Chris Juzwiak, Research Director: Chris holds an M.A. in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles and is A.B.D. Fluent in French and Italian, he conducted graduate research at the Sorbonne in France and the University of Pavia in Italy. He has taught college-level literature and composition for 18 years and is currently the Chair of the Developmental Composition Program at Glendale Community College. In 2002, he received the John Craven Award for Innovative Pedagogy in Composition Instruction, and has presented at recent League for Innovation and ECCTYC conferences. His work with electronic pedagogy has provided a creative surge in his professional life.

Denise Ezell, Primary Researcher: Denise received her M.A. in English from the University of Alabama, has been teaching English for 21 years in the radically diverse states of Alabama, Colorado, and California. In both Alabama and Colorado, she ran the college's learning labs. For the last twelve years, she has worked primarily with students in developmental English, a population that constantly delights her. Denise is excited to see these students find enjoyment and enhanced success through the power of well-honed teaching strategies delivered via technology, a medium which they embrace and in which they are fully at home.

Angela Morales, Primary Researcher: Angela began teaching English at Glendale College in 2003, and prior to that, she taught English for six years at Merced Community College. She has taught all levels of composition, as well as creative writing and Latino Literature. As an undergraduate, she attended U.C. Davis and worked briefly as a kindergarten teacher before she was accepted to graduate school at the University of Iowa. She earned her M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and then returned to California to teach at the community college level. Now, as a college writing instructor, she is always delighted and challenged by her students. She believes that the classroom is a magical place where great things can happen.

Monette Tiernan, Primary Researcher: Monette received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. She has taught literature and composition at Cal. State University Los Angeles, University of Pittsburgh, and Lafayette College. Currently, she teaches developmental and transfer-level composition at Glendale Community College, where she also directs the Writing Across the Curriculum program. Her current pedagogical interests include the relationships between reading, visual literacy, and writing, and the extensive implementation of technology in the writing classroom.

Michael Ritterbrown, English Division Chair: Michael received his B.A. from the University of Southern California and his M.F.A. from Warren Wilson College. He has been a member of the Glendale College Faculty since 1999, and became chair of the English Division in 2004. His short fiction has been published in a number of literary journals, and he is currently the fiction editor of the literary Journal Eclipse. He is committed to supporting and participating in the development of instructional technology at Glendale College.

Susan Brinkmeyer, Advisor: Susan holds an M.A. from Occidental College in English and Comparative Literature and has been both an administrator and an English faculty member at Glendale Community College, where she has worked for 33 years. She was named a Glendale College Distinguished Faculty Member in 1994. Susan wrote and managed Glendale College’s Title V grant from the U. S. Department of Education, which supported the College’s first steps toward technology innovations in the classroom through mini-grants to faculty. Two of this project’s researchers, Juzwiak and Tiernan, benefited from these grants. As an English instructor, Susan finds that technology helps her create a community of learners in the classroom and increases the quality of student reading, writing, and critical thinking.

Zeinab Albatal, Student Researcher: A devoted and hardworking student, Zeinab grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990 with her husband Khalid. For the past several years, she has devoted herself to being a mother to two boys, ages eleven and thirteen. In 2002, she made a life-changing decision to return to college. She now attends Glendale College where she is studying bookkeeping and accounting. After she earns her certificates at the end of this year, she hopes to find a job in a related field.

Edwin Alvarado, Student Researcher: A native of Glendale, Edwin exudes positive energy and true passion for both his studies and his music. Currently, Edwin is majoring in music, and his eclectic musical tastes range from hip-hop to classical. He is a talented musician; he plays both the guitar and the piano, and he mixes and burns his own CD’s in a professional studio. He plans to transfer to a four-year university to complete his degree, and he hopes to one day teach music here in his hometown of Glendale.

Susan Janoubi, Student Researcher: A native of Iran, Susan is a warm, personable, and intellectually curious woman. She is returning to school this semester after originally attending GCC in the 1980s. At that time, she earned 26 credits in Child Development, a field in which she would like to earn her certificate. She interrupted her education to raise her son, who is now nineteen. Susan enjoys English, and she is also taking classes in CPR and computers.
 

Diana Penada, Student Researcher: A young woman with a sweet, shy demeanor and a room-brightening smile, Diana is a first-semester student at GCC. Previously, she attended John Marshall High School in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, where she belonged to the Bible Club. She enjoys being a college student; she likes the flexible hours of college life and especially enjoys English class. While she’s undecided about her career and major, she knows she’d like to work with people and has considered being a social worker or a nurse.