Panelists

2022 Agenda
Welcome Address
Keynote Address - Faculty (DAY 1) Student (DAY 2)
Student Research Presentations
Panel Discussions - Student Leadership (DAY 1) Faculty Research (DAY 2)
Thank you to our Welcome Address Speakers!
- Dr. Melissa Moreno - President, Skyline College
- Gabriela Nocito - Director of the Learning Commons
- Danni Redding Lapuz - Skyline College Interim VP Instruction
About our Keynote Speaker
FACULTY KEYNOTE


Meet our Faculty Research Panelists
Dr. Carla Grandy is the STEM Division Dean at Skyline College. She holds a B.S. in Environmental
Geology from Texas Christian University, a M.S. in Oceanography from Oregon State
University, and a PhD in Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Prior to becoming the STEM Division Dean Dr. Grandy taught Earth Science, Geology, and Oceanography at community colleges. She joined the Skyline College faculty in 2014. Since joining Skyline College, Dr Grandy has served in many leadership roles at including Director of Guided Pathways and Comprehensive Redesign, Chair of the Educational Policy Committee, and Faculty Lead for the Earth Science Department.
Associate Professor Lynsey Hemstreet is a cosmetologist and educator native to the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from San Francisco State University, where she is pursuing
a Master of Arts in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts. Her research explores
the intersection of beauty standards, gender and media.
In the salon she applies principles of technical craft to haircutting, color, and styling while developing creative approaches to career education. A two-time winner of the Skyline College President's Innovation Fund, her team created the first international service learning trip available to college cosmetology students. Lynsey earned a cosmetology certificate from College of San Mateo and has trained with industry artists from Wella, TIGI, and Redken.
Dr. Katie Hern is an English Instructor at Skyline College and Co-Founder of the California Acceleration
Project (CAP). CAP’s professional development programs support the state’s 115 community
colleges to use high school grades for placement, replace stand-alone remedial courses
with corequisite models, implement math pathways, and teach with high-challenge, high-support
pedagogy. In 2016, the Washington Monthly named Dr. Hern and CAP co-founder Myra Snell
to their list of the “16 Most Innovative People in Higher Education.” Dr. Hern’s most
recent publication Getting There focuses on the implementation of AB 705 across California.
She has published 20 articles, book chapters, and reports.
Dr. Hern holds a doctorate and master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Mills College, a master’s degree in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from New York University. Her past roles include serving as an English faculty member at Chabot College, Co-Director of California’s Faculty Inquiry Network, and Dean of Academic Affairs at John F. Kennedy University.
Dr. Shaun Perisho is currently a Professor in the Psychology Department at Skyline College. He studied
Physics as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, then completed his
PhD in Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Perisho has conducted
research on sea lion behavior in the Florida Keys, social dynamics of pigs at the
University of Pennsylvania, and dolphin echolocation for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal
Program. His primary research interests include stress-coping strategies and fractal
dynamics in mammal behavior.
Dr. Nicole Porter holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from University of the Pacific, Stockton,
California where she did a study on perceptions of race, ethnicity and culture, a
M.A. in Cross-Cultural Teaching from National University, La Jolla, California and
a B.A. in Communication Disorders from Eastern Washington University, Cheney, Washington.
Dr. Porter is a servant leader and strives to see her colleagues and students become “Producers of Education”. Her recent study of race, ethnicity, and culture led her to further work in developing, “Critically Reflective Cultural Practitioners”.
Dr. Kolo Wamba is an educator and Professor Physics at Skyline College, and technology professional
with experience in the semiconductor equipment and radiation detector industries.
Along with teaching Physics, Professor Wamba co-leads along with Professor Emilie
Hein, the Skyline nEXO group which contributes to the ongoing detector research and
development and analysis efforts currently taking place at SLAC and at Stanford.
Dr. Wamba holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from Columbia University in New York City, a M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University where his dissertation title was “Aspects of the R&D for the Enriched Xenon Observatory for Double Beta Decay.”
About our Student Leadership Panelists
Allen Bustos
ASSC Student Senator
Project Change Ambassador
Curtis Chow
Honors Transfer Club President
Tara Grover
ASSC Student Senator
Sustainability Intern
Shannon Hoang
ASSC Commissioner of Activities
nEXO Intern
Benjamin-Rafael Mingoa
Peer Instructor
Biology & Chemistry Scholar

2021 Agenda
Welcome Address
Skyline Faculty Research Panel
Student Research Presentations
Keynote Address
Student Leadership Panel
Thank you to our Welcome Address Speakers!
- Danni Redding Lapuz - Skyline College Dean, Social Science/Creative Arts
- Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza - Vice President Instruction, Skyline College
- Dr. Melissa Moreno - President, Skyline College
About our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Shaun Perisho is currently a Professor in the Psychology Department at Skyline College. He studied
Physics as an undergraduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, then completed his
PhD in Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Perisho has conducted
research on sea lion behavior in the Florida Keys, social dynamics of pigs at the
University of Pennsylvania, and dolphin echolocation for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal
Program. His primary research interests include stress-coping strategies and fractal
dynamics in mammal behavior.
Meet our Faculty Research Panelists
Dr. Liza Marie S. Erpelo (English) has been at Skyline College since 2003, teaching the range of English courses as well
courses on Filipino American literature, Asian American literature, queer literature,
and comic books/graphic novels. She is the coordinator of the Kababayan Learning Community
(KLC) at Skyline College, which focuses on the Filipinx and Filipinx American student
experience.
Dr. Erpelo completed her Educational Doctorate in Educational Leadership at SFSU in Fall 2020. Her project "Kababayan of Care: Growing Our Own Connectedness, Consciousness, and Collective Story" examines how the culturally responsive pedagogy practiced in the KLC classrooms provides students with a place to develop their sense of self and belonging, and essentially, their academic success.
Dr. Tony Jackson's (Psychology) experience includes graduate and undergraduate instruction. He is part of the ASTEP family at Skyline, and assisted in developing the GROWTH handbook, Adewole Project and ASTEP Math Academy. Research includes violence prevention, Afro-centric treatment models, neuropsychology and brain wellness. He serves as President of the Bay Area Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists, Co-Clinical Director of PranaMind Center and served as Executive Director of the Therapists In Residence Program. Dr. “J” also serves on the boards of the LoveNotBlood campaign and the African American Health and Wellness Committee for Alameda County.
Dr. J (aka “Tone”) grew up in gang-ridden O.G. Crip territory in South Central L.A. Stanley “Tookey” Williams was part of Tone’s neighborhood. He was asked to speak in protest of Tookey’s execution with notables including Joan Baez and Angela Davis.Dr. Jackson’s experience growing up in south central Los Angeles has been a catalyst for his work in treatment of trauma, substance abuse prevention, counseling, gang intervention, jegnaship and music production focusing on positive imagery and lyrical content.
Professor Kaylee Matheny (Sociology) earned her BA in Sociology and Creative Writing from Emory University, after which she taught high school English for two years in her hometown of Griffin, Georgia. She earned her MA in Sociology from Stanford University, where she is currently a PhD candidate in Sociology of Education and Education Policy. At Skyline, Professor Matheny has taught Introduction to Sociology, Contemporary Social Problems, and Introduction to Research Methods. In her research, Professor Matheny uses mixed methods to study the relationship between socioeconomic status and educational experiences and outcomes. She has projects using national data to understand recent trends in educational achievement, a project analyzing the impact of offering the Pell Grant to fund dual enrollment, and a project to understand how parents from different social class backgrounds and in different places conceptualize their children’s postsecondary pathways. When she is not interviewing participants or fixing an error in her code, Professor Matheny loves to cook, read, and play board games.
About our Student Leadership Panelists
James Joseph
Psi Beta President
Ryan Luong
Honors Transfer Club President