Full-Time Sociology Faculty

Sheldon Helfing, MA, MSW
sheldon.helfing@canyons.edu 661/362-5884

Mr. Helfing earned his BA in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from California State University, Northridge.  His MA is also from CSUN, in Education, Educational Psychology, Counseling and Guidance.  His Master of Social Work is from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Professor Helfing's professional interests include marriage and the family, criminology, culture and socialization, and social psychology.

Anne Laurel Marenco, Ph.D.
Department Chair
anne.marenco@canyons.edu
www.canyons.edu/faculty/marencoa
661/362-3685

Anne Marenco has a BS in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Teaching and an MS in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Family Relations/Child Development from CSUN and an MA and Ph.D. in Sociology with emphases in Aging and Family from USC.

Dr. Marenco's sociological interests include relationships, aging, social psychology, and research methods and analysis.  Her professional interests include field studies, learning communities, assessment, and distance education.  Her research interest is marital satisfaction.

Anne is married and has two children, a son in college and a daughter in graduate school.  She spends her spare time camping, traveling, and caring for her aging parents.

Pamela Williams-Páez, MA
pamela.williams-paez@canyons.edu
www.canyons.edu/faculty/paezp/
661/362-5904

Ms. Williams-Páez earned her MA in Sociology from the University of Washington and her MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary.

Ms. Williams-Páez's research interests include stratification, social life in public spaces, and globalization.  Her teaching interests include gender, race, and class; and deviance. 

Writers who have influenced Ms. Williams-Páez include Howard Becker, June Jordan, James Baldwin, and Sherman Alexie.

   Graduation 2012

Part-Time Sociology Faculty

Thea Sweo Alvarado, Ed.D.
thea.alvarado@canyons.edu

Thea Sweo Alvarado holds a B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Social Science with a concentration in Demographic and Social Analysis from UC Irvine, and an Ed.D. from UC Davis' CANDEL Program. 

Dr. Alvarado is a former COC student. Her research interests include race and ethnicity, immigration, and education. 

Thea lives in Northridge with her husband, two sons, two cats, and a dog. 

John Anderson, MA

John Anderson earned his B.A. in Gender & Women’s Studies with a concentration in Communication & Media, a minor in Queer Studies, and his M.A. in Sociology at CSUN. His master’s thesis analyzed the experiences of LGBTQ junior high and high school students in Santa Clarita using visual sociology.

His favorite topic to teach is theory. His research interests include political sociology; social movements and activism; relations of gender, race, class, and sexuality; and media studies.  

In his spare time, he enjoys watching horror films.

Kim Bonfiglio, MSW
kimberly.bonfiglio@canyons.edu
626/840-0374

Kim Bonfiglio earned her BA in Psychology at Carroll College in Montana and her Master's of Social Work degree at CSU Long Beach.

Professor Bonfiglio professional interests include child abuse, foster care, adolescence, child welfare, gangs, social services, homelessness, domestic violence, psychotherapy, criminology, and  aging/gerontology.

In her spare time, Professor Bonfiglio spends time with her family camping and traveling.

Mariana Branda, MA, PhD candidate
mariana.branda@canyons.edu

Ms. Branda earned her BA and MA in Sociology with an emphasis in social psychology from CSUN.  She is currenlty a PhD candidate in Sociology at UCA Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina.  Her thesis topic is Corporate Social Responsibility.

Professor Branda's professional interests include distance learning development, qualitative methods, culture, gender/class/race relations, social psychology, and, globalization.  She teaches online courses for College of the Canyons from her home in Argentina. 

Mariana spends her spare time with her family, reading, and traveling.

Kathryn Coleman, MA
kathryn.coleman@canyons.edu

Kathryn Coleman earned her BA in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara and her MA in Sociology at CSUN.

Professor Coleman’s sociological interests include sex and gender, race and class, and deviance. At UCSB she focused on the American prison system for her research in race and class, and at CSUN she wrote her thesis on the American prison system, focusing on recidivism among the criminally labeled.  The title of her thesis is "The American Prison System: Institutional and Social Factors Contributing to Recidivism."  In this project, she was able to further explore her main sociological interests by focusing on the general prison population and the social and institutional factors which generate and propagate high recidivism rates among criminalized individuals in the United States.

In her spare time, Ms. Coleman enjoys traveling.

Emily Frydrych, MA
emily.frydrych@canyons.edu

Emily Frydrych earned her BA in Gender Studies from the University of Michigan and her MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

After graduate school, she was awarded a post-graduate fellowship from University of Chicago’s Human Rights Program and moved to Kathmandu, Nepal where she worked investigating and documenting torture, disappearances and other violations during the state of emergency. Upon returning to the States, she began teaching for both state universities and online programs with particular interests in Human Relations, Race/Class/Gender, Domestic Violence, Social Problems, Distance Education and Diversity in the Workplace.

Emily has also consulted and trained agencies on issues of family violence, employee-relations, communication styles and diversity. She spends as much time as possible with her amaaazing family, all of whom still live in LA. She recently completed her first (and last!!) marathon, and got married last year. Any time off and spare time is spent practicing yoga and traveling around the world.

Tyler P. Haugen, MA, SPHR
tyler.haugen@canyons.edu
www.canyons.edu/faculty/haugent

Jaye Houston, Ph.D.
jaye.houston@canyons.edu

In 1995, Dr. Houston earned her BA degree in Religion with a minor in Global Peace and Security at UCSB.  In 1998 she was awarded a certificate in Women’s Studies and an MA degree in Religion from The Florida State University.  In 2006, she completed a doctoral degree at Claremont Graduate University in Women Studies in Religion.  Her dissertation field research examined the intergenerational relationship between female Holocaust survivors and their granddaughters--the third generation. 

Dr. Houston's interdisciplinary academic foci are sociology of religion, self and society, women’s studies, comparative genocides, and field research.

Austin Im, MA
austin.im@canyons.edu

Professor Im received BA in Sociology from UC Irvine and his MA in Sociology from CSU Fullerton with an emphasis in Race and Ethnicity.  His professional interests include Race and Ethnicity, Multiculturalism, Majority-Minority Relations, Asian American Studies, Popular Culture, and Marriage and Family. 

Austin's personal interests include spending time with family, movies (80s and 90s film buff), sports, and traveling.

Dominic Little, MA
dominic.little@canyons.edu

Dominic Little earned his MA in sociology at California State University, Northridge. Professor Little’s research interests include research methods, statistics, evaluation assessment and needs analysis, social psychology, social movements, and women’s studies.

Professor Little has extensive experience working as a methodologist and statistical consultant for various governmental and non-profit organizations.  Currently, he is teaching for both College of the Canyons and California State University, Northridge.

Dominic is happily married and experiencing the wonderful journey of fatherhood.  His daughter, Danica, is one year old and already has him “wrapped around her finger.”

Ali Akbar Mahdi, Ph.D.
aliakbar.mahdi@canyons.edu

Dr. Mahdi is a specialist in the political economy of change, gender, and development in the Middle East. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Ohio Wesleyan University and has also taught at Michigan State University, Adrian College, and Central State University.  He has authored books including “Culture and Customs of Iran” (co-author), “Sociology in Iran”(co-author), "Sociology of the Iranian Family,” and “Iranian Culture, Civil Society, and Concern for Democracy.” 

Dr. Mahdi is the author of numerous articles and reviews on topics ranging from sociology of knowledge to the political economy of Iran and Islam. He has served as the executive director of the Center for Iranian Research and Analysis (CIRA), Editor of Michigan Sociological Review, and President of Michigan Sociological Association.  He is a recipient of Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award at Ohio Wesleyan University (2008), Marvin E. Olsen Service Award from the North Central Sociological Association (1994), Teaching Excellence Award from Michigan Sociological Association (1990), the Sears Foundation Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award at Adrian College (1990), and Excellence-in-Teaching Citation Award at Michigan State University (1983).

Kari Meyers, MA
karith.meyers@canyons.edu

Ms. Meyers earned her Masters and Bachelor Degrees in Sociology from California State University Northridge (CSUN). Her graduate research focus and publications were in the areas of gender research, family law, gang-related behavior, and youth subcultures. Since 2006, Professor Meyers has taught in the Sociology Departments of CSUN, Moorpark College, and the Adult Evening Degree Program at California Lutheran University. Service learning, public health, interpersonal violence prevention, and community outreach are integral components of her classroom curriculum and requirements.

In her spare time, Professor Meyers enjoys hiking, camping, yoga, volunteering in the community, and spending time with her teenage son and their two dogs.

Arman Mgeryan, MA
arman.mgeryan@canyons.edu
http://faculty.piercecollege.edu/mgeryaa/

Mr. Mgerian earned his MA and BA from CSUN in the field of Sociology with a specialization in Criminology. Upon graduation from graduate school, he was hired to teach Sociology and has been doing so since fall 2005. He is actively employed at College of the Canyons, Pierce College and Moorpark College.

Professor Mgerian has taught several courses including Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Marriage and Family, Deviance, and Social Psychology.

Arman is happily married and enjoying the joy of parenthood. Lilly, his daughter, fills his life with excitement and fun. He loves to travel and is a black belt in the art of Judo.

Emily Prior, MA
emily.prior@canyons.edu
http://www.canyons.edu/faculty/priore

Emily Prior's degrees from California State University, Northridge include a BA in Psychology, with minors in Anthropology and Human Sexuality and an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies, combining Sociology, Anthropology, and Archival Methods.

Professor Prior's research interests include sexuality, gender, feminism, identity and representation, deviance, marginalized subcultures, mixed methods and multi-discipline research.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys the outdoors, reading, gardening, sewing and crafts, and most of all her sweetie of 16+ years and her daughter.

Gayle Pulliam
661/219-1213 texts preferred
gayle.pulliam@canyons.edu
www.canyons.edu/faculty/pulliamg

Gayle Pulliam graduated from College of the Canyons.  She has a BA in Sociology from California State University, Northridge and will be completing her MA in Sociology at CSUN this semester. Ms. Pulliam's expertise is in Criminology, Deviance, Gangs, and Social Problems. She has worked as a tutor and mentor for at risk adolescents, including active gang members. Gayle's objective in teaching Sociology is to get students to see their world through new eyes. If she can show them how often we are critical, judgmental, and prejudiced and can help them change their perspective she feels successful.

Although Gayle loves teaching she spends her spare time with her family, which includes three Chihuahuas.

Joseph Roberson, MA
robersja@piercecollege.edu

Joseph Roberson is a former student athlete from Los Angeles Pierce College and California State University Northridge. He obtained his Bachelor’s in Sociology and Masters in Counseling from California State University, Northridge. 

Joseph’s current sociological interests include redefining and reshaping the hyper masculine cultural value system subscribed to by many young African American and minority males.

A resident of the San Fernando Valley, Joseph enjoys spending his time working with the community, mentoring young people and contemplating the legacy he would like to leave behind in this world.

Preeta Saxena, Ph.D.
preeta.saxena@canyons.edu

Preeta Saxena earned a B.S. in Sociology/Law and Society at UC Riverside (2002), an M.A. in Sociology from CSUN (2007) and a Ph.D. in Sociology, Criminology and Gender Studies at UC Riverside (2012). She was recently awarded a Post-Doctoral Training appointment at UCLA's Integrated Substance Abuse Programs.

Her  research areas are in integrating topics of gender, stigma, criminal behavior, and substance use.  She is particularly interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of the role that social standards of
masculinity/femininity and social stigma play in explaining differential patterns of substance abuse and treatment both between men and women as well as among women.

Ioana Schmidt, MA
ioana.schmidt@canyons.edu

Ioana Schmidt holds a BA in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and an MA in Sociology with an emphasis in Gender and Sexuality from Cal State Northridge.  She also holds a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from UC Los Angeles.

Professor Schmidt’s research interests include issues relating to gender and sexuality, women’s health, family and domestic violence, and comprehensive community interventions.

Ms. Schmidt incorporates examples from diverse fields of study-including sociology, psychology, anthropology, and social work-into the classes she teaches in order to illustrate the broad relevance of sociology.  He current research is using qualitative methods to study the process of providing psychosocial nonintervention for low-income ethnic minority parents. 

Jesse Valadez
Jesse.valadez@canyons.edu

Jesse Valadez earned a BS in Communication from Pacific Union College and an MA in Sociology from UC Irvine. 

Professor Valadez's professional interests are broad but include issues of race, gender, sexuality, and inequality.  He has taught for over 15 years at various campuses and within different disciplines.

Jesse lives in Valencia with his wife, son, daughter, and one fish.  In his spare time he reads Buddhist and Eastern philosophy.

Angel Valdivia, MA
angel.valdivia@canyons.edu

Angel Valdivia graduated from College of the Canyons in 1994 and earned his BA in Chicano Studies and Sociology from UC Santa Barbara.  He worked in the private and public sectors before returning to CSUN to earn an  MA in sociology in 2003.  In 2005 he earned a second MA in Sociology at UCSB.  His research focused on political language and spatial formations. He excavated the Congressional Record from 2001 to 2006 that focused on Saddam Hussein, the Middle-East, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction and how the media and political figures shaped the imaginary of them.

Professor Valdivia is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Sociology at UCSB.  He is conducting a social-historical excavation of Panorama City, his home town.  His research focuses on the question, "How is knowledge historically constituted and spatially situated?"  His research technique allows him to not only dig into the historical processes to observe how people interact with each other, but adds an under developed idea in sociology, the question and role of spatial formations in human interaction.

Angel has recently been contemplating attending Law School to focus on land issues and or international trade (economic globalization). But Law School has to wait until he finishes the Ph.D.!

Mary Valentine, MA
mary.valentine@canyons.edu
661/362-3687

Professor Valentine earned her BA and MA in sociology at CSUN.  She also has a Mediation Certificate from the Center for Dispute Resolution. 

Ms. Valentine's professional interests include conflict resolution, gender issues, social movements, educational quality, and immigration. 

Mary has spent more than a decade studying the Women's Institute, England's oldest and largest women's organization, made up of more than 250,000 women in over 5,000 villages throughout England.   In the process she has become friends with the WI's most famous members, the Calendar Girls, who raised more than $2 million for Leukemia research by posing for a nude calendar.  Here Mary is surrounded by the Calendar Girls at a press conference in London.

Her personal interests include travel, especially in England, and photography www.maryvalentinephotography.com.

Rebekah Villafana, MA
rebekah.villafana@canyons.edu

Ms. Villafaña holds a BA and an MA in Sociology, with an emphasis in Criminology, from California State University, Northridge. Ms. Villafaña’s areas of research interest include juvenile delinquency, prison violence, women and poverty, education, and abuse of power and privilege in child abuse cases.

During her leisure time, she enjoys exercising, cooking/preparing healthy dishes, and spending quality time with family.

Esther Villegas-Sandoval, BA
esther.villegas-sandoval@canyons.edu

Professor Villegas-Sandoval earned a BA in Sociology from California State University, Northridge.  She is currently completing her thesis which explores the experiences of undocumented immigrant youth as they explore post-secondary education and employment prospects after graduation.  Esther hopes that her research will add to the growing literature on undocumented college students and encourage individuals to review the current policies that affect our undocumented community. 

Esther has worked extensively with non-profit organizations and non-public agencies providing direct services to at-risk youth, low income families, and children with developmental disabilities. 

In her spare time, Esther enjoys cooking, traveling, and relaxing.

Robert Wonser, MA
robert.wonser@canyons.edu
http://www.canyons.edu/faculty/wonserr/

Professor Wonser earned his BS in Business Administration with an option in Marketing and his MA in Sociology from CSUN. 

Professor Wonser's research interests include culture, mass media, subcultures, popular culture, youth culture, consumerism, social stratification, criminology, and social psychology.

Currently his spare time is spent with his new baby who he is training to be a sociologist.