College of Continuing Education at Sacramento State

Tim Aldinger is the director of Workforce Development Services at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, supporting the economic and workforce development for the 113 Community Colleges of California. He designs and facilitates trainings for the California Workforce Association (CWA) and brings his expertise in communication to CCE’s Workforce Development Professional Certificate and Apprenticeship programs.

Jeannie Benoist joined Sacramento State in 2007 teaching in the Project Management series at the College of Continuing Education. She took a break after the birth of her daughter and rejoined the team in 2015.

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.

Jeff Cooke has been with the Sac State Paramedic program since its start in 2009 and has always been a student favorite. Jeff spent the first 10 years of his career in EMS as an EMT and later a Paramedic with a private ambulance company in Stockton, California. In 1994 he was hired with Sacramento City Fire Department and has been serving the community of Sacramento as a Firefighter/Paramedic since. Jeff has worked in multiple capacities for Sacramento Fire Department including Rescue and Hazmat specialties.

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.

Steve Jones is a certified interior designer with designTECH Interior Design Services, Inc. in Sacramento and brings more than 30 years of experience designing projects that include hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, education, retail and residential.

Education: M.A. in TESOL from Sacramento State; M.A. Teaching and Teacher Education, University of Arizona;  B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona

Languages spoken: Some spanish

What do you enjoy most about being an ESL instructor?  

After years of classroom teaching and school management, James Lane turned his attention to instructional design, test creation and e-learning course development. He entered the healthcare industry, where he has been working as an instructional designer, new hire trainer and quality manager at Dignity Health.

He joined Sacramento State in 2018 as an instructor in the Instructional Design for eLearning certificate program. He holds a a master’s degree in instructional systems technology from Indiana University.

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.”

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. 

Stephanie McGann Jantzen has delivered expertise and experience in political and policy consulting, crisis communication and public affairs strategies across the political landscape in California for over 25 years. She has managed statewide California races, Congressional, Senate and Assembly campaigns, as well as local campaigns and ballot measures.

As as a director in Student Affairs at Sacramento State, Haley Myers Dillon has worked tirelessly to help students in realizing their goals. She founded and chairs the annual, campus-wide entrepreneurial pitch competition called STRONG: Hornets Imagine Tomorrow’s Solutions, where Sac State students compete to win one of four $1,000 cash awards by presenting a 15-minute pitch to regional employers. 

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.

“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.”

Kelly Siefkin knows the value of presentation skills, whether she’s raising money for scholarships, deploying volunteers to disaster areas or publicizing the largest Thanksgiving Day fun run in the country.

Getting the job done requires top-notch communication skills. High school students can hone their abilities during Presentation Skills for College, a summer academy Siefkin is teaching with Sacramento State Professor Rustin Vogt.

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.

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.

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.