Meet the TCOM FDC team

Sharon Manson, EdD

FDC Director

Sharon Manson is responsible for coordinating the educational activities of the Center, conference planning and promotion, and helping develop the curriculum for GCAM.

As a former Director of Housing Sharon brings a wealth of experience from a career in Student Affairs, mostly working with first-year students in on-campus housing.  She has over fifteen years of teaching leadership, professionalism, supervision, time management, crisis intervention, counseling/feedback, and other skills to students and staff, and has led local, state and regional training workshops and conferences with audiences of 5 to 250. Working with undergraduates, graduates, and professional staff, Sharon has seen many similarities in the challenges we face in education and training.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, Master of Arts in Student Personnel Services, and her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, and is a member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM).

Elizabeth Burleson, EdD

Education Program Manager

Elizabeth Burleson is an Educational Program Manager for TCOM FDC.  She received a B.S. in Early Childhood & Elementary Education as well as Master of Education in Educational Leadership.  She also received her Doctor of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Wesleyan University in 2018.  Elizabeth has spent twenty years in public education, with the majority of her career teaching early elementary and special education.  She believes every student, regardless of age, is unique and must have a stimulating learning environment in which they can grow.  In her free time, she loves spending time with her family, her people, and her pets.  She also enjoys being outdoors, gardening, reading books, and trying new recipes out on her daughter.

Trent Dawson, PhD

Educational Program Manager

Trent brings a wealth of experience to his role at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, having served as a program coordinator at both the University of California, Merced, and Carnegie Mellon University, where he specialized in accreditation administration and program improvement initiatives. During his recent tenure at Louisiana State University, Trent contributed to multiple research projects centered on inequities in computer science. A few early career highlights include five years in medical/biotech sales, an internship at NASA, and co-founding an environmental startup in Austin, TX. Trent holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies from Louisiana State University, an M.Ed. from Virginia Tech, and a B.B.A. from The University of Oklahoma.

Melanie O’Donnell

Administrative Coordinator