MEET OUR PROFESSIONAL TEAM AND SUPPORTERS
"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." Nelson Mandela
Dr. Amir Assadi-Rad: A world-rounded faculty, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and teaches various courses in the Science and Mathematics Division at Delta College.
Dr. Assadi published a variety of educational materials in the field of medicine, health, and biology. One of the best is "Medical School the Nuts and Bolts of getting in." in 2022, available on Amazon, rated #108 in "Medical School Guides" textbooks. Dr. Assadi is a handful of educational and opportunity resources for Delta students, faculties, and staff. He endorsed and recognized in many areas such as:
Excellence in Teaching
Commitment to diversity and inclusion
Faculty Equity Training Academy (FETA)
Professional and accountability
Faculty Caucus for Asian Pacific Equity (FCAPE)
Chairman of Student Empowerment cultural & Equity Committee
Biology Department discipline Chair
Dr. Assadi's support to the community is beyond the classroom and college. His contribution to community service activities and work to foster a positive relationship with the school's stakeholders, including alums, and local businesses, are remarkable. His actions and positive works impacted many areas and were endorsed by scholars in Curriculum Development, Molecular Biology, DNA extraction, Cell Culture, PCR, Laboratory, Data Analysis, Grant Writing, Higher Ed, and many more.
Second Chance Education is fortunate to have Dr. Assadi as a board member and a strategic advisor.
Dr. Irene Bersola-Nguyen has taught a wide variety of subjects in different settings. She has been teaching for the Child and Adolescent Development Department at California State University, Sacramento since 1997. She has also taught ESL and has developed a program for Careers in Child Care at one of the adult schools in Sacramento, CA.
Dr. Bersola-Nguyen has served as a keynote speaker in local, state, and national conferences. Her expertise includes Language Acquisition, Early Literacy, and Cross-Cultural Development. Her publications on Mindful Fieldwork Experience and Nanay Dora’s Almanac: A Guide for Making Important Life Decisions best reflect her lifelong commitment to cultivating mental health and overall wellbeing. In addition to her academic accomplishments, she is a certified yoga instructor and has been teaching yoga for over 15 years. She is a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation (TM), and her current research examines the relationship of ecotherapy and consciousness in young adults. She enjoys meeting new people and hearing about their life journeys.
Dr. Tota Panggabean, PhD, CMA, CA, serve as Accounting Department Chair and faculty at California State University, Sacramento, a committed accounting scholar, earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Accounting) from Simon Fraser University in Canada, an MS in Economics, and an MS in Finance both from the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and a BS in Accounting from Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara in Indonesia. Dr. Panggabean's teaching interests include cost/management accounting, financial accounting, and auditing, while his research investigates judgment and decision-making in management accounting and auditing, human information processing in accounting, and experimental cognitive research in accounting.
Dr. Panggabean possesses extensive experience in teaching and research at various institutions, including his current role as an Associate Professor at California State University, Sacramento. His academic journey also featured positions at Simon Fraser University (Canada), Universitas Persada Indonesia (Indonesia), Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (Indonesia), and Universitas Katolik Atmajaya (Indonesia). In addition, Dr. Panggabean has published articles in top-tier journals, is engaged in ongoing research projects in the field of accounting practice and education, and actively participates in numerous academic and non-academic services.
Dr. Panggabean's professional experience extends beyond academia, and has worked as a self-employed financial consultant in Indonesia and with the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia. In addition to his academic and professional endeavors, Dr. Panggabean has a strong passion for music, guitar, percussion, and singing. This hobby demonstrates his roundedness and ability to balance both professional and personal interests.
Second Chance is fortunate having Dr. Panggabean as finance and accountant strategic advisor leader.
Dr. Bernadette Anayah is an educator, scholar, and faculty leader who has worked in the field of English as a Second Language for over thirty years. She has a Ph.D. in Community College Leadership and Human Resource Management from Colorado State University. Her work experience includes teaching in Ireland, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. She has taught for the Los Rios Community College District for the past twenty years and has had extensive experience working with immigrant students. Along with her formal educational qualifications, she has had training in distance education and online learning, accreditation, international education, global citizenry, curriculum development, assessment, service leadership, equity and anti-racism, and cultural competency.
Dr. Anayah is very passionate about helping the refugees and newcomers to the United States by teaching them English and Lifeskills. She joined Second Chance Education as a curriculum developer, senior scholar, and faculty leader.
Dr. Shellie Higuera has been in education for 27 years. She started her career as a K-12 bilingual teacher (Spanish) and then served in various roles as a School Psychologist, Special Education Program Specialist, Assistant Director of Special Education, and CSU Sacramento university-level Disability Management Counselor.
Dr. Higuera is a Licensed Educational Psychologist and has completed her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership, Social Justice. Her field experiences include a variety of settings: public schools, correctional settings (Department of California Youth Authority, CYA) for incarcerated youth, California Department of Education, and CSU Sacramento university-level adjunct professor.
Dr. Higuera endorsed in many areas such as Leadership Development, Team Building, Public Speaking, Strategic Management, and many more.
Naser A. Ganji, is a dedicated and licensed therapist has a Master's degree in Psychology. With years of experience in the field of psychology he transformed many individuals and families lives. His passion lies in fostering healing, growth, and connection, emplwering his clients to overcome obstacles and discover thier innate strengths. He believe, SELF-ACCEPTANCE is the first step in the path of happiness. He uses the power of now and mindfulness to help his clients tend to their emotions, thoughts, and sensations that occur in the present moment. For the last four years he have been an active member of Radio Bamdad, holding educational and behavioral sessions improving thousands of people among listeners beside his private sessions, which are approximately 900 individuals annually. Naser is one of the SCE team members in supporting those clients are in need of emotional supports, counseling sessions.
Tannaz, known as "Teacher Tannaz," grew up speaking four languages (Farsi/Dari, German, English, Turkish, and some Arabic). Due to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, her family moved to Germany. Both of her parents attended an adult school to learn how to speak German. Later, when the family returned to Iran, Tannaz experienced the same struggle by learning how to write Farsi. After getting her Master's in teaching the German language, she started teaching elementary kids as an extra program in Tehran's Italian school managed by Italian Embassy in Tehran. In the meanwhile, she was also tutoring a small group of women with English. After immigrating to the United States, Tannaz started working as an ESL tutor at community colleges, and later she became an English instructor. While obtaining her teaching credential, she worked in an adult school with various students from different nationalities and backgrounds. She taught all levels from literacy to advanced and high school material as well as Citizenship. To Tannaz it is the most rewarding experience seeing how a student who has started from the literacy level can easily communicate and independently fill her daily tasks. Or how a parent can quickly speak to her child’s teacher or principal and is actively participating in her child’s school activities.
Tannaz is one of the most precious multilingual teachers of Second Chance Education. She also is one of SCE resources in grant writing.
Elia is a passionate TRiO Navigator at SCE with a strong background in education, instructional design, and data management. With experience in teaching and a passion for student success, Elia creates customized online courses to ensure students receive the support they need to excel academically. Fluent in multiple languages, Elia brings valuable multilingual skills to our team, enhancing communication with diverse student populations.
Proficient in a variety of essential platforms, Elia ensures that students have seamless access to vital services, fostering an environment of inclusivity and accessibility. Moreover, Elia's expertise in data management is instrumental in driving evidence-based decision-making and enhancing program effectiveness.
With Elia's dedication and expertise, our organization is steadfast in its commitment to providing exceptional support and guidance to students, empowering them to conquer academic challenges and realize their fullest potential.
Arash is the first one in his working-class family who started his journey in education. As a first-generation student who never had a role model with an educational mindset, he faced many challenges/barriers. His mother always wanted him to become educated so that she could celebrate it. But putting food on the table and providing basic needs to survive had priority over education; that's why she sacrificed her vision to provide the immediate needs for the family. She attended his graduation party when Arash got his Masters' degree from California State University, Sacramento. But her teary eyes were blind by the time.
Arash is not the only one facing challenges. While he was working and attending school, he met many individuals like himself from different cultures, backgrounds, languages, and religions. He has thousands of sad and funny stories from different cultures and languages that invisibly connected him to his diverse colleagues, classmates, friends, and bodies whom he has shared those unforgettable moments with.
"Effective partners invest their time and energy in each other's mutual success." This is the quote Arash remembers from his VP, Dr. Mills when he was attending the school that has made him think the universe, and particularly the world of education, is a significant 'Partnership.' Arash immigrated to the United States in 2008, attended may schools such as San Juan Adult School, American River College, Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, and Sac State. He holds a bachelor's in business administration, and a master's in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from California State University, Sacramento. He has been working at Folsom Lake College, UC Davis, Sac State (CSUS), Institution for English Literacy, and Second Chance Education. Arash developed the TRiO programming at Sac State, created TRiO Calendar and TRiO Student Club at CSUS, participated in grant writing. He also has a history of being Disability and Assistive Technology Analyst and helped students with disabilities to have equal access to educational resources. Currently, Arash, besides his other duties, is interested in work and research in Cultural Awareness, Social Justice, Inclusion, Persistence, and Retention research. His best interest is investigating elements/factors contributing to designing an environment that increase the Sense of Belonging and, consequently, increases students' persistence. His goal is to assist and invite people to start their education journey since the fruit of education is very sweet and benefit the society. He believes helping others should be a mission for everyone. Read here; WHY?
Brian was born in Tehran and immigrated to the US when he was 3 years old. From a young age, the idea was instilled in him that education is an absolute necessity in life. He has followed that path faithfully, and currently is a college student, from which he plans to graduate from UC Davis and become a lawyer. Brian designed the logo, name, website, and manages our social media, and has also assisted in writing federal grants and formal documents. Apart from his academic plans, Brian is continuously following and assisting Second Chance Education.
Dr. Hassi Sadri, the founder of Napoli, a SETA (Sacramento Employment and Training Agency)s' provider, is one of Second Chance Education's partners and supporters. He started Napoli in 1992 and opened the Culinary School Academy in 1997. Hassi Sadri has outstanding international experiences. Hassi has an extensive national and international background in the Culinary Arts, Food & Beverage, and Hotel Management. Having lived in many countries around the world and a life with extensive international travel, he is not only multilingual but is also a connoisseur of international cultures and foods.
He has a Ph.D. in Industrial Management and experience ranging from being the Director of Food & Beverage of a Premiere Hotel/Casino in Reno, General Manager of a Las Vegas Hotel, Restaurant Management, Hotel & Restaurant Consulting for prestigious hotels and restaurants in London, Industrial Kitchen design in Austria, to being the founder of the popular Café Napoli in Sacramento.
Shamim was born in Tehran. Her uncle was a professional English teacher. He had a significant influence on inspiring Shamim to become an English teacher. Shamim got her BA in English from PNU University, and she has been teaching English for about five years. "I love teaching. It is a creative lifestyle that makes me stay active and up-to-date." Shamim's motto is teaching, combined with fun and enjoyable moments to keep the students engaged. She enjoys sharing ideas and group activities. "Practice makes perfect! So, let's start!"