Overview

Instructor Directory

We draw from a rich pool of campus faculty, as well as off-campus industry leaders. CCE attracts and retains a diverse group of instructors, making sure to match subject matter expertise and research disciplines with course offerings to ensure the best student experience.

Read more about our instructors and faculty in the profiles below.

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Anna Baynes
Data Science Academy Instructor

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.

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Jeannie Benoist
Instructor

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.

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Chia-Jung Chung
Future Teachers Academy Instructor

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.

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Devin Cook
Coding Academy Instructor

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.” 

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Jeff Cooke
Paramedic Program Clinical Experience Coordinator and Lead Lecture Instructor

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.

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Tim Croisdale
Criminal Justice Professor

Dr. Timothy Croisdale brought an extensive background in crime analysis when he returned to Sacramento State, this time as a professor in the Division of Criminal Justice. He started out as a graduate student in the university’s criminal justice program before heading to British Columbia to earn his doctorate degree in  criminology from Simon Fraser University.

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Jun Dai
Cyber Security Academy Instructor

Growing up in China, Jun Dai didn’t own a computer but he was still able to master video games. He got access to computers and the internet through “net bars” that rented machines by the hour. And there, he discovered his passion and a profession, not as a gamer but as a defender. Cyber defense is Professor Dai’s specialty at Sacramento State.

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Tamara Dorris
Instructor: Business Writing

Tamara Dorris joined Sacramento State in 2005 and teaches communication studies at the College of Continuing Education. Professor Dorris is a faculty member with American River College’s Business Department.

She is also a sales trainer and author of 16 books. Professor Dorris holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in communication from Regis University. She has been awarded as a leader in social media and noted as an expert in the neuroscience of sales and success and holds training seminars across the United States.

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Craig Duehring
Instructor

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. 

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Brett Gardenhire
Instructor: Presentation Skills & Storytelling; Decision Making Biases

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.

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Jason Hemler
Paramedic Program Director

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.

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Elena Honeycutt
Instructor

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. 

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Helen Horyza
Instructor

Helen Horyza joined Sacramento State in 2007, teaching business communication, leadership development and employee engagement at the College of Continuing Education. Helen is president of Elevate, Inc., which specializes in online career assessment.

Before joining Elevate Inc,. Helen held positions with UC Davis and the University of the Pacific. She holds a master’s degree in career development and is a nationally certified career counselor.

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Rick Hudson
Paramedic Program Field Experience Coordinator

Rick Hudson has been a part of the Sacramento State Paramedic Program as the Field Coordinator since 2015. Rick began his career in EMS in 1987 when he became an EMT and a certified Paramedic in 1991 from UCSF. Rick has worked in a variety of counties and different agencies as a firefighter and a paramedic.  As the field coordinator he targets recruitment, mentoring, and internship placement. He currently also works as a battalion chief for the Sacramento City Fire Department. 

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Laurie Kubicek
Criminal Justice Professor

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. 

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Kris Lea
Instructor

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.

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Jannene Litchfield
Instructor: Managing Up

Jannene Litchfield joined Sacramento State in 2001, teaching in the field of leadership at the College of Continuing Education. She is the chief human resources officer at Litchfield HR Management.

Jannene has held positions with Schools Financial Credit Union, MCI Communications and Verizon Wireless. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Texas Tech and a master’s degree in business administration from National University. She is a member of the Sacramento Area Human Resource Association.

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Stephanie Mizrahi
Criminal Justice Professor

Dr. Stephanie Mizrahi brings experience in prosecuting cases and analyzing intelligence as an assistant professor in the Division of Criminal Justice at Sacramento State. She also teaches in the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, an online degree completion program coordinated by the College of Continuing Education.

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Carl Rabun
Instructor

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.

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Katherine Raines
Bachelor of Science in Career and Technical Studies

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:

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Francisco Reveles
Educational Administration and Policy Studies Professor

“What our students bring is knowledge. But they also bring a lot of wisdom from working in the actual world. When you combine both, it’s an extraordinary experience for them,” says Dr. Francisco Reveles, a faculty member in the Bachelor of Science in Career and Technical Studies, a degree completion program for working adults at Sacramento State. The program is coordinated by the College of Continuing Education.

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Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin
Communication Sciences and Disorders Professor

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.

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Lisa Sander
Paramedic Instructor

Lisa Sander

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.

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Kim Schnurbush
Criminal Justice Professor

Kim Schnurbush is an assistant professor in the Division of Criminal Justice at Sacramento State, whose research surrounds death penalty and wrongful conviction issues. She also teaches in the Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice online degree completion program, coordinated by the College of Continuing Education.

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Heather Sellens
Career and Technical Studies Lecturer

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.”

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Gary Slavit
Instructor: Project Management for Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs

Gary Slavit

Gary Slavit, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP),  joined Sacramento State in 2002 to teach in the Project Management Certificate Program at the College of Continuing Education. Gary is a private independent consultant specializing in project management, non-profit organizations, and small business; and serves as an equity partner and board secretary for Response 1 Medical Staffing, Inc. 

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Xiaoyan (Sherry) Sun
Digital Forensics Academy Instructor

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.

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William (Bill) Teeple
Instructor

William (Bill) Teeple joined Sacramento State in 2001, developing courses and  teaching  in the Contract Management program, Project Management program, and Caltrans programs at the College of Continuing Education.  He is a business advisor and consultant for the Sacramento Metro Chamber Small Business Development Center (SBDC).  

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Heather Thompson
Communication Sciences and Disorders Professor

Dr. Heather Thompson is an associate professor and Chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Sacramento State. She is faculty coordinator for the Second Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a degree completion program coordinated by the College of Continuing Education. She also works as a speech-language pathologist at Sacramento City Unified School District.

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Rustin Vogt
Presentation Skills for College Academy Instructor

Rustin Vogt, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Sacramento State graduate, has helped us expand our Summer Academies for High School Students. He has also put his expertise to use on a couple of fronts in the community. This year he will be teaching Presentation Skills for College with Kelly Siefkin, a development director at the College of Continuing Education and the Alumni Association.

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Jimmy White
Paramedic Instructor

Jimmy White has been with the Sacramento State Paramedic Program since 2017. Jimmy began his career in EMS with a private ambulance company in Contra Costa County in 2008 as an EMT, and then later as paramedic in 2012. Jimmy was later hired as a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Sacramento City Fire Department in 2015, where he continues to serve today. He has developed a passion for teaching and has high expectations of the students and the quality of paramedicine they provide to the community.