Emma Burgin, NCC serves as the Director of the FUTURE Program and provides strategic leadership for all aspects of program development, implementation, and evaluation. She directs program operations, advances long-term goals, and cultivates collaborative partnerships across the university and community to expand opportunities for students. Through her leadership, Dr. Burgin supports staff and students within a nationally recognized, innovative model of inclusive postsecondary education, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based practices that promote student success, belonging, independence, and competitive integrated employment outcomes.
Sydney Sandefur, BS is the Career Transition and Independent Living Coordinator with the FUTURE Program. Sydney is a University of Tennessee graduate and has served in this role since 2022. Sydney helps FUTURE students develop skills for independent living, career readiness, and post-secondary success. She also teaches Career and Life Planning, helping students explore career pathways, strengthen employability skills, and prepare for meaningful employment after graduation. Her work emphasizes hands-on learning experiences in daily living, community engagement, and job readiness to promote student independence and confidence.
Murphy Caldwell, BS is the Academic Support Coordinator for the FUTURE Program. He grew up in Kingston, TN, and graduated from Roane County High School in 2004. He leads the Academic Support Team, which works to ensure that every FUTURE student is enrolled and registered for classes each semester and that they receive all the supports and accommodations they need to achieve academic success in every course. The proverbial prodigal son of a family of public-school teachers, Murphy is dedicated to a life of reading and learning and is passionate about encouraging others to take joy in the same. The opportunity to help guide FUTURE students through their higher education experience, as well as to work every day with amazing, selfless colleagues to further expand access to inclusive postsecondary education, is one of the great privileges of his life.
Macey Pierce, BS is FUTURE’s Operations Coordinator. This means they are responsible for program logistics and management of the FUTURE space. She also supports family in navigating the paperwork labyrinth of financial aid. Macey is Knoxville native whose undergrad degree is in psychology and game design; they will soon be graduating with a master’s in communications. In her free time, she enjoys pursuing esoteric knowledge.
Paris Harrington, BA is the Internship Support Specialist for FUTURE. She helps students find internships and makes sure they are supported while completing them. Paris is a second year doctoral student in the School Psychology Program. At UTK she also does academic mentoring for student athletes and is a graduate research assistant focusing on positive psychology interventions. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Education. At USC she was an undergraduate research assistant and SEC cheerleader. She is originally from New Jersey and enjoys reading, painting by numbers, shopping, traveling, and being with friends and family.
Fiona Hart is a graduate teaching associate teaching Life Skills and Career and Life Planning to the incoming cohort of students in Future. She is a second year doctoral student in the UTK School Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelors degree in Education with specialties in Disabilities in Society and Psychology. She is a quadruplet and two of her brothers have autism, which is what drew her to School Psychology! She enjoys taking care of my many pets and exploring Knoxville!
Feixia Wang, MSC, LSC (TN) is a Graduate Teaching Associate teaching Career and Life Planning Course. She is a third-year doctoral student in UT’s Counselor Education Program. She earned a master’s degree in counseling with a concentration in Professional School Counseling from Carson-Newman University. Over the years, she has spent two years teaching elementary students, four years providing guidance counseling, and another four years working with students as a school counselor. When she is not on campus, she loves taking quiet walks with her 3-year-old son and traveling to explore theme parks, mountains, beaches, and new places.