Frances Ajo

Continuing Lecturer | fajo@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0526

Frances Ajo received her M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and her B.A. in English and American Literature from Washington University in St. Louis. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, Frances worked as a technical writer and editor. She also taught at various institutions in Taipei, St. Louis, Honolulu, and San Diego. Her research interests include language endangerment and conservation, as well as corpus-based approaches to teaching scientific writing.

Jillian Bolin

Lecturer | jibolin@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0531

Jillian Bolin earned her Ph.D. in History from UC San Diego, her B.A. in English Literature and Religious Studies from UC Davis, and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Classics from UC Davis. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught history at the University of San Diego and writing in the Humanities Program at Revelle College. Her research interests include interdisciplinary humanities, the history of folklore and popular culture, religious history, British history, the history of science, global history, medieval history, and gender studies. 

Joseph Bourdeau

Lecturer | jbourdea@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0543

Joseph Bourdeau received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Music Composition from UC San Diego, as well as a B.S. in Music Education and a B.A. in Music Composition from the University of South Florida. Before joining the Analytical Writing Program as a lecturer, Joseph served as a graduate teaching assistant for both the AWP and the Department of Music at UCSD. He has also worked as an English tutor for young Mandarin speakers as well as a music instructor in various K-12 and postsecondary environments. Active as a performer and teacher, Joseph has given performances and workshops across the U.S, and in Mexico, with his work focusing on text-based music, collaborative improvisation, and multimedia performance.

Bailee Chandler

Continuing Lecturer | bchandle@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0537

Bailee Chandler earned her Ph.D. in Literature with an emphasis in Cultural Studies from UC San Diego, her M.A. in American Literature from San Diego State University, and her B.A. in English from the University of San Diego. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, she taught writing in the Warren College Writing Program. Her research interests include American Literature, Gender Studies, Critical Race Studies, Disability Studies, and Food Studies. She is also the Creative Director for Salty Iguana Mexican Restaurants based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Veronica Christie

Continuing Lecturer | vechristie@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0526

Veronica Christie received her M.Ed. with a Linguistic specialization from National University, and her B.A. in Dance/World Arts and Cultures from UCLA. She also holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with a CLAD certification. She has 20 years of teaching experience. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she worked as a reading specialist/writing coach in K-12 education, and as a community college instructor in ESL and English. Her most recent research project studied the long-term benefits of effective bilingual education programs on second language learners.

Jane Coulter

Continuing Lecturer | jcoulter@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0539

Jane Coulter earned her Ph.D. in Literature from UC San Diego. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, Dr. Coulter taught writing courses in the Warren College Writing Program. Prior to coming to UCSD, she worked in publishing, including writing and editing for a publication within The Economist Group. Dr. Coulter’s latest work on pedagogy appears in the Comic Connections anthology series published by Rowman & Littlefield. For several years, Jane also coordinated AWP's Embedded Writing Mentor Program, which provided individual instructional support to AWP students.

Alexander Gardella

Lecturer | agardella@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0529

Alexander Gardella received his M.A. and B.A. in English from San Diego State University, with a specialization in Children’s Literature, Rhetoric and Writing Studies, and Interdisciplinary Studies (through the Weber Honors College). Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, he taught rhetoric and professional writing at San Diego State University and rhetoric, composition, and literature for the San Diego Community College District, Southwestern College, and Palomar College. His research interests include gender studies and feminist studies.

Lauren Gilmore

Lecturer | lmgilmore@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0542

Lauren Gilmore earned her B.A. in Literature/Writing, as well as her M.Ed. and single-subject teaching credential in English Language Arts at UC San Diego. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she worked with secondary and post-secondary students in a variety of academic settings to foster coherence and fluency in argumentative writing.

Melinda Grant

Lecturer | mggrant@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0535

Melinda Grant received her M.A. in Professional Writing, concentration in Composition and Rhetoric, and a Graduate Certificate in Professional Writing for International Audiences from Kennesaw State University. She also earned a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, she taught English Composition I (argumentative) and II (academic research) at Kennesaw State University. Her continued research interests focus on identifying and implementing pedagogical methods highlighting cultural and linguistic diversity in collegiate classrooms to foster and promote inclusivity.

Graham Hall

Lecturer | gthall@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0543

Graham Hall earned his Ph.D. in English from UC Riverside and his B.A. in English from the University of Central Florida. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, he taught with the University Writing Program at UC Riverside and at the Kunshan Suzhou International School in China. While at UC Riverside he served as an Assistant Director for the Writing Across the Curriculum program, the ENG 1ABC program, and the Entry-Level Writing Program. His research interests include 19th and 20th century American literature, literary theory, and cultural studies.

Jerrod Heiser

Lecturer | jheiser@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0533

Jerrod Heiser received his M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from San Diego State University, and his B.A. in Literature from UC Santa Barbara. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, he has taught Composition at San Diego State University and Cuyamaca College, and he taught English as a Second Language in a variety of language programs in San Diego, China, and Peru. He currently also teaches in the Linguistics department at SDSU and serves on SDSU’s Writing Proficiency Assessment Committee. His research interests include genre studies, pedagogy, and rhetoric.

Will Jones

Lecturer | wjjones@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0534

Will Jones received his Ph.D. in the joint Theatre and Drama program through UC San Diego and UC Irvine. He also earned an M.A. from New York University in performance studies and a B.A. in Theatre and English from Chapman University. He has taught various courses in UCSD's Theatre and Dance department. Before coming to UCSD, he worked in education and at several arts-based non-profits. 

Sam Kolodezh

Lecturer | skolodezh@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0533

Sam Kolodezh earned his Ph.D. in Theatre from UC San Diego and in Drama from UC Irvine. Before joining UCSD’s Analytic Writing Program, he taught in the Warren College Writing Program. His areas of specialization include Shakespeare, Early Modern English theatre and culture, global adaptations of Shakespeare, concepts of time in world-building, and the relationships between identity and character across media. His recent projects include a collaborative analysis of race, time, and performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, an edited collection of contemporary Bengali plays by Bratya Basu, and an analysis of a bisexual-vampire film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, With a Kiss I Die. Sam also teaches courses in theatre and media, culture, and communication at New York University and California State University Northridge. 

Courtney O’Neil

Lecturer | cloneil@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0531

Courtney O'Neil earned her Ph.D. in English with a primary specialization in Creative Nonfiction and secondary specialization in Composition and Rhetoric Studies from Oklahoma State University. She received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from UC Riverside and B.A. in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, she was an Assistant Director for Oklahoma State University's First-Year Composition program and the university Writing Center. She has also taught various writing courses at UC Riverside, Azusa Pacific University, Point Loma Nazarene University, and Oklahoma State University. Her writing has been published in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Columbia Journal, and The Normal School. Her academic and research interests include mindfulness, anti-racist pedagogy, vulnerability in the writing classroom, and writing for social change. She is currently working on her first book.

Amanda Riggle

Lecturer | ariggle@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0537

Amanda Riggle earned her Ph.D. in English from UC Riverside, and her M.A. in English with an emphasis in literature and her B.A. in English Education with a minor in political science from Cal Poly Pomona. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught English, literature, and linguistic courses at various colleges in Southern California and taught for the University Writing Program at UC Riverside. Her research interests include early modern English literature and political thought, early modern global history and mercantile trade, critical approaches to race and rhetoric, poetry and poetics, translation studies, and performance and adaptation studies.

Alexandra Sartor

Lecturer | asartor@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0528

Alexandra Sartor earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition from UC Irvine. She has been a teacher and administrator of college writing for over 15 years. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she served as the Associate Director for Writing at Sixth College and as a lecturer in the Culture, Art, and Technology Program there. While at Sixth, she worked with a team of faculty from across the UC system to develop and teach UCSD’s first fully online writing course. Dr. Sartor’s teaching and research interests include the transfer of learning and the history of rhetoric.

Jackie Spicer

Lecturer | jaspicer@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0535

Jackie Spicer earned her M.A. in English from Indiana University South Bend (IUSB), and her B.A. in English and Theatre Arts from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught First-Year Writing and Professional Writing at IUSB. Her research interests include 19th-century British literature, feminist and gender studies, and the intersections and constructions of genre.

Stacy Steinberg

Continuing Lecturer | ststeinberg@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0525

Stacy Steinberg earned her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her B.A. in English from Brandeis University.  Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught writing and literature courses at San Diego Miramar College, the Community College of Baltimore County, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the University of Maryland. Her research interests include postsecondary reading pedagogies and disciplinary literacy.

Christa Tiernan

Lecturer | cmtiernan@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0538

Christa Tiernan earned her Ph.D. in English: Literary Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia, and her B.A. in Literature and Writing from UC San Diego. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught writing and worked in the writing centers at Iowa State University, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Virginia. In 2021-2022, Dr. Tiernan served as the Interim Associate Director of the Writing Hub at UC San Diego, overseeing graduate student support services. Her academic research focuses on Victorian museum culture. Other interests include eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature, material culture studies, visual culture studies, and writing center studies.

Olena Tsurska Svetina

Continuing Lecturer | oltsurska@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0525

Olena Tsurska Svetina earned her Ph.D. in English with an emphasis in Linguistics, her M.A. in Linguistics from Arizona State University, and her B.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Northern Iowa. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught various composition, ESL, and linguistics courses in Tempe, Arizona, and San Diego. Her current research interests include cooperative learning, transferability of writing skills, and teaching grammar in context.

Kelsey Vaughn

Lecturer | k1vaughn@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0542

Kelsey Vaughn received her M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from San Diego State University, and her B.A. in Communication from UC Santa Barbara. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught Composition at San Diego State University and Grossmont College, and English as a Second Language at San Diego Continuing Education and UC San Diego Extension. Her research interests include genre studies and critical discourse analysis.

Kevin Westerfeld

Lecturer | kwesterfeld@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0529

Kevin Westerfeld earned both his B.A. in philosophy and his Ph.D. in ancient history from UC San Diego. Before joining the Analytical Writing Program, he taught courses for the Department of History and Sixth College’s Culture, Arts, and Technology Program. He also worked for Revelle College’s Humanities Program. His dissertation considers the way in which the Ancient Greeks succeeded and failed to build community among a diverse population. Dr. Westerfeld also has a broad cross-section of research interests, and has presented papers on pedagogy, military history, and factionism in societies.

Natalie Wilson

Continuing Lecturer | naw024@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0524

Natalie Wilson received her M.A. in English with an emphasis in British Literature from San Diego State University, and her B.A. in Literature and Writing Studies from California State University, San Marcos. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught at various community colleges and universities in San Diego. Her research interests include studies of identity and implications of intersectionality, both in literature from the British modern period and in contemporary composition classrooms.

Guy Zimmerman

Lecturer | gzimmerman@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0538 

Guy Zimmerman earned his Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from UC Irvine. Before joining UCSD's Analytical Writing Program, he taught at UC Irvine, Cal Poly Pomona, and CalArts. His area of specialization is the dramatic work of postwar England and the U.S., with a focus on Beckett, Pinter, Fornes, and Shepard and the theater of Los Angeles. His work has been published in, among others, Theatre Journal, SubStance, Shakespeare Bulletin, Modern Drama, and La Deleuziana. An award-winning playwright and director, he served as the Artistic Director of Padua Playwrights in Los Angeles from 2001-2020.

Amy Zroka

Lecturer | azroka@ucsd.edu | RWAC 0528

Amy Zroka received her Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in History from UC San Diego. Before joining UCSD’s Analytical Writing Program, she taught at Clarkson University and for the Revelle Humanities Program. Her research interests include German history, women’s and gender history, and nursing history.