Shari Davis, Senate District 24-25 Woman of the Year
Martha & Jere Romano representing veterans at the Capitol
Martha Romano receiving the 2024 Dottie Sherrard Auxiliary Member of the Year award
Inspiring marine conservation through art at SeaWorld San Diego
Svetlana Shigroff, Ferris Kawar, and Lorrie Ivas
Season Two of the "Doing What Works" podcast "Innovations in Homeless Services"
IxD Product design Q&A session at Meta's Menlo Park campus
IxD students at the Computer History Museum
Moorisha Bey-Taylor, Esq.
Greg Schreiner
Dr. Sofi Khachmanyan's book on religious vestments and their symbolism
Chief Johnnie Adams receiving the Award of Distinction from the California College and University Police Chiefs' Association
Chief Johnnie Adams with colleagues at the CCUPCA conference
- Senior Veterans Resource Specialist Martha Romano and her husband, retired SMC Police Capt. Jere Romano had the privilege of representing military, veterans and families members at the US Capitol the week of February 24-27 on legislative issues from heath care, benefits, education, and more. “We visited our California U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative along with attending a joint session/testimony – to Congress on legislative priorities for 2025,” Martha wrote.
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- Additionally, Martha received a statewide award—the 2024 Dottie Sherrard Auxiliary Member of the Year award in recognition of her dedication and service to the American Legion. Congrats, Martha!
- Fashion professor Lorrie Ivas is pleased to report that The Salvation Army continues their sustainability mission with the SMC Fashion Department’s “Transformed Treasures” project, donating end-of-life denim garments for design students to deconstruct into new creations. “Sustainable efforts don’t stop there, as they proposed a new project with SeaWorld San Diego to inspire marine conservation through art, where SMC students are crafting a mural of “end-of-life” textile donations to be displayed permanently at SeaWorld in honor of World Ocean Day,” Lorrie wrote. Alongside Lorrie, Fashion Professor Svetlana Shigroff and Sustainability Director Ferris Kawar are helping to shepherd the project.
- As the California State Legislature observed Women’s History Month, SMC Public Policy Institute Co-Director Shari Davis was named Senate District 24 2025 Woman of the Year by State Senator Ben Allen during a ceremony in the California State Capitol. “Shari has been an incredible advocate for local students at all levels for many years now - she is selfless, focused on improving our educational systems through advocacy and political change, and is a great educator to boot!”, Senator Allen stated. Congratulations, Shari!
- English professor Mario Padilla’s short story "El Pobrecito on Catolico St." was selected as a finalist in the prestigious Tennessee Williams Literary Festival Short Fiction contest.
- Interaction Design (IxD) Professor Luke Johnson sent in several brags for the baccalaureate IxD program (and its collaborators):
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- SMC’s original podcast series Doing What Works launched this spring. The podcast features two different seasons aiming to shape tomorrow’s workforce. Season One: The Blue Economy (opens in new window) features entrepreneurs, scientists, and policymakers reshaping industries like offshore energy, eco-tourism, and marine conservation. Season Two: Innovations in Homeless Services (opens in new window) also launches this spring. “Meet advocates, social workers, and grassroots leaders as they educate us on community-centric approaches, and why SMC’s Homeless Services Certificate Program needs students to lead this urgent work,” Luke wrote. You can learn more about the podcast, and SMC’s certificate programs in Aquaculture as well as its Homeless Services Certificate program, at the podcast website (opens in new window) . The podcast can be found on various platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Please subscribe, leave a review, or engage on the show’s Instagram (opens in new window) and LinkedIn (opens in new window) social media channels.
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- Santa Monica College’s IxD program hosted Tech as a Force for Good (opens in new window) at the Center for Media & Design on March 28. This conference, in collaboration with B Local Los Angeles, brought together industry leaders to explore how AI and digital innovation can empower teams, foster inclusion, and drive sustainable growth. Professors and students participated, showcasing SMC’s commitment to human-centered design and forward-thinking education. The event will take place on March 28, from 12 to 3 p.m. (PST). For more details, please visit here (opens in new window) .
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- On February 13, students from the IxD program, joined by faculty members, traveled to Silicon Valley. The trip began with a brief stop at the Google Visitor Experience (opens in new window) . The group then went to Meta’s Menlo Park campus (opens in new window) , where IxD alum Rhea Brown (opens in new window) led a guided tour and hosted a Product Design Q&A session with Meta employees. This experience gave students an inside look at the diverse career paths within the tech industry and invaluable insights into navigating their own professional journeys. The day concluded with a docent-led tour at the Computer History Museum (opens in new window) , where students explored the evolution of computing and its lasting impact on society. The trip was made possible thanks to a generous grant from Recharge (opens in new window) , stewarded by the SMC Foundation.
- Emeritus instructor Matthew Hetz wrote with the news that his work for Piano Four Hands, “A Gravitational Pull towards Sadness” was chosen by Festival Osmose 2024, Belgium, Danielle Baas as Artistic Director, and performed November 2024. A movie of the work can be found on Matthew’s website (matthewhetz.com).
- SMC law professor and intellectual property attorney Moorisha Bey-Taylor, Esq. was invited to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington DC to speak on cutting-edge updates in entertainment and intellectual property law on February 28, 2025 at the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice. Attorney Bey-Taylor's groundbreaking scholarship and thought leadership has recently earned her multiple awards including Top 40 Under 40 from the National Bar Association and National Black Lawyers and the Community Changemaker Award from the Los Angeles Urban League. Congratulations, Moorisha!
- Piano instructor Greg Schreiner performed his show, Hollywood Revisited (opens in new window) , at the Opera House in Traverse City, Michigan on Feb. 2. In April, he also performed a piano recital at the Gail Borden Public Library in Chicago.
- For the last decade, Fashion instructor Dr. Sofi Khachmanyan was researching religious vestments and their symbolism, also the topic of her dissertation which she defended in 2019. Last summer, Dr. Khachmanyan published her book based on the same topic in Armenian. Currently, she is translating the book into English which is going to be published at the end of the 2025.
- Congratulations to SMC Police Department (SMCPD) Chief Johnnie Adams, who was the recipient of the California College and University Police Chiefs’ Association (CCUPCA) Award of Distinction, in recognition of 40+ years of dedicated service to university and college policing!
- Education/Early Childhood Department Chair Gary Huff and Media Studies faculty member Lynn Dickinson have been invited to present on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) in education at the statewide Online Teaching Conference (OTC) in June, at the Long Beach Convention Center. Gary and Lynn will be co-presenting along with Dr. Norma Jonesof Antelope Valley College, on the most current AI tools educators can use to make their lives easier and their teaching more effective. Here at SMC, Gary and Lynn co-teach Education 50: Teaching in the Age of AI (opens in new window) —a three-credit, eight-week, online, asynchronous course designed especially for higher education faculty. A new, late-start, section of the class began April 14. (SMC faculty members who wish to enroll are encouraged to email Gary or Lynn to receive an add code.) Enrollment for the summer and fall sections begins at the end of April.
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- Additionally, Lynn will also be co-presenting an additional session at OTC in Long Beach with Kinesiology faculty member Kas Metzler. Lynn and Kas will facilitate “what promises to be a lively roundtable discussion around the topic of how to keep your students from cheating on their homework with artificial intelligence.”
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SMC in Focus Volume XI, Issue 2
Mind Over Injury
Santa Monica College supports adults navigating acquired brain injury to pursue their personal and academic goals. Read Article
Power of Community
As wildfires ravaged Southern California, Santa Monica College emerged as a lifeline of compassion and action to serve those affected. Read Article
What We Can Do About Climate Chaos
We caught up with California climate scientist and SMC emeritus professor Bill Selby to drill down on what happened weather-wise in January, and to search for actionable takeaways around Earth Week. Read Article
Amadour: Painter, Pianist, Troubadour
There’s nothing predictable about Amadour. The multidisciplinary artist who goes by a mononym and they/them pronouns flat-out refuses to be cubbyholed. Read Article
Bragging Rights
SMC Fashion students give used denim new life. PPI co-director named Senate District 24 Woman of the Year. Police Chief wins a statewide award. Read Article
Climate Change Agent
For Lisa Collins, climatizing the curriculum is mission-critical. This semester, she made a breakthrough with the rollout of Geology 9, “Climate Change.” Read Article