Employee Directory

Kiera Ball

Instructor of English and Reading

Technology Center 265

kiera.ball@northern.edu

Kiera Ball is an Instructor of English, having joined Northern’s faculty in 2023. She holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of South Dakota and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sioux Falls in English and theology/philosophy.

Her research interests focus on regional literature and gender and theology in 19th- and 20th-century American and British literature.
 

Lysbeth Em Benkert

Department Chair/Professor of English

Technology Center 373

lysbeth.benkert@northern.edu

Resume/CV

Dr. Benkert has a particular interest in the Renaissance and the reformations that swept through England and Europe during the early modern period (1459-1700). She has taught several courses related to this time in history, including classes on Shakespeare, Early Modern Women Writers, as well as a seminar in Divine and Meditative Literature.

In addition, she has also published two chapbooks of original poetry: #Girl Stuff (2018) and Please thank you but why (2023). These works directly inform her classes in Composition, Introduction to Creative Writing, and Creative Writing—Poetry.

Kristen Brown

Assistant Professor of English

Technology Center 255

kristen.brown@northern.edu

Ph.D. in English and American Literature, University of South Carolina, 2020

M.A. in English, Gannon University, 2009

B.S. in English/Secondary Education Track, Towson University, 2001

 

CV

 

After teaching in the eastern and southwestern U.S., Dr. Kristen Brown joined Northern's faculty in 2022. While earning her Ph.D. in English and American Literature at The University of South Carolina, she taught composition, literature, and ethics courses while designing her own minor in Indigenous studies with emphasis on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her research was funded in part by the national Bilinski Dissertation Fellowship.

Dr. Brown's teaching and research often focus on Indigenous perspectives and environmental themes. In addition to scholarship published in Western American Literature and Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, she recently published a chapter offering pedagogical approaches to the works of Dakota author-activist Charles Eastman/Ohiyesa. She is currently co-editing and contributing to a collection titled Land Management in North American Literature and Culture: From Resource to Reciprocity, which is forthcoming from Routledge’s Environmental Humanities Series (2026).

Courses Taught

ENGL 101 Composition I
ENGL 201 Composition II
ENGL 210 Introduction to Literature
ENGL 213 Backgrounds to Literature: Native American Literatures
ENGL 215 Literature in Global Contexts
ENGL 242 American Literature II
ENGL 258 Literature and Culture
ENGL 363 Sci-Fi and Worldbuilding
ENGL 490/590 Seminar

Research Interests Indigenous studies, the long nineteenth century, sensory/sound studies, environmental ethics, settler colonialism, queer ecologies

Vicki Evans

English Instructor/Tutoring Center Director

Technology Center 151

vicki.evans@northern.edu

M.S. English Education, Northern State University

B.A. English, Northern State University

 

Vicki Evans, a Northern graduate, teaches English and directs NSU Tutoring Services. Her graduate thesis focused on composition and rhetoric, and she holds an emphasis in teaching English as a second language.

 

Research Interests

Developmental writing

Composition

First-generation students

Second language learners

 

Courses Taught

ENGL 033

Justin Foote

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies/Director of Forensics

Technology Center 351

justin.foote@northern.edu

Juan Gonzalez

Associate Professor of Spanish

Technology Center 249

juan.gonzalez@northern.edu

Elizabeth K. Haller

Associate Dean, Professor of English

Technology Center 371

elizabeth.haller@northern.edu

B.A.  University of Northern Colorado

M.A.  Central Michigan University

Ph.D.  Kent State University

Resume/CV

 

Courses Taught

• ENGL 101/201: Composition I & II
• ENGL 213: Backgrounds to Literature:
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • Poe and Gothic Literature
  • Science in Literature
• ENGL 222: British Literature from 1800
• ENGL 230: Young Adult Literature:
  • Lord of the Rings
  • Harry Potter
  • Evolution of Fairy Tales
  • Dystopian Literature
• ENGL 284: Introduction to Criticism
• ENGL 490: Seminar - Victorian Literature

Dr. Elizabeth Haller is an English professor and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in young adult literature, critical analysis, and nineteenth-century British literature, with a particular emphasis on the novels of the Brontë sisters and the lens of trauma studies in Victorian fiction. In the classroom, she brings these passions to life, often weaving in themes that connect trauma studies with British and American literature and films. In her role as Associate Dean, she works closely with faculty to support innovative academic programming and meaningful student learning experiences. 

Her forthcoming book, A Literary Companion to the Brontës (McFarland Press), offers a rich exploration of the Brontës’ lives, works, and lasting cultural impact. Dr. Haller’s research also engages with trauma theory and psychoanalytic criticism and their applications to literature and historical events, deepening the insights she brings to her courses. She is dedicated to helping students develop not only as careful readers and confident writers, but also as skilled critical thinkers prepared to make connections between the past and the present.

 

Research Interests

• Victorian Literature
• Gothic Literature
• Trauma Studies
• The British Industrial Revolution
• Women of the Early 20th Century Labor Reform Movement

 

Sarah Meirose

English, Reading and Communication Studies Instructor

Huron Campus

sarah.meirose@northern.edu

Sarah Meirose started at Northern in 2023, and she teaches English, Reading, and Communication classes at the Huron Community Campus. She completed her BA in English from James Madison University in 2016, and her MA in English from the University of South Dakota in 2019. Sarah specializes in fantasy literature, narrative theory, video game studies, and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Literature Today (2018, 2019, 2023, 2025), as well as Intraspection: A Journal of Rhetoric, Culture, and Style (2022) and Vanguard: Exercises for the Creative Writing Classroom (2020).

Jessica Ness

Academic Advisor

Jewett Science Center 117

jessica.ness@northern.edu

I am academic advisor for science, math, global languages, English, and communication studies. With degrees in business management and English literature and creative writing from Northern, I have been on campus intermittently since 2002.

I grew up in the Aberdeen area and worked for the South Dakota Board of Regents for 10 years. As a lifelong learner, I have always been a great supporter of education from childhood to adulthood. My goal in advising is to help students plan their path to graduation and help them look outside their major to become well-rounded applicants for future opportunities. I hope students will be able to look to me for guidance and reassurance in reaching their goals. Whether it is a smile and an encouraging word, or a referral to a resource, I want my advisees to know I am here for them.

In my spare time, I can usually be found reading a book, writing, baking, or spending time with my nieces, nephews, and dog.