Vicki was born and raised on a large commercial farm in Napa, California. She was able to combine her farm knowledge and love of science when she studied at California State Polytechnical Institute in San Luis Obispo with a major in Dairy Science. She has worked in the SFCC Admissions & Registration office for 20 years. During this time, she had the opportunity to serve students from application to completion and beyond.

Vicki joined the Computing, Math, and Science Division as a Guided Pathway Specialist in 2022. She is passionate about STEM, pathways and dedicated to helping students achieve their goals by meeting them where they are.

When off-campus, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and reading. She is proud of her 3 sons and 2 daughters-in-law who attended CCS.

Michele began her career at SFCC as a student where her love of math and science was fostered and encouraged. After completing her AA here, she transferred to EWU to finish her BS in Physics. She attended WSU Pullman for the following four years where she completed both her MS in Physics and her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering working on an interdisciplinary project that included neuroscience and exploration of light. While in graduate school, the new Science building and Planetarium were completed and she worked with her mentor and colleague, John Whitmer, to create an extensive planetarium outreach program.

Michele works with our Phi Theta Kappa students on campus as the faculty advisor for Beta Gamma Kappa and currently acts as our Guided Pathways/Advising coordinator on campus. She enjoys connecting with students on every level and wants to share her excitement of science with people. She knows that math and science can be particularly challenging but wants all students to know that they CAN find math and science success at SFCC!

John has been fascinated with astronomy since early childhood and decided to pursue it as a career after already earning a BS in Forestry from the University of Idaho. After going back to school at the University of Washington for a BS in Astronomy and in Physics, he earned a MS in Astronomy from San Diego State University. He has been teaching at SFCC since 1998, and particularly enjoys introducing people to the wonders of this beautiful universe we find ourselves in. When not teaching or giving shows in the planetarium, he enjoys spending time in the outdoors – especially hiking in the mountains.