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English
  1. Las Positas College
  2. English
  3. English Faculty and Staff

English

  • English Home
  • Degrees and Certificates
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  • Who can I be with an English degree?
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Meet Our English Department Faculty and Instructional Assistants 

 

Salem Admassu
Adjunct Faculty and Umoja Coordinator

sadmassu@laspositascollege.edu

Salem Admassu

  • BA in Journalism and Creating Writing
  • MA in Creative Writing and Composition

 

Anthony Bennette
Adjunct Faculty

abennette@laspositascollege.edu

Anthony Bennette

 

Toby Bielawski
Faculty

TBielawski@laspositascollege.edu

Toby Bielawski

  •  BA in English from Smith College, Northhampton, Massachusetts
  • MA in English from Mills College, Oakland

 

Steve Budd (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty

SBudd@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA, Wesleyan University
  • MA, Boston University

Steve Budd

from: Massachusetts

non-academic interests: acting, writing, hiking, biking, theater, and film

courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches English 1A and 4. The themes for his English 1A are education, immigration, and social change. 

books he loves to teach: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien and The Norton Introduction to Literature

 

Angelo Bummer
Faculty and Umoja Program Instructor

abummer@laspositascollege.edu

Angelo Bummer

  • BA in Liberal Arts from Evergreen State College
  • MA in Comparative Literature from San Francisco State University

 

Sarah Swaty Bummer
Adjunct Faculty

sbummer@laspositascollege.edu

 Sarah Swaty Bummer

  • JD, Santa Clara University School of Law
  • MA, English Composition, San Francisco State University
  • BA, English/Music, University of California Santa Barbara

 

Henry Cabrera

Adjunct Faculty

hcabrera@laspositascollege.edu

Henry Cabrera

Greetings to all! I am Henry Cabrera, one of LPC's newest part-time faculty members. Allow me to mention my own story, a story that includes attending LPC more than a few years ago. Yes, I had been a student here, taking an AA in English, and later transferring to CSU East Bay, in which I took an English and History BA, and an MA in English. On a personal side, my outside interests reside within a wide range of activities, such as watching films, walking into Death Valley, swimming in the ocean, and simply chilling with a nice book like Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle. But if teaching, I would definitely look to Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance. 

 

 

Steve Chiolis
Adjunct Faculty

SChiolis@laspositascollege.edu

Chiolis

 

Elena Cole (she/her)
Faculty

ecole@laspositascollege.edu

  • AA from Ohlone College
  • BA from UC Berkeley in English
  • MA from SFSU in English

Elena Cole

from: born in Hayward, CA and from the Bay Area

non-academic interests: cooking, playing and listening to music, reading, hiking, and quality time with friends and family.

courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A, 1AEX, 4,7, and U.S. Women's Literature. Her English 1A is about what it means to be successfull. 

topic she loves to teach: Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset

 

Valerie Connors (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

vconnors@laspositascollege.edu

Valerie Bronstein

from: San Leandro, CA

non-academic interests: She likes to escape to the movie theatre at least once a month and loves to sit in the front. 

courses she teaches and the themes: English 1AEX and English 7. Her course themes are post-colonialism and anti-racism. 

books she loves to teach: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, Escaping War and Waves by Oliver Kugler, Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan, and How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

 

Richard Dry (he/him)
Faculty 

rdry@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in Humanities from UC Berkeley
  • MA in English from San Francisco State University

Richard Dry

from: Venice, CA

non-academic interests: songwriting, tennis, and body surfing

courses he teaches and the themes He teaches everything from composition to creating writing. He loves to explore psychology, philosophy, and sociology through literature. 

books he loves to teach: The Book of Joy, by The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams, Man's Fate by Andre Malraux, That's Not What I Meant by Deborah Tannen, and There There by Tommy Orange

 

Paul Duarte
Adjunct Faculty

pduarte@laspositascollege.edu

Paul Duarte

  • BA in English with Creative Writing Option from CSU East Bay
  • MA in English from CSU East Bay

 

Lisa Duran
Adjunct Faculty

LDuran@laspositascollege.edu

 LPC

 

Catherine Eagan, Ph.D (she/her)
Faculty

CEagan@laspositascollege.edu

Catherine Eagan

from: Oakland, CA

non-academic interests: reading, hiking, singing, cooking, museum-visiting, genealogy and photo album-making!

courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A (race and racial politics in the US), English 4 (critically thinking about arguments in literary genres), English 7 (critically thinking about environmentalism), English 35 (modern American literature), English 41 (modern world literature), English 44 (literature of the American west).

book she loves to teach: Mira Jacob's Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

 

Chad Ellingsworth
Adjunct Faculty

CEllingsworth@laspositascollege.edu

Chad Ellingsworth

 

Noël Fagerhaugh (She/Her)

Senior Instructional Assistant

nfagerhaugh@laspositascollege.edu

Noel Fagerhaugh jpg

from: Oakland, CA

non-academic interests: too many to list, but includes sewing, hiking, cooking, kayaking

teaching background: Adjunct English Faculty at Laney and Merritt Colleges 2015-2023

books always on my shelf: anything by Octavia Butler & lots of poetry collections

  • BA in English Literature with a concentration in Diasporic Literatures, from Mills College
  • MA in English Literature with a concentration in Writing Pedagogies, from Mills College

 

Megan Garcia (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

mcgarcia@laspositascollege.edu

Megan Garcia

  • AA in English from Las Positas College
  • BA in English Education with a concentration in Literature from San Francisco State University
  • MA in English Composition from San Francisco State University

 

Justin Garoupa
Faculty 

JGaroupa@laspositascollege.edu

LPC 

from: Soy de madera.

courses he teaches and the themes: He English 1A on the themes of logic, statistics, gaming, and trauma and English 4 on gender, postmodernism, and dreams.

 

Michelle Gonzales (she/her/ella)
Faculty and English and Puente Program Coordinator

MGonzales@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English from Mills College
  • MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills College

Michelle Gonzales

from: East Los Angeles, CA but raised in Tuolumne City, CA

non-academic interests: punk music and culture

courses she teaches: English 1A, 4, 11, and 12

book she loves to teach: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

 

Jessica Hansen (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

JHansen@laspositascollege.edu

 Jessica Hansen

from: San Leandro, CA

courses she teaches: English 1A and 4

genre she loves to teach: mid-century short stories

 

Amanda Heinrichs (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

AHeinrichs@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English from CSU Stanislaus
  • MA in Literature from Mills College

Amanda Heinrichs

courses she teaches: English 1A, 4 and 7

books she loves to teach: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

 

Tobey Kaplan (she/her/"you guys"/"hey dude")
Adjunct Faculty Emeritus

tkaplan@laspositascollege.edu

Tobey Kaplan

  • MA, San Francisco State University
  • Take a look at her interview with The Monthly here!
  • Read her poetry here!

 

 

Susan Keller
Adjunct Faculty

skeller@laspositascollege.edu

Susan Keller

 

Kathleen King
Adjunct Faculty

kmking@laspositascollege.edu

Kathleen King

 

Heidii McMichael (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

hmcmichael@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English, CSU Fresno
  • Single Subject English and CLAD Teaching Credentials,  CSU Fresno
  • MA in Comparative Literature, UC Irvine

Heidii McMichael

from: Porterville, CA

non-academic interests: cooking, writing fiction, spending time with family, and traveling

courses she teaches and the themes She teaches English 1A and 4. For her English 1A course, students focus on the intersectionality of parenting, poverty, education, and race. Her English 4 focuses on the theme of transformation. 

books she loves to teach: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

Amy Moellering (she/her)
Adjunct Faculty

AMoellering@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English and Psychology from the University of Binghamton
  • MA in Literature from the State University of New York at New Paltz

Amy Moellering

from: West Point, New York

non-academic interests: hiking, skiing, yoga, traveling, cooking,  and bird watching

courses she teaches and the themes: English 1A and 4. English 1A focuses on the American exprience. Her English 4 focuses on identity, specifically in relationships, a segregated society a world on the move, and in a changing but hopeful world.

book she loves to teach: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

Guilherme Mylius (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty

GAengus@laspositascollege.edu

 Guy Aegnus

from: Brazil, South America

non-academic interests: music and movies

courses he teaches: He teaches English 1A, 4 and 7. He occasionally teachers literature courses, such as World Lit, English Lit and American Lit. His course themes are mainly issues of gender and social science. 

book he loves to teach: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

 

Marty Nash (he/him)
Faculty and LPC Anthology Coordinator

MNash@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English, Emphasis in Creative Writing, Kansas State University
  • MFA in Writing, California College of the Arts

Marty Nash

from: Minneapolis, Kansas

non-academic interests: cooking, anything music-related, ice fishing, painting and design, fantasy sports, going to movies by myself, coaching baseball, being amazed by his children

courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches English 1A, 4, 11, and 12. English 11 and 12 are creating writing workshops. His English 1A focuses on how stories make us human and the poetry and power of pop music. His English 4 focuses on the past and present of American segragation. 

book he loves to teach: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

 

Maureen O'Herin
Faculty Emeritus

MOHerin@laspositascollege.edu

Maureen O'Herin

  • BA, Integral Liberal Arts from St. Mary's College
  • MA, Creative Writing/Literature from San Francisco State University

 

Jim Ott, EdD (he/him)
Faculty Emeritus

JOtt@laspositascollege.edu

Jim Ott

  • Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Saint Mary’s College (2015)
  • MA in English, San Jose State University (1980)
  • BA in English, San Jose State University (1979)

 

Dave Paonessa (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty

dpoanessa@laspositascollege.edu

  • A.A. Liberal Studies Chabot College (2005)
  • B.A. Theater Arts CSU East Bay (2008)
  • M.A. English CSU East Bay (2011)

Dave Paonessa

from: Hayward, CA

non-academic interests: He enjoys singing and hiking. He is currently working on a spy novel! 

courses he teaches and the themes: He teaches 1A. In his English 1A, students explore the topics of family, community, and compassion. 

 

Mike Sato
Faculty Emeritus

Adjunct Faculty

MSato@laspositascollege.edu

Mike Sato

  • BA in Creative Writing and Literature from UC Santa Cruz
  • MA in English Literature from CSU Sacramento
  • MA in Japanese from San Francisco State University

 

Joseph Smigelski (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty

JSmigelski@laspositascollege.edu

  •  BA in English from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York
  •  MA in English from San Francisco State University

Joseph Smigelski

from: Yonkers, New York, but grew up in Hyde Park, New York

courses he teaches: English 4 online

books he loves to teach: He likes to teach books that are "off the beaten track." For example, he teaches Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.

 

Karin Spirn, PhD 
Faculty

KSpirn@laspositascollege.edu

Karin Spirn

  • BA in English from University of California, Berkeley
  • PhD in English from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 

Megan Stein
Adjunct Faculty 

mstein@laspositascollege.edu

 Megan Stain

  • BA in Literary Studies, The University of Texas at Dallas
  • MA in English, Southern Methodist University
  • PhD candidate in English, University of California, Riverside 

 

Debra Stevens
Adjunct Faculty

DStevens@laspositascollege.edu

LPC

 

Meghan Swanson-Garoupa
Faculty

MSwanson@laspositascollege.edu

Meghan Swanson-Garoupa

  • AA in Arts and Sciences, Las Positas College
  • BA in English Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • MA in Composition in Literature, CSU East Bay

 

Jeremey Throne

Adjunct Faculty

jthrone@laspositascollege.edu

 

 

Christian Tuell (he/him)

Adjunct Faculty

ctuell@laspositascollege.edu

Christian Tuell

from: Washington, D.C.

non-academic interests: travel and learning new languages

book he loves to teach: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

 

 

Kisha Quesada Turner (she/her/yo)
Adjunct Faculty

kturner@laspositascollege.edu

  • BA in English from UCLA
  • MA in Rhetoric and Composition from CSU Dominguez Hills

Kisha Turner

from: Los Angeles, CA, specifically San Fernando Valley

non-academic interests: hiking, traveling, listening to podcasts, plant parenting, and cocktail crafting

The class she enjoys teaching the most and the themes: English 7. Her English 7 themes are social justice, linguistic justice, and environmental justice-- with some pop culture peppered in. 

book she loves to teach: The Bricks That Built the Houses by Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest) who enhances her novel with an audio rap album. Her works are dope!

 

Megan Wong
Adjunct Faculty

MWong@laspositascollege.edu

Megan Wong

  • BA in Philosophy from New Mexico State University
  • MFA in Creative Writing from New Mexico State University

 

Peter Zimmer (he/him)
Adjunct Faculty

pzimmer@laspositascollege.edu

Peter Zimmer

from: Pleasanton, CA

non-academic interests: anything Disney related, going to Disneyland, going to the movies with friends, film, baseball, football, discovery new hiking trails all around the San Francisco Bay Area, journalism, listening to podcasts, and traveling.

The class he enjoys teaching and the themes: He teaches English 1A. Some of the themes found in his English 1A include character development, discovering different forms of writing, and what makes these characters human. 

books he loves to teach: Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere

 

For questions regarding this page, please contact Noel Fagerhaugh. 

For more information please contact:

Michelle Gonzales, M.F.A.
Faculty / English Program Coordinator
  (925) 424-1218
  mgonzales@laspositascollege.edu

Noël Fagerhaugh, M.A.
Senior Instructional Assistant
  (925) 424-1248
  nfagerhaugh@laspositascollege.edu

Las Positas College

3000 Campus Hill Drive
Livermore, CA 94551
(925) 424-1000

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Dublin, CA 94568
(925) 485-5208
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Hayward, CA 94545
(510) 723-6600
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