Dean's Office Staff

Sarah Clark

Dean

sarah_clark@byu.edu
801-422-4607
301 MCKB

Dr. Sarah K. Clark is the Dean of the BYU David O. McKay School of Education. She served previously as an Associate Dean, and before that as Chair and Professor in the Department of Teacher Education in the McKay School. For more than 30 years, Dr. Clark has been involved in the field of education in a variety of roles including classroom teacher, curriculum developer, author, editor, instructional coach, consultant, researcher, consultant, and university professor. Dr. Clark earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Teacher Education and Literacy Instruction from Utah State University. She received a Master of Arts degree in Education with a specialization in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Arizona.

Charles R. Graham

Associate Dean

charles.graham@byu.edu
801-422-4110
150-C MCKB

Charles R. Graham is a Professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University with an interest in technology-mediated teaching and learning. Charles studies the design and evaluation of online and blended learning environments. His work emphasizes digital transformation at the pedagogical level as well as the institutional adoption level. Much of his research is conducted with graduate students who he loves to work with and mentor. Charles has presented keynotes, webinars, and workshops to practitioners around the world. Charles became a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium “For outstanding achievement in advancing theory, research and effective practice in online and blended learning.” He is also a Fellow with the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute for his work to develop a K-12 Blended Teaching Readiness instrument. Additional details about his scholarly work can be found online at: https://bit.ly/crgvita

Ellie Young

Associate Dean

ellie.young@byu.edu
801-422-1593
340-E MCKB

Ellie Young is an accomplished school psychologist, professor of counseling psychology, and professor of special education. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from BYU and worked as a school psychologist for 10 years in Kansas and Missouri before earning a doctorate at the University of South Florida. Her research interests focus on early identification of youth with social, emotional, and behavioral concerns in secondary settings and implementation of social-emotional supports for all students. This knowledge will provide key insights as Young works to meet the needs of McKay School students. In 2021, Young received BYU’s Steven M. Rose Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Association of School Psychologists. She lives in Springville and enjoys skiing and other adventures with her husband, Frank, as well as time with her three children and seven grandchildren.

Michael Leonard

Assistant Dean of External Relations

michael.leonard@byu.edu
801-422-8562
301 MCKB

Michael Leonard joined the McKay School of Education in 2019. He leads the external relations team with responsibilities for outreach initiatives including donor, alumni, and public relations, recruitment, mentoring, and data/website development. He has spent the majority of his career in education, most recently serving as Executive Director for the nonprofit Launching Leaders Worldwide, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at the University of Northern Colorado, and Director of External Relations at the University of Northern Colorado’s Monfort College of Business.

Michael received a bachelor’s degree in communications, and a juris doctor degree, both from BYU. He loves all things BYU, especially his family, who are also all BYU blue. Go Cougs!

Jeanna Nichols

Assistant Dean – Operations, HR Business Partner

jeanna_nichols@byu.edu
801-422-3695
301 MCKB

Jeanna Nichols earned her bachelor’s in English from Brigham Young University as a nontraditional student in 2008. She worked at Intermountain Healthcare for 10 years as a quality assurance specialist in transcription, which involved mentoring and training new employees and maintaining the quality of medical documents.

Jeanna has been with the Dean’s Office of Education at BYU since April 2011. She is married and has two children, who can both attest that Jeanna’s favorite thing to do is read.