Meet the Associate Directors

Allison C. Chambers began her career in military education in 2004 as the NCPACE Coordinator for Pearl Harbor working directly with the Navy afloat commands. She was lucky enough to spend two and a half years with Central Texas College managing this program. She relocated to Dallas, TX in late 2006 and began working with Thomas Edison State University as a military counselor. She has since become the Associate Director for the South Central region for the Office of Military and Veteran Education. She is now happy to say that she has nearly 14 years of experience working with military-related higher education. Allison has been a part of the Council on Military Education in the South (COMETS) since 2011 and she is now the organization’s Executive Director. She is also an active part of the conference planning committee.

Allison earned her BA in Social Sciences and is currently working on her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies in Professional Communications with Thomas Edison State University. She lives with her two young sons and a menagerie of animals (including 2 donkeys!) on their 16-acre spread east of Dallas.

Ellen Coleman is a native of Philadelphia. She has worked as an Associate Director for the Office of Military and Veteran Education at Thomas Edison State University since 2005. Ellen has a Bachelor of Business in Accounting from Temple University, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Leo University and Masters in Education from Troy University. Prior to working at Thomas Edison State University she began her career in accounting for a firm in Philadelphia. As she followed her husband to Virginia Beach, she worked as a substitute teacher to become familiar with the area. Ellen then worked for Tidewater Community College on the Norfolk Naval Base and then onto the Navy College as a counselor. She has been involved with Virginia Advisory Council on Military Education (VA-ACME) for eleven years, chairing the Membership Committee, Member-at Large and presently on the Board as Treasurer. Ellen currently resides in Virginia Beach, VA with her family.

Alison Hansen is an Associate Director in the Office of Military and Veteran Education at Thomas Edison State University. Prior to entering the world of Military Education, she was a Single Sailor Program Coordinator at Subase New London in CT and then Recreation Director on board a submarine tender home ported in La Maddalena, Italy. During her time in Italy, she was part of “ship’s company”, living the life of a sailor while wearing civilian clothes. After Italy, she followed her (newly acquired) Active Duty husband to Hawaii, where she was the NCPACE Coordinator on Naval Base Pearl Harbor for Central Texas College. Connecticut was their next homeport, where Alison began her career with TESU, first as a Regional Base Counselor and then as an Associate Director. Her husband is currently assigned to a Subase New London in Groton, CT where they are raising their two children.

Alison graduated from Ithaca College (NY) with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (Minor in Outdoor Recreation) and from the State University of New York at Cortland with a Master of Science in Recreation. She is currently (very slowly) pursuing a Masters of Business Administration from Thomas Edison State University.

Alisha Miller is an Associate Director in the Office of Military and Veteran Education covering the western coast of the U.S. and Alaska.Alisha began her career with Thomas Edison State University as a military base counselor at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, and then serving as the executive assistant to the Associate Vice President in the Office of Military and Veteran Education. She earned a Bachelor of Science in marine biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is currently working on a Master of Science certificate in Environmental Science at the University of Maryland University College. Prior to her career at Thomas Edison State University, Alisha worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) studying deep-sea corals and as a marine endangered species observer. Although her background is in science, Alisha has found a passion for serving the military community through supporting their educational goals. Alisha is actively involved in the Council of College and Military Educators (CCME) as a Board Member and also as a member of the National Association of Institutions for Military Education Services (NAIMES) and serves as the Secretary and on their scholarship committee.

Originally from Spain, Maria Marte is the Associate Director in charge of Georgia, Alabama, and Hawaii. Prior to joining Thomas Edison State University in 2005, Maria worked at the Schofield Army Education Center located in Hawaii as a test administrator and an e-ArmyU education advisor. She and her family currently live in Georgia, where her husband serves in the US Army.

Maria earned a Bachelor in Business Administration in General Management from Hawaii Pacific University as well as a Masters in Human Resources Management from Thomas Edison State University.