STEM Faculty 2023-2024
Faculty Name: Malia Rose-Seisa
Subject: Chemistry
Bio: A Korean-American, Malia Rose-Seisa received her B.S. in chemistry from Pepperdine University and her M.S. in chemistry from UC Irvine with a focus in organometallic synthesis, specifically developing photosensitive, reusable catalysts for splitting water into hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells. She has been teaching all levels and classes of chemistry at Ventura College since 2009. She has a lifelong love of athletics, the outdoors and travel, is an avid video gamer, and cooking and especially eating good food.
Faculty Name: Nick Schooler
Subject: Biology
Bio: Nick Schooler (he/him) was born and raised in Berkeley, CA. He is obsessed with sports, both playing and watching. In high school, he played football and lacrosse and has always been interested in nature and marine biology. He attended college at UC Santa Barbara both because he wanted to study marine biology and because he wanted to play lacrosse for one of the top teams on the West Coast. After receiving a bachelor's degree in aquatic biology, he participated in research as a lab tech at UCSB's Marine Science Institute. This included working with fishermen, diving on oil platforms and in kelp forests, and collecting biological data in marshes and on beaches. He completed a Ph.D. in Marine Science from UCSB in 2018. The focus of his research is how humans and the environment influence the distribution and abundance of species on sandy beaches and surf zone. He also teaches at UCSB, Cal Lutheran, and Allan Hancock.
Nick wants you to talk to him about marine science/biology, invertebrate zoology, or anything biology. He has mentored hundreds of students who have ended up in a wide range of biology and non-biology careers. He also welcomes friendly banter about his favorite teams: 49ers, Warriors, Giants, and A's.
Faculty Name: Kammy Algiers
Subject: Biology
Bio: Kammy Algiers was born in Iran and moved to the US when she was 9 years old with her parents. She lived in Los Angeles and went to CSUN for undergraduate and graduate school and studied biology. For her Masters, she studied lizard coloration. She moved to Ventura after being hired as a tenure track professor in biology. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and camping with her family.
Faculty Name: Ryan Petitfils
Subjects: Math and ENGR V14
Bio: I have taught math at the community college level since 2009, but I have been teaching and helping others my entire life. I currently teach Math and ENGR V14. My area of emphasis is in Applied Math and programming, specifically Graph Theory and Networks. I enjoy technology, teaching, and learning!
In my free time, I enjoy hiking around Ventura and surfing!
Faculty Name: Devona Yates
Subjects: Biology/Microbiology
Bio: Devona Yates was born in Placerville, CA, and moved to Santa Cruz after high school to study marine biology for her bachelor's degree at UC Santa Cruz. She spent much of her time during and shortly after undergrad as a research diver for UC Santa Cruz, counting kelp, fish, and invertebrates as part of a kelp forest monitoring program. She always wanted to teach at a community college and continued her research diving in the Monterey and Carmel Bays in order to earn her master's degree at Moss Landing Marine Labs, through San Francisco State University. She finished in early 2018 and moved down to teach as an adjunct biology instructor at Ventura College later that year. She has been teaching microbiology part-time at Ventura College ever since. She loves surfing, hiking, snowboarding, science illustration, and playing guitar.
Not pictured:
Faculty Name: Jack Bennett
Subject: Math
Faculty Name: Stephanie Gardner
Subject: Biology
Faculty Name: Joe Selzler
Subject: Chemistry
Faculty Name: Dan Clark
Subjects: Biology/Physiology