PASSWORDMANAGEMENT
Meet Our Faculty
Rafael Hernández, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Associate Professor
Rafael Hernández earned his B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University and his M.A. in Counseling Psychology and Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. At ÌÇÐÄÔ´´, he serves as Chair of the Department of Human Development and as Program Coordinator for the HCAI-Designated Certified Wellness Coach Education Program. He is also Project Director for the Health Professions Pathways Program grant, which supports behavioral health workforce development and educational pathways for Human Development students. Dr. Hernández’s scholarship examines racial microaggressions and racial battle fatigue, community cultural wealth, popular education, and culturally responsive approaches to supporting youth, families, and college students. His teaching, research, and community-engaged work are grounded in commitments to social justice, educational access, and student success.
Carly Offidani-Bertrand, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Offidani-Bertrand is a sociologist and assistant professor of Human Development. Her work focuses on how social structures and cultural frames shape adaptation to marginalization, and how processes of adaptation ultimately impact developmental trajectories and health. She has examined these phenomena with socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs, mixed-status immigrant communities, minority students attending primarily white university institutions, as well as adolescents being tried as adults within the criminal justice system
Dominick Betro
Lecturer
Dom is a retired CEO of Family Service Association (Riverside, CA). He is a Lecturer at ÌÇÐÄÔ´´, the University of Notre Dame, and La Sierra University. Dom was also Ward One Councilman for the City of Riverside from 2004-2008. He has a B.S. Degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Social Work, from Fordham University.
Travis Blunt
Lecturer
I am a ÌÇÐÄÔ´´ Alumni and currently am an adjunct instructor. I am originally from Los Angeles but have found San Diego to be my new home. I do my best to incorporate community issues into my course development in order to focus our future leaders on a comprehensive solution to those issues after graduation.
Colette Brown
Lecturer
Colette Brown earned her PhD in Psychological Science with emphases in Aging and Health Psychology from UC Irvine. Her research seeks to understand how social relationships shape physical, cognitive, and emotional health in later life, with a focus on medically underserved communities and high-stress contexts (e.g., loss, displacement). She examines how social ties protect vs. harm health, and the role of social connection in community-based behavioral health interventions designed to enhance health and well-being among older adults.
Jason Coker
Lecturer
Jason Coker has served as a part-time faculty member in the Human Development Department since 2013, where he primarily teaches courses in nonprofit leadership, social policy, and social programs. He has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership and community organizing across North San Diego County, including work in interfaith coalitions and local advocacy initiatives focused on housing, policing issues, and LGBTQ rights. Jason is currently conducting PhD research into women’s narratives of religious disaffiliation in Southern California as a form of decolonial praxis.
Kathy Fuller, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Dr. Fuller hails from a town in Colorado (24 people). She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary/Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado; a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education (emphasis-Early Childhood) from CSUN; and a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies of Education from CSULA/UCLA. She currently teaches courses as a lecturer for the Human Development Department at ÌÇÐÄÔ´´.
Miguel Guilarte, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Dr. Guilarte has a diverse background that includes degrees in sociology, theology, philosophy, and engineering. His intellectual interests focus on adult development, especially around areas of transition and transformation. Initiation rites, rites of passage, and other life transitions are central to his work. In addition, he also works in the field of trauma, especially when this can be a catalyst for personal growth in connection with Post Traumatic Growth theories. He works in areas connected with creativity and innovation both by individuals and in systems. Dr. Guilarte is also much involved with furthering good thinking and good research by developing both quantitative and qualitative research methods, including narrative analysis, phenomenology, and grounded theory.
Tracy Hall, Ed.D.
Lecturer
Since 2001 Dr. Tracy Hall has taught in the field of Human Development and Psychology at ÌÇÐÄÔ´´ and at several local community colleges. She has a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Change and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist(LMFT) and was in private practice for many years. Her areas of research interest have included: addiction and its impact on the brain; health promotion and disease prevention; and the impact of nutrition on health, chronic illness, well-being and mental illness.
Russel Neuhart, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Dr. Russ Neuhart's professional experience includes direct services as aTherapist, Counselor/Case Manager, Program Manager and in Educational Administration. He received a BA in Psychology and an MA in Religious Education from the University of San Diego. He received his MA in Psychology and his Doctorate in Applied Psychology from United States International University-Alliant. His clinical experience encompasses victims of crime, abuse, & trauma; Individual, Couple & Family therapy; and Disability Counseling & Service Delivery. His research interestsare evidence-based treatment models & methods for Family Systems Intervention, Step- or "Blended" families, and the impact of Belief Systems on Mental Health.
Jessie Nichole Mellor, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Dr. Mellor is a Lecturer in HD and FYUP. In addition to her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, she holds an advanced certification in energy medicine. Dr. Mellor believes it is impossible for those who serve humanity to provide quality care if they don’t care for themselves –we can’t pour from an empty cup. Her teaching and student support modalities are unique, engaging, and universal.
Fernando Soriano, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Fernando I. Soriano is a Professor of Human Development at California State University San Marcos. A social-personality psychologist by training, he conducts research on adolescence, delinquency, violence prevention, substance-use prevention, and culturally responsive developmental programming. His current work includes the development of school- and community-based prevention programs for youth, including a culinary training initiative that prepares Human Development students to work with adolescents ages 16–18 in food preparation, nutrition, and hospitality. He is also evaluating GenLink, an intergenerational program that trains students to engage socially isolated, largely homebound adults—many of whom are older adults—in storytelling conversations designed to strengthen social connection. In addition, his research examines cultural identity development among youth and young adults and the relationship between cultural identity, violence, delinquency, and substance use.
Dr. Soriano has authored Conducting Needs Assessments (1995; 2013), Survival Guide for College Graduates (2023), and book chapters on violence and youth, among other publications.
Shyuan Ching Tan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Tan received her MBA from the University of Minnesota and a MA in Gerontology from CSU San Francisco, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Tan studies minority aging. Her work focuses on minority older adults’ cognitive health (memory and neuropsychological testing). Her work also focuses on life purpose and its application and utility in minority older adults’ health and well-being. She is interested in the social determinants of health with a cultural lens, and focuses on resilience and protective factors, e.g., the protective effects of coping strength and sense of purpose in life on health outcomes
Email: btinsley@csusm.edu Phone: (760) 750-8066 Office: SBSB 3222
Barbara J. Tinsley, Ph. D.
Professor Emeritus
Barbara Tinsley earned her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana, and both her M.A. in Educational Psychology and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Human Development) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Arizona State University’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, she holds the title of Professor Emeritus and continues to work as an independent consultant and expert witness in child development and family psychology, providing custody evaluation methodology consulting, research and policy advising, and manuscript and grant peer review for attorneys, courts, nonprofits, and academic institutions. Dr. Tinsley’s research explores family relationships, child health, and health communication — including studies of Mexican-origin, African-American, and Asian families — and is reflected in her book How Children Learn to Be Healthy (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
Teru Toyokawa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Teru Toyokawa received a BA and a MA in Psychology from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University, and postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan. His research and publications focus on cultural comparisons in the conceptions of adulthood and maturity, and career development among ethnic minority youth.
Jolie Van Schoik
Lecturer
Jolie Van Schoik is currently creating an Early Childhood Education (ECE) concentration for the department. Previously she had taught the lifespan courses within Human Development. Ms. Van Schoik has a BA in Child Development and MA in Childhood Studies from the University of London. Her focus on education and childcare for young children ages 0-8.