Kay Fischer, M.A. (she/her/hers)
Kay Fischer is an instructor of Ethnic Studies at Chabot College in Hayward, CA, where 100% of Ethnic Studies courses are proudly zero or low textbook cost. She is also an advisor to the Stay Woke Collective club and part of Chabot’s Movement learning community, focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and experiences. As a former community college student, Kay transferred from De Anza College to UC Berkeley and majored in Ethnic Studies, where she found her voice and roots in student organizing. She has an MA in Teaching from USF and an MA in Asian American Studies from SF State. Besides teaching, Kay organizes around issues of decolonization, peace and reunification in the Korean peninsula, and justice for so-called “Comfort Women.”
Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick, M.A., Ph.D. (he/él)
Dr. Mario Alberto Viveros Espinoza-Kulick is an Instructor of Ethnic Studies at Cuesta College, Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Community College Faculty Fellow, poet, scholar, and author. He earned a BA in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Indigenous Studies in Natural Resources and the Environment from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. His MA and PhD in Sociology were achieved at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as a Health Policy Research Scholar funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His work with and for Chicanx and Latinx communities is rooted in a commitment to family and community on California's Central Coast and in Michoacán, Mexico (Purépecha). Dr. Espinoza-Kulick shares stories about culture, health equity, and community leadership as a host of Central Coast Voices on the National Public Radio (NPR) station KCBX. His work has been published in Oxford University Press, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Health Promotion Practice, and regional news outlets like El Latino, Santa Maria Times, and the Santa Barbara Independent.
Ulysses Acevedo, M.A. (he/him)
Ulysses Acevedo is an instructor of Ethnic Studies at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA. After transferring from community college, Ulysses attended San Francisco State University, earning a B.A. in Latina/o Studies and an M.A. in Ethnic Studies. Informed by his own experience as the first person in his family to attend college, the focus of his research has been the role of identity-based student group participation on retention and completion rates for Chicano men at community colleges. In the past he has taught courses have included traditional face-to-face on-campus classes; both asynchronous and synchronous online classes; and dual-enrollment community college classes taught off-campus, including at middle, high, adult and continuation schools.
Teresa Hodges, Ph.D. (she/her/hers/siya)
Teresa Hodges is an instructor of Ethnic Studies at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, CA. She was a California State University Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program Scholar (2018-2019). She has her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, an M.A. in Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC San Diego. Her work centers Critical Mixed Race Studies, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Feminist Studies, and Comparative Ethnic Studies. She aims to cultivate transformative educational experiences that help others to heighten their consciousness, develop deeper connections to community, and inspire action that promotes change in the world around them.
Melissa Leal, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Dr. Melissa Leal is an enrolled member of the Ohlone/Costanoan Esselen Nation. She earned her Ph.D. In Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis and currently teaches and serves as the Ethnic Studies Department Chair and Tribal Liaison at Sierra College. Her research focuses on contemporary film, music, dance and other performance arts in indigenous communities. She has worked with tribes and tribal youth for more than 20 years focusing on education, language revitalization, and California Indian Studies.
Tamara Cheshire, Ed.D. (she/her/they/them)
Pictured left to right Dr. Tamara Cheshire and Jordan Burkart
Dr. Tamara Cheshire (Lakota) is a Native American Scholar and the Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Folsom Lake College. She is the Co-Chair of the Los Rios District Ethnic Studies Faculty Council, a member of the California Community College Ethnic Studies Faculty Council and is serving on the California Community College Chancellor’s Office/ASCCC Ethnic Studies Taskforce. She has her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Sacramento State, her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies and BS degree in American Studies with Ethnic Studies emphasis and discipline focus in Native American Studies from Oregon State. She has published several articles, chapters, and a book about the barriers faced by and the resiliency of Native American students in higher education.
Jordan Burkart is a Native American student at Sacramento State majoring in Photography.
