Instructors and Staff

Andrew Kurtz wants people who are struggling with mental health and substance use issues to know it is OK to ask for help. Having worked at UCLA Extension for almost a decade, Kurtz is training the next generation of helpers. "I have always had an ...

Growing up in picturesque Chile, Gabriel Pacheco found himself drawn to the beauty of the natural landscape around him. While his journey has included detours far afield from his current career, Pacheco eventually found his way back to nature at UCLA ...

Dina LaPolt lives her life with an ethos of doing the right thing and doing right by the people who need her help the most. Her activist streak sprang to life in high school, when the administration unfairly fired a popular guidance counselor, keeping ...

When she was young, Ebony Talley joked she always had her hands full with either books or worms. She was fascinated with how the world worked at the tiniest levels. "I knew very early on that I was a big science nerd," she said. "No one was surprised ...

K Tak knows that there is a certain baggage that comes with tattoo art. It is often confined to the corners of society, covered up when in company, and somewhat opaque to the average person. "But tattoo art has 5,300 years of history," she added. "And ...

Clifford Brooks wears many hats — poet, editor in chief, podcaster, head of a writers collective and UCLA Extension instructor. Through those endeavors he has created a community for himself as a writer, fostering projects across professions and ...

Keith Jefferies has witnessed a lot of change during his 46-year career in computer science at UCLA Extension. From programming in the age before the internet, teaching online classes through chat forums, to learning how to teach software development ...

Sean Van Aacken has always been driven to help others succeed. Since his early days at McDonald's, to his current role as a leading expert at UCLA Extension on education strategy, Van Aacken has placed an emphasis on building relationships and ...

Jeff DeLarme watched his father sometimes work 80 hours a week as a Xerox repairman to make a better life for his family. The way his parents thought about money had a lasting impact on a young DeLarme, who grew up wanting to help other families make ...

When fire took her townhome, UCLA Extension instructor Nancy Spiller turned to the one respite she has leaned on throughout her life - putting pen to paper. Spiller is a big believer in the therapeutic nature of creativity in the wake of trauma and ...

NOTE: Scott Edwards will be moderating a special event at the Bruin Collaborative in UCLA Downtown on Thursday, Nov. 20. From Buzz to Binge: How Creative Teams Build Assets that Drive Demand will gather executives from Fox Sports, Tubi Media Group, ...

Tracey McCormack runs into her former students almost daily. With more than 30 years of teaching experience at UCLA Extension, the alumni from her classes are everywhere and in prominent positions across the television and entertainment landscape - ...

A Q&A with UCLA Extension instructor Adrian Mohuczy-Dominiak outlining basic precautions and best practices

To Nick Brown, art is more than just a passion, it is a calling. And it started early. Like most children, Brown loved drawing - from dinosaur bones to Star Wars landspeeders. He had a desire to share things with the world and to help others view the ...

When UCLA Extension leadership sought to create a Sustainability Certificate Program, they knew Nurit Katz would be an invaluable resource. Having served as UCLA's chief sustainability officer, it made sense to use her expertise to help build the ...

For as long as she can remember, UCLA Extension instructor Nicole Charky-Chami has had a passion for storytelling. Growing up watching the news with her family and spending her mornings poring over each page of the newspaper, she always saw news ...

Though UCLA Extension instructor Antonio Pagano is listed as the sole instructor of his courses, he is not working alone. Helping him facilitate these classes is an artificial intelligence virtual teaching assistant named Claudia GPT. Pagano ...

One of Hamy Sharifi's key memories as a child was going to the bank with his parents. "I remember being in awe as I walked into the bank surrounded by so many customers," he recalled. "Something sparked my curiosity about how these individuals in ...

Dr. Rishab Gupta has had a long and successful career. He retired after decades at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine conducting cutting-edge cancer research and training surgical oncology fellows and graduate students. However, he could not ...

In almost 25 years of lending his expertise to internationally renowned businesses, Matthew Weinraub has seen just about everything. That is why he has plenty of answers for UCLA Extension students seeking to understand the current international trade ...

Mayee Futterman has always loved art. As a child, she spent hours drawing and felt a deep connection with the Chinese art and antiques her mother collected and displayed throughout their home. But it wasn't until college when she saw her friend's ...

With new social media trends popping up almost daily, Lia Haberman is ensuring her students stay influential. Haberman has been leading courses on social media, marketing and influencing at UCLA Extension since 2018. She brought her experience from ...

When the Eaton Fire in Altadena forced Stephanie Landregan to evacuate, she left worrying not only about her home, but also the surrounding natural environment. She knew she wanted to help in the restoration process. This spring, she received an ...

UCLA Extension Dean Eric A. Bullard appointed Kimberly Baker-Flowers as the first associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief people officer just over one year ago. Through her role, she leads the development of equity, diversity and ...

An expert Q&A on cognitive psychology and what it can tell us about the future of education.