Bloomfield College Names New Director of CITEL

Leah Brown-Johnson has joined Bloomfield College as the Director of CITEL.

TheCenter forInnovation inTeaching toEnhanceLearning serves the College community by providing a broad range of academic support services that assist students to pursue excellence in every aspect of their studies at Bloomfield College.

CITEL services include a Tutoring Center and Writing Center, Testing and Test Preparation, Academic Support Counseling, Graduate Preparation, a Group Study Hub, and the Office of Adult Education.

An educator and visionary, Johnson comes to Bloomfield College with years of experience in devising policies, procedures, and operation systems that address protocols for tutoring, college preparation, and retention of first generation college students.

"I am passionate about helping students get access to resources and become informed masters of their educational journey,” stated Johnson. “CITEL has the ability to impact a Bloomfield College student's scholarly trajectory and I look forward to being a part of that positive impact."

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from Wesleyan University and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.

She began her professional career in higher education as Program Coordinator for the S-Prep program at Columbia University. She also acted as the Career Counselor and Internship Advisor at Purchase College, SUNY.

Prior to Bloomfield College, Johnson amassed over 15 years of non-profit management experience working with youth in both Harlem, New York, and Newark, New Jersey. She worked directly with students from 6th grade through college enrollment in academic support, college preparation, and college transition and retention programs.

Johnson’s career highlights include her time as Program Director for the StreetSquash Program in Harlem where she created the college prep program and the college retention program. The Program saw an 83% retention rate for students in college. This was three times the national average at that time (2012), and was six times the national average for the demographic of students Johnson was assisting (low income, inner city youth from under-served or under-resourced schools in Harlem, NY).

Seeing the Program’s success, Johnson established and was the Founding Director of the first urban squash college preparatory program in New Jersey (Newark).

Having taught courses in numerous Newark schools, Johnson also has teaching experience and will act as an adjunct professor at the College.

“CITEL is an essential part of building student success at Bloomfield College,” said Dr. Tresmaine Grimes, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. “We are very pleased that Mrs. Brown-Johnson has joined the Bloomfield College community. She brings years of experience and passion to the Directorship of the CITEL Center.”