Speaker's Bureau
Are you looking for a guest speaker at your next event? Contact one of Gavilan College's faculty!
Dr. Marilyn Chap specializes in the mechanics of marginalization. She uses a sociological focus to examine poverty, gender, immigration, and related issues.Dr. Chap has an long history of working with community organizations and as an advocate for women. mchap@gavilan.edu
Kelly Glass, a Communications Studies professor at Gavilan, has an extensive background in environmental communication, specifically climate change education and environmental justice. She is also an expert in intercultural communication, and advises the college’s Communication Club. kglass@gavilan.edu
Leah Halper, a Stanford-trained oral historian, has special interests in social and women’s history. She is also a former journalist with a strong commitment to the First Amendment. Ms. Halper is interested in California history, global history, and US history in a global context. lhalper@garlic.com
Peter Howell--A native of Aromas, CA, Peter Howell studied Computer Science at UC San Diego and San Diego State with an emphasis on web security and programming languages. Since then he has worked in many technological capacities at Gavilan College, including as webmaster and distance education specialist. He also teaches computer forensics (tracing computer crime) and programming at Gavilan College, and is a freelance programmer in the Bay Area. His other interests include robotics, crypto-currency, and our society's evolving use of technology as a medium of communication. phowell@gavilan.edu
Dr. Debbie Klein is a professor of Anthropology at Gavilan College, where she has been teaching for twelve years. She has worked extensively in Africa and is a specialist on performative culture in Nigeria, where she was recently made a co-chief in her village of interest. She is interested in the intersections of ethnicity, class, gender, religion, and sexuality; she is also an accomplished dancer. dklein@gavilan.edu
Dr. Enrique Luna: A historian with an Ed.D in International and Multicultural Studies, Dr. Luna draws upon his historical expertise and his own family’s immigration experience to provide a look at how social and economic policies and practices by the US and Mexican governments have helped shape immigration realities. eluna@gavilan.edu
Craig Mosher grew up in Arkansas and Florida, moving to California for college. His graduate work at San Jose State focused on the development of nuclear weapons programs, and he has taught US history for more than 25 years. He has a special interest in the Cold War, a period which never ceases to interest and amaze him. He is active at his Methodist church in social justice work. cmosher@gavilan.edu
Dr. Nicholas Park is a professor of Sociology at Gavilan College. His professional research interests focus on the sociology of families, with particular attention on adoption, infertility, motherhood and fatherhood, and same-sex parenting. Dr. Park is interested in how gender systems shape our lives; he is also interested in media, and the environment. npark@gavilan.edu
Kendall Sooter: a Communication Studies Instructor at Gavilan College and San Jose State University, has an extensive background in environmental communication. Her focus is on environmental, immigration, and intercultural rhetoric and the ways that we conceptualize our interactions with the world. She is also an instructor at an outdoor pre-school and elementary school, with a focus on educational approaches to teaching about the environment. ksooter@gavilan.edu
Dr. Marc Turetzky is a political scientist trained at UCSD (BA), SDSU (MA), at Florida State University (MS & PhD), and at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (Credential in Terrorism Studies; MS). His research specialization is world politics generally and international conflict/terrorism studies specifically. He has taught at Florida State University and San Jose State University in addition to his full-time teaching at Gavilan College. Dr. Turetzky has been research consultant for the Florida Supreme Court and is a political consultant. His current research topics include: Presidential foreign policy emphasis during both Bush terms; The US War on Terrorism in West Africa, a 100-day Trump scorecard, and a treatment for a book on Presidential foreign policy emphasis from Truman through Obama. mturetzky@gavilan.edu
Patrick Yuh is a professor of Biology at Gavilan College. He holds dual Master's degrees in molecular biology and education. His graduate research focused on the spliceosome, a cellular machine that ensures our genes are properly expressed. As a member of the LGBTQ community, Patrick in interested in the intersection of gender/sexuality and biology. pyuh@gavilan.edu