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. 

Nicole Watts

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

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

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

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

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


Pamela Wolfberg

Pamela Wolfberg

Professor of Special Education

Office Phone: (415) 338-7651

Email: wolfberg@sfsu.edu

Pamela Wolfberg is an expert on the social inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders and has developed a play therapy model for autistic children called Integrated Play Groups.

Areas of Expertise:

Children with autism spectrum disorders

Social inclusion of autistic children

Peer relations among autistic children

Highest Degree:

Ph.D., Education, University of California, Berkeley, and San Francisco State University


Yim-Yu Wong

Yim-Yu Wong

Interim Dean of the College of Business

Office Phone: (415) 338-2255

Email: yywong@sfsu.edu

Yim-Yu Wong is interim dean of the College of Business and an expert in cultural differences in the work place and global management strategies.

Areas of Expertise:

International Business

Cultural differences in the workplace

Global strategic management

Highest Degree:

Ph.D International Business, University of Nebraska, Lincoln


Bernard Wong

Bernard Wong

Emeritus Professor of Anthropology

Office Phone: (415) 338-7518

Email: bernardw@sfsu.edu

Bernard Wong is an expert on urban and economic anthropology, particularly the impact of globalization on family, entrepreneurship and the ethnic identity of Chinese communities in the U.S., Japan and the Philippines.

Areas of Expertise:

Chinese immigrant communities in the Bay Area

Ethnicity

family and kinship among the Chinese Diaspora

Highest Degree:

Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Wisconsin