College of Continuing Education at Sacramento State

Esther Amato is an award-winning designer and educator and together with Ernie Olson, professor emeritus, they lead the popular Fashion Academy each summer at Sacramento State. The high school academy covers the life cyle of fashion, from sketching designs to creating clothes and merchandising.

The Fashion Academy has been featured in the local news, including Good Day Sacramento and ABC 10.

As a data scientist, Professor Anna Baynes looks for meaning from the mounds of information that’s collected every day. From the apps and games on our electronic devices to online shopping and visits to the doctor’s office, “that’s billions and billions of data,” says Baynes, who’s worked with software engineering teams from around the world in understanding big data. During the new Data Science Academy, students will apply computer science techniques to discover interesting trends and insights hidden inside everyday data.

Professor Chia-Jung Chung will bring her passion in education to the Future Teachers Academy, where high school students will explore teaching careers and gain hands-on experience in inspiring the love of learning in children. She’s been a professor at Sacramento State since 2004 and specializes in educational technology.

If you can decipher “P B & J,” then you can start coding, says Devin Cook, a computer science professor at Sacramento State and instructor of the Coding Academy. “Students might believe that computer science is difficult or complicated or frustrating,” he says, “but if they can write down how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, they can program a computer. It’s the same exact thing.” 

Larry W. Culler joined Sacramento State in 2014, teaching his communication workshop, “The Effective Communicator,” at the College of Continuing Education. Larry is the owner of Culler Consulting, primarily focusing on communication consulting and facilitating his workshop. 

Before starting his own consulting business, he had a long career in the computer industry and held positions with Burroughs/Unisys, Intel and Schoolhouse Software. 

Lindsay Curtis holds a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Sacramento State. She taught English as a foreign language for two years at an elementary/middle school in the Republic of Azerbaijan. She has tutored several English learners to help improve their speaking, reading, and writing skills, and has interned in two college composition classes for multilingual learners.

Julie Davis-Jaffe has spent 25 years on employment services for youth, adults and dislocated workers. She manages the Sacramento Works America’s Job Centers as a workforce development manager at the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA) and also provides staff development and training. She brings an extensive background in career coaching to CCE’s Workforce Development Professional Certificate and Apprenticeship programs.

Rachel Dillon has been a graphic designer for over 25 years as well as an art educator and is currently an instructional designer at Franklin Templeton Investments. She has developed instructor-led and web-based training courses for external financial advisers and internal staff, and “micro learning pieces on specific financial topics” for the public, she said..

Dillion joined Sacramento State in 2018, bringing her visual design talents and teaching background to the Instructional Design for eLearning certificate program at the College of Continuing Education. 

Craig Duehring joined Sacramento State in 2002 as an instructor in the Project Management Certificate program at the College of Continuing Education.

Craig is an engineering manager with the California Air Resources Board.  Before joining the Air Resources Board, he held positions with the California Department of General Services, California Department of Water Resources and the California Department of Transportation, where he managed many high-profile projects over his career. 

Brett Gardenhire is a specialist in professional and organizational development with a focus in learning performance, productivity optimization and situational leadership. With over 20 years’ experience in both change management and entrepreneurial growth strategy, he partners with organizations as a coach, consultant and trainer, helping to enhance workplace culture through improved engagement, enhanced communication and the application of creative innovation.

Professor Janet Hanstad has 20 years of experience teaching at the college level and currently teaches biology at Sacramento State. She brings her expertise in biotechnology, environmental science, natural resources, zoology, and anatomy and physiology to the Introduction to Biotechnology Academy.

Jason Hemler has been a part of the Sacramento State Paramedic Program since its inception in 2009. He became program director in 2013 and has been instrumental in making the Paramedic Program a leader in quality prehospital education in California. He’s also an instructor in the Summer Academies for High School Students, leading the Fire and Emergency Services Academy.

Shelly Hodgkins works as a sergeant in the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and has been one of the instructors in the Summer Academies for High School Students program for several years. As leader of the Law Enforcement Academy, Hodgkins wants young people to meet and talk with different officers, to get a first-hand look at their assignments and to explore law enforcement as a career.

Stewart Knox’s dedication to workforce development has defined his career. He is currently executive director and a governor appointee to the state Employment Training Panel. He has also served executive roles for a number of partnerships and municipalities and brings his strategic and practical leadership to CCE’s Workforce Development Professional Certificate and Apprenticeship programs.

Professor Laurie Kubicek has been teaching law to undergraduate students in the California State University and the University of California systems since 1998. She has taught in the Division of Criminal Justice at Sacramento State since 2002. A member of the State Bar of California, her areas of interest include criminal law, judicial process and legal research. 

Bob Lanter, executive director of the California Workforce Association (CWA), is co-creator of CCE’s Workforce Development Professional Apprenticeship Program. He teaches professional skills - specifically the practical know-how on forming strategic alliances with employers, labor, industry and education.

Kris Lea joined Sacramento State in 2009, teaching in the Train-the-Trainer, HR, Master Analysis and State Supervisor Basics programs at the College of Continuing Education. Kris is an executive consultant with KAI Partners, a local IT consulting firm.

Before joining KAI Partners, Kris held positions with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Kaiser Permanente and Intel Corporation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems, a master’s degree in organization development (OD), and is finishing up her doctoral degree in OD.

Jeremiah Lewis began teaching in the Sac State EMT course and Paramedic Program in 2012, and in 2016 he took on the position of Lead Lecture Instructor in the EMT course. He started his career in EMS in 1999 working as an EMT for a private ambulance company. He has also worked as a Firefighter/Paramedic for city fire departments.

Born and raised in Dortmund, Germany, an industrial mining city destroyed in World War II, Ulrich “Ulli” Luenemann developed a strong sense of wanderlust at a very young age. As a young adult, he pursued military service as his ticket to freedom and volunteered with the German Luftwaffe (air force). “I’m like Top Gun, I have a need for speed,” says Luenemann. Flying fighter jets across Europe and the United States furthered his passion for world travel.

Keithia Kirkaldy has a diverse background that spans information technology, project management, LMS administration and eLearning instructional design and development. She has had careers in several industries including engineering, technology and healthcare. 

Her passion for eLearning developed after joining the global online learning department of MWH Global Inc., now Stantec. Keithia says it was refreshing after all the years of IT support to formalize the learning she had been sharing for many years. 

Rosanne McHenry joined Sacramento State in 1999, and currently teaches classes for the State Supervisory Online Certificate Program at the College of Continuing Education.

Rosanne initially developed a series of online business skills classes called The State Training Center Virtual Classroom. These classes were redesigned to become ELearning for Government Professionals. She’s taught many other classes at CCE, including Critical Thinking Skills, Analytical Skills and Time Management. 

Lisa Montanaro joined Sacramento State in 2013, teaching in the areas of productivity, organization, and time management at the College of Continuing Education. Lisa is the owner of Lisa Montanaro Global Enterprises, LLC, which she founded in 2002.

“The dedicated faculty here is like family and our graduates are sought after by employers because of the program’s design that fuses theory and practice.” - Dr. Robert Pieretti.

Carl Rabun, Ph.D., has over 25 years of experience in customer service, with more than 10 years of experience in government agencies, He has over 10 years’ experience managing teams in various public and private sector organizations and is a Leadership and Management consultant for Sacramento State College of Continuing Education, Rabobank N.A. and UC Davis Extension.

Professor Drew Reams brings his students into the real world of criminologists as instructor of the DNA Forensics Academy, one of the longest running and most popular of the Summer Academies for High School Students. He is a professor of biological sciences at Sacramento State and heads our DNA Forensics Academy, showing students how forensic biology can help solve crimes and how CSI really works.

When Dr. Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin talks about children who struggle with language and learning, she speaks from the heart. Her son had dyslexia and struggled greatly as a young child. She’s helped him overcome those difficulties, as both a speech-language pathologist and a mother.

Professor Heather Sellens is an instructor in the Bachelor of Science in Career and Technical Studies online degree completion program, coordinated by the College of Continuing Education. The online offering began in 2015.

Her class, Assessment and Instruction in Career Technical Education, makes the connection between the teacher teaching and the student learning. ”Teachers must be confident their students have learned what was taught. This class will give future teachers and staff developers multiple ways to measure success.”

Xiaoyan Sun, a computer science professor at Sacramento State, will lead the Digital Forensics Academy and introduce students to one of the fastest growing fields in information security. “The worldwide prevalence of electronic devices has increased the need for digital forensics and created high demand for skilled digital forensics investigators,” said Sun.

Katrina Tupper knew she wanted to teach English as a second language (ESL) after traveling one summer with a friend to the island of Roatan in Honduras. They were both Sacramento State students at the time, and they casually started a volunteer project. For a couple of hours every day, they “would set up shop and teach English to vendors on the street in a back alleyway,” and Katrina saw firsthand how learning English made a positive difference in their lives.

Tyler Wade joined Sacramento State in 2009 teaching in the State Supervisory Training Certificate Program. He is currently a people developer with People Development Systems (PplDev).

Before joining PplDev, he held positions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the California State Legislature, and Intel Corporation. He earned his master’s degree in public policy from Pepperdine University and is a member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), serving as president of the Sacramento chapter in 2012.

Education: B.A. in English, M.A. in English/Creative Writing, Sacramento State and M.A. in TESOL, Sacramento State

Languages spoken: English and Japanese

What do you enjoy most about being an ESL instructor?

“I’ve always enjoyed studying English, and so teaching it gives me a chance to learn and enjoy it even more, and learning about the different students’ languages and cultures is a wonderful added value that deepens my appreciation of everything.”

Melinda Wilson Ramey joined the Department of Theatre and Dance at Sacramento State in 2005 and brings her talent to a new audience through the Summer Academies for High School Students program. She has teamed up with fellow Sacramento State professor Philip Flickinger for the Theater and Performing Arts Academy, where students explore the dramatic world of performing arts and learn about educational opportunities in the arts.