College of Continuing Education at Sacramento State

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.

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.” 

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.

Elena Honeycutt joined Sacramento State in 2015, teaching in the Human Resources Management Certificate program  at the College of Continuing Education. Elena is a senior consultant in the organization effectiveness department with Health Net, Inc.

 Before joining Health Net, Elena held human resources positions with Sutter Medical Foundation, Comcast and AT &T Wireless.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in business, human resources from Sonoma State University and a master’s degree in human resources management from Golden Gate University. 

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.

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.

Lisa Sander has been a part of the Sac State Paramedic Program since 2018. She began her paramedic career in 2007 working for a private ambulance company and in 2012 she joined the Flight Team at REACH Air Medical and is still currently employed there. Lisa loves teaching the next generation of paramedics, because she knows what paramedicine is capable of if we educate our paramedics to the highest level.

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 (Sherry) 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.