Directory

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: In addition to 20+ years of experience teaching mathematics. Mr. Hunt has programmed professionally using Java and Javascript.

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: 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: 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 Smaagaard is a graduate and alumni of Century College. Lynn comes from a long line of Century College educators. Her mother, Mary, taught in the Business Department and her father, Paul, taught in Continuing Education. Lynn has worked with the Minnesota State Colleges for over twenty-five years. She has eighteen years’ teaching experience and seven years’ experience as a Customized Training Consultant. Her direct marketing experience includes sales, merchandising, advertising, sales promotion and project management.

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: 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 andprofessional career. And he has graduate training in educationaltechnologies. He engaged in multiple research projects and served on thegraduate editorial board for Context Magazine. A magazine published by theAmerican Sociological Association. He consistently seeks out new research onteaching 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.

Experience: Dr Pfeiffer has been teaching chemistry since 1996. She taught 3 years at the University of Wyoming, 5 years at Hamline University, and has been at Century College since Fall 2004. In addition to teaching, she is Century’s site coordinator for the North Star STEM Alliance, funded by the National Science Foundation and 3M. The goal of this program is to increase underrepresented student success in obtaining bachelor degrees by providing them with professional development opportunities, introducing them to research and career opportunities in STEM, and helping them transfer to a four-year school. Dr Pfeiffer has also been active in the MN Section of the American Chemical Society since 1999, serving in many roles, such as Chair, Secretary, External Communications Committee Chair, and National Chemistry Week Coordinator.

Experience: Jill Cadwell has been teaching college-level English courses for over 20 years, and has been teaching at Century since 2002. She also consistently participates in administrative work on campus, whether as English Department Chair, MSCF Union Local Executive Committee Officer, or working on other initiatives important to Century College’s mission and for the benefit of students. As time permits, Jill likes to write nonfiction personal essays and read literature about the environment. She is an advocate for understanding and slowing climate change.

Experience: Dr. Breyer-Peterson has a true passion for teaching psychology and educating people about mental health. She has been a full-time faculty member at Century College since 2011 and currently teaches General Psychology, Developmental Psychology: Lifespan, Abnormal Psychology, and Internship in Psychology. She is also a Licensed Psychologist, and has provided therapy in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, hospitals, and the VAMC. Dr. Breyer-Peterson has published several research articles in peer-reviewed journals which have been cited over 200 times. Dr. Breyer-Peterson coordinates the Mental and Behavioral Health Worker certificate and psychology internship in addition to teaching. She is also the director of Century’s Mental Health First Aid grant project, which provides free mental health training to students and employees.

Experience: Dr. Bell has been teaching biology courses at Century College since 2011. Dr. Bell has worked to develop programs and strategies to incorporate primary research experiences for students early in their academic careers. These strategies include both laboratory based and literature based research in and out of the classroom. Her collaborative work has led to a primary author publication in educational pedagogies and presentations by her and her community college students in local and national forums. Dr. Bell has established and maintains fundamental STEM collaborations with neighboring institutions including being a Partner Instructor in Tiny Earth. Dr. Bell’s primary research focuses on antibiotic resistance.

Experience: Jackie has been working throughout the Minneapolis dental community since 2008 in various roles including office administration, chairside dental assisting, and dental assisting education. In 2014, she graduated from the Century College Dental Assisting program and returned to the program in 2016 as an educator. She graduated in 2020 with her Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Minnesota State University- Mankato.

Experience: Israel Emmanuel is the Lead Instructor for the Cybersecurity, Virtualization and Forensics (CVF) program at Century College, one of Minnesota’s largest two-year colleges. Israel pioneered the CVF at Century and with collaboration of other faculty developed the curriculum and associated degree and certificate programs. Israel has more than 19 years of experience in IT security, computer forensics, vulnerability, intrusion detection/prevention, and incident response. He currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the SANS institute. He has consulted with several Fortune 500 companies in the areas of regulatory compliance, forensics, threat detection and identity and access management. Point of Contact (POC) for the Cybersecurity, Forensics and Information Assurance program.