Twelve outstanding educators are the newest members of thetenured faculty at Clark College. Dr. Amy Castellano (phlebotomy), Dr. CaraCocchiarella (physical health and education), Dr. Catherine “CeCe” Crosby (biology),Dr. Jacob Funk (music), Hannah Jackson (mathematics), Julie Lemmond (business),Dr. Xiunu “Sophie” Lin (physics), Meredith Lynch (Transitional StudiesEnglish), Dr. Sam May-Varas (Transitional Studies English and mathematics),Donivee Randall-Jones (nursing), Michelle Roth (English as a Second Language),and Dr. Michelle Stoklosa (geology) were all granted tenure during the ClarkCollege Board of Trustees meeting on March 13. They will be honored at acollege reception on April 22.
Tenure is awarded by the college’s Board of Trustees based onprofessional excellence and outstanding abilities in their disciplines. Thegranting of tenure is based on the recommendations of tenure review committeesto the vice president of instruction, which are then forwarded to thepresident, who presents a final recommendation to the Board of Trustees.Recommendations are based on self-evaluations, tenure review committeeevaluations, student evaluations, supervisory evaluations, and peerevaluations. The final decision to award or withhold tenure rests with theBoard of Trustees.
About the faculty members
Dr. Amy Castellano
Dr. Amy Castellano holds a Bachelor of Science in physiological sciences from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine. In additional to her teaching and research work at both her alma maters, she has previous work experience at Tucson Medical Center, Banner Medical Center, Oregon Health and Science University Hospital, and as a naturopathic physician at multiple clinics.
At Clark College, Dr. Castellano serves as department head ofthe phlebotomy program, and is a member of the program’s Advisory Committee,the Healthy Penguin Walkabout Committee, and a task force to define thecollege’s core healthcare curriculum.
“My teaching philosophy hinges on the belief that thelearning environment provides the foundation for growth, has the ability toempower or demotivate students, and that a culture of positivity, respect, andcommunity should be created,” she said. “My goal is to cultivate a supportivespace for students to grow, allow their individual strengths to emerge, andshow a genuine interest in their success.”
Dr. Cara Cocchiarella
Dr. Cara Cocchiarella earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and health and human performance; her Master of Science in health and human performance; and her Doctorate of Education in educational leadership from the University of Montana. She has coaching and teaching experience in a wide range of educational institutions, including Lincoln High School, Peninsula Elementary, University of Montana, Gonzaga University, and University of Montana Western.
Dr. Cocchiarella has taught health and physical education atClark College since 2016. She currently serves as the lead instructor for thecollege’s Fitness-Wellness course and is also a member of the college’s QueerEmployee Resource Group.
“As a teacher, I employ numerous active-learning modalities andstrive to make all lessons applicable to the lives of my students,” she said.“The supportive community that we build in each of my classes is essential interms of maximizing engagement and individual growth of all students.”
Dr. Catherine “CeCe” Crosby
Dr. CeCe Crosby earned her bachelor’s degree in cellular andmolecular biology from Western Washington University and her master’s anddoctorate degrees in soil science from Washington State University. She hasprevious teaching and research experience at Washington State University, GreenRiver College, and Tacoma Community College. She joined the faculty at ClarkCollege in 2016.
At Clark, Dr. Crosby serves as faculty liaison for thecollege’s MESA program, which encourages underrepresented groups to participatein STEM. She also serves on a pillar group for the college’s work to adopt theGuided Pathways model of higher education and volunteers at the college’sScience Olympiad competitions.
“My goal is to invite my students to see themselves asscientists by developing their natural curiosity about the world and givingthem the skills to explore using the scientific method,” Dr. Crosby said. “Ifocus on the skill development, learning from mistakes, and the practicalapplications of knowledge to solve difficulty problems.”
Dr. Jacob Funk
Dr. Jacob Funk holds a Bachelor of Science in vocalperformance from John Brown University, a Master of Music in choral conductingfrom the University of British Columbia, and Doctor of Musical Arts inconducting from the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Musicand Dance. Before coming to Clark College in 2016, he had previous teachingexperience with Northwest Arkansas Community College, John Brown University,and Berean Academy (a private K-12 school in Elbing, Kansas).
At Clark College, Dr. Funk serves as director of the vocalmusic program, including the college’s Chorale and its Women’s Choral Ensemble.He is also a faculty advisor for the music department.
“The choir rehearsal is what inspired me to want to be ateacher and an artist, and I want to share and give that experience to others,”he said. “My objective is that through their choral experience, my studentswill learn about all aspects of music, learn about themselves, experience thejoy of creating something beautiful and meaningful together, and be better,more educated people because of it.”
Hannah Jackson
Hannah Jackson hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematicsfrom Willamette University and a Master of Science in mathematics from SyracuseUniversity. She has previous teaching experience at the University of Denver,Arapahoe Community College, University of Colorado Boulder, and Front RangeCommunity College.
Currently Jackson coordinates Clark College’s college algebracourse and is part of the team piloting a new sequence of introductory-levelmathematics courses. She also serves on the college’s Math ActivitiesCommittee.
“My teaching philosophy is that you cannot force a student tolearn,” Jackson said. “You must make them want to. I achieve this through highlevels of energy, enthusiasm, and a true love of my subject matter that comesacross clearly to my students, gets them excited about the course, and makesthem want to come to class and learn.”
Julie Lemmond
Julie Lemmond earned her Bachelor of Science degree inbusiness and management and her Master of Business Administration with aconcentration in finance from Marylhurst University. She began teaching atClark College in 2006 and has previous teaching experience at MarylhurstUniversity and Oregon State University.
At Clark, Lemmond serves as lead instructor for the college’saccounting and finance courses; a Quality Matters reviewer; an accountingtutor; and a faculty advisor in the college’s business program. Additionally,she has led the accounting faculty through the process of adopting andmaintaining accounting resources and provides accounting resources to tutors tohelp them support students.
“My objective is to help students become competitive in thebusiness world by developing logical and ethical business minds,” Lemmond said.“I believe that anyone who wants to attend college should be able to attendcollege.”
Dr. Xiunu “Sophie” Lin
Dr. Sophie Lin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees inphysics from Xiamen University in China and the University of Kentucky,respectively. Prior to coming to Clark College in 2016, she taught at Eastern KentuckyUniversity and at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
At Clark, Dr. Lin serves on the college’s BUILD EXITO workgroup, which provides research opportunities in STEM fields for Clark students.She has also volunteered when the college has hosted a regional ScienceOlympiad.
“As a science instructor, I believe in setting high andspecific goals for students at the beginning of a course and motivating them tolearn,” Dr. Lin said. “To engage students in active learning, I adopt variouskinds of research-based teaching approaches, including ‘peer instruction,’in-class exercises, experiment demonstration, and backward course instruction.”
Meredith Lynch
Meredith Lynch earned her Associate of Applied Science degreefrom Tacoma Community College and both her bachelor’s and master’s degree fromthe University of Washington Tacoma. She served on the faculty of PierceCollege in Puyallup, Washington, for more than 10 years before coming to ClarkCollege in 2016.
At Clark, Lynch serves as vice-chair of the EnvironmentalIntegrity Council and as Transitional Studies liaison to the EnglishDepartment. She also serves on the team responsible for redesigning thecollege’s composition courses and co-requisites.
“I meet my students where they are and use collaborative,student-centered, active-learning strategies to help them achieve theireducational goals,” Lynch said.
Dr. Sam May-Varas
Dr. Sam May-Varas earned his bachelor’s degree in economicsfrom the University of South Florida, his master’s in education from CityUniversity, and his doctorate in educational leadership from Lewis & ClarkCollege in Portland, Oregon. He also holds a K-12 Administrator License throughthe University of Oregon. May-Varas has 15 years of work experience in the K-12system, both as a teacher and an administrator. He also has teaching experienceat Portland Community College and has taught at Clark College for four years.
Since coming to Clark, May-Varas has been active in numerous TransitionalStudies committees and works groups on topics that include academic standars,identifying barriers to enrollment and student success, and recruitment. Additionally,he serves on the Pillar 3 Work Group for the college’s work toward adopting theGuided Pathways model of higher education and has helped develop curriculum forthe college’s High School 21-Plus and Welding I-BEST programs.
“In my position asan educator, I believe in empowering students to engage actively in thelearning process,” he said. “This engagement offers individual students themotivation to continue in education and ultimately reach their educational andcareer goals.”
Donivee Randall-Jones
Donivee Randall-Jones earned her Bachelor of Science degreein nursing from York College in Pennsylvania and her Master of Science in nursingeducation from Walden University. She is in the process of completing herdoctorate in nursing practice and educational leadership from Walden.
A certified emergency nurse, Randall-Jones also holdscertificates in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support,and trauma nurse core courses. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, she has many yearsof experience working in the emergency departments in Californian hospitals aswell as at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Before coming toClark College in 2016, she taught at Mt. San Jacinto Community College inMenafee, California.
At Clark, Randall-Jones serves on her department’saccreditation, curriculum, and sub-curriculum committees. She also has servedas a mentor to incoming teaching staff in her department.
“Nursing is a very broad profession in terms of knowledgebase and skill set,” Randall-Jones said. “There are many shades of gray whenthe human body is involved, and my teaching approach fosters clinical reasoningand judgment to help students make evidence-based decisions while in those grayareas.”
Michelle Roth
Michelle Roth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropologyfrom Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and a Master of Arts in teaching Englishto speakers of other languages from the University of Washington. She hasprevious teaching experience at University of Washington, Portland Community College,and Mount Hood Community College.
Since coming to Clark College as an adjunct instructor in2000, Roth has been part of the college’s Transitional Studies department,teaching in both its English as a Second Language and its Career and AcademicPreparation programs. She helped develop the curriculum for internationalstudents in the college’s Intensive English Language Program, where she servedas department head. Currently, she serves as curriculum development lead forthree Transitional Studies courses and as a member of the Transitional StudiesAcademic Standards Committee. Additionally, she is currently president of theWashington Association for the Education of Speakers of Other Languages(WAESOL), where she has served as a board member since 2015.
“Learning an additional language as an adult is an inherentlyvulnerable act,” said Roth. “Therefore, my first task is to ensure that theclassroom is a place that supports my students’ bravery. Through real,relevant, communicative activities, students gain the confidence and languageskills to achieve their career and academic goals.”
Dr. Michelle Stoklosa
Dr. Michelle Stoklosa earned her bachelor’s degree in biologyfrom Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania and both her master’s anddoctoral degrees in geology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She hasprevious teaching experience at Boise State University, Portland StateUniversity, Marylhurst University, and Clackamas Community College. Shecurrently teaches in Clark College’s earth and environmental sciencedepartment.
At Clark, Stoklosa assisted in the development of the NaturalSciences Course Alignment Rubric for the Associate of Arts degree, representedadjunct faculty on College Council, and co-led a workshop at Faculty Focus onLearning. She currently serves as a faculty advisor for the geology program.
“My goals for students are similar to those I have for myselfas a scientist: that we directly interact with the Earth, develop criticalthinking skills, and ultimately appreciate the Earth and the field of geology,”she said.
About Clark College
Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 12,000 students per quarter, Clark College is Southwest Washington’s largest public institution of higher education. The college currently offers classes at two satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus and one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.
Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley. No photo available for Donivee Randall-Jones.
