Wild Center in Tupper Lake to swimming at Higley Flow in Colton to taking advantage of Syracuse’s may offerings. We also like to head north and visit Ottawa, Brockville, Kingston, and Montreal, and the list keeps growing. We have a vibrant community of friends and find ourselves more deeply entrenched in our world here every year. We get fresh food from the local CSA’s, attend many cultural events as we can, and have recently tried cross-country skiing, ice skating, canoeing, and a range of other indoor and outdoor activities.
In-Sil Yoo
Associate Professor of Music
I am originally from Seoul, South Korea. While my parents were not directly involved in music, my brother, a conductor, and I both studied composition, theory, and piano at the same university in Korea. I served as the organist at my church for 15 years and was a member of a Korean drumming group until I moved to the United States in 1995. I earned my doctorate in Composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.
In the past, I taught music theory, composition, and technology at Knox College and Indiana University. My research work often involves collaborating with artists and dancers. My compositions have been performed across the United States, France, and Korea by soloists, choirs, and ensembles, including the Laurentian Singers, Knox College Choir, and Korean Symphony Orchestra, Young-In Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Alexander String Quartet.
I’ve been a professor at SLU since 2003. Living in Canton has been both challenging and rewarding, especially being so far away from my family in Korea. However, over time, I’ve settled in my life here – getting married, having children, and buying a home. I have two children, one in college and the other in middle school. Because my husband, who worked as a consultant in Washington, our entire family has become frequent travelers. We often visit our second home in Washington for holidays and breaks. Since my husband has retired, he stays with us full-time in Canton.
I have developed a passion for cooking, and my family loves Southeast Asian cuisine. Fortunately, there’s an Asian grocery store nearby that provides most of the ingredients we need, along with several online shops. We can even have fresh ingredients delivered to our door, kept fresh using ice in disposable coolers. While Canton is a small, remote town, it is this very remoteness that has created a strong sense of community amongst its residents. It is a beautiful and safe place to raise a family, offering excellent after- school programs. My children have been involved in a variety of activities including sports, art, and music. Thanks to the nearby colleges, our family has access to cultural events, art exhibitions, shows and concerts, which we enjoy in the area we call the North Country.