Contact

Zack Batchelder

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Position: Assistant Director
Contact Info: zbatchelder@vassar.edu, OLB 122 
Education: B.S. Psychology (Iowa State University), M.S. General Psychology (Iowa State University), Ph.D. Counseling Psychology (Iowa State University)
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV

Fun Facts:

• Formally trained as an actor and was (briefly) a professional clown.
• Learned to fence on a dare and then fell in love with the sport.
• Did his graduate research in biomedical ethics.
• Completed a post-doctoral fellowship in juvenile forensic and psychoeducational assessment.
• Has two kids, two dogs, two cats, and zero idea how his wife talked him into most of that.

Words of Wisdom:

“It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.” -Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings (Book of Earth/Ground)

Julie O'Sullivan

Pronouns: She/Her
Contact Info: jcosullivan@vassar.edu, OLB 121
Education: B.A. German and Linguistics (University of East Anglia, UK), M.A. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (University of Reading, UK)
Hometown: London, UK

Fun facts:

• Spends her summers at 4H llama and donkey shows.
• Lived most of her life living and working abroad (Austria, Germany, Japan, Spain, USA ).
• Lived with her family as House Fellows in Joss for 5 years.
• Enjoys knitting, spinning fiber, and natural dyeing in her spare time.
• She jumped out of an airplane in college.

Words of Wisdom:

“All good ideas arrive by chance.” Max Ernst

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde

Jen Bruntil

Pronouns: She/Her
Contact Info: jbruntil@vassar.edu, OLB 118
Education/Certificates: M.S. & B.S. Education (SUNY New Paltz University) NYS Public Teacher Permanent Certification in Pre-K-6, Special Education Pre-K-12, Social Studies 7-12
Hometown: New Paltz, NY

Fun facts:

• Married with 2 teenage daughters, and a dog named Daisy.
• Has backpacked through Europe 3 times, traveled to 4 continents and is always planning my next vacation.
• Has been a 6th-grade Science and Social Studies teacher, a museum educator, and a Learning Specialist before coming to Vassar. 
• In college,  she majored in Education with a concentration in history and also swam on the swim team.

Words of Wisdom:

“There is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it.  If only we are brave enough to be it.” - Amanda Gorman

Tabatha Clevenger

Pronouns: She/Her
Contact Info: tclevenger@vassar.edu, OLB 117
Education: B.A. Earth Science and Society (Vassar College)
Hometown: Burns, OR

Fun facts:

• She grew up in rural eastern Oregon, where the town population is roughly equivalent to Vassar College.
• Among other things, she enjoys woodworking, random home renovation, and attempting to fix anything broken rather than replacing it.
• She and her wife share their living space with a dog, four cats, and a leopard gecko, who manage to tolerate each other as much as they do us. Such lovely creatures!
• She loves maps! It’s a process of combining art and science to make data accessible, and it can be applied to almost anything.

Words of Wisdom:

“When we give ourselves compassion, we are opening our hearts in a way that can transform our lives.” - Kristin Neff