Program Coordinators for the California Regional Collaborative

Katie Dixie, Ph.D.

NSF INCLUDES Aspire, California Regional Collaborative 

Program Coordinator, California Regional Collaborative and Aspire Internship Programs

Assistant Director, UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences

Email: kdixie@ceils.ucla.edu

Katie received her PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology PhD  at UCLA, but during her graduate career she discovered her true passion for STEM education. Katie currently works with future faculty (graduate students and postdocs) interested in pedagogy across campus in several capacities; she is an instructor for the LS495 TA training course, the Communications Coordinator for the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), and the Program Coordinator for the California Regional Collaborative and Aspire Internship Program, all of which are run out of CEILS. In her work with future faculty, Katie hopes to help instill the importance of inclusive and equitable teaching in her students and to stimulate passion and interest in the joys of teaching.

As a graduate student, Katie was involved in several of the programs she runs today. As a graduate student, she helped redevelop the TA training course for graduate students in her department and conducted a small Teaching as Research project on the effectiveness of these changes on TA use of pedagogical practices and confidence and self-efficacy as educators. She was also highly involved in CIRTL@UCLA, and became an official CIRTL Scholar by presenting this work at several conferences. Due in part to her work with future faculty, she was also awarded the 2019 UCLA Distinguished Teaching Assistant award. In addition, she was the inaugural Aspire2Lead intern. As an Aspire2Lead intern she was able to participate in several conferences with 2-year college faculty across the state and meet many of the members of the Southern California collaborative, with whom she is excited to continue working with!

Head Shot of Dr. JoAnn Roberts

JoAnn S. Roberts, Ph.D.

NSF INCLUDES Aspire, California Regional Collaborative 

Program Coordinator & Community Engagement Manager

California Regional Collaborative and Aspire Internship Programs

Email:  jsroberts@ceils.ucla.edu

Dr. JoAnn Roberts has a passion for people which is evident in her teaching, mentorship, and service. She has a STEM background and received her doctorate in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathobiology from the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Roberts has teaching experience as an adjunct Biology professor in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), mentors as part of the UCLA Academic Supports Program: Ujima, and has led the development of a virtual teaching collaboration (Topic: Science Literacy) with Historically Black College & University (HBCU) partner institutions. Dr. Roberts is also a CIRTL Scholar and published a teaching tool for integrating metacognitive regulation in the online classroom using student-developed learning plans (JMBE, 2021).

In her current role with CEILS, Dr. Roberts works on the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Initiative which seeks to develop inclusive and diverse STEM faculty. She implements programming to support and connect current faculty at regional colleges and universities and helps to develop a sustainable model for supporting regional graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and other working professionals interested in teaching and academic leadership.

One of Dr. Roberts’ favorite quotes by author and activist James Baldwin is that “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” She says “It reminds and encourages me to maintain a posture of growth and boldness. The world does not improve, technology does not advance, and relationships do not heal, if we do not critically examine our past and our present and have the courage to act.”

Stay in contact, stay in community! 

We invite you all to reach out with any questions, announcements or updates. We will consistently share information through our social media channels and send out a monthly newsletter that will include job postings, events, news, and other information from our regional partners.

We look forward to connecting with you as we all work towards advancing diversity in STEM education.

Leadership

Representing University of California Institutions

Photo of Jess Gregg

Jessica Gregg, Ed.M., M.A.

NSF INCLUDES Aspire, Principal Investigator

Associate Director of UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences
Academic Coordinator, Life Sciences Core Education Department

Jess Gregg works on multiple initiatives involving the use of data analytics to inform curricular improvements and drive conversations with faculty and college leadership around student success. In her role as Associate Director at UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS), she facilitates many educational programs and training workshops targeting faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. With expertise in instructional design, educational development, and counseling psychology she provides individual support to faculty including observation of teaching, consultation on course design and active learning, and training on educational technology implementation. She additional works with groups and departments to implement initiatives such as peer observation of teaching.  She is the PI on the NSF INCLUDES Aspire Award, leading regional and national collaborative efforts to increase diversity in the STEM professoriate across 2- and 4-year institutions.

Jess holds Master of Arts and Master of Education degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University in Counseling Psychology with emphasis on multicultural competence in organizations and institutions. Her interests include group dynamics, active learning pedagogy, educational research and assessment, online learning, and cultivating equitable and inclusive classrooms.

Co-Lead Representing California Community Colleges

Jamey Anderson, Ph.D.

Santa Monica College

Department Chair for Physical Sciences

Professor of Chemistry

Jamey Anderson has been teaching chemistry at Santa Monica College since 1998. He served as the Chair of the Physical Sciences Department from 2014-2019, as well as on the Santa Monica College Academic Senate Executive Committee from 2011-2014.  Graduating with a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from UCLA in 1996, he began teaching chemistry around the Los Angeles area in both part-time and full-time positions. He has worked on both local and national efforts to improve hiring practices for community college faculty, as well as promotion of two-year college teaching as a career. His partnership with the California Regional Collaborative has been an important opportunity to learn about efforts and collaborate with other local two- and four-year college STEM faculty across the Southern California region who are striving to equitize classroom instruction and hiring practices for STEM faculty.

Dale Fields, Ph.D. 

Professor of Astronomy & Department Chair

Physics & Planetary Sciences

Los Angeles Pierce College

Dale Fields is a queer scientist and educator in the Los Angeles Community College District.  After having earned a B.S. at the University of Arizona in 2000 and a Ph.D. at the Ohio State University in 2006, Dale joined the faculty at Pierce College in 2006 Fall.  Dale teaches general education courses with a student population which is predominantly Latinx (Chicanx, specifically) with large Armenian, Iranian, and Jewish percentages as well.  Many of the students in these classes are first generation college students and have math and science anxiety.  Dale’s courses are thus focused on building capacity in scientific and cause-and-effect reasoning.

Dale’s non-classroom work is focused on equity and pedagogy.  They founded Pierce’s Community of Practice in 2018 and co-founded the Allyship Book Club in 2020.  After coming out, Dale has also served on their district’s Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on LGBTQIA+ Affairs since its inception in 2019.  They have authored numerous resolutions at the college, district, and union levels on sexual harassment, name & identity support, de-gendering, and implicit bias training for hiring committees.  With all of that said, Dale most enjoys serving as club advisor to different incarnations of queer, astronomy, and STEM clubs.  Outside their district Dale is also proud to work with the ASPIRE Alliance to create a pathway to a more inclusive future.