Former CEHD Students Honored at Awards Gala

Honorees recognized for impact across Texas and beyond

Our 2025 Outstanding Alumni Awards Gala recognized seven difference makers with the highest honored bestowed upon former CEHD students. The honorees were selected for the mark they have made on their professions and communities after graduating from our College.

Meet this year’s honorees and discover how their work reflects our mission to improve lives through teaching, research and service.

Dr. Adam E. Barry ’07

Dr. Barry is a health behavior social scientist and Department Head of Health Behavior in Texas A&M’s School of Public Health. He previously served as Interim Department Head of our Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management. His research focuses on alcohol use and impairment, including protective strategies and visual indicators. He received Society for Public Health Education’s Horizon Award and faculty research awards from the University of Florida and Texas A&M. He was named a Presidential Impact Fellow in 2019 and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior.

Dr. George Cunningham ’99

Dr. Cunningham served as a university professor and academic leader for over 20 years at multiple universities. His research, teaching and service focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in sport and physical activity. He has authored over 250 publications, including the award-winning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Sport Organizations, and edited the Routledge Handbook of Theory in Sport Management. In 2024, he began Master of Divinity studies at Yale Divinity School and serves as a Postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, a chapel minister at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and a seminarian at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

Dr. Arnold LeUnes ’60

Dr. LeUnes came to Texas A&M aiming to coach football after excelling as an honors student and four-sport athlete. After a B.S. in physical education, he served three years in the U.S. Army, then earned an M.Ed. in public school administration and an Ed.D. in psychology at the University of North Texas — before returning to Aggieland to begin a six-decade teaching career. He developed an instrument to assess psychological skills in youth sport and authored 10 books while modeling active living through community sport. His professional engagement reflects a career of service and mentorship.

Dr. Wen Luo ’07

Dr. Luo is a professor and our associate department head of Educational Psychology. She develops advanced statistical models to evaluate educational interventions and has a competitive IES grant, over 60 peer-reviewed papers and 4,500 citations. Luo established a formal faculty mentoring program and earned the 2025 EPSY Faculty Mentoring Award. She serves as a statistical advisor for the Journal of School Psychology and as a reviewer for national funding agencies, including the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Her leadership and commitment to creating a supportive environment have been recognized with multiple awards within the college.

Dr. Elisa Beth McNeill ’85

Dr McNeill is an instructional professor in Health Behavior at Texas A&M School of Public Health. She teaches health education methods, human sexuality and population health. She leads study abroad and service-learning programs and serves as co-principal investigator for the TOPS opioid prevention initiative. She co-chairs the National Consensus for School Health Education Project, serves on national boards and has earned multiple teaching awards.

Dr. Jodi Nerren ’07

Dr. Nerren is an assistant professor and Extension specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Family and Community Health Unit, leading statewide work in early childhood systems, workforce training and evaluation. As a founding member of the Texas A&M Institute for Early Childhood Development and Education, she connects Extension outreach, university research and community partners to improve outcomes for children and families. Since 2020 she has guided more than $14 million in projects and built training pathways for credentials such as the Texas Child Care Director Credential and the Child Development Associate.

Michelle Resendez Mata ’20

Mata received the Early Career Award, recognizing outstanding achievements occurring within the first ten years after graduation. She is a certified HR professional and Senior Leadership and Team Development Specialist on Insight Enterprises’ Global Culture and Engagement team. She drives talent development and learning transfer across compliance, operations, systems and technical training, work that helped Insight earn Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion honors in 2023 and 2024. She is a frequent speaker in instructional design, eLearning, accessibility and inclusion and serves in PTA and advisory roles in the community.

For media inquiries, contact Ruben Hidalgo.