Siara Abdulla
Associate Director of Development
Siara Abdulla identifies, cultivates, and develops donor relationships and solicits gifts for the College of Education’s strategic priorities. Siara began her career with the College of Education five years ago and has since worked to secure private funding for gifts at the annual and major gifts levels, built and maintain relationships with alumni and friends, and develop programs and events to support the College.
Siara currently serves on the Board of Directors for Promoting Local Agriculture and Cultural Experiences (P.L.A.C.E.), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization building an accessible local food system in Athens, Georgia, and volunteers for various other local nonprofits.
Siara is an alumna of the University of Georgia, where she received an A.B. in Art History with honors. Siara is originally from Augusta, Georgia.
Contact Siara: 706-583-0390 or siara@uga.edu
Troy Bassett
Program Coordinator III
Troy Bassett conceptualizes, designs, and develops graphical components for the College. He is responsible for producing brochures, posters, logos, promotional and event pieces, and other related graphic design projects.
Troy began working in the College Dean’s Office in 1990 as a student worker. He then worked as a graduate assistant until becoming a full-time employee in 1996. During that time, he had various responsibilities in all units of the Dean’s Office. These responsibilities included creating/maintaining several database systems, overseeing building renovation projects, creating various college reports, handling computer support, maintaining building security systems, and handling layout, design, and graphics for COE projects.
Troy is an alumnus of the University of Georgia, where he received a B.S. (’93) and an M.A. (‘99) in Geography. He is originally from Warner Robins, GA, and has been in Athens since coming here as a student in 1990.
Contact Troy: 706-542-0894 or tbassett@uga.edu
Michael Childs
Director of Public Information
Michael Childs works to develop external and internal communications through press outreach, publications, electronic media and collaborations with other offices around the College and across the UGA campus. He also serves as a liaison between news media and faculty experts for education- and health-related stories.
Since joining the College in 1998 as Director of Public Information, he established Education magazine and the coeNEWS website. He directed the COE Centennial Celebration communications effort which included a commemorative magazine, website and DVD that won a CASE award for Excellence in Institutional Relations in 2009. Prior to coming to UGA, Childs was an editor and reporter for three daily newspapers in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi for 20 years, including the last 16 as an editor of the Athens Banner-Herald. A native of Auburn, Ala., Childs received his B.A. in journalism from Auburn University.
Contact Michael: 706-542-5889 or mdchilds@uga.edu
Aldon Knight
Executive Director of College Advancement
Aldon Knight has oversight for all functions in the College of Education’s Office of Advancement, including fund raising, alumni affairs, media relations, and communications. He serves as the College’s primary major gift officer, identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major gifts for the College and its programs.
After five years in industry and politics, Aldon began his career in higher education advancement at Erskine College in 1995. He has served in similar roles at Clemson University, The University of Tennessee, and Stetson University College of Law. Aldon holds a B.A. in history from Erskine and an M.P.A. from Clemson.
Contact Aldon: 706-542-2267 or aknight@uga.edu
Julie Sartor
Communications Specialist
Julie Sartor researches, writes, and edits content for internal and external communication to promote the College of Education. These projects include articles, press releases, newsletters, feature stories, brochures, flyers (print and electronic), the College’s new faculty brochure, AERA presenters publication, and video and speech scripts. Julie collaborates with the Development staff to highlight alumni accomplishments and service to the College. She creates and edits content in Visix software, uploads to the digital kiosks signage, and edits content for COEfyi, the online newsletter digest. She is also available to photograph College events.
Julie began working in the College in 1998 as a student worker and joined the staff in 2000. She is a graduate of the College of Education, where she received a B.S.Ed. in English Education with honors (’00).
Contact Julie: 706-542-4693 or jsartor@uga.edu
Jen Williams
Senior Communications Director
Jen Williams leads a diverse team of communications professionals and manages the vision scope, brand, and planning for College communication efforts. Jen is responsible for developing and implementing internal and external communication strategies that help advance the College’s mission and strategic goals. In addition, she works with the College Advancement team to provide an integrated approach to promoting the College, its departments, and programs.
Jen brings more than 25 years of experience to the College, working in a variety of communications and management positions in several organizations. She has a B.A. in Communications from Indiana University and an M.P.A. from the University of Cincinnati.
Contact Jen: 706-542-1637 or jenw@uga.edu