Faculty Bios and Info

Mary Mendez Bonnell

Email: bonnelmy@pgcc.edu 

Mary Mendez Bonnell is an Associate Professor of Education at Prince George's Community College. She is a first-generation graduate student (MST), second-generation Latina, caregiver to a neurodiverse sibling and child, and a striver. While these characteristics do not define her, they frame her work in education and research. The lens she brings to her work as an educator is both from an inside and outside perspective as she learns and teaches about perspectives, systems, and practices that have excluded and included her and the people she loves and serves.  

Currently, she is working on finishing her doctorate, which investigates restorative justice in inclusive spaces. She has worked as a teacher and curriculum director in grades K-12 schools in the U.S. and abroad, as an adjunct instructor at George Washington University, and as a consultant with the D.C. Public Charter School Board. 

Teresa Bridger

Email: bridgetl@pgcc.edu 

Teresa Bridger is a Professor of Education at Prince George's Community College. She holds multiple B.S. degrees in education and an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in education. She is certified by the Maryland Department of Education in Elementary Education, Special Education, Early Childhood Education, Administration and Supervision, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). She has taught at the college since 2002 as a full-time faculty member and was an adjunct professor before that time. 

Other experiences include K-12 teaching positions, administrative positions in both K-12 and higher education, director or coordinator positions on numerous grant projects, and serving on various statewide committees and task forces. She continues serving on statewide committees and consults with organizations and other higher education colleges on various topics.   

Ashanti Bryant Foster

Email: bryantam@pgcc.edu 

Ashanti Bryant Foster is an Associate Professor and the Department Chair of Education in the Professional Studies and Community Education division at Prince George’s Community College. She represents her family as a first-generation college graduate and the first in her family to earn a doctorate. Dr. Ashanti holds a B.A. in elementary education from Morgan State University, an M.S. in secondary education from Bowie State University, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Argosy University. Dr. Ashanti has been with PGCC since 2014, teaching continuing education and teacher education courses. 

She previously served the Prince George’s County public school community as a teacher, coordinator, secondary school assistant principal, and elementary principal for 20 years. Her work around digital teaching and learning, family engagement, and student engagement earned her opportunities to present to national and international organizations several times a year. Her numerous accomplishments include representing the state of Maryland as the Assistant Principal of the Year, being voted one of Prince George’s County’s Social Innovation Fund “40 under 40,” and supporting hundreds of youth in obtaining their Girl Scout Gold Award and Boy Scout Eagle Rank. Dr. Foster’s most recent professional advancement includes serving as the interim Associate Dean for the Professional Studies and Community Education Division. 

Anitra Butler-Ngugi

Email: butlerae@pgcc.edu 

Anitra Butler-Ngugi is an Associate Professor at Prince George’s Community College. She holds a B.S., M.Ed., M.A., M.S., and a graduate certification in education. Before joining PGCC in August 2001, Mrs. Butler-Ngugi was an elementary and middle school classroom teacher, reading specialist, curriculum writer, and special educator. Anitra Butler-Ngugi's research interests include instructional design for online learning, Critical Literacy; QuantCrit; DisCrit; and Ubuntu.

She is a first-generation college graduate in her family and a Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc member.

Lakita Wilson

Email: wilsonld@pgcc.edu 

Lakita Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Education at Prince George’s Community College. She holds a B.S. in early childhood education, an M.Ed. in reading and literacy, and an M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults. She joined PGCC’s Teacher Education Department as an assistant professor in August 2009. Before joining PGCC, Professor Wilson taught elementary school as a classroom teacher for the Prince George’s County Public School System.  

Professor Wilson is the author of several fiction and nonfiction books for children, including What Is Black Lives Matter? and Who Is Colin Kaepernick?, part of the #1 New York Times Bestselling WhoHQ series. She is a first-generation college graduate and a PGCC alum, studying early childhood education before transferring to a four-year university.