Teaching Experience & Student Mentoring

U.S. Air Force Academy (Department of Economics and Geosciences (DFEG)) (Jan 2024 – May 2024)
Instructor of Record
  • Instructor of Record for World Cultural Geography (Geo 412). 80 students, three sections, 31 lectures, three exams, one final project (Spring 2024).
    • Core course that promoted active learning and real-world applications.
    • Textbook: Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (6th ed) by Les Rowntree, Martin Lewis, Marie Price, and William Wycoff.
    • Instructor Feedback Score: 5.86 / 6.00
 
San Diego State University (Aug 2019 – Mar 2024)
Instructor of Record, Invited Speaker, and Teaching Assistant
  • Instructor of Record for Geographic Information Science and Spatial Reasoning (GEOG 104). 38 undergraduate students, 29 hybrid (in-person/online) lectures, seven assignments (updated, disseminated, and graded by a Teaching Assistant), three exams, one field trip (Spring 2022).
    • General Education course that promoted active learning and real-world applications.
    • Textbook: GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems, 6th ed.) by Paul Bolstad.
    • Instructor Feedback Score: 4.88 / 5.00
  • Instructor of Record for Remote Sensing of Environment Laboratory (GEOG 591L). 24 undergraduate and graduate students, eight lab sessions, one exam preparation session, and one practical final exam (Fall 2021).
    • Upper-division elective course that promoted active learning and real-world applications.
    • Instructor Feedback Score: 4.905 / 5.00
  • Invited Speaker for one session of World on Fire (GEOG 512). 41 students (Fall 2021).
    • Presented PhD research. Title: “Approaches for and Utility of Satellite-Derived Maps of Herbaceous Fractional Cover in Wildfire-Prone Shrublands in Southern California, USA and its Influence on Fire Regime.”
  • Invited Speaker for one session of GEOG 104. 46 students (Fall 2021).
    • Taught an introductory remote sensing lesson. Title: “Remote Sensing.”
  • Invited Speaker for one session of Human Dimensions of Climate Change (GEOG 496). 16 students (Spring 2021).
    • Taught an introductory lesson on wildfire in California, remote sensing of landscapes at risk of wildfire, and climate drivers of change. Title: “Fueling the Burn. Is Climate Change to Blame?”
  • Teaching Assistant for three sessions of GEOG 591L. 25 students (Fall 2019).
  • Invited Speaker for four sessions of Geographic Research Design (GEOG 700). Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
    • Shared my experiences using social media for professional growth, networking, and science communication. Titles: “Welcome to the Twitterverse” and "Be Social [Media]."
  • Mentored five Department of Geography undergraduate and graduate students.
 
Intterra (Jul 2016 – Apr 2019)
Instructor
  • For the corporate environment, prepared numerous briefs to educate firefighters and fire department personnel about Intterra software. Presented to fire department project teams about current action items and planned next steps during the client onboarding process.
  • Educated Intterra team and customers about remote sensing capabilities. Taught two “Introduction to Remote Sensing” lessons, wrote a blog post, and created several educational blurbs posted on Intterra social media accounts.
 
U.S. Air Force Academy (DFEG) (Aug 2015 – May 2016)
Instructor of Record and Course Director
  • Instructor of Record and Course Director for Advanced Remote Sensing (Geo 482). 27 students, two sections (Spring 2016).
    • Research and writing-focused upper division course.
    • Textbook: Introduction to Remote Sensing (5th ed) by James Campbell and Randolph Wynne.
    • Instructor Feedback Scores:
      • Mid-Course: 5.31 / 6.00
      • End-of-Course: 5.795 / 6.00
  • Instructor of Record and Course Director for Remote Sensing and Imagery Analysis (Geo 382). 34 students, two sections (Fall 2015), and one student, one section (Spring 2016).
    • Research and writing-focused course.
    • Instructor Feedback Scores (Fall 2015):
      • Mid-Course: 5.33 / 6.00
      • End-of-Course: 5.205 / 6.00
  • Mentored two Systems Engineering majors for their capstone project (Spring 2016).
  • Mellon Foundation Grant participant. Collaborated with instructors and students from USAFA Physics and Geospatial Science Departments, as well as Colorado College’s Geology Department (Spring 2016).

U.S. Air Force, Distributed Ground Station-One (DGS-1) (Nov 2012 – Nov 2013)
Instructor and Course Creator
  • Created and taught a short course for exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum to 20+ new Image Analysts. Adapted training requirements and changed the curriculum, as necessary, to stay on the leading edge of mission problems.
  • Developed and taught course materials on information technology infrastructure procedures to increase information sharing amongst Squadron units and IC partners, which directly improved collaboration, reduced redundant efforts, and shared analytical findings and recommendations.
  • Prepared numerous briefs and presented findings to distinguished visitors such as the USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR and the acting Secretary of the USAF.
 
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), Department of Physics (Sep 2008 – Oct 2012)
Teaching Assistant and Mentor
  • Teaching Assistant for Physics of Space and Airborne Sensor Systems (PH3052).
  • Mentored and assisted military officers and civilian students with thesis and dissertation projects and field research.
  • Recruited, supervised, and mentored six high school and college interns as part of the NPS educational outreach program. Motivated interns to expand their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers and encouraged broader participation in the STEM workforce.
Updated 26 June 2024