Luz Marina Arias - Visiting Professor of Economics.

Luz earned her Ph.D. in Economics at Stanford. Currently, Luz is a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Economics at UCSD. She is also collaborating with the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies (USMEX). She was a Fellow in 2007-2008 at the Center on Democracy, Development, and The Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of economics, political science, and history.

Read more about Luz: Luz Marina Arias. Back to Top

Michael Barber - Professor of Theology, Scripture and Catholic Thought.

Michael has his Ph.D. in Theology from Fuller in Pasadena, CA. His dissertation was on the Historical Jesus and Sacramental Eschatology under the world famous scholar, Colin Brown. He has an MA in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and received his B. A. in Theology and Philosophy from Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of several books, including, 'Coming Soon: Unlocking the Book of Revelation and Applying Its Lessons Today' (Emmaus Road, 2006) and most recently, 'Genesis to Jesus: Studying Scripture from the Heart of the Church' (Servant, 2007), a Bible study co-authored with Kimberly Hahn. He is a Research Fellow for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, founded by Dr. Scott Hahn. Barber is also the host of 'Reasons for Faith Live' a radio show heard nationwide each Friday at 11am PCT on EWTN’s Radio Network.

Professor Barber has been granted the mandatum by Robert Brom, bishop of San Diego as an ecclesial recognition of Michael's posture and commitment to teach always in communion with the Church. Read more about Michael on his 'Singing in the Reign' blog. Back to Top

Derry Connolly - Professor of Business

Derry is President and a founder of JP Catholic University. Until recently, he represented the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) on the Executive Board of CCAT – the Center for the Commercialization of Advanced Technology, and headed up CCAT CEO mentoring services. He teaches Applied Innovation at the Von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at UCSD.

Prior to JP Catholic, Derry worked full-time as the Associate Dean of Continuing Education at UCSD Extension, leading a program with 40,000 part-time adult students, 125+ full time staff (academic and administrative), 1500+ part-time Instructors. Derry spent 15 years working in industrial Research and Development with IBM and Kodak.

He holds 8 US patents and has numerous technical publications. He has a Ph.D. from Cal-Tech in Pasadena, CA and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. from University College, Cork, Ireland. Back to Top

Lauri Deason - Adjunct Professor of Journalism

Lauri began her career in broadcast journalism at Fox News affiliate WSVN in Miami, Florida, and went on to work for CBS News before pursuing freelance opportunities in media. She has written and produced for radio and television, published numerous print and Internet articles, and served as writer-director for Revolution Of Hope, a 2007 documentary about the orphan crisis in Romania. Her vocation has taken her from Eastern Europe to Mexico to Southeast Asia – and, most recently, to Los Angeles where she now works as a writer and media consultant. Lauri has also helped develop journalism and screenwriting curricula at the high school and university levels, and is a guest lecturer and panelist at universities, writers’ conferences, and film festivals across North America and in Europe. She is a graduate of William Tyndale College and holds BA degrees in Journalism/Public Relations and Biblical Literature. Back to Top

Thomas Deason - Adjunct Professor of Film and Business

Thomas is a producer, pilot, and executive management consultant who left his position with Alaska Airlines’ management team in 2005 to pursue an entertainment industry career. In addition to his work with Grammnet Productions and Hero Pictures, his credits include the documentary Revolution Of Hope as well as a number of commercials and award-winning short films like Mosca Amor, Jaded, Pie ‘N’ Burger and FooL4LuV. In 2007, he founded Fool’s Errand Entertainment with his wife and professional partner, Lauri. They are currently in development and pre-production on three feature films, a web series, two music videos, and a recording project to benefit the International Justice Mission. Thom also enjoys mentoring others who share his passion for social justice and quality, thought provoking entertainment. He co-founded The Ransom Project, an initiative that unites artists and abolitionists in the fight against human trafficking; and he currently serves on the development board of a Los Angeles inner-city school. Thom received his BS degree from LeTourneau University. Back to Top

Tom Dunn - Professor of Film Production

Tom is Director of Digital Media Production at JP Catholic. He began his professional career over 17 years ago on the Paramount Studios lot working for Entertainment Tonight in the post-production department. Since then he has gone on to produce, direct, write and edit hundreds of television commercials, documentaries, sports and entertainment programs and news stories. He has worked for local and national cable television networks, independent production companies and a local broadcast affiliate.

Tom is the recipient of numerous national and regional awards for television production, including 4 Telly Awards and a Cable ACE Award. Tom served for 2 years as vice-president of the Orange County Chapter of the Media Communications Association International. He received his BA in Television, Radio and Film Production from California State University, Long Beach. Back to Top

Jeremy Durant - Adjunct Professor of Business Development

Jeremy has 10+ years of business development experience working in industries such as banking, golf manufacturing, corporate training, and media production. His most recent position is Director of Business Development for Millennium Creative Group, which is based in Carlsbad, CA and New York City. Millennium is a creative agency specializing in broadcast, web, and in-store video. The company’s clients include: Epson, Sony, Pepsi, and Adobe.

Jeremy holds a BA and MBA. In addition, he and his wife Kara are currently building a design agency called Bop Design, providing branding, print and web design for fledgling companies. Back to Top

Jennifer Durant - Adjunct Professor of Business

Del Foit - Visiting Professor of Business

Del joined UCSD in 2005 as a Lecturer at the Rady School of Management and Director Life Science Programs at Extended Studies. As Lecturer at Rady School of Management he teaches 'Lab to Market Workshop I; II' in the MBA program and 'Innovation to Market' in the undergraduate program. Prior to this, Del was Director of the CONNECT Springboard Program, assisting High Tech and Life Science companies during their critical start-up stage - when their business strategies and products are still undeveloped and in need of honing and focus. Del has held senior management positions at a variety of medical device and bio-technology firms, including being CEO and co-founder of StructureSpec Bio Sciences Inc. Over his 30 year career he’s held executive responsibilities for operations, quality assurance, product development, technology, supply chain management and customer support. Del is a Trustee Emeritus of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park and is a member of the Board of Directors of Aubrey, Inc., a member of the Medical Advisory Board of Avitacor, LLC, and a member of the Board of Advisors for Let's Go Robotics. Mr. Foit holds a BS in Biology from Rutgers University and an MBA from Rider University. Back to Top

Martin Harold - Adjunct Professor of Politics

Martin is Director of Admissions at JP Catholic. He holds a BA in Political Science and an MBA from Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio. While a student, he was the Founding Editor of and a regular contributor to Lumen Vincens - a Franciscan University literary magazine.

In his American Politics class, students engage the Western political tradition, philosophy, and the unique historical experience that shaped America’s founders and influenced the creation of America’s Constitution and political institutions. The course gives students a basic framework for understanding the structures of federal government and the ability to define terms and concepts relevant to American national government, including separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism. Students identify and engage competing ideologies in American political life, and study and explore different perspectives on current policy debates. Back to Top

Dominic Iocco - Professor of Business

Dominic is Provost at JP Catholic. With his father, he founded and serves as CFO of a company that was a pioneer in the highly lucrative, and heavily patent protected inkjet cartridge business. Having developed some key intellectual property in the form of trade secrets around a novel cartridge refilling process, they were able to rapidly grow the business supplying inkjet cartridges to the wholesale market. Their company was acquired in 2007 by the world’s largest aftermarket inkjet and toner company. He also orchestrated the rescue of a failed PayPal competitor that had received over $14 million in venture capital. He was able to successfully stabilize and sell the operation.

Dominic, in addition to his role at JP Catholic University, serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at San Diego’s CONNECT. In this role he is helping other entrepreneurs build their companies. Dominic holds a BAA and an MBA. He was honored as a Regional Finalist for the 2006 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Back to Top

Jerry Jackson - Professor of Business

Jerry’s 30-year career has included executive management positions at both small and large privately owned and publicly traded consulting firms. He’s overseen the growth and transformation of firms involving hundreds of staff and $100s million of revenue. An engineer by education, Jerry has also pioneered the use of innovative technologies to treat water, wastewater, and hazardous wastes. His projects have been recognized as “outstanding” by professional organizations, and he’s accompanied the US Secretary of Commerce in international trade missions, and has testified before Congress on applicable legislation.

Jerry holds a BS, MS, and PhD in civil engineering, is a licensed professional engineer, and has been on the faculty at five universities in the United States and overseas. He is an avid runner, surfer, sky diver, and pilot. Back to Top

Brian Mooney - Professor of Finance

Brian received his MBA from Notre Dame in 2008, his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University in 1999. He worked most recently for Diocese of Pheonix. Prior to his MBA, he worked for ATA Engineering in San Diego for five years.

Christopher Riley - Professor of Film

Chris, according to IMDB, is considered the most authoritative figure for the official screenplay format of Hollywood. He is a screenwriter whose first film, After The Truth, an award-winning courtroom thriller written with his wife and professional partner, Kathleen Riley, sparked international controversy in 1999 when it was released in Germany. Other credits include 25 To Life, a dramatic thriller for Junction Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures; The Other White House, a political thriller for Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films and Intermedia; Aces, an action-adventure romance for Paramount Pictures; and a screen adaptation of the book Actual Innocence for Mandalay Television Pictures and the Fox television network. A veteran of the Warner Bros. script department, Riley is the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. From 2005 through 2008, he served as director of the acclaimed Act One Writing Program in Hollywood, which trains Christians of all denominations for careers as writers and executives in mainstream film and television. Chris holds a BS in Telecommunications from Oral Roberts University and was a National Merit Scholar. Back to Top

Bo Ryu - Professor of Computer Engineering (Fall 2011)
With over 15 years of experience, Bo has been at the forefront of cutting-edge technology development through various government-sponsored research projects. He is currently serving as Director for the Networking and Systems Research Group at Argon ST, a defense contractor company. He is responsible for managing internal research projects, pursuing new Government programs, and performing various Government- and industry-sponsored projects in the areas of mobile ad hoc networking, sensor networks, satellite networking, information assurance and network security. He has served as principal investigator (PI) for various advanced research projects from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), U.S. Army, and U.S. Air Force. Prior to joining Argon ST, he served as the head of Network Analysis and Systems department at HRL Laboratories (formerly Hughes Research Laboratories). He was one of the youngest department heads in the history of HRL (appointed at the age of 29). He is author/co-author of over 40 publications, and holds 3 U.S. patents issued. He received two performance awards for his technical achievements on DARPA’s Adaptive C4ISR Node program, and is a recipient of a Meritorious Award from Raytheon in 2001 for technical performance recognition. Ryu received his M.S and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, and B.S. from Korea Institute of Technology (now part of KAIST). He is a proud father of seven children. Back to Top

Katie Schmid - Adjunct Professor of Art

Katie earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cum Laude from Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, California in 2007. Her work embodies the understanding of sacred truths and the humble representation of true beauty. In her sight communion with the viewer, she hopes for transcendent images that speak of the very depths of our existence. Katie’s work can be found in public and private collections across the United States. She works from her studio in Southern California. Back to Top

Nathan Scoggins - Adjunct Professor of Film

Nathan is both a writer and director who most recently directed the independent feature 'The Least of These' starring Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy) and screen legend Robert Loggia (Big). Two of his short films have just received DVD distribution by Lionsgate. Nathan is a graduate of Act One and is an effective speaker and teacher. He's also a leader in the Christian community in Hollywood, chairing Premise, a group of Christian writers, producers and directors from all denominations who gather each month to pray for one another and for Hollywood. Nathan holds a BA from Wesleyan University. Back to Top

Sam Shpigelman - Adjunct Professor of Animation & Gaming

Sam is a faculty/program advisor for the Casual Game Development program at UC San Diego Extension. He is also an adjunct professor and the Head of Animation and Post Production Studies at San Diego State University and active industry professional with extensive experience in animation, game development, medical and architectural visualization, and product design and modeling. His work includes 'Enter the Dragonfly' - a PS2 title by Universal, R&D work for Sony Interactive, full cycle character development for multiple video game projects, and product design and modeling for the next generation of cell phones from Qualcomm.

Sam has an MFA in Computer Animation and a BS in Game Art and Design. Back to Top

Ed Snow - Computer Engineering (Fall 2011)

Ed, a founding trustee of JP Catholic University, is the founder and president of Time-To-Market Engineering Inc. TTM is a consulting firm that specializes in high-risk problem solving and product development for the embedded software market for such prestigious clients as HP and Cymer. They were primarily focused on new product development and first generation platforms. He has experience in all phases of new product development from product definition, technical investigation, design and implementation through to first customer shipment. He was formerly a vice president of engineering for DriveCam, where he was responsible for product research and development.

Ed earned a Masters in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in Computer Engineering from UC San Diego. Back to Top

Jonathan Velasco - Adjunct Professor of Business Law

Jonathan is registered patent attorney with over 10 years of experience protecting the intellectual property rights of companies ranging in size from Fortune 500 companies to early-stage companies. Currently Jonathan is patent counsel with QUALCOMM Incorporated, providing legal counsel in various wireless technologies including client counseling, patent procurement and prosecution, acquisition analysis, and infringement analysis. Prior to joining QUALCOMM, Jonathan headed the patent prosecution group of Kyocera Wireless Corp. as Sr. IP Counsel, where he developed a growing domestic and international patent portfolio. In addition to his corporate counsel experience, Jonathan has worked as an associate with a number of law firms, practicing in all areas of intellectual property law, with a particular emphasis on U.S. and foreign patent protection in a wide variety of technologies. Jonathan received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of California at Irvine and his J.D. from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, and is currently pursuing his MA in Theology with Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Distance Program. Back to Top

Father Andrew Younan - Professor of Philosophy

Fr. Andrew Younan received his B.A. in Philosophy from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 2001, and then went on to the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology to receive M. A. Degrees in Philosophy and Theology in 2004, with honors for his thesis: 'The Mesopotamian School and Theodore of Mopsuestia.' Fr. Andrew has published two books since his ordination to the priesthood in the Chaldean Catholic Church, first 'The Book of Before & After,' a compilation and translation of prayers from the Chaldean Tradition, and recently his thesis, edited for publication. Fr. Andrew serves as Rector of the Seminary of Mar Abba the Great, the seminary of the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans & Assyrians, and is the Parochial Vicar of St. Peter Chaldean Cathedral, where he holds Bible Studies on Tuesday nights. Back to Top