Faculty Experts
From the discovery of new planets to the work of noted criminologists, SF State offers a wide variety of scholars who are the most distinguished in their fields. This directory identifies academics who possess insight and knowledge of diverse subjects and who are willing to work with journalists whenever possible. The faculty experts directory is compiled by the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.
If you need immediate assistance finding an expert, please call (415) 338-1665 or email pubcom@sfsu.edu.
Ayse Pamuk
Professor of Public Affairs & Civic Engagement
Office Phone: (415) 338-7045
Email: pamuk@sfsu.edu
Ayse Pamuk is an expert on housing and urban policy, international planning, and research methods, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Areas of Expertise:
Housing policy
Urban policy and planning
Immigrant assimilation and homeownership
Highest Degree: Ph.D., City and Regional Planning, University of California, Berkeley
Thomas Parker
Professor of Biology
Office Phone: (415) 338-2375
Email: parker@sfsu.edu
Thomas Parker is an expert on the ecology and evolution of shrubs and trees in the Manzanita family, and is an expert on Chaparral, the scrubland vegetation that is common in California.
Areas of Expertise:
Plant ecology
Fire ecology
Manzanita (arctostaphyllus)
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Ellen Peel
Professor Emerita of Comparative & World Literature
Office Phone: (415) 338-7036
Email: epeel@sfsu.edu
My areas of expertise include science fiction fantasy, speculative fiction, utopias, literature of the constructed body (robots, clones, vampires, eating disorders, Frankenstein, etc.), women's literature, world literature and literature in English, French, and German and narrative and feminist theory.
Areas of Expertise:
Highest Degree: Ph.D. Yale University, Comparative Literature
Erik Peper
Professor of Health Education
Office Phone: (415) 338-7683
Email: epeper@sfsu.edu
Erik Peper is an internationally recognized authority on biofeedback, self-regulation and stress management.
Areas of Expertise:
Repetitive stress injuries
Stress management
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Psychology, Union Graduate School
Raquel Pinderhughes
Professor of Public Affairs & Civil Engagement
Office Phone: (415) 338-7520
Email: raquelrp@sfsu.edu
Raquel Pinderhughes is an expert on green collar jobs and how green jobs can lift low-income communities out of poverty. Her green collar job training program is being used across the U.S.
Areas of Expertise:
Urban Studies
Environmental planning and policy
Sustainable development
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Sociology, Graduate Center of New York
Michael Potepan
Associate Professor of Economics
Office Phone: (415) 338-2833
Email: mpotepan@sfsu.edu
Michael Potepan is an expert on jobs and employment in the San Francisco Bay Area, including analysis of job markets by industry and occupation.
Areas of Expertise:
Employment and economics in San Francisco
Housing prices
Migration between metropolitan areas
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Economics, University of California, Davis
Ron Purser
Professor of Management
Office Phone: (415) 338-2380
Email: rpurser@sfsu.edu
Ron Purser is an expert on organization development, particularly the application of Zen Buddhist mindfulness to management. He is also co-founder of Jazz@Work, a training program that uses jazz to teach managers about creativity, improvisation and innovation.
Areas of Expertise:
Organizational development
Creativity in the workplace
Application of Buddhist mindfulness practices to management
Highest Degree: Ph.D., organizational behavior, Case Western Reserve University
James Quesada
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Office Phone: (415) 338-1633
Email: jquesada@sfsu.edu
James Quesada is an expert on the social production of disease and distress and has studied the health of day laborers in San Francisco and substance abuse among youth in California.
Areas of Expertise:
Peoples and cultures of Central America
Nicaragua
Cross-cultural racism
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Medical Anthropology, University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley