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Welcome New Faculty 2020-2021
Cynthia Brannvall
Fine Arts & Communication — Art History
Cynthia Brannvall is a California native of African American and Swedish descent.
She is a multi-media artist and art historian. Her academic journey began at 17³Ô¹Ï
College, where she excelled as an honors scholar, receiving an A.A. in Humanities
and the Excellence in Art History award. Cynthia has undergraduate degrees in Art
Practice and Art History from UC Berkeley, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa and a Ronald
E. McNair Scholar and was awarded the Departmental Citation for her research in Art
History. She has an M.A. in Art History from San Francisco State University with an
emphasis on Modern and Contemporary art. Cynthia's artwork explores identity formation
envisioned in an imagined deep time terrain of memory, reclamation, and the geographies
of forced and voluntary migrations. Her artwork has selected for juried group exhibitions
in Berkeley, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Rafael, Palo Alto, San Luis Obispo, and
Los Angeles. She teaches Art History in the San Francisco bay area.
Steve Clemmons
Fine Arts & Communication — Communication
Steve Clemmons has over twenty years of teaching experience in the field of Communications
as an academic debate educator of both high school and college students. Currently,
he coaches in the Coast Forensic League as the Director of Debate at Saratoga High
School. Steve brings to 17³Ô¹Ï a diverse teaching career as former Associate Director
of Debate and instructor at the University of Oregon, Director of Debate and teacher
at Skyline High School in Oakland, Director of Debate and teacher at The Bentley School
and a member of the Department of Communications and Director of Debate at Santa Clara
University, Macalester College and Loyola Marymount. Steve has also attended 17³Ô¹Ï
to finish his undergraduate degree. He has a B.S. in Interpersonal and Small Group
Communication from Weber State University, his teaching certification and a certificate
in Online Teaching and Learning from Cal State Hayward (Social Studies and English),
an M.S. in Education and Leadership from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Strategic
Communication from the University of Iowa. Besides debate, he has been the Director
of Diversity and Inclusion at Hopkins HS in Minnetonka, MN, and a Destination Trainer
for Classic Vacations, a subsidiary of Expedia. He has a love of sports, having served
as a coach for high school football, baseball, and basketball.
Julie Jenkins
Business & Social Science – Anthropology
Julie is a socio-cultural anthropologist and passionate about working with students
to interrogate systems of inequality and explore perspectives that they might not
otherwise encounter. She has worked for the past nine years at a variety of institutions,
including the University of Virginia, Skidmore College, Washington & Lee University,
Ball State University, Ivy Tech Community College, and Rutgers University. As a part
of her position at Ball State University, she taught anthropology courses to 220 male
students in medium and maximum-security prisons, in addition to teaching on campus.
Her research examines the intersection between West African indigenous religions and
transnational flows of ideas and resources centered on human rights and contemporary
forms of slavery. Julie received a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in Social Anthropology,
an MSC from the London School of Economics in Social Anthropology & Development, and
a B.A. from DePauw University in Anthropology & Sociology.
Ana Maravilla
Disability Resource Center — Counselor
Ana earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Fresno State and a Master's degree
in Psychology from Humboldt State University. Before becoming a DRC Counselor, she
worked as a school psychologist in Northern California. She has a passion for counseling
and is dedicated to supporting students to achieve their goals. Outside of work, she
enjoys playing music and traveling.
Frank Niccoli
Biology & Health Sciences — Horticulture
Frank has taught at 17³Ô¹Ï as a part time instructor in Horticulture since 1999,
and also taught at Merritt College from 2014 to 2017.
Frank has served as the Chairman for the Environmental Sustainability Task Force for the City of Foster City offering 59 recommendations to the City of Foster City to establish a sustainability policy. In 2012 he was named Water Champion of the Year by Sustainable Silicon Valley for his work in water conservation
The Oprah Winfrey Network selected him as one of the five across the United States whose small acts have a big impact on the sustainable health of the environment. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and his appearance resulted in calls for work from Maine to California. Frank is the State Chairman of the California Landscape Contractors Association Education Committee
He built a 25-module Certified Landscape Technician course to teach students skills that will transfer directly to industry. It was nationally recognized in Lawn and Landscape Magazine. He is currently consulting with Deputy Sector Navigators for the Community Colleges across California to teach this curriculum to them. He is a published poet and a black hat chef.
Mayra Palmerin-Aguilera
Disability Resource Center — Counselor
Mayra has worked in various positions at the DRC, most recently, she served as the
Interim Dean of DRC & VRC. Before that, she was the Accommodations Instructional Technology
Coordinator for the DRC. Her other roles included Accommodations Coordinator and Academic
Coach at 17³Ô¹Ï. She also has experience as a Mental Health Counselor at Adriana
San Millan Psychology and Special Education Services in San Jose and as a teacher
for San Juan Unified School District. Mayra's official start date is August 10th.
Amy Sarver
Language Arts — English for Second Language Learners
Amy Sarver has taught and developed English as a Second Language (ESL) curriculum
at 17³Ô¹Ï for many years. She has also taught English composition at San
Jose State University. In addition to holding a master's degree in Teaching English
to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), she also has a master's in Linguistics from
San Jose State University and certificates in teaching post-secondary reading and
composition from San Francisco State University. Her goals are to make access to community
college more equitable and inspire English learners to explore opportunities for advancement
beyond ESL. When she isn't teaching, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and making music.