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.

Education: B.A. in TESOL from BYU-Hawaii; working towards M.A. in TESOL at Sacramento State

Languages spoken: Ukrainian, Russian, English

What do you enjoy most about being an ESL instructor?

“I love sharing my knowledge with students and helping them achieve their goal of acquiring a new language. At the same time, I love learning about their cultures and creating friendships.”

Ingrid E. Lundquist CSEP joined Sacramento State in 2014 teaching in the Meeting and Event Planning Certificate program. Ms. Lundquist is the owner of The Lundquist Company, event design, management and production. She is also founder of The Book-In-Hand Roadshow which presents workshops on topics of interest to writers. Ms. Lundquist holds a Masters of Arts degree in Fine Art, a Bachelors of Art in Fine Art, and a Bachelors of Art in English, all from Sacramento State University (now, California State University Sacramento).

Keith Mahoney has spent two decades in information design – encompassing web and instructional design as well as technical writing and training. He has worked for NASA, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Cisco and other Silicon Valley start-ups and currently is a manager with Intel.

He joined Sacramento State in 2018 as an instructor and curriculum co-developer for the Instructional Design for eLearning certificate. A graduate of the program, Mahoney says the certificate led to a new professional role and “provided credibility” when he applied for a graduate program at Sacramento State.

Allison Martin, a biology instructor, researcher and alumnus of Sacramento State, will return to her roots teaching high school students, as leader of the Health Careers 101 Academy. “I hope after participating in the health academy, students are able to see that there are many opportunities in healthcare, to help people and build rewarding careers with financial security,” said Martin, who will be teaching in the Summer Academies program for the first time in 2019.

Dr. Ernie Olson, known for his creative approach to teaching and his humorous delivery style, received an outstanding teaching award from the College of Health and Human Services at Sacramento State. Throughout his tenure, he consistently earned top marks from his students and now, he’s now inspiring a new generation of students as an instructor in the Fashion Academy.

Robin Purdy has planned and implemented federal workforce legislation, developed customer-centered workforce policy, engaged businesses and other partners in developing a one-stop system for job seekers and is now, preparing the next generation of workforce leaders in California as an instructor in CCE’s Workforce Development Professional Apprenticeship Program.

Katherine Raines has taught writing courses at Sacramento State since 2012, but it wasn’t until 2017 that she taught her first online class for the Bachelor of Science in Career and Technical Studies (BSCTS) degree completion program.

Her challenge was to fold an entire semester’s worth of work – in this case, multicultural children’s literature – into a five-week online course.

Raines picks up the story from there, in her own words:

Diane Schoendienst has been part of the Sac State Paramedic Program since 2017. Her primary focus is introducing paramedic students to anatomy and physiology, and how these relate to human disease processes. She is a lead instructor during dissection labs at the Sacramento Coroner’s Office, where paramedic students further connect concepts of A&P with disease.

Whenever he travels, Abhijeet Shirsat takes along a long a list of recommendations. He likes to know if a place lives up to its reputation, like the time in Philadelphia where he stood in line for three-and-a-half hours for a Philly cheese steak sandwich. “I’m passionate about travel and food. Hospitality is my life,” said Shirsat, professor in Sacramento’s State Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Management, who’s leading the new Hospitality and Tourism Academy.

A journalist by training, Andrew Stoner has used his communication skills in a variety of careers, as a deputy press secretary, a marketing communications director, an author and a professor. He has also written on a variety of topics, from mass media and politics to history and popular culture.

Heather Tanfani, a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), joined Sacramento State in 2004, teaching in the Meeting and Event Planning Certificate program at the College of Continuing Education. She is currently president of events!, which she started in 1995.

Rustin Vogt, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sacramento State, has helped us expand our Summer Academies for High School Students. In addition to leading our Engineering and Robotics Academy, where students build their own robot, Vogt will teach the new Introduction to Welding and Fabrication Academy, where they handle tools of the trade and create a unique welding project.  

Watch: Professor Rustin Vogt on “Good Day” and other videos

Nicole Welch joined Sacramento State in 2012 teaching in the Train-the-Trainer Certificate Program. She is currently the principal consultant and executive coach with Transformation Catalysts.

Nicole has provided training, coaching and organization development strategies to public and private clients in California and has worked with the California Department of Public Health, California Employment Development Department and the California Department of Transportation. She currently teaches a management and leadership course at American River College.

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.