The Center for Community Based Learning team is made up of professional staff, faculty committee members, and student staff. Check out the information below to learn about us!
Executive Director, Center for Community Based Learning
Celestina Castillo earned her bachelor's degree in history at Pomona College and a master's in Urban Policy Analysis and Management at New School University in New York. She has also worked with a wide range of community-based organizations focused on education, community and workforce development...
Assistant Director, Center for Community Based Learning
Kelsey Sablan Martin (she/her) is CHamoru from familian Deda and Kadada’ with maternal ties to Maite Village in GuÃ¥han. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from ºù«Ӱҵ (Gabrielino/Tongva territory) and her master’s in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia...
Community Based Learning and Research Faculty Committee
The Community Based Learning and Research Faculty Committee focuses on enhancing curriculum-connected community engagement and community based research. It works with the Center for Community Based Learning (CCBL) to provide guidance on faculty development and support needed for faculty to implement and sustain community based learning within their courses and research, often serving as peer mentors. The committee examines and makes recommendations for policies related to community based learning to other college committees and constituencies. A member or two might also serve on the Working Group on Community Engagement.
Fall 2025 - Spring 2026 Members:
Professor, Media Arts & Culture
Media Arts & Culture
Allison de Fren is a media maker and scholar whose research-practice falls at the intersection of sexuality/gender, film/media, and science/technology, often tracing a line from contemporary representations to earlier conceptual histories and audiovisual practices.
Professor, Politics
Politics
Regina Freer’s research and teaching interests include race and politics, demographic change, urban politics, and the intersection of all three in Los Angeles.
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies
Religious Studies
Areas of specialization: Islamic legal studies; anthropology of Islam; histories of capitalism; comparative studies of South Asia and the Middle East.
Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy; Executive Director, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute
Martha Matsuoka ’83 is the Executive Director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute and a Professor at ºù«Ӱҵ. She focuses her teaching and research on environmental justice, community-based regionalism, sustainable community development, and social movements. Her current...
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Sociology
Mai Thai (pronounced "my tie") is a sociologist specializing in areas of criminal justice, education, youth, race/ethnicity, and qualitative methods.
Professor, Latino/a & Latin American Studies
Latino/a & Latin American Studies
Raul Villa's major areas of scholarly and curricular expertise are in Chicano and U.S. literature and popular culture, urban studies (with a particular emphasis on Los Angeles cultural studies), and Southwest/Borderlands literature and expressive culture.
Student Staff:
Yena Jonsson '28, Studio Art
Chioma Kalu '27, Urban and Environmental Policy
Carys Liebgold '26, Urban and Environmental Policy
Nevaeh Navarro '28, English
Crystal Stylc '26, Psychology
Yolitztli Torres '27, Studio Art and Latino/a and Latin American Studies