English
Meet Our English Department Faculty and Instructional Assistants
Salem Admassu
Adjunct Faculty and Umoja Coordinator
sadmassu@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in Journalism and Creating Writing
- MA in Creative Writing and Composition
Anthony Bennette
Adjunct Faculty
abennette@laspositascollege.edu
Toby Bielawski
Faculty
TBielawski@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English from Smith College, Northhampton, Massachusetts
- MA in English from Mills College, Oakland
Steve Budd (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
- BA, Wesleyan University
- MA, Boston University
from: Massachusetts
non-academic interests: acting, writing, hiking, biking, theater, and film
courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches English 1A and 4. The themes for his English 1A are education, immigration,
and social change.
books he loves to teach: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and The Norton Introduction to Literature
Angelo Bummer
Faculty and Umoja Program Instructor
- BA in Liberal Arts from Evergreen State College
- MA in Comparative Literature from San Francisco State University
Sarah Swaty Bummer
Adjunct Faculty
-
JD, Santa Clara University School of Law
-
MA, English Composition, San Francisco State University
-
BA, English/Music, University of California Santa Barbara
Henry Cabrera
Adjunct Faculty
hcabrera@laspositascollege.edu
Greetings to all! I am Henry Cabrera, one of LPC's newest part-time faculty members. Allow me to mention my own story, a story that includes attending LPC more than a few years ago. Yes, I had been a student here, taking an AA in English, and later transferring to CSU East Bay, in which I took an English and History BA, and an MA in English. On a personal side, my outside interests reside within a wide range of activities, such as watching films, walking into Death Valley, swimming in the ocean, and simply chilling with a nice book like Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle. But if teaching, I would definitely look to Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance.
Sebastien Cervantes
Adjunct Faculty
scervantes@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English from UC Irvine
- MFA in Creating Writing from Mills College
Steve Chiolis
Adjunct Faculty
SChiolis@laspositascollege.edu
Elena Cole (she/her)
Faculty
- AA from Ohlone College
- BA from UC Berkeley in English
- MA from SFSU in English
from: born in Hayward, CA and from the Bay Area
non-academic interests: cooking, playing and listening to music, reading, hiking, and quality time with friends
and family.
courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A, 1AEX, 4,7, and U.S. Women's Literature. Her English 1A is about what it
means to be successfull.
topic she loves to teach: Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset
Valerie Connors (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
vconnors@laspositascollege.edu
from: San Leandro, CA
non-academic interests: She likes to escape to the movie theatre at least once a month and loves to sit in
the front.
courses she teaches and the themes: English 1AEX and English 7. Her course themes are post-colonialism and anti-racism.
books she loves to teach: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Escaping War and Waves by Oliver Kugler, Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan, and How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Richard Dry (he/him)
Faculty
- BA in Humanities from UC Berkeley
- MA in English from San Francisco State University
from: Venice, CA
non-academic interests: songwriting, tennis, and body surfing
courses he teaches and the themes He teaches everything from composition to creating writing. He loves to explore psychology, philosophy, and sociology through literature.
books he loves to teach: The Book of Joy, by The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams, Man's Fate by Andre Malraux, That's Not What I Meant by Deborah Tannen, and There There by Tommy Orange
Paul Duarte
Adjunct Faculty
- BA in English with Creative Writing Option from CSU East Bay
- MA in English from CSU East Bay
Lisa Duran
Adjunct Faculty
Catherine Eagan, Ph.D (she/her)
Faculty
from: Oakland, CA
non-academic interests: reading, hiking, singing, cooking, museum-visiting, genealogy and photo album-making!
courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A (race and racial politics in the US), English 4 (critically thinking about arguments in literary genres), English 7 (critically thinking about environmentalism), English 35 (modern American literature), English 41 (modern world literature), English 44 (literature of the American west).
book she loves to teach: Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
Chad Ellingsworth
Adjunct Faculty
CEllingsworth@laspositascollege.edu
Noël Fagerhaugh (She/Her)
Senior Instructional Assistant
nfagerhaugh@laspositascollege.edu
from: Oakland, CA
non-academic interests: too many to list, but includes sewing, hiking, cooking, kayaking
teaching background: Adjunct English Faculty at Laney and Merritt Colleges 2015-2023
books always on my shelf: anything by Octavia Butler & lots of poetry collections
- BA in English Literature with a concentration in Diasporic Literatures from Mills College
- MA in English Literature with a concentration in Writing Pedagogies from Mills College
Megan Garcia (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
mcgarcia@laspositascollege.edu
- AA in English from Las Positas College
- BA in English Education with a concentration in Literature from San Francisco State University
- MA in English Composition from San Francisco State University
Justin Garoupa
Faculty
JGaroupa@laspositascollege.edu
from: Soy de madera.
courses he teaches and the themes: He English 1A on the themes of logic, statistics, gaming, and trauma and English 4 on gender, postmodernism, and dreams.
Michelle Gonzales (she/her/ella)
Faculty and English and Puente Program Coordinator
MGonzales@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English from Mills College
- MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College
from: East Los Angeles, CA but raised in Tuolumne City, CA
non-academic interests: punk music and culture
courses she teaches: English 1A, 4, 11, and 12
book she loves to teach: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Jessica Hansen (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
from: San Leandro, CA
courses she teaches: English 1A and 4
genre she loves to teach: mid-century short stories
Amanda Heinrichs (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
AHeinrichs@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English from CSU Stanislaus
- MA in Literature from Mills College
courses she teaches: English 1A, 4 and 7
books she loves to teach: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
Tobey Kaplan (she/her/"you guys"/"hey dude")
Adjunct Faculty Emeritus
- MA, San Francisco State University
from: New York City, New York
non-academic interests: giving workshops, readings, and presentations on the creative process, literacy, and social changes, writing poetry, and publishing her work!
courses she teaches: Literature, Creative Writing, and Composition
Susan Keller
Adjunct Faculty
Kathleen King
Adjunct Faculty
Heidii McMichael (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
hmcmichael@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English, CSU Fresno
- Single Subject English and CLAD Teaching Credentials, CSU Fresno
- MA in Comparative Literature, UC Irvine
from: Porterville, CA
non-academic interests: cooking, writing fiction, spending time with family, and traveling
courses she teaches and the themes She teaches English 1A and 4. For her English 1A course, students focus on the intersectionality of parenting, poverty, education, and race. Her English 4 focuses on the theme of transformation.
books she loves to teach: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Amy Moellering (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
AMoellering@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English and Psychology from the University of Binghamton
- MA in Literature from the State University of New York at New Paltz
from: West Point, New York
non-academic interests: hiking, skiing, yoga, traveling, cooking, and bird watching
courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A and 4. English 1A focuses on the American exprience. Her English 4 focuses on identity, specifically in relationships, a segregated society a world on the move, and in a changing but hopeful world.
book she loves to teach: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Guilherme Mylius (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
from: Brazil, South America
non-academic interests: music and movies
courses he teaches: He teaches English 1A, 4 and 7. He occasionally teachers literature courses, such
as World Lit, English Lit and American Lit. His course themes are mainly issues of
gender and social science.
book he loves to teach: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Marty Nash (he/him)
Faculty and LPC Anthology Coordinator
- BA in English, Emphasis in Creative Writing, Kansas State University
- MFA in Writing, California College of the Arts
from: Minneapolis, Kansas
non-academic interests: cooking, anything music-related, ice fishing, painting and design, fantasy sports, going to movies by myself, coaching baseball, being amazed by his children
courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches English 1A, 4, 11, and 12. English 11 and 12 are creating writing workshops.
His English 1A focuses on how stories make us human and the poetry and power of pop
music. His English 4 focuses on the past and present of American segragation.
book he loves to teach: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Maureen O'Herin
Faculty Emeritus
- BA, Integral Liberal Arts from St. Mary's College
- MA, Creative Writing/Literature from San Francisco State University
Jim Ott, EdD (he/him)
Faculty
- Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Saint Mary’s College (2015)
- MA in English, San Jose State University (1980)
- BA in English, San Jose State University (1979)
from: Los Gatos, CA
non-academic interests: collecting ventriloquist puppets and running
courses he teaches and the themes: He loves teaching English 1A and 1AEX. In these courses, students explore controversial
topics encountered in the news, such as racism, women's rights, and equity issues.
He also sprinkles in units on Shakespeare, the history of English, how the first dictionaries
were written, the Gettysburg Address, and how our lives often follow what is known
as the "Hero's Journey."
book he loves to teach: A Dream Called Home by Reyna Grande
Dave Paonessa (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
dpoanessa@laspositascollege.edu
- A.A. Liberal Studies Chabot College (2005)
- B.A. Theater Arts CSU East Bay (2008)
- M.A. English CSU East Bay (2011)
from: Hayward, CA
non-academic interests: He enjoys singing and hiking. He is currently working on a spy novel!
courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches 1A. In his English 1A, students explore the topics of family, community,
and compassion.
Mike Sato
Faculty Emeritus
Adjunct Faculty
- BA in Creative Writing and Literature from UC Santa Cruz
- MA in English Literature from CSU Sacramento
- MA in Japanese from San Francisco State University
Joseph Smigelski (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
JSmigelski@laspositascollege.edu
- BA in English from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York
- MA in English from San Francisco State University
from: Yonkers, New York, but grew up in Hyde Park, New York
courses he teaches: English 4 online
books he loves to teach: He likes to teach books that are "off the beaten track." For example, he teaches Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
Karin Spirn, PhD
Faculty
- BA in English from University of California, Berkeley
- PhD in English from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Megan Stein
Adjunct Faculty
- BA in Literary Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas
-
MA in English, Southern Methodist University
-
PhD candidate in English, University of California, Riverside
Debra Stevens
Adjunct Faculty
DStevens@laspositascollege.edu
Meghan Swanson-Garoupa
Faculty
MSwanson@laspositascollege.edu
- AA in Arts and Sciences, Las Positas College
- BA in English Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara
- MA in Composition in Literature, CSU East Bay
Jeremey Throne
Adjunct Faculty
Christian Tuell (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
from: Washington, D.C.
non-academic interests: travel and learning new languages
book he loves to teach: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Rachael Tupper-Eoff (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty
rtupper-eoff@chabotcollege.edu
from: Humbolt County and raised in Livermore
non-academic interests: getting outside, hiking, gardening, camping, visiting all the National Parks
book she loves to teach: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Kisha Quesada Turner (she/her/yo)
Faculty
- BA in English from UCLA
- MA in Rhetoric and Composition from CSU Dominguez Hills
from: Los Angeles, CA, specifically San Fernando Valley
non-academic interests: hiking, traveling, listening to podcasts, plant parenting, and cocktail crafting
The class she enjoys teaching the most and the themes: English 7. Her English 7 themes are social justice, linguistic justice, and environmental justice-- with some pop culture peppered in.
book she loves to teach: The Bricks That Built the Houses by Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest) who enhances her novel with an audio rap album. Her works are dope!
Gaia Veenis
Instructional Assistant
- MFA in Creative Writing, San Francisco State University
- MA in English: concentration in Creative Writing, San Francisco State University
- BA in Journalism: minor in English, San Diego State University
Megan Wong
Adjunct Faculty
- BA in Philosophy from New Mexico State University
- MFA in Creative Writing from New Mexico State University
Peter Zimmer (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty
from: Pleasanton, CA
non-academic interests: anything Disney related, going to Disneyland, going to the movies with friends, film, baseball, football, discovery new hiking trails all around the San Francisco Bay Area, journalism, listening to podcasts, and traveling.
The class he enjoys teaching and the themes: He teaches English 1A. Some of the themes found in his English 1A include character development, discovering different forms of writing, and what makes these characters human.
books he loves to teach: Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere
For questions regarding this page, please contact Noel Fagerhaugh.