Staff-R-Us

Staff-R-Us

STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR FALL 2014

2013-2014 was a busy time for the staff of CLA. Many current staff found new positions within the College and even more new faces joined the College. Hope you enjoy reading a little bit about the changes and additions in College personnnel.

CLA STAFF ON THE MOVE

After 40 years with the University, Karen Fawson from Economics, took a much deserved retirement in November of 2013. Cerise Dragicevich was promoted to the Administrative Analyst position vacated by Karen. Cerise started at CSULB in November 2011 in the Romance, German Russian Languages and Literatures (RGRLL) Department.

Also promoted and joining the ECON department as the new Administrative Support Coordinator was Nicole Torres (Gregory). Before this promotion, she worked as the receptionist for the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Office for over one year. As a proud alumnus of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department and a current student in the Technical and Professional Communication Studies Certificate Program, she truly appreciates the meaning of GO BEACH! With her recent marriage (and name change) in June and July start in economics, Nicole embraces change and looks forward to her continued advancement at CSULB. Taking over the Admin Support Coordinator II position in RGRLL vacated by Cerise was Alessandro Russo. Alessandro came to CSULB in 2008 as a student majoring in Business. In 2009 Alessandro was separated from his position as a Credit Union Manager after 16 years in banking and changed his major to Italian Studies. He graduated in Fall 2010 with a BA in Italian Studies and in January 2011 became Assistant to The George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies Chair, Dr. Clorinda Donato. In August 2012, Alessandro moved to The Learning Assistance Center as their Reception and Information Services Coordinator and as of January 2014 assumed the position of Administrative Support Coordinator II for the Department of Romance German Russian Languages and Literatures. He was accepted into the new MA program in Italian Studies beginning Fall 2014.

Manuel Romero, who replaced Alessandro as the Assistant to the Graziadio Center for Italian Studies Chair was promoted to full-time in March 2014.

Mitra Baghdadi has worked in different capacities within the fields of immigration. She began working as a social worker with refugees in Canada, then for the United Nations, and ultimately at CSULB. Currently, she works as a coordinator in the Department of Anthropology. Academically, she is a social science researcher. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and then her Masters in Linguistics at CSULB. She remains active in her research; recently, she presented her work at the 21st Academic Forum in UC Berkeley and her paper has been accepted for publication in the Journal of International Women’s Studies. She is currently working on a book about the first constitutional revolution of 1906 in Iran.

Congratulations to you all!

NEW CLA STAFF

The College had 12 new staff members join the team in the 2013-2014 academic year, pretty impressive.

ATLAS STAFF

Five of the new staff were hired as Academic Advisors & Retention Services Specialists in the ATLAS/Learning Alliance Department.

Matt Estrella joined ATLAS this past July. Matt received his BA and MA at CSULB in History. He worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Learning Alliance Center and as a Drop-in-Advisor for the ATLAS network. Matt’s passion is going to movies, in addition to being an avid runner he enjoys reading and spending time with his family and German Shepard Kima.

Another new Academic Advisor is Ali Gonzalez. Ali has been with CSULB for about five years, he previously served as a Counselor in the Office of Financial Aid. He is a first generation college student, receiving his BA at CSU San Bernardino in Communication Studies. During this time Ali had the opportunity to study abroad in Mexico for a year through CSU International Programs. While at CSUSB he worked as a student assistant in the Office of Records, Registration and Evaluations, this position led him to his career path in student services and higher education. Ali earned an MA degree at San Diego State University in Multicultural Counseling. He looks forward to working and connecting with all the staff.

Jenise Gragera began working at ATLAS as a professional advisor in April 2013. She previously worked at Pasadena City College with their First Year Pathways Program. Jenise completed her Master’s in Counseling (Student Development in Higher Education) at CSULB while working as a high school teacher.

In September 2012 Olivia Marron started working as a professional advisor at ATLAS. She is a CSULB alumni, and former Learning Alliance student, with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. She went on to pursue a Master’s degree in College Counseling and Student Development from Azusa Pacific University. With a background in student affairs, she has held graduate positions in areas such as study abroad, student housing, and student life & leadership.

Christie Waken started her career at ATLAS as a Graduate Assistant while pursuing her MA in English Literature at CSULB. During this time she also Taught ENGL 180 as a Teaching Associate before being hired as a full-time professional advisor with ATLAS.

DEPARTMENT STAFF

Five new staff members joined department offices this past year as well.

Pulling double duty as the Administrative Support Coordinator in both Religious Studies and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies is Roberta Bogart. Prior to joining the College on St. Patrick’s Day, 2014 Roberta worked on campus for almost five years in the Controller’s Office in the Accounts Payable Dept. as an Accounts Payable Tech III. Her most recent duties there were auditing Travel and Expense claims for the University, reconciling monthly business travel accounts as well as the Athletics’ Department staff One Card. Roberta has been in the field of Administration, Management and Accounting for over 25 years. Prior to coming over to higher education she was in the retail/manufacturing and logistics industries.

Candace Forbes started her position as Administrative Support Assistant in Communication Studies just before the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester. Candace graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies in May of 2013. Prior to starting at CSULB Candace worked in retail at Downtown Disney for three years.

Christopher Knight new ASAII in the Department of Englishe attended Morehouse College and received a degree in Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Atlanta’s School of Culinary Arts. After working as a cook in country clubs, restaurants, and his own catering company, Chris decided to return to restaurant management. He went on to manage one of the highest grossing restaurants in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson international Airport. After getting married and the birth of his first child, Chris decided to make a major change in career paths. He went on to gain vast knowledge and experience in administrative support, customer service, project and event planning, and spent ten years working in print publishing and graphic design.

The Geography and Environmental Science and Policy Department welcomed Monique Lopez as the Department Coordinator in January 2014. Prior to joining the CLA staff, Monique held the title of Diploma Specialist/Commencement Coordinator on campus.

The newest team member in Psychology is Sheri Lyn McCarroll. Sheri took on the temporary position as the Administrative Support Assistant II in the front office in June 2014.

Sheri Lyn comes to us from The Walt Disney Company in Anaheim, where she was an Attractions Host in Adventureland/Frontierland. In this position, she operated attractions at the Disneyland Resort, where she provided Guest Control for parades, pyrotechnics, and special events. Sheri has also worked as a Trustee Live Auction Manager and as a Luxury Action Event Coordinator with Auction.com. In her dual positions, she managed all aspects of luxury real estate auction events, which entailed planning, organizing, and budget analysis. Sheri Lyn has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts – Emphasis in Production and Design from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. While attending college, she worked as a University Theater Technician and Stage Manager.

COLLEGE STAFF

Two new staff recently joined the College Office team – Lauren Gonzalez, Curriculum and Personnel Assistant and Anna Silva, College Receptionist.

Lauren, who started in July, is a recent graduate of CSU Fullerton with a BA in Public Administration, she is continuing her education at CSULB pursuing a Masters in Public Policy and Administration. Lauren was previously working with the City of Orange Public Works Department as an Administrative Intern. Lauren is looking forward to her first semester at the Beach.

Before joining CLA this past June Anna worked at the Center for Community Engagement here on campus as a Student Assistant. She completed her undergraduate education at University of California, San Diego receiving her BA in Ethnic Studies. She was lucky to have been one of five UCSD students to attend a study abroad program in Italy which gave her the opportunity to study for a semester in Siena, Italy. A couple of years later she decided to attend CSULB to obtain her Multiple Subject teaching credential with an emphasis in Dual Language Immersion to teach students in Spanish and English. Anna has a passion for education and enjoys being in settings that involve working with students.

Welcome to all of our new Staff!