Instructors

From a Harvard educated doctor who works with Doctors Without Borders to a business instructor who is Founder and Principal of Silicon Valley Institute, students will hear firsthand from experts in their field.

Summer Springboard courses are taught by accomplished and passionate faculty recruited from many area colleges, universities and professional forums. Each faculty member is selected for their subject area expertise and proven ability to both challenge and captivate students.

UC Berkeley

Click here to see all UC Berkeley instructors.

Ex: Trial Law – Jack McMahon, JD, MA

Former Assistant Attorney General for the state of Rhode Island, and has taught law at Roger Williams University.

Yale University

Click here to see all Yale instructors.

Ex: Finance & Investing, Peter Mombaur, MBA

Former Managing Director of a private equity investment firm and consultant with McKinsey & Co.

Georgetown University

Click here to see all Georgetown instructors.

Ex: Architecture – Phil Muse, M.Arch

Leads an architecture firm and has worked on major projects such as Washington National Airport and Yongjin Light Rail System in Seoul.

Boston

Click here to see all Boston instructors.

Ex: Genetics – Summer Morrill and John Replogle, Ph.D. candidates

Ph.D. candidates at MIT in the department of Biology. They will team teach the course on the campus of MIT.

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Click here to see all Cal Poly instructors.

Ex: Civil Engineering – Eric Kaspar, Ph.D.

A professor within the Civil & Environmental Engineering department at Cal Poly.

UC San Diego

Click here to see all UC San Diego instructors.

Ex: Drone Cinematography – Brandon Murphy, MBA

Leads drone operations for San Diego-based video production company and worked with Fortune 50 companies.

All Instructors

Dr. Anton Theunissen, PhD

Anton is the Executive Director of the MS in Mathematical Finance program at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Karen Markowitz, MA

Karen Markowitz has been a psychology instructor for over 20 years at various colleges and universities in the coastal San Diego area.

Brandon Murphy, MBA

Brandon has worked with small businesses and Fortune 8 companies for over 13 years, bringing a wide range of expertise to RJ Films.

Lauren Cazares, B.A.

Lauren is a fundraising professional and experienced event planner with a strong history of working in the non-profit sector and political campaign industry.

Dr. Cathy Swindlehurst, Ph.D.

Dr. Swindlehurst is a founder and CEO of NovoMedix. She has over 25 years of experience in biotech and has a broad background in assay and biomarker development; drug discovery and development; as well as in project management, business development, and fund raising.

Dr. Christopher Faraone, Ed.D

Christopher Faraone has over 13 years of experience in the field of education. Currently, he is a history teacher in New Jersey where he successfully conceptualized, authored and presented curriculum for new AP Comparative Politics class.

Darren Gibson, Ed.D., MBA

Dr. Gibson is a professor of Business at Trinity Washington University, holds a doctorate degree in Organizational Management and Leadership, and is certified in Six Sigma.

Paula Matei-Grysiak, MS

Paula Matei-Grysiak is a skilled and enthusiastic teacher with extensive experience teaching Physics and Mathematics.

Rich Bonnanzio, MSME, MSM

Mr. Bonnanzio has over forty years of experience in various capacities in the engineering industry.

Dr. Moreen Donahue, DNP, RN, NEA-BC

Dr. Donahue served as the Chief Nursing Officer for the Western Connecticut Health Network, the region's premier, patient-centered health care organization serving residents of Western Connecticut and adjacent New York.

Dr. Lisa Acerbo, Ed.D

Dr. Lisa Acerbo is a university professor and published author of five young adult and new adult novels.

George Pillar III, MSCS

Currently he is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Haven and Manchester Community College where he teaches C++ & Java programming, Network Essentials, Intro to Info Technology, among other applications.

Steve Bevins, MBA, MAT

Mr. Bevins has a variety of teaching and training experience in education and business.

Jack McMahon, J.D., M.A.

Jack McMahon is an attorney and legal advisor with over 30 years of experience.

Reza Ghafur, SFSU

Reza Ghafur is a full-time lecturer of Cognitive Psychology and Social Psychology at San Francisco State University and recent graduate of the Social, Affective and Personality M.A. program.

Dr. Enrique Valdespino, Doctors Without Borders

Most recently, Dr. Valdespino has been recruited by Doctors Without Borders to provide medical care where it is most needed, and is awaiting mission placement.

Dr. Carol Chen and Dr. Andrea Tenner, UCSF

Both Drs. Chen and Tenner have developed and implemented educational curricula for teaching emergency care around the world.

Dr. Sean Choi, Facebook

Sean completed a Ph.D. in the electrical engineering department and a M.S. degree in computer science at Stanford University and B.S. degree in computer science and business economics and management at California Institute of Technology.