Directory

Experience: Vicky has eight years of experience in nursing including long-term care, transitional care, and medical/surgical acute care as well as a variety of nursing leadership roles including precepting, charge nurse, and admissions nurse.

Experience: Valerie Wilwert has taught courses in General Psychology, Research Methods (advanced and beginning level), Social Psychology, and Health Psychology. Her prior teaching experience involves a variety of different age groups and locations (with some of the highlights including teaching high school level Advanced Placement Psychology, and teaching English in China!). Valerie’s specific areas of research interest include generational culture, and understanding how people might see the world differently just because of the time period in which they were born! In addition to many years of teaching, Valerie also has experience managing a psychological research lab, in which a large amount of time was spent mentoring individual students as they developed their own research projects.

Experience: Tom has worked in photography since 1989, creating a professional photography studio in 2001 that focused on commercial and architectural photography. In 2007, Tom branched out to create Posers Photography studio, specializing in Portrait, Pets, Events, and Commercial photography. He began teaching studio classes in 2000 expanding into all areas of professional photography classes: Architectural, Commercial, Event, Industrial, Portrait along with the Business of photography.

Experience: Tim Grebner has over 30 years of college teaching experience in mechanical and electrical engineering. His industry work experience has included working at a small solar energy firm to designing electro-mechanical machines at 3M.

Experience: Teresa has been teaching chemistry at the college level since 2007. From 2002-2007, she performed chemical research as a 3M Fellow in the fields of kinetics, materials chemistry, computational chemistry, and biochemistry.

Experience: Taddese Erba has 3 years of experience as high school physics and math teacher. He has a 1.5 year experience as Graduate assistant as and 1 year of experience as computer science teacher.

Experience: Susannah Dolance grew up in Dallas, Texas and discovered her passion for Sociology early in her undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University, where she earned a BA in Sociology in 1997. She earned her Master’s degree and PhD in Sociology at the University of Michigan. In 2004, Susannah moved from Michigan to Minnesota in order to teach Sociology and Gender Studies full-time at Century College. Her areas of interest are gender, sexuality, race, education, and social change. She lives with her partner in Northeast Minneapolis, where in her free time, she enjoys reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), biking, and cooking and eating good food.

Experience: Steve has been teaching Philosophy at Century College for 15 years. His area of specialization is in Ethics; more specifically, Virtue Ethics. Outside the classroom he serves as the student advisor for the Alpha Omega Christian club at Century.

Experience: Shawna Curtis has 18 years of Law Enforcement experience and over 10 years of teaching and training experience both in the field and classroom.

Experience: Shari Lambrecht attended 916 Vocational Technical College and received her diploma as a Medical Assistant in 1984. She is certified through the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) and has maintained current through continuing education. Shari worked in an ambulatory care facility as a Certified Medical Assistant for 20 years and provided clinical, laboratory and x-ray skills to patients before coming to Century College. In fall semester 2005, she started working as a CLA 2 and became an Instructor in spring semester 2006. Shari teaches hybrid courses in Clinical and Laboratory courses as well as Administrative Procedures, which is taught on campus.She has completed the Teacher Education Series (TES) in the spring of 2008 at the University of Minnesota. Courses included: Introduction to Vocational Teaching, Foundations of Instructional Methods, Course Development, Student Assessment and Philosophy and Practice of Career and Technical Education.

Experience: Ruth Wollersheim teaches Humanities, Film Studies, and Gender Studies, and is the current Gender Studies Program Director at Century College. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in an interdisciplinary program called Modern Studies where her areas of concentration were feminist film and media studies, feminist theory, and cultural studies. Her dissertation examined the popularity of the desperate housewife character in innumerable films, television shows, and cooking blogs. Ruth has been teaching at Century for over 10 years.

Experience: Robert Jersak has been teaching Communication coursework in the Minnesota State college and university system for over 15 years. His professional areas of interest and study include cross-cultural empathy, deliberative dialogue and audio documentary interviewing. He is currently pursuing a certificate in documentary studies at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in Durham, NC. Robert has also taught storytelling, creative writing and podcasting workshops across the Twin Cities metro area.

Experience: Ms. Gordon has 22 years of experience as a dental assistant, 15 years as a dental hygienist and 14 plus years of experience as a high school and college dental educator.

Experience: Helgeson has toured North America and Europe with Sonny Knight and the Lakers, Friendly Fires (UK), and McNasty Brass Band. He has performed on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” with McNasty Brass Band. Performances have also been broadcast on MPR, The Current, and PBS. He has performed with O.A.R., PJ Morton, Marie Osmond, Kurt Elling, Stokely, Fred Wesley, and John “Jabo” Starks.

Experience: Dr. Weigel’s passion for teaching began in 2010 when she first taught Psychology at Century. After taking a break to care for her family, she was thrilled to be able to return to part-time teaching in spring 2020.

Experience: Freelance and staff interpreter since 2003.

Experience: Neil Johnston began teaching college-level studio classes in 2001. Starting at Century College in 2006, Johnston teaches Painting 1, 2D Design, and Drawing 1 - focusing on the creative development of students in the Foundation years of a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Johnston’s studio practice includes painting and music – his creative investigations often combining the two experiences. Neil’s work is in several corporate collections including local Medtronic Inc. Hines International, and Orfield Laboratories, and he has several murals and public works in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. Century College is proud to include Johnston works on campus - the Library ‘Lanterns’ and West Campus Computer Lab ‘Glass Wall Mural’ both completed collaboratively by Johnston and fellow faculty member, John Kothera. Neil Johnston brings this diverse and active creative process to the classroom, sharing the intersection of visual arts and music, and his creative process with his students.

Experience: Michelle Schoenecker has 15+ years of experience as a Computer Support Specialist and Trainer in Computer Technology. She has a wide range of experience from the basics of computer hardware and software to analysis and design to administration. Michelle is also a Century College alumnus who brings a student’s point of view to teaching and assists her students in finding their paths to success. She is a lifelong learner who has immersed herself in the Century College community as a mental health first aider, program director, online peer mentor, and committee member. The success of her students and helping them find their paths continues to be her top priority.

Experience: Michelle Blesi is a Certified Medical Assistant with 14 years of industry experience, who worked in the family practice area for 10 years, emphasizing clinical and laboratory skills. Changing her focus to leadership, she worked as a lead in the Nursing/Lab department and as a Clinical Manager prior to moving into education. As a Program Director and Unlimited Full Time Faculty member in the Medical Assistant Department at Century College since 2001, Michelle enjoys bringing her career experience into the classroom and making a difference in students’ lives. In addition to being Program Director, she teaches both Clinical and Laboratory courses, a Medical Assistant Refresher Course through CECT, and Administrative Procedures for Medical Assistants, both traditional and online. Additionally, she is the practicum coordinator and oversees the clinical externships for the program. Michelle’s expertise in the subject matter has sought the attention of many medical assistant/allied health textbook publishers, which has resulted in the review of their content. Michelle has contributed to many Cengage initiatives as well as authoring a Medical Assisting textbook.

Experience: Melissa has been an educator for over 20 years. For 15 years she led summer programs at the Burren College of Art in Co. Clare Ireland. Recently she has served as a mentor at Minneapolis College of Art and Design and San Francisco Art Institute’s MFA Programs. Melissa is currently a full-time faculty member in Art and Gender Studies and Exhibitions Director at Century. It was through her position at Century that she partnered with a local Somali Artist to create the Young East African Artists Project. Funded by an MN State Arts Board Arts Learning Grant the project provided opportunities for high school students from East African immigrant communities to learn photography as a creative tool. The program culminated in an exhibition at the Quater Gallery at the University of Minnesota Department of Art.

Experience: Dr Arney Johnston has more than 10 years experience teaching and 25 years experience in the museum sector.

Experience: Dr. Jaunich studied mechanical engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology and graduated with honors with her B.S. and M.S. After graduation, she worked as a system safety engineer for Millennium Engineering and Integration Company supporting NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center. During that time, she became a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Florida and also completed a Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. She then joined the Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering department at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2019. Her research focused on using life-cycle assessment and optimization to evaluate civil infrastructure systems, in particular, solid waste management. Dr. Jaunich joined Century College in 2018 and is the Engineering Club advisor.

Experience: Marufu has more than 28 years of consulting experience for several Fortune 500 organizations in the USA and internationally, spanning various Information technology systems, networking, security, and IT management. Secondary Point of Contact (POC) for the Cybersecurity, Forensics and Information Assurance program.

Experience: Martha has taught at Century College in the ESOL Department since 2003. She also taught in the Reading Department from 2004-2010. She was teaching at the U of MN before that at the Minnesota English Center, which was an English language center for students coming to the university from other countries.

Experience: After earning her teaching degree and license, Mandy worked in the K-12 system as an Art Teacher from 2010-2022. She has taught in Winona, Rochester, Edina, Bloomington, Anoka, Minnetonka, St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Michael, and Champlin in this time, and has worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. Mandy began working at Century College in the fall of 2022 as a Lab Assistant for the art department.

Experience: Lynn has worked with Minnesota State Colleges for over thirty years. She has over twenty-four years’ of experience teaching marketing and helping students develop the skills needed to succeed in their careers. She also spent seven years as a Customized Training Consultant, designing programs to meet workforce needs. Her direct marketing experience includes sales, merchandising, advertising, sales promotion, and project management, providing real-world insights that enhance her teaching.

Experience: Dr. Seiford is a professor, a researcher, an advocate for children, and a writer. She has been teaching a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate level psychology courses within the Minnesota State College and University system since 2010. She has been a featured writer for Psychology Today since 2019, has had her own blog since 2017, and has written several books.

Experience: Davis has 10 years experience as an Instructor of Communication Studies and also teaches English and Student and Career Success in the Minn State system.

Experience: Kristy Livingston is a Sr Manager of the Cyber Security Operations Center at Sleep Number and Adjunct Faculty at Century College. She has 12 years of cybersecurity experience and has held leadership roles overseeing, data governance, vulnerability management e-discovery and incident response. Kristy holds a Master of Science in Security Technologies (ST) from University of MN’s Leadership Insitute and industry certifications including CISSP and EnCE.

Experience: Kristine views teaching as a privilege and truly loves being in the classroom! She has been working with community college students for the past 20 years with experience in teaching, counseling, advising, career services, and student life. She currently teaches courses in psychology, student success, and career development.

Experience: Kim has been a full-time instructor since 1997, with extensive experience in clinical education, remediation, and assessment. In addition, she has been in EMS since 1987, with volunteer and work experiences in both rural and metro ambulance services, a police department, and a fire department. Kim continues to work as a paramedic for Healtheast Medical Transportation.

Experience: Mr. Cunnien has over 15 years teaching as a college Sociologyinstructor. He has served on numerous committees throughout his graduate and professional career. He has graduate training in educational technologies. He engaged in multiple research projects and served on the graduate editorial board for Context Magazine. A magazine published by the American Sociological Association. He consistently seeks out new research on teaching and engages in professional development opportunities.

Experience: I teach courses in child development, adolescent development, adulthood, aging and death, lifespan psychology, general psychology, social psychology, sensation and perception and statistics. My areas of specialty are children’s cognitive development and early childhood education. In addition to teaching college courses, I provide workshops on child and adolescent development to children, parents and educators. While these workshops span many topics, I have a particular love of teaching children and adolescents about how their brains work so that they can better understand their minds and bodies.

Experience: Ms. Swanson has been a police officer for 21 years, and has served as the Chief of Police for the White Bear Lake Police Department since 2014.

Experience: Professor Nicola has been teaching Communication skills for over 15 years. Before going into Academia, he worked in Corporate Marketing and Advertising, Radio, and Television.