New Faces Join Robbins College Faculty in Fall 2026
Entering the Fall 2026 semester, Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences is pleased to announce the appointments of new faculty across its departments.
Sarah Allen, MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies
With a combined 15 years of experience in healthcare and clinical education, Sarah Allen joins the Physician Assistant Studies program as Clinical Assistant Professor.
Allen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Louisiana College and her Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at the Louisiana State University School of Allied Health. As a Board-Certified Physician Assistant, she is licensed to practice in Texas, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
She has gained extensive experience working in spaces including endocrinology, internal medicine, acute care, and family medicine. Additionally, Allen served as Clinical Instructor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center from 2016-2020, providing mentorship to students and teaching in clinical and didactic environments.
Allen has contributed to peer-reviewed publications, focusing on topics such as bariatric surgery, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and subclinical hypothyroidism. At Vanderbilt Bedford Community Hospital, she presented on the nuances of dementia and alcohol abuse in the aging population. Outside of work, Allen supports her husband’s ministry as senior pastor and is involved on the Ladies Ministry Team at Fair Haven Baptist Church in Tennessee. She is also a board member for the Cascade Junior Pro Basketball League.
Hillary Burgess, MS, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Lecturer, Department of Human Sciences and Design
Hillary Burgess joins the Interior Design program as Lecturer. She previously served as Adjunct Faculty and Temporary Lecturer for the program, so she is a familiar face among faculty, staff, and students. During this time, she also played a significant role in jumpstarting the Department’s vocational mission in Guatemala.
Burgess received her Bachelor of Science degree in Family Consumer Sciences - Interior Design from Baylor University. She went on to earn her Master of Science degree in Interior Design and her Graduate Certificate in Sustainability from Ball State University. For her master’s thesis, “Developing a Framework for Analyzing the Sustainability of Furniture,” she discovered key focus areas to help interior designers avoid greenwashing tactics and complete a thorough analysis of the sustainability of the furniture they select.
Burgess holds her National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) certification, and since 2009, she is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP). In addition to teaching at Baylor, Burgess has more than 10 years of experience in designing custom interior elements for high-end and boutique grocery stores, including Whole Foods Market and PK Market in Seoul, South Korea.
Leticia C. de Souza, PhD, RDN, CPT, OLY
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences and Design
The Nutrition Sciences program welcomes Leticia C. de Souza as Clinical Assistant Professor. She brings a blend of clinical expertise, research, and teaching to the program.
A proud Baylor University alumna, de Souza received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education in Health, Kinesiology, and Leisure Studies, her Master of Science degree in Nutrition Sciences, and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She was a key member of the Baylor Track & Field team and further served Baylor Athletics as a Performance Nutrition Graduate Assistant.
De Souza, who ran on the 4x400-meter relay for Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is passionate about helping people be their healthiest through their nutrition habits. She has been a registered dietitian nutritionist since 2022, and she currently holds memberships with the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Sports and Performance Dietitians Association.
As an active researcher, her interests are focused on sports nutrition, with particular emphasis on recovery, dietary intake patterns, and evidence-based strategies to support performance, diet quality, and eating behaviors. In Waco, she is involved with World Hunger Relief, the Salvation Army Community Kitchen, and Caritas of Waco’s Food Pantry.
Sara Hughes, DMS, MPA, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies
The Physician Assistant Studies program introduces Sara Hughes as Clinical Assistant Professor. She is an experienced physician assistant, healthcare educator, and community volunteer.
Hughes received her Bachelor of Science degree from East Tennessee State University and her Master of Physician Assistant degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. Later, she earned her Doctor of Medical Science, with a Physician Assistant Educator concentration, from Butler University.
As a Certified Physician Assistant, Hughes has worked in healthcare settings such as dermatology, emergency medicine, palliative care, primary care, and urgent care. In April 2025, she was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Tennessee Board of Physician Assistants. In this current role, she develops rules and standards of practice, issues medical licenses, and investigates alleged violations of laws and assigns discipline.
Hughes comes to Baylor from South College in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was Assistant Professor in the Physician Assistant Studies program. In addition to teaching, she served as Chair to both the Admissions Committee and the Community Service Committee, ensured program policies align with accreditation requirements, and designed curriculum to improve student outcomes.
Christine Knefley, MS, CCLS
Lecturer, Department of Human Sciences and Design
Christine Knefley joins the Child and Family Studies program as Lecturer. As a Certified Child Life Specialist with more than 26 years of healthcare experience, she is committed to preparing the next generation of professionals through evidence-based teaching, mentorship, and a strong emphasis on family-centered care.
Knefley has championed family-centered care by helping children and families develop coping strategies during hospitalization, supported siblings and families through serious illness and end-of-life experiences, mentored emerging professionals, and led initiatives to improve clinical practice. Most recently, she served as a Child Life Supervisor at Children’s Health Dallas.
She has also devoted much of her career to parent and family education. Knefley taught childbirth education, newborn care, and parenting classes for parents. She also provided professional labor support as a certified doula.
Knefley received her Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Consumer Sciences, with a concentration in Child and Family Studies, from Baylor University. She earned her Master of Science degree in Human Development, with a specialization in Child Life and Family-Centered Care, from Wheelock College. In addition to being a Certified Child Life Specialist, she holds certifications in childbirth education, infant massage instruction, and leadership development.
Yoonjee Koh, M.Arch, MDes
Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Human Sciences and Design
Baylor’s new hybrid graduate Architecture program is excited to welcome Yoonjee Koh as inaugural Program Director and Clinical Associate Professor. She brings expertise in architectural pedagogy that spans both design practice and architectural theory.
Prior to joining Baylor, Koh served as Faculty and Director of Intermediate Architecture Studios at Boston Architectural College’s School of Architecture, overseeing its on-campus, hybrid, and online architecture programs. During this time, she developed and launched the College’s first, fully online Architecture program. She also founded the Boston Architectural College Journal, as part of a wider initiative to raise a culture of collegiate dialogue across the College.
Koh is a licensed architect, a member of the National Architectural Accrediting Board visiting team, and a licensing advisor for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Previously, she served as associate editor on the editorial board of the Journal of Architectural Education, run by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.
Koh holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree with a concentration in Architectural Theory from Cornell University. She obtained her Master of Architecture II degree and her Master of Design Studies in History and Philosophy of Design degree at Harvard University.
Joseph Hin Yan Lam, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Joseph Hin Yan Lam is excited to join the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as Assistant Professor. He will be teaching a graduate course and starting work in his research lab, which focuses on bilingual language assessment and culturally responsive practices in school-based settings.
Lam completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Lam worked as a school-based speech therapist. He then completed his Master of Arts degree in Education from the University of California, Irvine. In June 2026, he secured his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education, also from UC Irvine. His doctoral dissertation utilized predictive modeling to integrate multiple evidence sources in identifying developmental language disorder in Spanish-English bilinguals.
Lam was inducted into the international honor society in psychology, Psi Chi, and as Member of Register of Speech Therapists, accredited by Hong Kong’s Department of Health. He is a published author, most notably in Applied Psycholinguistics, Research in Developmental Disabilities, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, and the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Additionally, he is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the California Speech Language Hearing Association (CSHA), the Asia Pacific Society of Speech, Language, and Hearing (APSSLH), and the Hong Kong Association of Speech Therapists (HKAST).
Ashley McCrary, MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies
Ashley McCrary joins the Physician Assistant Studies program as Clinical Assistant Professor, bringing nearly 10 years of experience in physician assistant education to Baylor. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation by helping students grow into confident and compassionate clinicians, and she is intentional in fostering faculty collaboration. Additionally, McCrary is highly versed in program development and accreditation processes.
She joins Baylor from Oklahoma State University, where she was Director of Curriculum and Director of Didactic Education. Prior, she worked as Director of Clinical Education at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. McCrary has served on the national Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Education Programming Steering Committee since 2025.
As a certified physician assistant, McCrary is licensed to practice in Oklahoma. Prior to transitioning full-time to academia in 2017, she practiced in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, and urgent care.
McCrary earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Organismic Biology from Northeastern State University. She then went on to secure her Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, as a member of the program’s inaugural cohort.
Marni Shoemaker, PhD, RD, CSCS, USAW-1
Assistant Professor, Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Marni Shoemaker joins the Health Science Studies program as Assistant Professor. She brings experience in teaching, research, and student mentoring.
Shoemaker earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Exercise Science, graduating magna cum laude, from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She then went on to specialize in exercise physiology and nutrition at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, securing her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Health Sciences. There, she also completed her nutrition and health sciences dietetic internship. In 2022, Shoemaker earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso. Her dissertation was titled, “Inflammaging: Inflammatory Biomarkers Associated with Nutrition, Metabolism, and Muscle Tissue Oxygenation Relative to Sarcopenic Status in Older Adults.”
Shoemaker makes her way to Baylor from South Dakota State University, where she served as Assistant Professor of Nutrition. Her research interest is optimizing health and performance through nutrition and exercise-based strategies to impact skeletal muscle and metabolic health. Her work focuses on energy availability, nutrient quality, and exercise across the lifespan to impact energy metabolism and skeletal muscle. Shoemaker is a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist, and she holds certifications as a strength and conditioning specialist, a USA Weightlifting coach, and a CrossFit Level 1 coach.
Morgan Strickland, PhD, LMFT/S
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences and Design
The Marriage and Family Therapy program welcomes Morgan Strickland, as Clinical Assistant Professor. She is excited to blend her love for teaching, research focus, and clinical experience to inspire the next generation of systemic therapists.
Strickland received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Master of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from East Carolina University. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Florida State University, and her dissertation, “Influential Factors on Young Adult Cyber Dating Abuse,” won the 2020 American Association for Mariage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Foundation Graduate Student Research Award.
She joins Baylor from the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Converse University in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where she served as Assistant Professor, Interim Clinical Director, Associate Program Director, and in 2025, named a Tenured Associate Professor.
Strickland’s research focuses on technology-mediated relationship processes, including cyber dating abuse and cyberbullying. In South Carolina, she is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor. Additionally, she is an out-of-state telehealth provider for Florida.
Larry Umberger, MA
Lecturer, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
The American Sign Language (ASL) program is proud to introduce Larry Umberger as Lecturer. He has been with the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders since 2000, serving over the years as Language Technology Coordinator, Laboratory Assistant, ASL Adjunct Instructor, and ASL Continuing Education Instructor, so he is a familiar face among faculty, staff, and students.
Umberger earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. He went on to specialize in developing innovative technology to create a blended learning environment in the modern ASL classroom, securing his Master of Arts degree in Digital Learning and Leading from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
As a member of the Deaf community, Umberger takes pride in teaching and sharing his culture with both Baylor and McLennan Community College students. In addition, he has worked at Sign of the Times and the Central Texas Council of the Deaf, both local interpreter agencies.
Umberger is a member of the National Association of the Deaf, the Texas Association of the Deaf, and the Waco Association of the Deaf. He also serves as a Bible study facilitator at Spring Forth Deaf Church, Advisory Committee Chair of McLennan Community College’s interpreter training program and was President of Waco Association of the Deaf for 10 years.
Sandra Wright, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Sandra Wright joins the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders as Assistant Professor. She recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship and was an Adjunct Professor within the Department.
Wright studied at the University of Tulsa, earning her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees, both in Speech-Language Pathology. She secured her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Kansas, specializing in Speech-Language Pathology with an emphasis in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
She has extensive clinical experience as a speech-language pathologist, working in schools and clinics. Wright was co-owner of Pathways Therapy Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she advocated for and trained individuals who rely on augmentative and alternative communication.
As a Baylor Postdoc, Wright’s research focused on clinical intervention strategies related to eye tracking and literacy trends for children with and without developmental language disorders and reading impairments. She is experienced in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, both synchronously and asynchronously. At the University of Tulsa, Wright served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and mentored speech-language pathology undergraduates as Academic Advisor.
ABOUT ROBBINS COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Established in 2014, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences seeks to enhance health, quality of life, and human flourishing for all individuals and communities through education, research, and innovation. It includes seven academic departments—Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health, Human Performance, and Recreation; Human Sciences and Design; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; Physician Assistant Studies; and Public Health. Robbins College offers 13 bachelor’s degrees, 10 master’s degrees, and six doctoral degrees, as well as nine graduate programs in partnership with the U.S. Army. Graduate programs in Robbins College are offered in a variety of modalities, including on campus, online, and hybrid.