Education

  • Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Davis, 1978

  • M.A. in Sociology, San Francisco State University, 1971

  • B.A. in Sociology, San Francisco State University, 1970

Positions

  • Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Psychology, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA, 2017 - Current

  • Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Psychology, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, CA, 1978 - 2017. Tenured 1984.

  • Director, Sr. Dorothy Stang Center for Social Justice and Community Engagement, 2007-2009.

  • Chair, Department of Sociology and Psychology, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1999-2001.

  • California Site Director, Notre Dame-AmeriCorps, San Francisco, CA, 1999-2000. 

  • Acting Vice President for Finance and Administration, Notre Dame de Namur University, July 1, 1993–December 31, 1993.

  • Dean of Faculty, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1984-93.

  • Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, Notre Dame de Namur University, July 1, 1986-November, 1986.

  • Acting Chair for Sociology and Behavioral Science, Department of Behavioral Science, Notre Dame de Namur University, Spring 1983.

  • Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Sociology, San Francisco State University, 1973-1979.

  • Visiting Lecturer in Sociology, Board of Studies in Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Spring 1978.

  • Adjunct Professor, Bachelor and Master of Arts programs in Public Service and Human Relations and Organizational Behavior, College of Professional Studies, University of San Francisco, 1977-78.

  • Instructor in Sociology, Federal Correctional Institution for Women, Dublin, CA, Winter 1977-78.

  • Instructor in Sociology, Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center, Alameda County Jail, Dublin, CA, 1975-76.

  • Lecturer in Sociology,U.S. Army, Presidio of San Francisco, 1974-76.

  • Mental Health Counselor, McAuley Neuropsychiatric Institute, St. Mary’s Hospital and Medical Center, San Francisco, 1969-74.

Publications/Presentations

  • In Progress: The Abraham Chronicles, currently consisting of three magical realism/autobiographical novels: Abraham’s Dance (completed), Abraham’s Dead, Hallelujah! (completed), and Once Known as Abraham (in progress)

  • Street Teaching in the Tenderloin: Jumpin’ Down the Rabbit Hole, Palgrave-Macmillan Publishers, New York, 2017.

  • “Turning Wicked Problems into Positive Solutions: Becoming an Effective Change Agent,” co-presenter at the at the 18th Annual Continuums of Service Conference, “Seeking Solutions to Complex Challenges Through Inquiry and Engagement,” Long Beach, CA, April 8-10, 2015 

  • “Tenderloin U and Community Psychology: Inspiring Students and Ourselves to be Lifelong Advocates for the Common Good,” co-presenter at the at the 16th Annual Continuums of Service Conference, “Creating the New Vision for Higher Education,”Portland, Oregon, April 24-26, 2013

  • “Celebrating the Tenderloin,” paper presented at the at the Infinite San Francisco Event Series, Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, University of San Francisco, October 6, 2011

  • “The 3 Rs of Community Based Learning: Respect, Relevance, and Revolution,”co-presenter at the at the 14th Annual Western Region Campus Compact Consortium's Continuums of Service Conference, “Maximizing Impact: Higher Education’s Strategies That Address Today’s Critical Issues,”San Diego, California, April 27-29, 2011

  • “Revealing the Learning: Quantitative and Qualitative Inquiry into Service-Learning to Promote Political Engagement,” co-presenter at the at the 12th Annual Western Region Campus Compact Consortium's Continuums of Service Conference, “Building a Global Community through Collaborative Engaged Scholarship,”Seattle, Washington, April 16-18, 2009

  • “Making the Political Explicit: Revisioning Service-Learning to Promote Political Engagement,” co-presenter at the at the Eleventh Annual Western Region Campus Compact Consortium’s Continuums of ServiceConference, “The Engagement Imperative: Academia, Students, and Communities in Partnership,” Portland, Oregon, April 17-19, 2008

  • “Community Partner Perspectives on Service-Learning: Addressing Community Needs by Developing Strong Partnerships,”co-presenter (with St. Anthony’s Foundation Social Justice Program) at the Tenth Annual Western Region Campus Compact Consortium’s Continuums of ServiceConference, “Engaging Leadership: New Visions, Voices, and Models,”San Jose, California, April 12-14, 2007

  • Keynote Speaker, “Tenderloin U,”Healthcare for the Homeless (Region IX) Conference, March 1, 2007.

  • City Baby and Star: Addiction, Transcendence, and the Tenderloin, University Press of America, 2005

  • Participant, Civic Engagement and Service Learning: A Forum for Reflection and Dialogue, California Campus Compact, San Francisco State University, November 5, 2004.

  • “Analyzing Social Problems Using GIS Technology.” Member of School of Sciences team awarded National Science Foundation funds to design a pilot course incorporating GIS at a five-day workshop on the subject of Science Education for New Civic Engagement and Responsibility (SENCER), July 2003.

  • “Tenderloin U: A Community Based Learning Program,”paper presented at the Youth Service Conference, College of San Mateo, February 2003.

  • “Community-Based Learning at NDNU,” co-presenter at the at the Campus Compact Institute for the Engaged Department, Minneapolis, June 2002.

  • “The Inner City as a Learning Community,” paper presented at the Learning Communities in Higher Education Conference, California Personnel Association, Belmont, November 2000.

  • “Teaching Systems Thinking to Undergraduate Students: The Community as Teacher,” paper presented at the Town Hall for a Sustainable San Mateo County, May 1999.

  • “Decentralizing Strategic Planning,” paper presented at Non-Profit Consultants’ Forum, San Francisco, June 1993.

  • “Participatory Decision Making in Education,” paper presented at annual meeting of California Counselors and Credential Analysts, Sacramento, October 1992.

  • “Assessment in Higher Education,” paper presented at Faculty Forum, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, October 1991. 

  • “Strategies for Implementing an Adult Education Program,”co-presenter at the at the Ninth Western Regional Experimental Education Conference, Council for Adult and Experimental Learning (CAEL), San Mateo, March 1991.

  • “The Intensive Evening Degree Program,” paper presented at the Non-Traditional Education Program Conference, Consortium of Adult Education, Oakland, May 1990.

  • “The Campus-Based Non-Traditional Program,” paper presented at the Workshop on Off-Campus and Non-Traditional Programs, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Oakland, October 1989.

  • “Managing Change,” City and County of San Francisco, Children, Youth and Family Service System Feasibility Study, Mayor’s Task Force on Dependent Children, 1987.

  • Harassment Therapy: A Case Study of Psychiatric Violence, Schenkman Publishing Co./ G.K. Hall and Co., 1981

  • “Ward 3A Revisited,”Psychiatry, May 1981.

  • Psychiatric Innovation and Social Change: A Study of the Perversion of Psychiatric Treatment and Social Control,University of California, Davis (Doctoral dissertation), 1978.

  • The Criminal Justice Information System: An Evaluation,Superior Court of San Francisco, 1975.

  • “Ideological Conflict on a Psychiatric Ward,”Psychiatry, May 1973.

  • “White Cabdrivers and Black Fares,”Transaction/Society, Nov/Dec 1971

  • The Psychiatric Ward: An Ethnography, San Francisco State University (Master’s thesis), 1971.

 Community Engagement /Community Service

  •  Community Engagement Projects:

    • Tenderloin Youth College Project:An annual community-based workshop and campus visit event for inner-city youth, 1999 – 2017.

    • Bi-Annual Homeless Count: Class participation, San Francisco, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017.

    • “Meeting of the Minds”: Annual group conversations between college students and county jail inmates, co-facilitated with Phelica Jones, Rehabilitation Services Coordinator, San Francisco County Jail, 2003 – 2017.

    • Halloween in the Tenderloin: An annual holiday festival and safe trick ’r treat event for 300 inner-city children. Co-produced with Tenderloin Children’s Playground, 1997 – 2016.

    • San Quentin Tour and Inmate Engagement: Annual or semi-annual, San Quentin Prison, 1985 – 2017

    • Sport Clinics, Lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, basketball, dodgeball. Co-produced with Bay Area Women’s and Children’s Center and Tenderloin Children’s Playground, 2002 – 2016.

    • “Miracle on 6th Street”(a.k.a. “Miracle on Eddy Street,” “Miracle on Ellis Street”): Annual production, co-produced with the NDNU Theater Arts Department and S.F. Recreation and Parks Department.  A Christmas celebration, including gifts and scenes from “A Christmas Carol” at Seneca Hotel, a residence for the formerly homeless, Boeddeker Park, and Tenderloin Children’s Playground, 2001– 2015.

    • Project Homeless Connect: Class participation in large-scale service events for the homeless, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

    • “The Gift of Hope”: Facilitated a daylong workshop on youth philanthropy, involving the distribution of $6000 in grants to public schools and development of proposals leading to the distribution of an additional $1000 by youth groups from San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, Belmont, and East Palo Alto. Partners included the Dorothy Stang Center, DonorsChoose/YouthChoose, and Jenzabar Foundation. March 28, 2009.

    • “Putting the Human Face on Homelessness”: A project facilitated with students in the Promise of the Inner City class for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. A panel presentation by community leaders (Angela Alioto, Kevin Fagan, Jennifer Friedenbach, and Don Falk) and tour of Tenderloin streets and services. May 2, 2008.

    • Youth Philanthropy Project: A series of workshops on youth philanthropy, including collaboration by a team of Tenderloin high school and NDNU students distributing $2500 to selected public school teachers’ projects. In partnership with DonorChoose/YouthChoose, Indochinese Housing Development Corporation, Boys and Girls Club, Tenderloin Children’s Playground, and the Dorothy Stang Center, March-April 2008.

    • “Seeds of Hope: the Art of Kay Weber and Children of the Tenderloin”:Produced an autumn festival art exhibit by Kay Weber, Artistic Director of the Tenderloin Boys and Girls Club, and the children of the Tenderloin at Notre Dame de Namur University, Oct 29-Dec. 31, 2007

    • “3 Innocents and a Spirit”: A play on Pre-and Post-Columbian Africa and America by a Haitian troupe promoting cultural memory, co-produced with NDNU’s Campus Life Division, Dorothy Stang Center, and Tenderloin Children’s Playground, October 10, 2007.

    • Poetry Reading, U Sam Oeur:Produced a reading by Cambodian poet and concentration camp survivor, from his Crossing Three Wildernesses, to Indochinese Housing Development Corporation’s after-school program and other inner-city youth groups, March 6, 2006.

    • Witness to the Death Vigil: Facilitated student participation in event outside prison gates during executions inside San Quentin State Prison, 1998 – 2006. (Capital punishment moratorium began in 2006.)

    • Tenderloin Immersion:Facilitated weeklong stays at Seneca SRO hotel and Salvation Army homeless shelter for faculty, staff, and students doing research and service, 2000 and 2001.

    • Facilitated Student Internships and Service at various human service agencies, including Adopt-A-Block, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, Tenderloin Children’s Playground, The Salvation Army, San Francisco Network Ministry, Indochinese Housing Development Corporation, Glide Memorial Church, St. Anthony’s Foundation, St. Boniface Church, and San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness, 1998-2017.

  •  Community Engagement Research Projects: Facilitated annual, semester long, qualitative methods class field research projects in San Francisco’s inner city neighborhoods

    • “Community, Culture, and Change,” San Francisco, 2017

    • “Mission:Transition,” San Francisco, 2016

    • “Transforming Self and Society through the Arts,” San Francisco, 2015 

    • “Chicano: An American Culture,” San Francisco, 2014

    • “Gimme Shelter: The Search for Safe Housing in the Tenderloin,” San Francisco, 2013.

    • “La Mission,” San Francisco, 2012.

    • “The Trail of Tears: The 6th and Taylor Streets Corridor,” San Francisco, 2011

    • “Discovering on the Streets Our Common Humanity,” San Francisco, 2010

    • “Community Arts: Art in the Community,” Mission District, San Francisco, 2009

    • “The Southeast Asian Community in the Tenderloin,” 2008.

    • “The Haight Ashbury: Then and Now (40 Years Since the Summer of Love),” 2007

    • “Chinatown,” Fall, 2005.

    • “24th  Street: The Heart of the Mission,” San Francisco, Spring, 2005.

    • “The 16th Street Corridor,” San Francisco, 2004

    • “Stations of the Lost and Found: San Francisco’s 6th Street gateway to the Tenderloin,” 2003.

    • “Crossing the Bridge (East Palo Alto youth),” 2002.

    • “Little Michoacan,” Unincorporated North Fair Oaks community, San Mateo County, 2001.

    • “Wild Awakenings,” The Tenderloin, 2000.

    • “Free to Be: The Castro,” San Francisco, 1999.

    • “A Tale of Two Cities: Prostitution in Redwood City and San Francisco”, 1998.

    • “Children at Risk,” San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties, 1997.

  • Community Service Positions:

    • Board Member, Indochinese Housing Development Corporation, San Francisco, 2004-2012 (Chair, 2011-12).

    • Board Member, Center for New Beginnings, Belmont, CA, 2004 – 2008.

    • Faculty Liaison, ADAPT (A Dream and a Plan for Tomorrow), a partnership between Each One Reach One, a mentoring program for incarcerated youth, Notre Dame de Namur University and Hillcrest Juvenile Hall, Belmont, CA 2003 – 2005.

    • Member, Advisory Committee, Indochinese Housing Development Corporation, San Francisco, 2003 – 2004.

    • Member, Assessment Committee, Private Defenders Program, San Mateo County, CA, 2002 – 2003.

    • Mediator, Tenderloin Community School. Facilitated a mediation between the school principal and teacher representatives, San Francisco, June, 2000.

    • Member, Community Advisory Board for Strategic Planning, (Chair, Priority Setting Sub-Committee), United Way, San Mateo County, CA, 1997.

    • Mediator, California Working Group (television production). Facilitated mediation between the production company’s management and staff. San Francisco, April 1997.

    • Board Member,We Do The Work, national PBS television program, Oakland, CA, 1991-1995.

    • Evaluator, Police Sergeant Assessment Center, Belmont. CA, Police Department, May 1995.

    • Board Member,Wiegand Art Gallery, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1988-1994.

    • Member, Strategy Team, St. Teresa’s parish, Bay Area Organizing Committee, San Francisco, 1993-1994.

    • Mediator, Buena Vista Spanish Immersion Elementary School, San Francisco, 1991-1992.

    • Accreditation Team Member, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, March 1990.

    • Therapeutic Foster Parent, Department of Social Services, San Francisco, 1988-90.

    • Strategic Planning Advisor, Mayor’s Task Force on Dependent Children, San Francisco, 1987-88.

    • Community Mediator/Co-Chair, The Good Life Alliance, Potrero Hill neighborhood, San Francisco, 1985-86.

    • Facilitator, Nuclear War Despair Groups, Belmont, CA, 1983-84.

    • Co-Chair, United Way, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1983.

    • Board Member, The Pine Street Center (Community Adult Education), Boulder Creek, CA, 1981-83.

    • Speaker on Mental Patients’ Civil Rights, 1981-82.

    • Member, Criminal Justice Committee, American Friends Service Committee, Northern California Regional Office, San Francisco, 1976.

    • Systems Evaluation Consultant, San Francisco Justice Information System, Superior Court of San Francisco, 1974.

Recognitions

  • Guardian of Justice Award, Sister Dorothy Stang Center for Social Justice and Community Engagement, 2017.

  • Sr. Catharine Julie Cunningham Teaching Project Award for “Tenderloin U Digital Portfolio: Documenting NDNU’s Student Involvement in San Francisco’s Inner City” (with Betty Friedman, Chair, Art Department), Notre Dame de Namur University, 2012 – 2013.

  • CACC-Carnegie Foundation Faculty Fellow in Service Learning for Political Engagement, 2007-2009.

  • Jenzabar Foundation Grantfor “The Gift of Hope,” Youth Philanthropy Workshop, March 28, 2009.

  • Living Torch Award, Presented by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 2007

  • Invited member, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, inducted April 24, 2007.

  • Alumni Award for Service and Dedication, Notre Dame de Namur University Alumni Association, 2005.

  • Inner Fire Award, Center for Student Leadership, Notre Dame de Namur University, 2004.

  • Celebrating Teachers! Honoree, School of Education, Stanford University, 2004.

  • Selected Baccalaureate Speaker by the Class of 2001, Notre Dame de Namur University.

  • Mission Values in Action Awardfor Exemplifying and Promoting Social Justice and Global Peace, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1999.

  • Sr. Catharine Julie Cunningham Teaching Project Award, for “Tenderloin U: A Collaborative Service Learning Project,” Notre Dame de Namur University, 1998.

  • Faculty Fellow, The Futures Project: A Consortium of Independent Colleges and Universities, Higher Education Policy Institute, 1995-1997.

  • George M. Keller Teaching Excellence Award, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1996.

  • Elected member, Delta Epsilon Sigma, National Scholastic Honor Society, 1996.

  • Faculty Fellow, Pew Higher Education Roundtable, Pew Charitable Trust, 1995-96. 

  • Elected member, Psi Chi, National Honor Society, 1995.

  • Kellogg Foundation Grant Award, with Sr. Roseanne Murphy and Dr. Cheryl Joseph, for Social Change Through Social Service class, July 1993.

  • Selected Baccalaureate Speaker by the Class of 1993, Notre Dame de Namur University.

  • Sr. Catharine Julie Cunningham Teaching Project Award, for “Reflecting on Columbus’ Journey” (with Sr. Pat McGlinn, SND), Notre Dame de Namur University, 1992.

  • Selected Baccalaureate Speaker by the Class of 1989, Notre Dame de Namur University.