Affiliated Faculty Feature

Affiliated Faculty Spotlights - November 13th-20th 2023:

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa Hernandez works in the Academic First Year Experiences department. Her community engagement specialty involves sustainability & climate change, through service-learning projects alongside the institute of sustainability, and an information competence assignment on climate change & sustainable practices to correlate their service-learning experience with a pressing issue in today’s world. Additionally, she focuses on creative project presentations for the Freshmen Celebration through class projects on community involvement and awareness centered on what students learned from these experiences. At the Freshmen Celebration, we will highlight how both individuals and communities can contribute to sustainability through education, awareness, campaigns, lifestyle changes, and participating in local initiatives. Contact her at the email address provided at the bottom of the flyer!

Sepideh Abolghasem

Professor Sepideh Abolghasem works in the Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management Department. Her community engagement specialty is manufacturing, product design, and other senior design projects. Contact her at the email address provided at the bottom of the flyer!

Rosalia Garcia-Torres

Rosalia Garcia-Torres (she/her) works in the Family and Consumer Sciences department. Her community engagement specialty is sustainable food systems, basic needs, and food waste reduction.

Elizabeth Leister

Professor Elizabeth Leister (she/her) works in the Emerging Media Production (CTVA) department. Her community engagement specialty is executed in collaboration with students in CTVA 463CS. Emerging Media Capstone uses its imaginative skills to build augmented reality experiences (360 degree video, interactive worlds, and more) to generate exciting, innovating ways of highlighting the initiatives of its community partners. They have worked primarily with the Institute for Sustainability to highlight their wide-ranging and vital work at CSUN.

David Blumenkrantz

Professor David Blumenkrantz (he/him) works in the CSUN Journalism Department. His community engagement specialty is advocacy media for nonprofits and working with community partners involved in representing marginalized communities.

Hessam Ghamari

Professor Hessam Ghamari (he/him) works in the Family and Consumer Sciences department. His community engagement specialty is design for the elderly, human-centric design, and evidence-based design.

Judy Korin

Professor Judy Korin (she/her) works in the Cinema and Television Arts Department. Her community engagement specialty is documentary filmmaking in partnership with local organizations.

Kelly Opdycke

Professor Kelly Opdycke (she/they) works in the Special Education Department. Her community engagement specialty is working with Disability & LGBTQIA+ groups.

Svetlana V. Tyutina

Professor Svetlana V. Tyutina works in the Modern & Classical Languages & Literatures Department. Svetlana's community engagement specialties are business, legal, medical, literary translation, interpreting, and foreign language education. 

Debbi Mercado

Professor Debbi Mercado is the Course Coordinator for Academic First Year Experiences. Her community engagement specialty is creating and managing campus partnerships to provide community-based learning for first-semester freshmen enrolled in University 100 courses.

Franck Vigneron

Professor Franck Vigneron works in the Marketing Department. Franck's community engagement specialty is business consulting services, completed by students and supervised by professors.

Veda E. Ward

Professor Veda E Ward works in the Recreation and Tourism Management Department. Veda's community engagement specialties include community parks, recreation, mature adult facilities, and non-profit youth programs.

Dena Herman

Professor Dena Herman (she/her) works in the Family and Consumer Science Department. As a pediatric dietitian and professor, Dena's community engagement specialties are in the areas of Food as/is Medicine, food and nutrition security, food systems and sovereignty, maternal and child health, and social justice.

Dr. Conchita Y. Battle

Dr Conchita Y. Battle (she/her) works in the Educational Opportunity Department (EOP). Her community engagement specialties are community outreach and library archives.

Erin Eiholzer

Professor Erin Eiholzer (she/her) works in the Recreation and Tourism Management Department. Her community engagement specialty is program coordinating at the RTM Outdoor Centers, including the on-campus Challenge Ropes Course and Aquatic Center at Castaic Lake Lower Lagoon, serving at-risk youth in our community and surrounding areas.