Faculty
Humanities
Claire Adams
Associate Professor of Humanities
Claire Adams was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and moved to the U.S. in 2007. She obtained a BA (hons) in Modern Studies in the Humanities, with an emphasis on Literature, Culture and Society from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown. Claire also has an M.A. in Irish Cultural Studies from Queen's University Belfast and 5 years of PhD research at the University of Ulster. She most recently completed an MSC in International Affairs and Global Enterprise at the University of Utah.
As an associate professor of humanities at Salt Lake Community College, Claire develops curriculum for and teaches the Intro to Humanities 1100 class and the Essentials of the Humanities 1010 (Online). She also teaches INTL 2040 The Immigrant Experience Through Literature & Film class.
Claire has been involved with refugee advocacy in Salt Lake City for approx. 10 years working with agencies such as the International Rescue Committee and Catholic Community Services. She recently received the Lieutenant Governor's Volunteer award for her efforts in refugee advocacy and the American Society for Public Administration Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Administration for research & advocacy in the same area. She was formerly on the Board of Directors for the Utah Pride Center.
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
237V
Phone:
Email:
Sahar Al-Shoubaki
Assistant Professor of Humanities
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
237R
Phone:
Email:
Humanities Adjunct Faculty
Jacob Baker
Instructor
My background is in philosophy and religious thought. I have taught various classes in philosophy and religion for about 14 years at UVU and SLCC, including 6 years and counting in SLCC's prison program. I also have considerable professional experience in training and development.
McKenzie Catten
Instructor
Since 2013, I have had the privilege of serving as an Adjunct Professor in the Humanities Department at Salt Lake Community College. My teaching journey began in 2006 at Copper Hills High School, where I instructed History courses. I hold a Bachelor of Science in History Teaching from Utah State University and a Master of Arts in History from National University. However, I believe that the most significant education I have received comes from my extensive travel and life experiences.
Having traveled to 72 countries, I have gained invaluable insights into diverse cultures and perspectives, enriching my understanding of the world and its people. In addition to teaching the online HUMA 1010 course at SLCC, I currently instruct Advanced Placement European History, World History, and Comparative World Religions.
What I find most rewarding about teaching is the opportunity to embrace the unexpected. I do not claim to be an expert in the human experience—far from it. Instead, my courses focus on the collective journey of understanding what it means to be human through the exploration of history, art, literature, political science, philosophy, and more. Each student brings a unique perspective my classes, and I encourage students to share their experiences and knowledge, fostering an inclusive and dynamic learning environment.
Khrystine Kelsey
Instructor
Khrystine Danielle Kelsey has taught Humanities at Salt Lake Community College since 2017. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Engaged Humanities from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. She is passionate about the Humanities as an academic discipline, a means of self-reflection and self-knowledge, and a tool for engaging with and "tending the soul of the world" (the motto of her alma mater). She currently serves as Vice-President of the Humanities Education and Research Association and is slowly writing a doctoral dissertation about Venus, courtesan poets, and feminine identities. She loves the arts, travel, stimulating conversations over dinner and drinks, and playing the flâneuse in whatever city she happens to find herself
Caleb Prusso
Instructor
A regular ole factotum. My work history includes running a boutique hotel, selling cars, remodeling homes, and designing and building custom furniture - including backdrops for the Sundance Film festival and custom pieces scattered from San Francisco to New York City. I enjoy maintaining my vintage Volkswagens, creating art, skateboarding, bike commuting, and playing music. I’m a member of the Boring Family Band, which has been putting audiences to sleep since 2018.
After earning an AA in General Studies from Las Positas Community College in Livermore, CA, I went on to complete two other degrees over the span of 15 years – cuz I was also doing the stuff mentioned above and helping raise the other three members of the Boring Family Band.
In addition to teaching, I work full-time as the Assistant Director of Planning & Design in Facilities Services. I’m involved with the Peace & Justice Committee, which spearheaded the development of the Peace & Justice Garden and the Transgender Liberation Monument at South City Campus.
Philosophy
Jane Drexler
Professor of Philosophy, Department Chair
Jane Drexler is a Professor of Philosophy at Salt Lake Community College. Since arriving at SLCC in 2007, Drexler has served as Faculty Senate President and in several other faculty leadership roles. She received the 2022 Award of Merit for Outstanding Leadership and Achievements in the Teaching of Philosophy from the American Association of Philosophy Teachers, and has also earned the SLCC Foundation Teaching Excellence Award in 2016, and the National Blackboard Catalyst Award for Exemplary Course design in 2010.
Drexler is a presenter, contributor and participant in the Philosophy as a Way of Life Project, funded by the National Endowment of Humanities and by the Mellon Foundation. She has served on the Executive Board of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) and on the American Philosophy Association's (APA) Committee on Teaching Philosophy. She also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Teaching Philosophy, the premier journal for the discipline's pedagogy in the U.S.
Drexler has had essays published in general-audience and peer-reviewed journals and books, including Philosophers in the Classroom (Hackett, 2018), a collection of essays from 24 of the discipline's most award-winning professors. Currently, Drexler is co-editing a special issue on Teaching Philosophy as a Way of Life for the AAPT Studies in Pedagogy journal.
Jane is a recreational cyclist, beginner rock climber, not-bad guitarist, not-great violinist, somewhat-adventurous hiker, and occasional world-traveler; who sometimes prefers to binge-watch Netflix than to read a philosophical tome.
Education
- Ph.D., Philosophy, Binghamton University (SUNY), 2004
- M.A., Philosophy, Binghamton University (SUNY), 2001
- B.A., Philosophy, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, 1997
- B.A., Communications (Media Production), University of Colorado-Colo Springs, 1992
Areas of Specialization
- Ethical Theory and Applied Ethics
- Social and Political Philosophy
- Feminist Theory
- Environmental Ethics
- Philosophy as a Way of Life (esp. Ancient Philosophy)
Professional Website:
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
237R
Phone:
Email:
Alexander Izrailevsky
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Russian-speaking
Born in Kiev, Ukraine. After getting his degrees in Philosophy, worked as Professor of Philosophy at Siberian Technical University (Krasnoyarsk, Russia) (1974-1987), and Chair of this Department (1987-1999). After immigration to the U.S., from 2000 worked at SLCC as Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and Associate Philosophy Professor (from 2007 to present).
Education
Dr. Alexander Izrailevsky has received both his Bachelor and Master Degree in Philosophy from Ural University (Ekaterinburg, Russia).
In 1981 he has received his PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) from the Russian Academy of Philosophy (Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk). His PhD Dissertation, "The Structural Approach to the Social Sciences (Structuralism of Claude Levi-Strauss)" was dedicated to French Structuralism. His individual post-graduate research program was in Paris, France, under the supervision of Dr. Emmanuel Levinas. The field of his academic expertise is modern French Philosophy, French Structuralism, French Phenomenology, Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas.
Dr. Alexander Izrailevsky is focused on two main Philosophy Courses at SLCC: PHIL 1000 Intro to Philosophy, and PHIL 1120 Social Ethics, and upon students' requests, PHIL 1900 Special Studies in Philosophy.
Religious Studies
Suzanne Jacobs
Professor of Religious Studies
Arabic-speaking
Suzanne Jacobs, M.A., MPhil, is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Humanities and Languages. She joined the SLCC community in 2001, first as an adjunct and then in 2004 as a full-time professor. Suzanne grew up in Utah but as a junior in high school began to seek opportunities to challenge her perspective and for exposure to diversity. As a result, Suzanne loves to pay it forward and asks her students to move beyond what they think they know, what they believe and how they engage with others by putting them in real life situations in the community to observe living religions. She is also committed to college events and speakers that will expose students, staff and faculty to diverse thinking and perspectives and help in nurturing a more empathetic culture and a broader and more robust understanding of the Humanities and their impact on, well, being Human.
Her interests include: Arabic literature and poetry, Medieval British Literature, New Religious Movements, American Religious History, Islamic Culture and Religious Thought, scripture, and jurisprudence, Body Adornment and Ritual, Gender and Religion, Comparative Religion, Middle Eastern Culture, Pop Culture and Musical theater.
Education
- Bachelor's (BA) Degree in Philosophy and Religion, and English Literature, Colgate University
- Masters (MA) in Comparative Religion, University of Colorado, Boulder
- Masters of Philosophy (MPhil) in Middle East Studies/Islamic Studies/Arabic, University of Utah
Courses Taught
- HUMA 1100: Introduction to Humanities
- RELS 2020: Introduction to Islam
- RELS 2120: The Religious Experience
- RELS 2300: World Religions
- RELS 2400: Religious Diversity in the U.S.
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
237T
Phone:
Email:
Philosophy & Religious Studies Adjunct Faculty
Jason Goltz
Instructor
Jason Goltz was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and has philosophy degrees from Northern Arizona University (B.A. ’92), the University of Wyoming (M.A. ’95), and the University of Utah (Ph.D. ’02). He has taught at SLCC since the fall of 2013 and teaches classes in philosophy, ethics, critical thinking, and religion. Besides SLCC, Jason has also taught at Westminster College, Weber State University, and Independence University. In addition to teaching, Jason served on an ethics committee at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center and was the Humanities chair for the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. In his spare time, he enjoys movies, sports, heavy metal, and jazz fusion
World Languages
Jeanine Alesch
Associate Professor of French
French-speaking
Dr. Alesch received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in French Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. She arrived at SLCC in 2010 and has over 20 years’ experience teaching all levels of the French language and literature, international literature, and writing. Her book, Marguerite Yourcenar: The Other/Reader was published in 2007; her articles have appeared in French Forum, Dalhousie French Studies, Australian Journal of French Studies, Symposium and The French Review. She has presented at numerous conferences throughout the U.S. and abroad on literature topics and language pedagogy.
- PhD in French Literature, University of Pennsylvania
- MA in French Literature, University of Pennsylvania
- AB in French Literature, Bryn Mawr College
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
165P
Phone:
Email:
Carolina Bloem
Associate Professor of Spanish
Spanish-speaking
- PhD in Spanish Literature, University of Utah
- MA in Spanish Literature, University of Utah
- BA in Spanish Literature, University of Utah
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
162
Phone:
Email:
Diogo Cosme
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking
Diogo Cosme is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies in the Humanities and Languages Division at Salt Lake Community College. He received his Ph.D. in Romance Languages/Linguistics from the University of Georgia, where he also led curriculum development for the Portuguese program and assessed language proficiency for the Latin American and Caribbean Languages Institute (LACSI). His research interests comprise experimental approaches to Syntax, Second and Third Language Acquisition. In particular, tense, aspect and perfectivity. Additional scholarly work includes educational technology and heritage language in Spanish and Portuguese. He has experience developing open educational resources (OER), active learning, task-based, and proficiency-based curricula concerned with inclusivity and diversity. He is skilled in proficiency assessments with ACTFL and CEFR standards.
- Ph.D. in Romance Languages, The University of Georgia
- M.A. in Romance Languages, The University of Georgia
- B.A. in English, Portuguese and Applied Linguistics, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Brazil
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
164
Phone:
Email:
Takashi Ebira
Associate Professor of Japanese
Japanese-speaking
Takashi Ebira is currently Associate Professor of Japanese in the Humanities and Languages Division within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). He was a temporary full-time Japanese instructor at SLCC from 2004 to 2005 and joined SLCC again as a tenure-track assistant professor in August 2011. He earned his tenure in January 2016. Takashi was Assistant Professor of Japanese at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, California, from 2006 to 2008. While he was at DLI, he also served as an ILR OPI tester and conducted Japanese speaking tests for U.S. and Canadian military personnel. Takashi also teaches Japanese as a Language Training Center (LTC) Program instructor at the University of Utah's Second Language Teaching and Research Center (L2TReC) in the summer. The LTC Program provides language and culture training for Department of Defense (DoD) personnel by leveraging existing university programs to meet the needs of DoD organizations and units.
Education
- M.A. in Linguistics – Applied Linguistics track University of Utah
- TESOL Certificate University of Utah
- B.A. in Linguistics – General/Theoretical Linguistics emphasis University of Utah
Academic Interests
- Pedagogical Grammar of English and Japanese
- Present-day Usage of English and Japanese
- Translation Studies - Translation in Language Learning
- Lexicography - Dictionaries and Language Learning
- Language Assessment - Oral Proficiency Testing
- Language Planning and Policy
Courses Taught at SLCC
- JPN 1010: First Semester Japanese
- JPN 1020: Second Semester Japanese
- JPN 1300: Beginning Japanese Conversation
- JPN 2010: Third Semester Japanese
- JPN 2020: Fourth Semester Japanese
- JPN 2300: Japanese Conversation
- JPN 2900: Special Topics in Japanese – Intensive Japanese Conversation and Culture in Practice (Japan Study Abroad Program)
Campus:
Taylorsville
Building:
Academic & Administration Building (AAB)
Room:
237U
Phone:
Email:
World Languages Adjunct Faculty
Paul Cushing
Instructor
Credentials:
- MA World Languages 2017 - Russian, Arabic, and ESL endorsements, University of Utah
- BA Cum Laude 2015, Middle East Studies - Arabic Major with Hebrew Minor plus Coptic for fun, University of Utah
- BA Cum Laude 2015, Russian, University of Utah
I was born in Tooele, spent 3 years in Indiana, then seven in Anchorage, Alaska, and finally ended up back in Utah. I lived around 3 years (not consecutively) in Ukraine. During my master's program I lived with a host family in Meknes, Morocco for six weeks. My hobbies include studying languages, history, economics, politics, philosophy, and religion. I also enjoy travel, photography, cars, tinkering with computers, and video games.
Laura Marone
Instructor
Credentials:
- MA in World Languages and Cultures in Spanish, University of Utah
- BA in Spanish, University of Utah
- AAS in Culinary Arts, Jefferson College
Laura is from Napoli, Italy, where she worked as a pastry chef and cake designer in her small catering company. When she moved to the States, she completed her M.A. in Spanish Literature at the University of Utah. She is trilingual and taught Culinary Arts at college level for 9 years and first, second year and upper-level Spanish classes at the at the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College, Utah Valley University and Westminster College. Currently, she is a full-time Adult Services librarian at the Salt Lake City Library and is an adjunct teaching Spanish courses at SLCC. She loves traveling, reading, cooking and photographing landscapes.
Andrea Ordonez
Instructor
Originally from Colombia, Andrea has taught ESL and French in Colombia, and Spanish in France. For over two decades, she has taught Spanish at the college level, previously at the University of Utah and now here at the Salt Lake Community College. She has extensive experience teaching face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online courses.
Education
- M.A. in Instructional Design and Learning Technologies, Utah State University
- M.A. in Language Pedagogy, Emphasis in Spanish, University of Utah
- B.A. Foreign Languages, English and French, University of Cauca, Colombia
Dr. Lissette Ruiz Valentin
Instructor
I hold a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature from the Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Utah. I have taught first-year Spanish I and II at SLCC in person and via broadcast synchronous modality since 2014. During my years at SLCC, I have honed my teaching skills and stayed updated with the latest practices and methodologies in teaching Spanish as a foreign language. As an enthusiastic educator, my primary objective is to create an engaging and supportive learning environment that fosters language acquisition and inspires students to explore the Spanish language and culture.