Our Team

Howard Eskew is a Business Professor at San Diego Mesa College. His expertise is in accounting, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. Howard has a strong passion for providing financial education. He drives the financial literacy efforts at Mesa College and created and coordinates the Financial Literacy Speaker Series and Financial Opportunity Clinic. Prior to coming to Mesa College, Howard spent over 25 years in the financial services industry.

He held the position of Executive Vice President / Chief Credit Officer for Columbus First Bank, in Worthington, Ohio for which he was one of the founding members. Howard is a strong partner and tireless advocate for the community. In addition to servicing on the Mesa College Foundation Board, Howard services on advisory boards for San Diego County Economic Education, San Diego Financial Literacy Center, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the Western Association of Food Chains.

Howard possesses his MBA and a Master's degree in Accounting. He has been inducted into numerous honor societies and graduated Magna Cum Laude and valedictorian. Howard frequently presents at educational and industry conferences and is a published author. In 2015, Howard received the Outstanding Professor Award at San Diego Mesa College.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Elizabeth Armstrong earned degrees in chemistry from San Francisco State University. Following graduation, Liz taught chemistry at Skyline College in San Bruno for 15 years.

She became dean of math, science, and technology, then vice president of instruction at Cañada College in Redwood City. In 2002 Liz moved to San Diego to serve as vice president of instruction at San Diego Mesa College with her career culminating as the interim president of the college.

Having watched many students succeed because of their community college experience, Liz believes deeply in the power of education to change students' lives and help them achieve their dreams, and in the essential role of education in a democratic civil society.

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Dr. Gerace is a faculty member in the Communication Studies Department at San Diego Mesa College. She has a passion for guiding students to success by developing and implementing innovative and creative teaching strategies which often disrupt the status quo.

Dr. Gerace is a leader who often challenges systems to ensure that traditionally marginalized and underserved students have rich opportunities to thrive as scholars. She has also developed numerous programs to empower students to advocate for themselves and build self-efficacy.

Dr. Gerace is also a leader among her peers. She founded and currently serves as president of the San Diego Chapter of the American Association for Women which has been nationally recognized for its work and programing to support women. Dr. Gerace also serves on regional and statewide organizations which work to address equity. Additionally, she has served in many capacities for numerous non-profit organizations throughout the world for most of her life. Dr. Gerace is honored to be a part of the San Diego Mesa College Foundation.

Dr. Ashanti Hands is the President of San Diego Mesa College. Previously, she served as Vice President for Student Services at San Diego Mesa College, where she had responsibility for over 20 student services departments and functions including Admissions, Counseling, Financial Aid, Student Health, Disability Support Services and Programs and more. Ashanti is committed to developing equitable opportunities for students by developing strategic goals to guide current and future program development including Student Success and Equity, San Diego Promise, Guided Pathways and more.

Ashanti is a faith-driven, family-centered, equity-minded educator who is not averse to disrupting the status quo. She is all in when it comes to creating the conditions that matter for students to succeed. Ashanti received her bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of California, San Diego and a master's degree in education with an emphasis in multicultural counseling and doctoral degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. She has served in higher education for 24 years.

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Dr. Denise Rogers is a San Diego native, mother of two and Professor of Art History at San Diego Mesa College. She earned a B.A. in Visual Arts/Criticism from U.C.S.D., a Masters in Art History from S.D.S.U. and a Ph.D. in Visual Studies with an emphasis in Feminist Studies from U.C. Irvine. She currently teaches a variety of courses that range from Pre-Historic Art, Renaissance, Modern through to Contemporary art, as well as courses in regions outside of the west such as Africa, Asia and Native American art history. She manages the Mesa College World Cultures Art collection and curates yearly exhibitions in the Mesa College Glass Gallery.

She has also curated exhibitions at the Mesa College Art Gallery and San Diego Public Library. She has presented on African American art and the Diaspora during special events on campus as well as at the California Community College Association yearly conference, San Diego Museum of Art, Grossmont College, and the San Diego Public Library. She also Chairs the San Diego Museum of Art African and Pacific Arts Council and is the Educational Advisor and a Board member of the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art. See specializes in Modern Art and Contemporary art with specific emphasis on the art of Women, African Americans and the Diaspora and how indigenous artifacts inform contemporary ideologies. She shares this knowledge with her students, enabling them to recognize the importance of historical artifacts and how they inform our present identities.

Originally from Englewood, New Jersey, Marston is a former California State Assemblyman with extensive government and public policy experience. He is currently president and government relations director for his own San Diego public relations firm, Marston and Marston, Inc. He hopes to draw on his professional experience to boost the Mesa College Foundation.

A native of Spain and the first one in her family to graduate from college, Isabel O'Connor earned a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Alicante before immigrating to the United States in 1986. After learning English at Los Angeles City College, she obtained a B.A. in European Studies at Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in medieval Spanish history at U.C.L.A. Isabel spent twelve years in Indiana, as a member of the faculty at the University of Southern Indiana and then as chair of the History Department at Indiana University South Bend.

In 2011, Isabel returned to California and became Dean of Human Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) at Cabrillo College. Under her leadership, the division saw the development of new programs, such as a Certificate in Latino/Latin American Studies and a Fire Academy to meet local workforce development needs. Isabel secured a variety of grants from the Baskin Foundation and the Giannini Foundation to support the work of programs in her division, such as Women's Studies and the Children's Center. She served on the Board of the Bay Area Public Safety Consortium and represented Cabrillo College at fundraising events held by the Santa Cruz County Court Appointed Special Advocates, CASA.

As Vice President of Instruction at San Diego Mesa College, Isabel is committed to working with faculty, staff, and administrators to help each and every student who comes to Mesa College achieve their dream for a better life.

Alex Szeto is a distinguished alumnus of San Diego Mesa College. He is a systems engineer at Northrop Grumman.

As a refugee immigrant with no money and only a ninth grade education, compassionate people and education changed his life. Alex is dedicated to helping others so they can enjoy the same opportunities and success. He is actively grooming young leaders and fundraising to provide access for the disadvantaged to have a better life. He is a proud coach of the robotics Team Inspiration.

Alex holds a MS in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University.

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Dr Hinkes spent 21 years (1998-2019) at Mesa College, as an anthropology professor and Dean of Institutional Effectiveness. She earned a doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Arizona. While at Mesa, she started the Physical Anthropology Lab class and managed the program's move to the new Social and Behavioral Sciences Building.

As Dean, she oversaw program review, outcomes assessment, and institutional planning. She maintains an active community service as a forensic anthropology consultant to medical examiners, law enforcement, attorneys, archaeologists, and Native American tribes. She has also worked for the US Departments of Defense and State. Dr Hinkes loves to travel to feed her fascination with natural history and archaeology.

She is proud to maintain her affiliation with the leading college of equity and excellence and to continue to contribute to Mesa. She loves our students!

Aviva McPherron serves as NuVasive's vice president of information technology and is responsible for the company's information technology strategy and organization. She drives the conceptualization, delivery and realization of technology solutions that create efficient, effective and innovative platforms for internal and external customers.

Aviva holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. As an individual with a non-traditional secondary school education, the community college system provided a path for Aviva to develop an academic record, which enabled her to go on to obtain her bachelor's degree and build a meaningful technical career.

Aviva is a proud supporter of the community college system and hopes to leverage her personal and professional experience to support the Mesa College Foundation.

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Jennifer Nichols Kearns is an award winning communications professional, with over 20 years in marketing, advertising, public relations, and events. She has specialized in education, environmental advocacy, government, retail, and non-profits. She holds degrees from the University of Southern California and San Diego State University.

Currently, Jennifer serves as the Director of Communications at San Diego Mesa College. She oversees public relations, advertising, digital and social media, as well as program and event promotions. Previously, Jennifer served as the Director of Communications for a City of San Diego Council, and was the Strategic Partnerships Manager in the City's Office of Corporate Partnerships and Development. From 2006-2012, she supervised the City's award-winning Think Blue San Diego storm water pollution prevention education program.

Before joining the City in 2006, she owned and managed a marketing consulting firm, TRIA Advertising, and worked for several top-ten ranked marketing and creative agencies.

Ask Krista Stellmacher what has most shaped her career and she will say "a passion for people and a desire to be useful." In her role as Direct of Resource Development for San Diego Mesa College Foundation, she is able to fulfill both purposes. Since mid-2017, she has worked alongside dedicated faculty, an impassioned leadership team, and exceptionally intelligent and hard-working students to support Mesa's mission.

Krista's journey started with community college when she enrolled in a program that allowed her to take college classes during her final year of high school. She then spent a year working abroad in Poland, Spain, Italy, Norway, and Sweden. When Krista returned to the United States to attend UC San Diego, she was not the only member of her family to pursue a degree. Krista's mother, a non-traditional student, enrolled in a community college and, on what she calls one of the proudest accomplishments of her life, earned her Bachelor's degree soon after Krista did. Through these experiences, Krista developed a passion for access to education and a deep appreciation for the role that community colleges can play in opening up pathways of opportunity for people.

Prior to joining Mesa College, Krista worked for seven years in nonprofit development where she focused on another pillar of equitable access to opportunity: housing affordability. Krista is a San Diego Leadership Alliance Fellow and Board Member; member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals; Grants Committee member for Women Give San Diego; and is a graduate of the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy and the San Diego Chamber of Commerce's Lead IMPACT Class of 2019.

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