Briana Avila
Title: Assistant Professor
Degrees: Communication Studies AA-T, College of San Mateo; Communication Studies B.A. and M.A., San Francisco State University
Teaching Experience: Since 2016
Career Highlights: I love watching students thrive and succeed in ways they didn’t know possible.
Hobbies: I am an animal lover and a rescue dog mom. I love going on road trips, exploring new places, plane watching, photography, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
Quote: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Frederick Berry
Title: Assistant Professor
Degrees: B.A. and M.A., San Francisco State University
Career Highlights: At the end of a semester, a handshake from some of my students and maybe some saying "I learned a lot from your class."
Hobbies: Learning new and interesting things about other cultures and the world we live in.
Quote: "Do not tell the crocodile he has bad breath until you have crossed the river." – African Proverb

Ruth Gildea
Title: Assistant Professor
Degrees: B.A., SJSU; M.A. SFSU
Teaching Experience: Since 2010
Career Highlights: Watching public speaking students blossom before my eyes. Teaching Communication and Sexual Identity. Inspiring students to major in Communication Studies. Serving as Assistant Director of Dragons & Dresses & Ducklings—Oh My! a performance for and about families; weaving together stories from eight children’s picture books with lesbian, gay, and transgender characters to highlight the commonplace characteristics of family: love, diversity, and acceptance.
Hobbies: Cars, music, and people.
Quote: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." 
– Edith Wharton

Sarah Howard
Title: Assistant Professor
Degrees: B.A. and M.A., California State University, Fullerton
Teaching Experience: Since 2016
Career Highlights: Leaving the IT project management world to follow my passion, education.  I love watching students grow and make connections throughout the semester.  Inspiring students to push their limits and then watching them realize that they can be confident and successful public swpeakers.
Hobbies: I enjoy traveling to new places and trying new things.  My passions are scuba diving and tennis. Diving has taken me around the world.
Quote: One good learning quote, "There is no elevator to success.  You have to take the stairs" - Authour Unknown

Fermin Irigoyen
Title: Professor
Degrees: B.A. and M.A. California State University Hayward; Ed.D. Sacramento State University
Teaching Experience: Since 1999
Career Highlights: Stay tuned...
Hobbies: Reading, Gardening, and Watching Sports
Quote: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." – Yogi Berra

Yaping Li
Title: Professor
Degrees: B.A. Shandong University (China), M.A. and Ph.D. Indiana University
Teaching Experience: Since 1984
Hobbies: Reading philosophy, religion, and history; walking
Quote: "So inner happiness is the fuel of success."

Leif Rogers
Title: Adjunct Professor
Degrees: A.A., College of San Mateo; B.A. and M.A., San Jose State University
Career Highlights: Teaching diverse students, and facilitating intercultural dialogues.
Hobbies: Traveling, hiking, running, and learning about different cultures.
Quote: "To make a positive impact in the lives of students" – 

Jacqueline Swan
Title: Instructional Aide II
Responsibilities: Leading orientations of the COMM lab; helping students with computers, printers, recording rooms, and borrowing materials; overseeing COMM lab and upholding policies and procedures
Years at CSM: Since 2014 (though I worked in the Multimedia Lab in Spring of 2005!)
Education: B.A., Environmental Sustainability & Social Justice, San Francisco State University
Other Interests: Singing karaoke obsessively, communing with nature and animals, bicycling everywhere, haunting houses, meditating