Clovis Community College çJanuary 24 & 25, 2020

WORKSHOP FACILITATORS, ORGANIZERS & SPEAKERS

Stephanie Babb serves as the director of marketing and communications for Clovis Community College. She earned an A.S. degree from Fresno City College and a B.A. from California State University, Fresno. Previous positions held include serving as the executive director of the California Apartment Association of Greater Fresno; executive director of The Downtown Association; government relations representative for PG&E in Merced; field representative for Governor Gray Davis; and field representative for Senator Jim Costa.

Dr. Lori Bennett - An educational leader for more than 20 years, Dr. Lori Bennett serves as the President of Clovis Community College. She is responsible for leading one of the newest and fastest growing community colleges in the state. Clovis Community College now offers 90 degrees and certificates and serves over 12,000 students annually. Dr. Bennett is recognized as a transparent, collaborative leader, dedicated to providing high-quality instruction and student services to support student equity and student success.

Dr. Ellen Carpenter is a program director in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation where she serves as the lead program officer for the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) Program, and as a contributing program officer for the IUSE: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (IUSE: HSI) Program, and the Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS) Program. She received a B.A. in Biology from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining NSF, she was a professor and chair of the undergraduate program at the University of California Los Angeles.

Jumpstart Grantsmanship Workshop 1 Clovis Community College çJanuary 24 & 25, 2020

Dr. Matt Cover is a professor of biology at CSU Stanislaus, where he teaches general biology, freshwater ecology, and science writing classes. He is the PI of the NSF-funded CIENCIA (Collaboration for Inclusive and Engaging Curriculum, Instruction, and Achievement) program, which aims to transform the culture of teaching and learning in STEM classes at Stan State. He is committed to fostering a student-centered, socially just educational system, as well as studying aquatic insects in temporary streams.

Richard Cyr is a Program Director at the NSF where he works in the Biological Directorate’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. He has worked at the NSF on and off, since 2010, first as a Rotating Program Director, then as an Expert. He worked at Penn State’s Main Campus from 1989-2017 in the Dept of Biology, serving as both Assistant and Department Heads until his retirement as an Emeritus Professor. While at Penn State his laboratory was focused upon understanding the role of the cytoskeleton in various cellular processes in plant cells.

Dr. Jorge Iniquez earned a Ph.D. in Biological sciences from UC Irvine, and an undergraduate degree in cell and molecular biology from California State University, Northridge (CSUN). He has served as an instructor at CSUN and Pasadena City College (PCC). Dr. Iniguez is improving student success by providing research opportunities at PCC. His peer-reviewed publications facilitated a partnership with CSUN that brought the NIH BUILD PODER program to the biology department at PCC. He has received over $90,000 in scholarships and fellowships and plans to use his persuasive writing skills to provide additional funding for the project. He has experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and is committed to providing equitable access for

all students to achieve personal development, critical thinking, information literacy and literacy competence.

Jumpstart Grantsmanship Workshop 2 Clovis Community College çJanuary 24 & 25, 2020

Charlene Manzueta is the Lead Grants & Contracts Analyst, Research & Sponsored Programs at California State University, Northridge.

Dr. Christopher R. Meyer has served as the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at California State University (CSU), Fresno since July, 2017. Prior to this, he was a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at CSU Fullerton, serving as Chair of the department from 2010 - 2015. His NSF funded lab focused on the regulation of carbon metabolism and the generation of biodegradable and renewable carbon sources using techniques from plant biochemistry, enzymology, molecular biology, and agricultural biotechnology. He is a past member of a GRE Committee and the national American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training which leads discussions on curriculum innovation and certification of programs. He also served on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Minority Affairs Committee (MAC). At Fresno State, he has led an effort to introduce Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into the curriculum. He also recently secured major funding from NSF with his colleagues at Fresno State, CSU Bakersfield, and CSU Stanislaus to catalyze the innovation of effective teaching pedagogies in gateway chemistry and mathematics courses (PI Meyer, NSF Award #1928671). He is a PI on an NSF AGEP award with UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, and CSU Channel Islands, an alliance to Increase Underrepresented Minority Faculty in STEM (NSF Award # 1820876). He has twice served as a rotating Program Director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), in BIO Molecular and Cellular Bioscience (MCB, 2008- 09) and the Divisoin of Biological Infrastructure (DBI, 2015-17). He earned a BA degree in Chemistry (Summa cum laud) from California State University, Chico and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. He served as a postdoctoral scholar and a Visiting Research Assistant Professor at Michigan State University prior to joining the CSU.

Jumpstart Grantsmanship Workshop 3 Clovis Community College çJanuary 24 & 25, 2020

Celina Morales earned her undergraduate degree in Public Health and Biology and is currently studying to obtain her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Applied Epidemiology at California State University, Northridge. She is a MHIRT scholar, RISE Scholar, and MARC Scholar and has contributed to various research projects spanning the scope of nutrition. Her research interests include child and maternal health and she plans to obtain her PhD in Global Health. As a future educator she is committed to breaking barriers to academic equity and success.

Dr. Elba Serrano, NMSU Regent’s Professor, earned her Ph.D. in biological sciences from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree in physics from the . Her laboratory investigates brain therapeutics that target neuroglia cells, sensory disorders of hearing and balance, and neurogenetics. At the national level, Dr. Serrano is a prominent contributor to the development of policy for STEM research and workforce development. She has served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director, Dr. and as co-Chair of the NIH ACD Working Group on Diversity. Dr. Serrano is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and her achievements in promoting student success have been recognized with a SACNAS Distinguished Mentor Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Distinguished Mentor Award, and a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Math.

Dr. Monica Torres oversees the planning, development and implementation of educational programs at Dona Ana Community College. She works collaboratively with deans, division directors, department chairs and program directors to meet the needs of a diverse community of learners at the community college and the community at large. Dr. Torres has also previously served as an assistant professor, associate professor and department head at NMSU’s Department of English. There, she taught classes, advised graduate students and performed research. As department head she oversaw the operation of the department including curricular, teaching and administrative functions. Torres has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from NMSU.

She earned a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in American Studies with

an emphasis in Cultural Studies.

Jumpstart Grantsmanship Workshop 4 Clovis Community College çJanuary 24 & 25, 2020

Dr. Margie Vela holds a Ph.D. in Water Science and Management from New Mexico State University and is a USDA NIFA Fellow. Dr. Vela has devoted her career to diversifying STEM through supporting and training underserved students. Her contributions to broadening participation of underrepresented groups in STEM include serving Delaware State University as the Assistant Director for the Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enrichment; performing analysis on broader impacts as a National Science Foundation Summer Scholar; and serving Child, Youth, and School Services for Fort Lee, Virginia as the Project Director for the HIRED!Program. She has also designed and lead workshops for college students and researchers on various topics including interdisciplinary research, complex socio-environmental problems, and college success. As a researcher, Dr. Vela has successfully engaged community-based research focused on the relationships of water inequity and educational attainment for communities on the Southern U.S. Border while mentoring and supporting three undergraduate researchers during her doctoral studies. Margie has served as a USAID volunteer consultant for rural organic farmers in Colombia for water use and organizational development.

Dr. Maria Elena Zavala has been a professor at CSUN for the last 30 years, where she has pioneered the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) and Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) diversity programs for STEM. She earned her undergraduate degree in Botany from and her PhD in Botany from UC Berkeley. Dr. Zavala’s research focuses on the developmental regulation of plants. She served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS),and was elected to the ASPB Executive Committee. Her achievements in research and mentoring have been recognized with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering, the CSU Trustee Faculty award, and her societal appointments as a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Plant Biology, and American Society for .

Jumpstart Grantsmanship Workshop 5