TEACH Team

Contact Us!

TEACH
15 Old Woods Ave.
Roanoke, VA 24016
540-855-6861
teach@carilionclinic.org

Dr. Whicker completed both her Master of Education in Training & Development and her Doctorate of Education in Adult Learning at North Carolina State University. She began working in medical education in 1999 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, where she stayed until she left her position as Training & Development Manager for Wake Forest University Physicians in 2004. In 2004, she moved to Duke University Medical Center, where she worked in the Department of Pediatrics for 10 years. She moved from her position as Duke Pediatrics’ Director of Education Development in 2014 to join the Office of Continuing Professional Development (OCPD) at Carilion Clinic and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, where she is currently Senior Director of OCPD, Assistant Dean, Faculty Development, and Director of Teaching Excellence Academy for Collaborative Healthcare (TEACH).

Dr. Whicker is passionate about working within communities of practice to develop faculty and trainees in areas related to their roles as teachers, clinicians, researchers, and leaders.

Mariah entered the world of medical education fresh after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University. Her journey began with a position as Innovation Project Manager in the Duke Office of Graduate Medical Education. In this role she worked to support the successful development, implementation and evaluation of innovative educational research projects aimed at enhancing resident training and the quality of GME programs. Additionally, she played an integral role in the promotion of education research and scholarship. During her time at Duke she also completed the AAMC Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) Certificate of Medical Education Research (MERC) to further her medical education skill set.

In Spring of 2016 Mariah joined the Office of Continuing Professional Development (OCPD) at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. In her new role she hopes to support faculty in the planning, implementation and assessment of faculty development curricula, advance the QI efforts across the institution, and foster the continued growth of teaching scholarship. She also hopes to support the already impressive efforts of the Teaching Excellence Academy for Collaborative Healthcare (TEACH). Mariah is truly excited to be a part of the OCPD team and the Carilion Clinic at this time of growth and innovation. She is certain this role will allow her the opportunity to continue cultivating her skills as an educator while furthering the faculty development mission of the OCPD.

Sarah M. Harendt, a first-generation college student and native of southwest Virginia, began her career in higher education at Oklahoma State University in the offices of Financial Aid & Scholarships and University Counseling Services. Her transition back to Virginia in 2000 led to a position as an academic advisor with Roanoke College Upward Bound and then as Assistant Director for the Virginia Tech Talent Search Program. Most recently, she led NASPA and the Center for First-generation Student Success’ efforts to design, develop, launch, and maintain the nation’s first national scaling model to support first-generation undergraduate and graduate student access, retention, and completion at post-secondary institutions. These opportunities have fostered and solidified her interest in implementation science, creating scalable solutions, and educational access and success for all

Dr. Harednt earned a bachelor’s degree in Written and Oral Communications from Hollins University, an M.S. in Counseling and Student Personnel with a concentration in Community Mental Health from Oklahoma State University, a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration, and a Ph.D. Certificate in Nonprofit & Nongovernmental Organizational Management from Virginia Tech.

Dr. Harendt is excited to utilize her skills and knowledge as an educator and researcher to support the OCPD team and Carilion Clinic colleagues’ growth aspirations and faculty development.

JT Addair joined the Office of Continuing Professional Development (OCPD) in February 2024, bringing a fresh perspective and enthusiasm for professional development in the healthcare system.  JT is new to the field of medical education, however he brings leadership and professional experience from previous positions serving as a College Adviser in the Virginia College Advising Corps (VCAC) as well as serving as Assistant Camp Director for Girl Scouts of North Carolina Coastal Pines.

JT earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Virginia Tech, majoring in Public Relations, and minoring in French.

JT pioneered in leading a team to create VCAC Year in Review as Editor-in-Chief as a gift to other advisers to commemorate their service term with the Virginia College Advising Corps.  JT has also strived to uplift communities of first-generation college students during his undergraduate career at Virginia Tech, successfully creating and serving as the President for First Generation at Virginia Tech (1G@VT).  

Deb Ferron was happy to join the Office of Continuing Professional Development in September 2017 and serves as Administrative Coordinator. She finds the medical education field to be exciting and fulfilling. Deb has been in the medical field since 1983 and held a variety of administrative and team lead roles and also owned and/or managed three small businesses; all of which have prepared her for the professionalism needed in her current role. In 2012, she became a member of Carilion Clinic’s chapter of Toastmasters International, and has since served as Area Director, Division Director, and earned the designation of Distinguished Toastmaster. Deb became passionate about public speaking and training and developed a program for Cardiology Fellows to enhance their public speaking and presentation abilities through sessions, experiential learning, and regular evaluations and feedback. The program produced improvement each year over the two years conducted. She also developed and conducted a Telephone Etiquette program for staff. Deb became interested in ways to improve the public speaking sessions, so she joined the Teaching Excellence Academy for Collaborative Healthcare (TEACH) in 2015, and then came to work for the department two years later. She has now completed over 200 speeches, presentations, and training sessions of varying lengths and purposes. Deb is passionate about seeing others become effective speakers and supporting projects that contribute to the education process through TEACH and OCPD.