 Hi NVC Faculty!
This is a quick reminder that the 2020 CCA Fall Conference is scheduled for October 7-10th! You can register now for FREE, and the Conference will be held virtually. Click here for more information, registration, and a complete agenda of the conference's events. See you there! Yours in Solidarity, NVCFA Exec. Board  Hello Faculty!
I just wanted to let everyone know that the attached MOUs have been signed by both the faculty association and the district. Both sides agreed during finals week, but the finalized versions just became available. The first MOU is a health and safety MOU for fall 2020 regarding social distancing and sanitization guidelines for classes that may meet face to face. This includes guidelines and accommodations for classrooms, librarians, counseling appointments and office hours. The health and safety of our faculty, staff and students is a top priority for NVCFA. The second attached MOU is one we have been working on for a long time - the expansion of personal necessity leave. Potential reasons for personal necessity leave have been expanded to allow for "imminent danger to the person or home of the unit member" in cases of natural disasters and "other personal matters or emergencies." We have also included a clause regarding specificity in order to protect the privacy of our faculty members. Changes to the existing article are written in red. Please let me know if you have any questions about either of these documents. I hope everyone is having a restful break! Kristie A. Iwamoto NVCFA President Health and Safety MOU.pdf Personal Necessity MOU.pdf  Hello Faculty!
The results are in, and you have elected your 2020-2022 NVCFA officers: President - Kristie Iwamoto Vice-President - Sean McCann Secretary - John Kincheloe Treasurer - Terry Wegner Part-Time Representative - Carlene Coury Congratulations to all of our officers, and thank you everyone for voting! :) I also wanted to let everyone know that during the week that we converted classes to online only, the District and the NVCFA agreed to suspend negotiations until April 13th. When we resume, we are hoping to meet via Zoom and to come to an agreement on the upcoming contract before the end of the semester. I will be updating everyone periodically via email and on our WEBSITE. I will also call a Zoom "General" Union Meeting if necessary. Hopefully we will have a contract to vote on soon. I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Take care. I can't wait to see you all again. Kristie Iwamoto NVCFA President Hello Faculty!
Doesn't our union meeting week before last feel like a long, long time ago? I wanted to make sure that I kept everyone up on union news. First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that none of our faculty, full or part-time, worries about not being paid for the semester. Governor Newsom signed an executive order to fully fund public schools for the remainder of the academic year - including community colleges - regardless of closure, so everyone will be paid their full salary/hours to conduct their classes online. Secondly, negotiations between the district and faculty association have been suspended until the week of April 13th. Both sides agreed to hold off on any open contract items during this time so we can fully focus on this transition to online/distance learning. Once we return from spring break, we will resume and assess whether we need to meet remotely or can meet face to face again. My hope is that we will still have a great contract for everyone to vote on by the end of the semester. Also, our officer elections! While they have been delayed slightly, they should have arrived in your personal email accounts yesterday (Subject line: "NVCFA Officers Election 2020"). HERE is a link to the balloting website, but you will need a password from that email to access your individual ballot. Please reach out if you have any trouble. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions. I already miss everyone and our little community so much. I miss normalcy and not smelling like hand sanitizer. I very much look forward to the day that we can again all sit next to each other in a room, have pizza and laugh together. I am optimistic that we will come out of the other side of this stronger and more united than ever. Kristie A. Iwamoto NVCFA President  McCoy Elizabeth Dodsworth is a sociologist, educator, mother and volunteer.
On faculty at Napa Valley College for 2 years now, McCoy loves her work with our awesome NVC students. She employs active learning to engage rookie social scientists, communicate warmth, and set high expectations. This work includes adept adaptation (ahem) of course material to various formats including online, in-person, and accelerated courses. She teaches Introduction to Sociology, Sex & Gender, and Social Problems. Previously, McCoy worked on an NIH funded follow-up study that investigated how women living long term with HIV/AIDS made reproductive choices. In addition to NVC, McCoy consults as a design researcher seeking to understand how employees navigate complex power dynamics. This research informs trainings that integrate the social science on presence with scene work on the performance of power. Native to Arizona, McCoy was raised by quasi-Marxist, eco-Christian vegetarians. She resides in Marin County with her husband and two sons. There, she trains for trail marathons, rides bikes, drinks wine, orders things on the internet (but tries not to), and reads the news. She is currently obsessed with Stardew Valley, Eula Biss, Ibram Kendi, baby Yoda, and podcasts. Her Bachelor's from the University of Colorado at Boulder is a double major in English & Latin American Studies with a minor in Atmospheric Science. Her Master’s Degree in Sociology was completed at California State University East Bay.  This semester, Blake begins his 5th year at Napa Valley College and 4th year as a Napa resident. Blake began his teaching career in the high schools of his native Los Angeles, including family alma maters Hollywood and Belmont Highs.
After completing his Master’s degree in English at Sonoma State University (where he has also taught), Blake spent several years in New York City, working in beer, meat and cheese shops. A lifelong pianist, reader, and foodie, Blake can be found around town playing at venues like the Blue Note or picking up shifts at The Fatted Calf or Napa Bookmine. Blake and his wife Paulina, an art historian, recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary. In their spare time, they like to travel, visit art galleries and museums, and enjoy food and wine with friends in town.  Currently, I am an Adjunct Anthropology Instructor at Napa Valley College where I teach Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and the Anthropology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality. I have experience teaching Biological Anthropology and Linguistics courses as a substitute and feel very comfortable with the subjects. I have extensive experience with the Spanish, Russian, Korean, and Mayan languages. I am also well versed in the theories and practices of archaeology, as I worked for a Cultural Resource Management firm in San Jose soon after graduating from San Diego State in 2001. This experience was unique and I was able to conduct an excavation of an Ohlone tribesman in San Mateo, conduct field reconnaissance, write reports, and do lithic analysis among other things.
My teaching career has spanned nearly thirteen years and included teaching severely handicapped students in grades Kindergarten through third grades and fifth through eighth grade students with learning disabilities, where I conducted IEP’s and worked with developing modifications and accommodations for those students needs. Before moving back to California and teaching at the community college level, I taught Advanced Placement US History, World History and World Governments and Politics to college prep high school students at Seoul International School (SIS) in Seoul, Korea for three years. Many of the students that I taught and wrote recommendations to are currently attending Cornell, NYU, Brown, and UC Berkeley. Living in Korea enriched my life on so many levels and allowed me to utilize my anthropological training as I lived and worked in a very different culture than my own for three years. I cherish the opportunity I have had teaching such a diverse group of students from all over the globe, they truly have added a unique texture to my life. While teaching in the Hollister School District and SIS I was very involved in the leadership aspects of education. Specifically, I worked as the Head of the Social Studies Department at Seoul International School (SIS) and the Department Head for the English Department while I worked at Rancho San Justo Middle School. I have also participated in School Site council for many years and was a member of the SIS Assessment Committee. I also worked with the Hollister School District as part of the Superintendent’s Committee, and was a member of the Transportation committee and the Bicycle and Pedestrian committee for the city of Hollister. Aside from being an anthropology instructor at Napa Valley College, I am the co-founder and CEO of a Sonoma County based social benefit corporation (World Progress Now) focused on building responsible tourism. This endeavor has transformed me into an applied anthropologist, focused on tourism and its interaction with culture. I currently work on preserving cultural identity through helping tourists realize their impacts on both local cultures and their environment, while trying to build a responsible tourism infrastructure. I have had extensive training and experience with qualitative and quantitative research. I received my Master’s of Arts degree in Anthropology, where I focused on Identity of the Yucatan Maya. The cultural phenomena I studied was the spring equinox at Chichen Itza where over fifty thousand people observe the setting sun cast a shadow on the pyramid as a tangible representation of Kukulkan (the feathered serpent god of the Maya). The anthropology of magic, witchcraft, and religion was a guiding focus of my fieldwork. I utilized participant observation, key informant outreach, structured and unstructured interviews, while utilizing qualitative analysis to complete my thesis. Following the completion of my Masters degree in Anthropology, I went back to graduate school and completed a Master’s of Public Policy degree (MPP), where my focus was on School Choice. Along with being the Facility Master Plan Intern, I developed surveys, developed strategic plans, held focus groups and worked directly with the Hollister School District to develop policies and write a universal magnet school grant. The grant was intended to fund a transformation of all eight of the local schools into magnet schools in order to create a more equitable, interest based learning environment in the Hollister School District. My current passion and focus is the Anthropology of Policy, specifically, what cultural elements move policy forward and then the subsequent cultural impacts of that policy. Specifically, national education policy as it relates to charter schools, standardized tests, school growth, and the accreditation process is my main focal point. I have been a member of the American Anthropological Association since 2006 and I am currently a member of the Association for the Anthropology of Policy. I have a passion for strategic planning, stakeholder outreach, data gathering, leadership opportunities, school policy, and school culture. My training as an anthropologist has embedded the human element into my quest for understanding larger societal phenomena while learning to become a friend of culture. My policy training has given me practical tools for analyzing and creating policy solutions to issues of inequity, inequality, and socioeconomic inefficiencies.  Pam's early dance education and performing opportunities began in the Los Angeles, North Hollywood, and Hollywood areas. She studied ballet with teachers from the Ballet Russe and Royal Danish Ballet, tap with instructors from vaudeville to stars of movie musicals (including the Nicholas Brothers), and jazz from a variety of instructors from all over the U.S. Pam also competed in gymnastics at the state level during high school.
Pam began her teaching career at the age of 16 for Louis Da Pron Dance Studio, Showcase Studios, and Anita King Ballet School. Shortly after her move to Napa in the 1970s, Pam became owner of Napa’s Academy of Dance. She was the director/choreographer of the studio for the next 17 years, and performed in Napa and throughout the San Francisco Bay area. During that time, she studied ballet at The Ballet School in Walnut Creek, and took master tap, ballet, musical theatre dance and jazz classes from well known teachers across the country. She began teaching and choreographing for Napa Valley College in 1978. She is adjunct faculty for the Napa Valley College Physical Education division in Dance and Arts & Humanities division in Dance and Theatre. She continues choreographing and teaching for Napa Valley College and also choreographs for a variety of Napa Valley events and musical presentations. Among the many musicals she has choreographed, some of her favorites are: Fiddler On The Roof, Carousel, Music Man, Seussical, Cabaret, Phantom of The Opera, Sweeney Todd, La Cage Aux Follies, Anything Goes, Once On This Island, and Forever Plaid. In addition to her work in theatre and dance, Pam earned her Masters of Science degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology, and works full time as a Speech Language Pathologist. When not working, Pam enjoys travel, photography, and sharing her love of dance with people of all ages. “Dance is the hidden language of the soul” ― Martha Graham  Adriana was born and raised in Berlin, Germany where her late father was stationed with the US Army. Her earliest fascination with classical music came when her 2nd grade class went on a field trip to the Berlin Philharmonic, learning and listening to Beethoven symphonies.
Being an "Army Brat" did not allow for formal piano lessons, so Adriana taught herself how to play the guitar. After playing for a few years, she decided to study classical guitar as a way to finally enter the world of classical music. When her family relocated to the United States, she was accepted at the University of Hawaii to study Classical Guitar Performance. She studied with Charles Michael Brotman and Byron Yasui, but also applied piano with Paul Lyddon and composition with Armand Russell, Allan Trubitt and Neal McKay. Adriana's passion for Beethoven continued into her graduate studies at the California State University, East Bay under the tutelage of David Stein and Giancarlo Aquilanti. She won First Prize for a presentation on Beethoven's Bagatelles Op. 33 and how these piano pieces relate to his Fifth Symphony. She subsequently based her master's thesis, The Genesis of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, on this topic and received an Outstanding Thesis Award from the Music Department in 2004. In her free time she enjoys hiking and nature photography.  I have been teaching at Napa Valley College as a Speech Communication Adjunct Instructor since the Summer 2016 semester. In those years I have taught classes in Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Small Group Communication, and Career Communication in a variety of schedules. I have also been teaching at California State University, Sacramento since the Spring 2016 semester, and since I live in the East Bay, I have been very fortunate that my schedules have aligned so I only travel to one campus per day. However, there were two different semesters that I also taught at either California State University, East Bay (in Hayward) or American River College in Sacramento – those were very busy, freeway-flying semesters!
My interest in and passion for teaching and communication was born as a 2nd year student at Folsom Lake College – I was just taking classes to satisfy the General Education transfer requirements and exploring some different subjects but taking Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication pulled me into that subject matter and has maintained its grip since. I later earned by B.A. in Communication Studies at CSU Sacramento in the Spring of 2011 and knew that if I wanted to teach at a collegiate level, I would need a graduate degree. I decided to go straight from undergrad into graduate school, was able to confirm that teaching was my calling by working as a Graduate Assistant and Teaching Associate and earned my M.A. in Communication Studies in the Fall of 2015. Graduate school was not just responsible for my career, but for my home life as well. It was at a future professor’s house on a swelteringly hot August afternoon in Sacramento during the graduate school orientation that I met my future wife, Julie. We began dating before the end of our first semester, and after several years of term papers, theses, comprehensive exams and job hunting, we married in August of 2016. She is the social media manager for the Fair Trade Certified non-profit organization in Oakland, and when we are not fighting traffic to get to and from work, we snuggle with our cat (Abby), watch episodes of Chopped, and try out different recipes in our own kitchen. I also enjoy watching and studying film (my Blu-ray collection is embarrassingly close to 800 in number), and recently enjoyed rekindling my long-suppressed interest in video games during the winter break. One of the main reasons I love teaching are my students. We are blessed in California to be home to a truly diverse population, and it excites me to teach people from a variety of backgrounds and to get to learn from them as well. Every class, every semester has brought a new perspective on life to my attention, and it is both an enlightening and humbling experience. I am grateful to Napa Valley College for not just providing me this opportunity to teach, but for also providing so many people the opportunity to learn about and explore all of the wonderful experiences this life has to offer. |
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