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.
David Walsh
Professor of Kinesiology
Office Phone: (415) 338-7856
Email: dwalsh@sfsu.edu
David Walsh is an expert in the field of working with at-risk and underserved youth.
Areas of Expertise:
Youth development
Physical education and activity
At-risk youth
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Education, University of Illinois
Linda Wanek
Professor and Chair of Graduate Physical Therapy Program
Office Phone: (415) 338-1939
Email: lwanek@sfsu.edu
Linda Wanek is an expert in orthopedic physical therapy and movement dysfunction of the lumbar spine.
Areas of Expertise:
Adolescent back pain
Physical therapy in college settings
Back pain related to computer use
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Southern California
Rhonnie Washington
Professor of Theatre Arts
Office Phone: (415) 338-2057
Email: rhonnie@sfsu.edu
Rhonnie Washington is an expert in acting and directing. He also advises the Brown Bag Theatre Company on campus. Washington frequently appears on the stage in San Francisco as part of the highly praised experimental ensemble, Thick Description.
Areas of Expertise:
Acting
Directing
Highest Degree: Ph.D Directing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Nicole Watts
Professor and Chair of Political Science
Office Phone: (415) 405-2470
Email: nfwatts@sfsu.edu
Nicole Watts is an expert in ethnopolitical and national movements; state-society relations; protest and dissent; and Kurdish politics and mobilization, particularly in Iraq and Turkey. She is the author of several books, including "Activists in Office: Kurdish Politics and Protest in Turkey," and the co-editor of "Negotiating Political Power in Turkey: Breaking up the Party." She is currently working on a book on politics and protest in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and has been conducting research there since 2009. Watts is associate editor of the peer-reviewed European Journal of Turkish Studies, and is a former co-director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies program at SF State.
Areas of Expertise:
Kurds and Kurdistan
Kurdish politics in Iraq and Turkey
Highest Degree: Ph.D., University of Washington
Nancy Wilkinson
Professor of Geography & Environment
Office Phone: (415) 338-1439
Email: nancyw@sfsu.edu
Nancy Wilkinson is an expert on issues and controversies surrounding water resources, particularly attitudes toward large dams and their impacts.
Areas of Expertise:
California water resource history
Environmental attitudes and perceptions
Environmental history
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Geography, University of Oregon
Yumi Wilson
Associate Professor of Journalism
Office Phone: (415) 338-1197
Email: ywilson@sfsu.edu
Yumi Wilson specializes in social media and branding, offering workshops to nonprofit leaders, lawyers, educators, students and others across the country. Among her clients were journalists from Consumer Reports magazine and four major news outlets in China. Wilson is a former news reporter and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Associated Press, the San Jose Mercury News, the Modesto Bee and the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner. She is also the recipient of the Fulbright grant and prestigious Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship. Most recently, she worked as a corporate communications manager at Linkedin, where she traveled around the world, teaching hundreds of journalists, executives, and employees how to build their brand on LinkedIn. During her three-year tenure, Yumi devised training sessions in Belgium, Canada, New York, Chicago and many other places. She also specialized in profile optimization for high-profile politicians and celebrities, including Carly Fiorina, Oprah Winfrey, chef Mario Batali and Bravo host Andy Cohen.
Areas of Expertise:
Newspaper ethics
Racial issues
Social media and branding
Highest Degree: B.A., Print Journalism, University of Southern California
Michelle Wolf
Professor Emerita of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts
Office Phone: (415) 338-1334
Email: mawolf@sfsu.edu
Michelle Wolf teaches courses in the areas of media literacy, electronic media and social issues, pedagogy, and qualitative audience research. Nine threads run through all of her classes and much of her research: body, class, disability, gender, generation, geography, race/ethnicity/whiteness, religion, and sexual orientation. She has been active in media literacy efforts and issues surrounding electronic media representations of disenfranchised groups since the 1970s, and she conducts qualitative research on media literacy, pedagogy, and the range and diversity of mediated images of groups without power. She is currently completing phase two of a 20-year research project on media, body image, and self-conception by focusing her research on bisexual, gay, and heterosexual men, and women with physical disabilities. An award-winning documentary featuring her early body image research was produced in 1999. In fall 2007 Professor Wolf was the first faculty member on the SF State campus to receive the Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Award.
Areas of Expertise:
Uses and effects of electronic media
Media and identity construction/self conception
Highest Degree: Ph.D., Mass Communication Theory, University of Texas, Austin
Eva Sheppard Wolf
Professor of History
Office Phone: (415) 338-7544
Email: shepwolf@sfsu.edu
Eva Sheppard-Wolf is an expert on early American history, particularly the history of race and slavery.
Areas of Expertise:
Early American life (up to 1830)
History of race and slavery in the U.S.
Emancipation of slaves in early America
Highest Degree: Ph.D., History, Harvard University