Cybelle Barthelmess
Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership, Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Adjunct Professor of Leadership & Organizational Studies
Graduate and Professional Studies | Master of Arts in Leadership
Kalmanovitz School of Education | Leadership & Organizational Studies
Professional Overview
Dr. Belle Barthelmess (she/her) is a Full-Time Adjunct Professor, in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership, MA in Leadership, and BA in Leadership and Organizational Studies, and joined Saint Mary’s College of California in January, 2024. With over 20 years of experience in the field of higher education, Dr. Belle has served as a dedicated scholar-practitioner, committed to educating, equipping, and engaging college students in their development of identity, intellectual curiosity, intercultural competence, and faith formation. She has centered her research and work around engaged and experiential pedagogical practices that disrupt power structures and invite students into co-creating the learning environment.
As the former Dean of Students, for the International Leadership Training Institute in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, the Director of the American Studies Program in Washington, D.C., and a Traveling Faculty member for the International Honors Program, Dr. Belle has had extensive global experience working with college students from far-stretching coordinates around the world. Her ability to reimagine a city, landfill, wasteland, or rural farmland as an imaginative classroom has created transformational student experiences that have had profound and long-lasting effects on students’ lives.
Dr. Belle's research centers around creating anti-racist pedagogical practices that specifically engage evangelical white people in their racial cognition and bridging this with their faith identity. Her dedication to being, becoming, and creating anti-racist initiatives, individuals, and institutions is paramount in her personal and professional endeavors. She is an anti-racist trainer and consultant, and volunteers with the Center for Restorative Justice in Pasadena, CA. Dr. Belle is also the proud owner of an English Cream Golden Retriever, Winifred, who serves as a certified therapy dog in her community.
Education
Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership, Azusa Pacific University; M.A. in International Education, School for International Training Graduate Institute; B.A. in Communication & Urban Studies, Gordon College