Faculty In Review

Disabled Students Programs & Services

photo of Baldassare Heidi B

Heidi B Baldassare

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., Columbia Teachers College, New York

Ms. Baldassare has been teaching at CCSF for the past 15 years.

Her educational philosophy and goal is that each individual should be encouraged and inspired to develop their fullest creative and critical thinking potential and abilities. She also believes that the purpose of education is to empower individuals with skills not only to meet the challenges of a changing world but also to contribute to it.

Ms. Baldassare is a member of the CCSF Continuing Education Committee and a previous member of the International Students and Contract Education Committees. She is also a member of the Association of Educational Therapists and CAPED. She is currently developing an original online class.

In her leisure time, she enjoys travel (experiencing new cultures and ways of thinking), cooking, gardening, painting, hiking, and movement therapies. She is an active member of the Institute of Noetic Science.

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Geoffrey Paul Brown

Disabled Students Programs & Services

M.S. Counseling, San Francisco State University
B.S. Education, State University of New York College at Buffalo

Professor Brown has been teaching at CCSF since 1997.

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Kathryn Brown

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., M.A., San Francisco State University

Ms. Brown has been teaching at CCSF for the past 29 years.

Her educational goal is to awaken the curiosity of her students and to encourage them to find or renew a love of learning. She wants to enable students to become self-directed learners.

Ms. Brown is active in the DSPS Steering Committee, Program Review Committee (DSPS), Faculty 2001 Committee, Non-Credit Issues Committee, SCANS Project and is co-chair of the Community Advisory Board.

She is also a participant in the Lighthouse Singers of Marin and Pied Piper Productions.

In her leisure time, she enjoys singing and theatre.

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Terence Albert Chuck

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A. Degree- University of San Francisco; M.A. Degree- John F. Kennedy University

Prof. Chuck has been teaching at CCSF since 1999

Asian Coalition

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Judy N Cohen

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.F.A. Painting and Drawing, University of Wisconsin
M.A. Education with a K-12 Teacher's Credential, Emerson College

Professor. Cohen has been teaching at CCSF since 2006

Professor Cohen has been teaching theater, art and dance to adults and youth for over 10 years. She worked as the theater and dance coordinator at the Janet Pomeroy Center in San Francisco, teaching youth and adults with disabilties. She was the VSA art festival chair from 1999-2002, and has taught at a variety of art centers and museums, including the Art Production Center, the Legion of Honor Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Palo Alto Art Center. Professor Cohen has exhibited her paintings and collages at galleries throughout San Francisco, and in addition to being an artist and teaching art, she is also an actor and director throughout the Bay Area.

Professor Cohen is a member of Theatre Bay Area, Theatre Communications Group and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Locally she is a member of the Arts Education Alliance and she teaches as a resident artist for Young Audiences of Northern California, SF Arts Education Project, Laurel school and the Richmond District Neighborhood Center.

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Ellen Suhr Conaway

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A. Communicative Disorders, San Francisco State University
M.A. Special Education, San Francisco State University

Professor Conaway has been teaching at CCSF since 1990.

As a Learning Disability Specialist, her goal is to help each student learn more about his/her learning strengths and to see the contrast to his/her learning weaknesses. The contrast may be very little or may be very big. Given this knowledge and the students' readiness to try new methods, they go forward. She hopes that the work the student does in class and the knowledge gained will make a positive difference.

Professor Conaway was on the High School Education Committee at John Adams. She attended meetings and gave talks as requested about learning disabilities (e.g., Counseling Depatment, Study Skills Department, and gave semin ars with the Department of Health and Human Services).

Professor Conaway is a Mentor for two graduate students at the California State University Sacramento Disability Program. She was also a Learning Specialist in elementary schools in San Francisco for 11 years.

Professor Conaway enjoys spending time with family and friends, taking along walks, and reading.

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Kathleen Susan Duffy

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., New College of California; M.S., San Francisco State University

Biography is unavailable at this time.

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Robert S Fitch

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., University of the Pacific; M.A., University of San Francisco

Mr. Fitch has been teaching at CCSF since January 2002.

His educational philosophy is "Lifelong Learning!".

Mr. Fitch is a Board Member, Cerebral Palsy Center for the Bay Area, President, Gateway High School Parent Association (8/01 to 6/03) and Past Board Member, CDT Disability Arts Organization, Berkeley.

In his leisure time, he enjoys attending concerts, buying CDs, writing and playing tourist in his own neighborhood (North Beach).

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Carole Fitzgerald

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S., Black Hills State University
B.F.A., San Francisco State University

Professor Fitzgerald has been teaching at CCSF since 1974.

She is dedicated to providing visual art opportunities that will engage students through active learning techniques. By providing quality art materials and adaptive equipment when necessary, all of our students are supported in the development of their artistic potential. When the creative talents of students are nourished, and students are expressing their uniqueness, the campus atmosphere is lifted, as is all of society.

Professor Fitzgerald has exhibited student artwork at JAD Library, City Art Gallery, 33 Gough Street and the Eureka Valley Public Library.

She also has exhibited her paintings regionally and nationally in juried competitions as well as local solo exhibitions. She has received commissions in the East Bay community of Albany, from the Friends of the Library. Professor Fitzgerald was a finalist in the Creative Work Fund Competition sponsored by the Hass Foundation in 1996. In 2003, she was awarded a public art commission from the City of Denver, to paint a 6'x3 1/2 ' watercolor painting for the Red Rocks Amphitheatre's new Visitor Center.

Professor Fitzgerald's hobbies include gardening, native plant restoration, travel, art, community activism, and the pursuit of education.

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Joyce E Foreman

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., M.S., San Francisco State University

Ms. Foreman has been teaching at CCSF since 1988.

Her educational goals are to assist students with disabilities to develop an awareness and understanding of their deficit(s), provide remediation and retraining techniques, and help students develop compensatory strategies so they may be successful in communication, educational, and/or vocational situations.

Ms. Foreman is on the CCSF DSPS Hiring Committee, DSPS Steering Committee and the Bay Area Head Injury Task Force.

Licensure/Professional Affiliations: State of California, Board of Medical Quality Assurance (Speech-Language Pathologist); American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; California Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

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Galina S Gerasimova

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S. Human Physiology (emphasis on behavioral and systems neuroscience), San Francisco State University
A.S. in Computer Science, City College of San Francisco

Professor Gerasimova has been teaching at CCSF since 2004.

She has had a lot of experience working with disabled people and war veterans since 1990. She believes that using new technologies and developing new learning strategies and alternative approaches can help students, especially students with disabilities, to reduce stress, increase their self-confidence and potential, and to achieve their educational goals.

Professor Gerasimova is a member of All Kinds of Minds, a nonprofit institute for the understanding of differences in learning.

She has a particular interest in studying the effects of radiation on the human body, in stress factors triggering the human immune system inbalance, and the impact of stress on memory and concentration.

Professor Gerasimova loves to travel and is always interested in hearing about new scientific discoveries.

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Maral Good

Disabled Students Programs & Services

A.A., College of Marin; B.A., University of California, Davis; M.A., San Francisco State University

Ms. Good has been teaching at CCSF for the past twenty-five years.

Her goal is to provide a diverse educational experience towards improving the quality of life.

She is active in CAPED (Community Emergency Response Team) in Marin and the San Francisco Girl Scouts.

Ms. Good is an entrepreneur in color, crafts, fabric, and wearable art.

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Paul L Johnson

Chair, Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., Universidad de las Americas, Mexico City

Mr. Johnson has been teaching at CCSF for the past 31 years.

He has spent many years working as a classroom instructor helping students with disabilities to learn computer applications and gain other skills to improve their employability. He likes challenges and finding alternative solutions that work. His goal is to help students succeed.

Mr. Johnson serves on the Executive Board of the Mayor's Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities. He is also a member of the California Association on Post-Secondary and Disability (CAPED).

In his leisure time, he enjoys stamp collecting and photography.

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Judi A Kaplan

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara
M.S. Communicative Disorders, San Francisco State University
Elementary Education Teaching Credential, San Francisco State University

Professor Kaplan has been teaching at CCSF since 2001.

She provides a supportive environment with many opportunities for students to feel successful in their communmication skills. She believes that helping students improve their speech and language abilities facilitates their integration into society.

Professor Kaplan holds a California Speech-Language Pathology License. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Her interests include gardening, dance, movies, and literature.

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Kathleen Kerr-Schochet

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S., Towson State College, Baltimore, Maryland; M.Ed., Loyola College, Baltimore; C.A.S.E., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

Ms. Kerr-Schochet has been a member of the CCSF faculty for the past twenty-six years.

She has taught students with disabilities on all levels (preschool through college) and focuses on learning and reading disabilities. She loves working at CCSF because there are so many programs for students with disabilities and also extensive resources to support students with disabilities in CCSF regular classes.

Ms. Kerr-Schochet is actively involved in developing policies and procedures for DSPS. She has served on the CCSF-DSPS Program Evaluations and Voc Ed Steering Committees and has participated in many state wide program reviews and advisory committees.

Ms Kerr-Schochet is a member of CAPED (California Association on Post Secondary Education and Disability) and AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability).

In her leisure time, she enjoys anything involving performing arts, travel and reading. She is active in local parents' organizations supporting arts.

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Jane L Lampe

Disabled Students Programs & Services

Certificate, Manual Communication

Biography is unavailable at this time.

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Soonduk Lee

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S., Ewha Women's University, Seoul, Korea
M.S., Golden Gate University, San Francisco

Professor Lee has been teaching at CCSF since 2007.

She believes that everyone has the right to have equal access to education, and that barriers to education must be removed. Professor Lee's goal is to make sure that Adaptive/Assistive Technology is available in the High Tech Center so that all CCSF students have equal access to high quality education.

Professor Lee is a member of CAPED (California Association of Post Secondary Education and Disability).

In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling , watching movies, and reading about technology.

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David M Lovis

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota; M.A., University of Kansas, Lawrence

Mr. Lovis has been teaching at CCSF for the past 30 years.

He is dedicated to providing creative movement and drama experiences as well as performance opportunities to all of his students, irregardless of their disabling condition. He is committed to developing each participant's unique talent, encouraging their personal as well as creative growth, and helping them to play a more creative, effective and important role in our society.

Since coming to the Bay Area, Mr. Lovis has worked in improvisational theater, led Creative Dramatics with the Oakland and Berkeley Recreation Departments; acted with the San Francisco Players Guild, a professional children's theater company; taught theater to minority youth in the Haight Ashbury; led improvisational theater workshops and theater games with emotionally disturbed, brain damaged and delinquent youth with Mother Goose Inc., an organization devoted to theater arts as therapy; and has acted in several local theater groups.

In his work with the mentally and physically disabled, Mr. Lovis has explored the use of Creative Dramatics, Improvisational Theater, Creative Movement, Orff-Schulwerk, Mime and Yoga, in both informal as well as performance oriented programming. He has led workshops and in-service training sessions in over a dozen states and in Canada and Mexico City for teachers, therapists, recreators, and artists. In 1977 he founded Theatre Unlimited, a laboratory company integrating actors with a variety of disabilities and continues to direct this unique ensemble.

Nationally, Mr. Lovis has served as a consultant for the National Committee-Arts for the Handicapped and for the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation. He was an original committee member of the American Theater Association's Program on Drama and Theater- By With and For the Handicapped and has been a Registered Drama Therapist with the National Association for Drama Therapy since 1985. Mr. Lovis is the author of several professional journal articles and anthology chapters, most recently, "Prime Movers-Dancing with the Developmentally Disabled" in Contact Quarterly Dance Journal (Vol. 17, No.2, Winter 1992).

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Philip V Magalong

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., University of San Francisco
M.S., San Francisco State University
Ed.D., University of San Francisco

Dr. Magalong has been teaching at CCSF since 2002.

He states: "My role in the DSP&S at CCSF is to support the student: teacher relationship. My goals are to enhance student retention and success by partnering with students and their medical/mental health providers to develop educational plans that are both supportive and realistic."

Dr. Magalong is involved in the CCSF Student Success Committee and DSP&S Committee. In Fall 2006, he joined the LOLA and CCSF Prison Project Committe's.

Dr. Magalong has published the following: 1993-"Transition from School to Work" - National Institute of Rehabilitation and Research; 1997-"Procedures and Policies for the Provision of Accommodations" - University of San Francisco Press; and 1999-Published Doctoral Thesis - "Retention Success for Students w/ ADHD."

In his leisure time, Dr. Magalong enjoys spending time with family, reading and cross training. He is a Season Ticket holder - SF Giants and USF Basketball. He lives in San Francisco.

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Vivien C Mun

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.Ed., University of Malaya, Malaysia; M.A., San Francisco State University

Biography is unavailable at this time.

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Muriel L Parenteau

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S., New College of the University of South Florida; M.S., San Francisco State University; M.S.C., New Seminary, New York

Ms. Parenteau has been a member of the CCSF faculty since 1993.

Her goal is to expand physical and programmatic access on all current and future CCSF campuses and to provide disability awareness training for CCSF faculty and staff.

Ms. Parenteau is Chair of the CCSF Parking and Transportation Committee and serves on the Health and Safety Committee. She is also on the Community Advisory Committee (DSPS).

She is also a trainer/instructor for the San Francisco Police Academy on Disability Awareness.

Ms. Parenteau is a teacher of "A Course in Miracles" and an Interfaith Minister.

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Mario Albert Quevedo

Disabled Students Programs & Services

A.A., City College of San Francisco
B.A., M.S., San Francisco State University

Professor Quevedo has been teaching at CCSF since 2006.

His educational philosophy is to empower students with disabilities to be independent in all academic endeavors. In the High Tech Lab, he encourages students to develop confidence in their ability to learn and use the necessary adaptations for their needs.

Professor Quevedo has 30 plus years experience in working with persons with disabilities. He came to CCSF from the State Department of Rehabilitation where he worked both as a counselor and a rehabilitiation supervisor.

In his leisure time, Professor Quevedo is involved in church organizations, travels, and is a board member of a non-profit organization that provides placement services to persons with disabilities.

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Karen R Rachels

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., Sonoma State University
M.S., San Francisco State University

Professor Rachels has been a counselor for students with disabilities at CCSF since 2000. She is also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Marriage and Family Therapist.

Her approach with students is to help them find the tools to succeed in college, whether those tools are accommodations, adaptive equipment, enhanced communication or assertiveness skills, or deeper self-understanding.

She also has a private psychotherapy practice for individuals and couples in San Francisco.

Traveling, A's baseball, Stanford Women/s basketball, learning languages, and spending time with family and friends all keep her smiling.

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Dora E Rodriguez

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., M.A., San Francisco State University

Professor Rodriguez has been a member of the CCSF faculty since 1990. She teaches in two different disability classroom settings. At San Francisco Vocational Services (SFVS), she teaches a City College class helping students with disabilities to learn basic computer applications in order to seek career advancement. At the Ocean Campus DSPS High Tech Center, she teaches in a lab-style high tech center classroom.

Professor Rodriguez has developed assistive computer training modules for instructional use with persons with orthopedic disabilities. She also designed and created CCSF's first accessible DSPS departmental website based on research into accessible web design.

Her specialized instruction, along with her enthusiasm, has encouraged her students to persevere and pursue their educational, career and personal goals.

Professor Rodriguez is active on the DSPS Steering Committee and participated in Program Review and the SCANS Project. She participates on the Non-Credit Issues Committee, Basic Skills Committee, and Technology Department Round Table Committee.

She belongs to the California Association for Postsecondary Education and the Disabled (CAPED), Alopecia Areata Foundation, BAVC Bay Area Video Coalition, SFSU Alumni Association and the CCSF Friends of the Library. Professor Rodriguez is a proud supporter of the San Francisco Mayor's Committee for Employment of Persons with Disabilities.

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Manuel Saavedra

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., University of San Buenaventura, Colombia
M.A., Pontifical Bolivar University, Colombia

Professor Saavedra has been teaching at CCSF since 2008.

His professional career has been oriented toward helping students with disabilities to meet their challenges and to adapt their lives so they may live as comfortably as possible within their limitations. His approach is to help students identify their goals and values and develop their skills in order to be able to reach them. This means helping them to be as productive and independent as possible and be able to contribute to society according to their ability.

Professor Saavedra's strength is motivating students and building their confidence so they can reach their peak performance. Most students appreciate the encouragement and support. He always tries to make learning a fun and interesting experience for his students.

He has been active in various non-profit organizations helping people access different services according to their needs. Often success is just linking students up with appropriate services and adaptive devices.

Professor Saavedra enjoys reading Roman history, traveling, watching plays and attending the opera.

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Michelle C Seasor

Disabled Students Programs & Services

Biography is unavailable at this time.

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Olga A Shvarts

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A. Psychology, San Francisco State University
M.S. Rehabilitation Counseling, San Francisco State University

Professor Shvarts has been counseling at CCSF since 2009.

She believes that all people should be given an opportunity to succeed, and some need more than one opportunity. She feels her role as a counselor is to increase and create such opportunities by facilitating communication and education among students and teachers. All this is done to foster collaboration, mutual understanding and responsibility between all parties involved.

Professor Shvarts enjoys dance, travel, and gardening.

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Anne F. Vanderslice

Disabled Students Programs & Services

M.A. Rehabilitation Counseling, San Francisco State University 1984

Prof. Vanderslice has been teaching at CCSF since 2005

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Carol A. Vivrette

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., San Francisco State University
M.S., San Francisco State University

Professor Amen has been teaching/counseling at CCSF since 2002

Professor Amen believes that all students can learn and grow, but that education is not one-size-fits-all. She strives to help students identify their goals and strengths and to connect them with resources on-campus and in the community to help them reach their fullest potential.

In her leisure time, Professor Amen enjoys knitting, watching Oakland A's baseball, learning languages, and cooking.

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Dennis D Waterhouse

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.A., Gallaudet University

Biography is unavailable at this time.

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John W Wilde

Disabled Students Programs & Services

B.S., Northern Illinois University; M.S., Ph.D., Southern Illinois University

Dr. Wilde is an instructor and counselor for students with disabilities at CCSF. He is the author of About Disabilities , 2nd edition and the creator of a CCSF course entitled Perspectives on Disability Rights.

Dr. Wilde has developed innovative training courses for teachers in providing adult education to persons with learning and communication problems.

As a result of his professional guidance and dedication, Dr. Wilde's students have been empowered to reach their personal, educational and career goals.

He has also set up programs for organizations such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, San Francisco Police Department, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, the California Department of Rehabilitation, California Department of Youth Authority, American Red Cross and Goodwill Industries. 

Dr. Wilde's leisure-time pursuits include writing, improving his Chinese language skills and playing the guitar.

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Tina K Wong

Disabled Students Programs & Services

Biography is unavailable at this time.


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