About

Meet Chalet

Accomplished Author, Writer and Speaker

Bio

Chalet A. Jean-Baptiste was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where she first developed her love for issues surrounding Black people and her passion for writing. At 19 years old, she wrote, directed, and co-produced the Off-Broadway play, The Sound of Love’s Fire, which ran for a month and received awards and media recognition. After graduating from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, she began her career as a magazine and financial writer for TIAA-CREF in New York City. She later worked in the media relations and marketing department. While working at TIAA, she began teaching at Medgar Evers College as an adjunct instructor. This spurred a newfound passion for teaching and she has been teaching ever since. She currently works at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), Manassas campus as an Associate Professor of English, where she teaches English, literature, African-American Literature, Poetry, Short Story, Mythology, and a Communications class. She is also the co-director of a mentoring program, WISE, focused on providing academic and leadership opportunities for young women.

Chalet earned a M.A. in English from Long Island University and a M.A. in Communications from New York Institute of Technology. She is currently working on her doctorate in Writing and Rhetoric at George Mason University. She had served a judge for the Prince William County Arts Council and served on the board of CAPAC (Creative and Performing Arts Center, Inc.) in Woodbridge, Virginia. She has traveled all over the world presenting on her areas of interests and research, including African-American rhetoric, Black images in the public sphere, Black activism, and pop art’s role in the lives of Black people. In her spare time, she loves to write, travel, attend cultural events, and spend time with her family. She has three beautiful children and lives in Northern Virginia.

Papers/Conferences/Presentations

Presenter, Black Violence, Black Bodies, and Black Art, American Association for Blacks in Higher Education. New Orleans, Louisiana. March 2018

Presenter, “The Neoteric Intellectual:” A New Wave of the Black Intellectual Movement, The Black Doctoral Network. Atlanta, Georgia. October 2017

Presenter, “Empathetic Social Interactions” as a tool for retaining African-American Students at PWIs for Academia and Beyond, TYCA-WEST. Glendale, Arizona. October 2017

Presenter, “Empathetic Social Interactions” as a tool for retaining African-American Students at PWIs for Academia and Beyond, University of the West of Scotland, International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Conference. Paisley, Scotland. June 2017

Presenter, “The Neoteric Intellectual:” A New Wave of the Black Intellectual Movement, Howard University English Department Conference. Washington, D.C. April 2017

Presenter, “Empathetic Social Interactions” as a tool for retaining African-American Students, American Association for Blacks in Higher Education. Raleigh, North Carolina. March 2017

Presenter, Rhetoric and the Art of Doing and Making in the Pop Culture and Literature Classroom, Two-Year College Association Conference-SE. Charleston, South Carolina. February 2017

Presenter, Writing in the Digital Age in Digital Spaces, Old Dominion University Writing Conference. Norfolk, Virginia. 2015

Presenter, Successful Grant Writing 101– Women Empowering Through Connections Conference 2013

Presenter, Building Future Leaders: Retaining Minority Students– VCCS New Horizons. Richmond, Virginia. 2013

Guest Lecturer, Women and the Self- NVCC 2013

Presenter, Race Relations and Stereotypes in the movie, Crash- TCCD-NE 2009

Presenter, Writing and Public Relations: An Unbreakable Bond”- Life Communicators Association 2004

“I worked with Chalet to purchase her home in Virginia. Through that process I met a tenacious, fun-loving, intelligent woman. After she settled, we nurtured a great friendship to sisterhood. I appreciate her very much. She is a wonderful person and an even better mother.” Angela Warren

Re-Max Real Estate Agent

Professional Affiliations

Black Doctoral Network, Member 2017- Present

American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, Member, 2015-Present

CCCC and NCTE, Member, 2014-Present

Judge, Prince William County Arts Council, 2016-2018

Personnel Committee, Member, NOVA, 2014-2017

Award recipient of two NOVA Educational Grant Awards, 2013

Faculty of the Year nominee, NOVA, 2013

Faculty Judge, Creative Writing Contest, 2013-Present

Provost Faculty Advisory Committee, Member, NOVA, 2012-Present

English Hiring Committee, NOVA, 2012

Curriculum Committee, Member, NOVA, 2011-2013

Public Relations Society of America, Member, 2001-Present

Blog Highlight

“Temptation”

Tyler Perry’s film Temptation was so much more than a movie. It exemplifies this generation’s never-satisfied, always-searching-for-more inner gratification with one’s life and an almost blasé attitude about marriage. Marriage, like parenting, has no exact rulebook. Every marriage has its own rules. I’m a dreamer and believe in love—so the traditional marriage that involves—fidelity, commitment, compromise—fits me well. But, marriage, like a career, requires attention and hard work. I’ve never understood when couples said they were getting divorced simply because they were unhappy.

Testimonial

“Chalet is an extraordinary author with works that speak to souls. She expresses her view and thoughts on paper and leaves her heart on the pages of her work. She uses relatable content to help heal and connect with the reader. Her ability to create positivity within her surroundings is an asset that she utilizes at work to engage her students and peers. She has brought conferences to the work place in hopes to stimulate the faculty and increase their creativity as well.”

Kelly Usher
Assistant Professor of English: NOVA

Get In Touch

(202) 524-3448
info@chaletswits.com