Margaret Kjelgaard, PhD, is Coordinator of the Center for Educational Neuroscience Applications (CENA) at Bridgewater State University. She is a cognitive neuroscientist and psychologist whose research has focused on understanding the neural and cognitive processes underlying learning, language, and development.
Dr. Kjelgaard has extensive experience conducting interdisciplinary cognitive neuroscience research, including federally funded studies examining language processing, learning, and cognition in children with diverse developmental profiles, including autism, dyslexia, and developmental language disorder. Her research has employed neuroimaging and electrophysiological methods, including fMRI, MEG, and EEG, to investigate how differences in brain development and cognitive processing shape learning.
Through her work with CENA, Dr. Kjelgaard brings this foundation in cognitive neuroscience into conversation with education, helping bridge research on the brain and learning with questions of teaching, development, and educational practice.
Amy Mercado, EdD, is an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Bridgewater State University. Prior to joining higher education, she spent 18 years as an early childhood and elementary educator and instructional literacy and technology coach.
Dr. Mercado’s work sits at the intersection of educational neuroscience, inclusive education, and teacher preparation and is driven by a central question: How can we help educators become reflective, adaptive decision-makers rather than implementers of procedures? Her research explores how an understanding of the brain and learning, Systems Intelligence, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and emerging technologies can help educators better notice and interpret learner needs, make intentional instructional decisions, and adapt their practice.
Her current work examines the use of AI-supported simulations, clinical coaching, and other innovative learning experiences to develop educators’ professional judgment and provide meaningful opportunities to practice and reflect on complex decision-making. Across her teaching and scholarship, Dr. Mercado seeks to translate research from educational neuroscience into responsive, equitable, and inclusive practices that recognize learner variability, strengths, agency, and belonging.
Janessa O. Carvalho, PhD, joined the Bridgewater State University psychology department in 2013. As a neuropsychologist, she also completed a clinical residency and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is currently teaching courses in Research Methods and Abnormal Psychology. Her research interests generally lie in adult neuropsychology and include 1) psychometrics of cognitive and behavioral measures, 2) geriatric neuropsychology, and 3) cross-cultural neuropsychology. She is interested in collaborating with students on her research.
Lynn Hansberry Mayo, EdD, CCC/SLP, is a bilingual (Spanish and English) speech-language pathologist with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is also licensed in Transitional Bilingual Education [Spanish] and English as a Second Language and is currently an assistant professor in Childhood Studies at Bridgewater State University.
During her doctoral studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, Mind, Brain, and Teaching Specialization, Lynn engaged in multidisciplinary analysis of the systems impacting learning, with an emphasis on cognitive and neuroscience applications. Lynn is passionate about increasing awareness of cultural variations and how diverse learners organize and use language and thought. She is motivated by the persistent achievement gaps in education and the overidentification of linguistic minorities in special education.
Lynn enjoys serving on the advisory board for the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC), and the board of the Center for Educational Neuroscience Applications (CENA) at BSU, where she strives to develop programming informed by the mind-brain connection to improve teaching practices.
Our Board Members at Large are community members passionate about the intersection of education and neuroscience. Appointed for one year, they bring diverse expertise and perspectives to CENA, enriching our board's discussions and strategic direction.
2026-2027 Members at Large
James Demers, Ed.D., Director of Alternative Programs - Plymouth Harbor Academy, Plymouth, MA
Kerri Whipple, Ed.D., Principal - Kingston Intermediate School, Kingston, MA
Jennifer Carcich, M.A., Director of Learning Acceleration & Sustainable Development Coordinator - Unity Charter School, Morristown, NJ