Dr. Adam John Ritchie
Dr. Adam Ritchie is the curriculum and course advisor for our Immunology program in Oxford. He is a vaccine developer and academic at the University of Oxford. Adam played a key role in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which saved over 6 million lives in 2021.
Romina Owolewa, BSN, RN-BC
Romina Owolewa received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the State University of New York, Brockport, in 2016. Immediately after graduating, Romina began her nursing career in an inpatient medical-surgical unit. Since then, she has worked in many healthcare settings, such as infusion centers, clinics, virtual nursing, and community health.
Patti Piburn
Patti Piburn is an assistant professor of journalism. She received her Masters of Arts in Journalism and Communication from South Dakota University in 2013, and has her Bachelors of Art in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science from Arizona State University
Colleen Twomey
Colleen Larkin Twomey is a Cal Poly Professor and Department Chair of the Graphic Communications Department. She received her Masters in Business Administration from the University of Delaware, and received her B.S. in Printing Management from Rochester Institute of Technology. She has taught for 22 years at Cal Poly SLO and has served as the Graphic Communications Department Chair for over 3 years.
Dr. Casey McDonald-Liu
Dr. McDonald-Liu received her PhD from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Florida; her Master of Art and Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University.
Casey McDonald-Liu is a recent PhD graduate from the University of Florida in strategic communications specializing in how organizations communicate to publics using a tonality similar to that of humans on social media.
Rachel Ma, PhD
Rachel Ma earned her Ph.D. in Paper and Printing Science from Western Michigan University. Her teaching and research interests include printing electronics, inks and substrates interactions, smart packaging, and biodegradable materials.
Dr. Christina Kaviani
Instructor at Cal Poly SLO – Dr. Christina Kaviani is a lecturer in the Department of Communications, Women, Gender & Queer Studies at Cal Poly SLO and has over a decade of experience in the field of gender-based violence prevention education and response.
Allen Settle
Allen Settle is the former 4-term former mayor of the City of San Luis Obispo and is currently serving his fifth term as a City Councilmember. He also serves on the SLO Airport Land Use Commission (he is an aircraft owner and pilot), the Local Agency Formation Commission (in charge of county- and city land use entity), and the League of Cities Revenue and Taxation Committee.
Dr. Xiaoying Rong
Instructor for Cal Poly SLO - Dr. Xiaoying Rong earned her Bachelor of Engineering from Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, a Master of Business Administration from Beijing Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Printing from Western Michigan University. She is currently teaching printed electronics and product development, specialty printing technologies, and consumer packaging at Cal Poly SLO.
Jacques de Villiers
Jacques has been working professionally as a software engineer since 2013. After graduating from a BSc with honours from UJ in 2012, he started work as a communication driver developer at Adroit Technologies. In 2015 Jacques was poached by Entelect to work as a full-stack web developer on a project for Deloitte South Africa.
Camryn Okere
Camryn has extensive knowledge and industry experience within the world of marketing strategy, digital design, social innovation and design thinking. Her academic qualifications were completed at the Washington University - Olin Business School with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Leadership and Strategic Management. Having previously worked at companies like Mastercard, the Wall Street Journal, SoundCloud, Bumble, and Valentino, Camryn has a vast range of experience and impact within the industry. She taught iXperience Visual Design courses in previous programs. Currently Camryn runs her founding company, as it is scaling within the US and Canada.
Dhruv Patel
As a Ph.D. candidate working within RIPE (Realizing Improved Photosynthetic Efficiency), Dhruv has generated relevant biological tools and discoveries for international smallholder farmers. To date, Dhruv have been awarded over $250,000 in fellowships and awards to investigate the intersection of molecular biology and food systems thinking.
Sarah Rhine, RN
Sarah Rhine received her Bachelor of Science in Health Services from James Madison University, and a Bachelor of Science in Registered Nursing from Marymount University. She is currently working on her Doctorate of Nurse Practice at George Mason University. Sarah has worked as a Trauma and Emergency Department Registered Nurse for the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus for 5 years and is also an adjunct clinical professor at Marymount University.
Othalia Doe-Brucem, MBA
Currently, Founder InnovFin Consulting Inc., Committee Member at SCC, Canada and Founder & President of The Innovative FinancierOthalia is the founder of InnovFin Consulting Inc., a consulting and advisory firm helping finance companies leverage innovative technologies.
Duncan Stevens
As a multi-disciplinary designer and researcher, I aim to integrate the wider context of culture, design psychology, visual design, strategy and user experience in my work. Strategic minded, I look at the bigger picture and weigh problems by ascertaining their unintended consequences and potential benefits. I am a digital nomad, working across timezones and cultures.I have experience in conducting Qualitative research, participant recruitment, data synthesis and balancing business objectives & those of the end-user.
Donna Thomas
Friction Ridge Comparison. She has worked in the forensic science discipline since 2007, performing latent print comparisons as well as processing crime scenes. She has been with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 35-plus years starting her career as a Sheriff’s Communication Operator and 911 Dispatcher.
Sean Chandler, MA
Sean Chandler earned his MA in experimental psychology from SFSU in the Mind, Brain, and Behavior program under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Geisler (SUNY) and Dr. Avi Ben-Zeev (Yale). Since graduating, he has been teaching upper division psychology courses, including Cognitive Psychology, Motivational Psychology, and Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology. He is also the lab manager of the Cognitive Psychophysiology lab at SFSU in which they use electroencephalography (EEG) to record electrocortical activity in the brain to explore the neural dynamics of a variety of cognitive processes. His current research focuses on examining the neural dynamics of group based biases in empathy for pain to explore how differences in the ways we relate to our own emotions can influence the ways in which we relate to each other's emotions.
MARQUITA A. TAYLOR, PH.D., MPH, MBA
Dr. Marquita Taylor is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Taylor holds a Ph.D. and both an MBA and MPH. Her primary research focuses on entrepreneurship and ways to foster entrepreneurial activity and advancement among African Americans. She has taught business at the University of California Los Angeles, Concordia University of Wisconsin, and internationally over the last eight years.
Ling Lam
Ling is currently the Director of Educational Technology at a K-8 gifted and talented independent school in Sunnyvale, CA. Prior to that, she was an Educational Technology and Innovation Specialist in Santa Clara, CA. In the past seven years, she has designed and taught Innovation and Technology classes, Robotics, and the Design Thinking class across the US, Asia, and Switzerland.
Micajah Truitt
Micajah Truitt currently lives, teaches, and plays in San Diego, California. He is a full-time tenured Professor of Art at Southwestern College in Chula Vista,
California. He has been there since 2002, and teaches courses in photography, digital imaging, drone photography and cinematography, and drone photogrammetry.
Laura Tycon Moreines, NP
Laura Tycon Moreines is a doctoral student at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Moreines holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Case Western Reserve University and her master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she minored in Palliative Care. Prior to starting her doctoral studies she worked at Yale performing geriatric and palliative care consults in the Emergency Department at Yale New Haven Health.
Dr. Reynolds A. Kairus, EMT-P, MD
Reynolds A. Kairus graduated from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic in June 2017 as a medical doctor. He is a co-author for an investigation published in The Journal of Clinical Toxicology (DOI: 10.4172/2161-0495. 1000311) and has received recognition from the New York – Fire Department for return of spontaneous circulation on patients in cardiac arrest.
Kirstin Skadberg, Ph.D.
Kirstin holds a Ph.D. in ecology from the SDSU/UC Davis Joint-Doctoral program, and teaches Environmental Assessment Practices at USD. She has over 20 years of environmental planning, environmental research, and teaching experience.
Margie Ferris Morris M.S.
Margie Ferris Morris, holds an advanced degree in Nutrition Sciences having over 35 years of international development and relief experience, spending seven years overseas. Her expertise is in performance monitoring and evaluation, global health and nutrition program design and management, training, emergency health operations and conflict mitigation.
Adam Blake Ph.D.
Adam Blake Ph.D. Is currently an Assistant Project Scientist at UCLA researching how people make judgements about their own memory and how to improve those judgements. He received his doctorate in Cognitive Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology from UCLA. He also attended UCLA for his masters in Cognitive Psychology. His research interests include understanding what factors influence students' judgements and decisions about learning, and how these factors inform us about the underlying mechanisms of metacognition.
Nina Hanning Ph.D.
Nina M. Hanning Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Researcher at New York University (NYU). She received her Ph.D. in Psychology and Systemic Neurosciences, graduating summa cum laude from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, in 2018. Over the past 10 years she has taught numerous courses on cognitive neuroscience, psychology, communication, and scientific practice, and is excited to share her knowledge and passion with the next generation of scientists.
Dr. Farhad Rostamian
Dr. Farhad Rostamian is currently a professor at UCLA teaching courses at both Anderson School of Management and Samueli School of Engineering. Prior to this academic position, he spent over 25 years making highly innovative and iconic products such as the pill camera (with Given Imaging), the camera for Apple’s 1st iPhone (working directly with Steve Jobs), and sensors for disposable insulin pumps (with Medtronic).
Yolanda Brandon, EMBA
Professor Brandon has over 35+ years’ experience as a Senior Business Executive primarily serving in the role of CFO/Controller. Her current roles are Adjunct Professor of Business and Accounting at Las Positas College and leading her consulting firm ,YCB Consulting, where she focuses on strategic planning and infrastructure buildout.
Remy Arteaga, MBA
As a Global Business Leader, Marketing Strategist, Investor, Advisor, D&I Champion, and Multilingual Entrepreneur who was born and raised in India, Dharti has built businesses that generated hundreds of millions in revenue, funded and mentored Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) in sectors ranging from AI to fashion and hospitality, and impacted thousands of female entrepreneurs across six continents.
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Remy currently serves as the Executive Director of CUNY Startups, a CUNY wide organization focused on improving the economic mobility of CUNY students through entrepreneurship programs. Remy previously served as Director of McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship within the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. At McGuire, Remy was responsible for delivering excellent academic and co-curricular programs that reached students throughout the university.
Guido Zuliani
Guido Zuliani is an architect and an educator. He graduated summa cum laude from the Università IUAV di Venezia in the summer of 1980. In 1982 he became a registered architect. In the fall of 1985 Mr. Zuliani moved to New York and began to teach at The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at The Cooper Union where is he currently a Distinguished Professor in Architecture. At Cooper Mr. Zuliani has taught Design Studios, Architectural History, and Seminars in the Theory and History of Architecture.
Dr. Henry C. Lee
Henry C. Lee is one of the world's foremost forensic scientists and founder of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven and currently serves as a Professor Emeritus. He holds a MS and PhD from New York University. Dr. Lee previously served as the Director of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory and commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Public Safety and the State Police.
David Sayles & Michael Cheah
Professor Sayles holds a MS in Management from MIT‘s Sloan School of Management and a BS in Chemistry from Yale University.
Professor Cheah also has taught global finance and macroeconomics at New York University, where he was senior adviser for the private sector concentration.
Dr. Zina Besirevic
Dr. Zina Besirevic is a researcher, psychologist and an educator with a breadth of experience spanning many countries and high impact institutions. She earned her Ph.D. in Cognition and Development from UC Berkeley, specializing in the study of emotions, effect of trauma on development, and moral reasoning.
Swati Singh, MBA
Swati Singh (she / her) is a professor of Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of San Diego and San Diego Community College District with over ten years of entrepreneurial and operations management experience. As an educator, Swati is passionate about teaching entrepreneurship as a vehicle for social change. She is currently building her own business in creative strategy and direction for food companies interested in social impact and sustainability. Swati has a BA in Economics from UC San Diego and an MBA from the University of San Diego.
David Lazzara, PhD
David Lazzara is currently a part time lecturer of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the USC Viterbi school of engineering. Dr. Lazzara received his Doctoral Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT in 2012 where he also completed his Master's Degree in the same subjects in 2004.
Dr. Daniel Frey
Daniel Frey is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Prof. Frey’s research is in the field called “robust design” -- a set of engineering practices which help to ensure that engineering systems function despite variations due to manufacture, wear, deterioration, and environmental conditions. His honors include the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Teaching Award, the Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching at MIT, the R&D 100 Award (received twice). He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Statistical Association, and the American Society of Engineering Education. Dr. Frey holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado and a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Ali Talebinejad
Ali Talebinejad has done his PhD at MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the area of Robotics and Computer Vision and has received his MS from MIT Mechanical Engineering in the area of System Dynamics and Control.
Daniel Frey is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Prof. Frey’s research is in the field called “robust design” — a set of engineering practices which help to ensure that engineering systems function despite variations due to manufacture, wear, deterioration, and environmental conditions.
Lena Skalaban, Ph.D. candidate
Lena Skalaban is a Ph.D. candidate in Psychology at Yale University where she has been a teaching fellow for undergraduate courses such as The Human Brain and Research Methods in Psychology. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Psychology from New York University. Lena's research focuses on the development of learning and memory, and what information might be adaptive to remember or forget depending on the particular point in development.
Dr. Qi Zhao, UCLA
Dr. Qi Zhao holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA where he worked in the Network Research Lab, Internet Research Lab, and won the Computer Science Departmental Fellowship.
Dr. Laura Manyweather, Ed.D., MBA
With 29 years of experience with private corporations and 12 years in academia, Laura brings systems, processes and organizational structure to small and micro businesses.
Dr. Benjamin Supat, UC San Diego
Dr. Benjamin Supat is a Stanford educated emergency medicine physician, currently working as a senior resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UC San Diego.
Artem Joukov, JD, University of Southern California
Artem Joukov has worked as a felony prosecutor in Florida and Alabama, where he tried over 100 bench and jury trials and handled a wide variety of cases.
Violet Bagni, UCLA
Violet Bagni is an EMT Clinical Instructor at UCLA with over 20 years of experience teaching the fundamentals of emergency medicine.
Matt Miller, BA
Matt Miller is an adventure photographer and videographer from Tennessee, currently working in San Diego and LA.
Cheryl Burke, DNP, RN
Cheryl Burke is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Northeastern University, School of Nursing with over 20 years of experience.
Dr. Tina Klein, UC San Diego
Dr. Tina Klein has taught at top business schools: UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, USC’s Marshall School of Business, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and UC San Diego's Rady School of Management.
Dr. Vicki Nienaber-Meadows, Ph.D.
Dr. Nienaber has over 30 years’ experience at large companies, mid-sized biotech, and her own biotech, Zenobia Therapeutics.
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.
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.
Dr. Lisa Acerbo, Ed.D.
Dr. Lisa Acerbo is a university professor and published author of five young adult and new adult novels.
Dr. Enrique Valdespino, Doctors Without Borders
Dr. Valdespino, a Harvard trained instructor, has been recruited by Doctors Without Borders to provide medical care where it is most needed, and is awaiting mission placement.
George Muksian, Wesleyan University
George Muksian combines a lifetime of courtroom experience with teaching experience at some of the nation's top universities
Dr. Michellana Jester, MIT
Dr. Michellana Jester is a Lecturer and GLab Course Manager at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Adam Morris, Harvard University
Adam Morris is a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in psychology at Harvard University. He received his B.S. in psychology from Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude with honors. Adam specializes in social-emotional learning. Most of us spend decades of our life in school, and yet we are never taught the most meaningful thing: how to be with other people, in a healthy and fulfilling way.
