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.
See below for more information on the Summer Springboard instructors at UC Berkeley!
Medicine & Healthcare
Dr. Andrea Tenner, MPH, MD and Dr. Carol Chen, MPH, MD
Both Drs. Tenner and Chen have developed and implemented educational curricula for teaching emergency care around the world.
Dr. Andrea Tenner serves as faculty at the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of California, San Francisco where she is also the Director of the Global Health Fellowship. She has developed and implemented educational curriculum for teaching emergency care in all around the world.
Dr. Carol Chen serves as faculty at the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of California, San Francisco where she specializes in pediatric emergency medicine as well as global health. She chairs the department’s continuing medical education course entitled “Building a Career in Global Health and Emergency Medicine”.
Engineering & Innovation
Reza Alam, Ph.D.
Reza is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley as well as the American Bureau of Shipping Chair in Ocean Engineering. His research areas include ocean wave power, underwater wireless communication and underwater drone technology. Born in Yazd, a small historic city at the geographic center of Iran, Reza received his BSc in Mechanical Engineering and MSc in Applied Mechanics from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. He then joined the Mechanical Engineering program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, and then served as a Postdoctoral associate and Lecturer at MIT.
Computer Science
Sean Choi, Ph.D.
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. After finishing the masters degree and before returning as a Ph.D. student, Sean worked at LinkedIn as a data engineer and worked at VMware as a senior member of technical staff. He is currently working at Facebook as a Research Scientist in data center networking group.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Cathy Chang, M.A.
Cathy Chang is the Founder and Principal of Silicon Valley Institute. Prior to SV Institute, she was the Program Director for Custom Programs in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of California Berkeley Extension, a new initiative to introduce a dynamic higher education program that combines both interactive academic and experiential learning activities for a wide range of audiences from around the world. She has also served various organizations from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in Technology, Hospitality, and PR & Advertising industries such as Microsoft and the Westin Hotel. Teaching, designing, organizing and delivering meaningful, memorable and life-changing learning content and experiences are her passion.
Architecture
Philip Muse, M.Arch.
Philip Muse is a licensed architect with over 40 years of extensive experience in architectural design and project management. He has led and advised multidisciplinary teams in the US, Singapore, and South Korea. Some of his projects include the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the Yongjin Light Rail Transit in Seoul. Philip is currently a Project Manager for Parsons Corporation, a technology-focused defense, intelligence, security, and infrastructure engineering firm. Philip holds both a Bachelor and Master of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has taught at the University of Houston.
Psychology & Neuroscience
Reza Ghafur, M.A.
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. Reza has been published in journals such as Current Opinions in Behavioral Science and Psychology of Consciousness. His current research interests include examining the relationship between competition and prejudice and how this relationship is moderated by perceptions of scarcity.
Trial Law
Jack McMahon, J.D., M.A.
John McMahon is an attorney and legal advisor with over 30 years of experience. During his time as Assistant Attorney General for the state of Rhode Island, John resolved thousands of criminal cases through negotiation or trial. His accomplishments include writing the grant request that would become the model for the present day State’s Unit Violent Juvenile Offender Unit. In addition, John has worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense as an Overseas Litigation Attorney Advisor. He has taught law at Roger Williams University and obtained his both his Juris Doctorate and Bachelor of Arts in History from Fordham College.
Global Health
JDr. Enrique Valdespino, MD, MSc
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. Valdespino graduated from Harvard Medical School with a Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery. Prior to Harvard, Enrique worked as a physician with Compañeros en Salud México (CES), a sister organization of Partners in Health, after he completed his medical training. At CES he worked as a Regional Supervisor to support primary care physicians in charge of rural clinics in non-accessible areas. In this role, he addressed challenges in regards to medical care delivery, clinic management, and community relations.