Course Listing - by Instructor

John Adams has been active in UTEP's professional and public program's ELI courses for several years. He has lived in El Paso TX since 1988, graduated from UTEP with a MA in English and American Literature and enjoys collaborating with other artists at the El Paso Playhouse. He also teaches writing and literature at El Paso Community College.

David Alonzo is a lifelong El Paso native and UTEP graduate. He has over 16 years of experience in the Human Resource field, serving in administrative roles in the small business environment, nonprofit organizations, immigration detention facility, and U.S.-based twin plan human resources area. He is a member of SHRM National and El Paso SHRM. He has taught SHRM certification courses at UTEP and for ADP employees for several years.

Mirian Cabrera is an International Human Resource Manager with over 15 years of experience in the field of Human Resources in the United Stated and Mexico. Mirian holds both the SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. Mirian is a graduate of UTEP, where she received her B.S. in Business Management with concentration in Human Resources. She has over 15 years of HR experience in the private sector, specializing in manufacturing operations in both union and non-union environments in the U.S. and Mexico. Mirian currently also serves as an instructor for the SHRM-CP & SCP preparation course at UTEP.

Salvatore D. Caruso was raised in Naples, Italy where he completed all of his primary and secondary education. He went on to attend Università degli Studi Di Napoli Federico Secondo (the University of Naples Federico II in Naples, Italy) where he earned the equivalent of a bachelor's degree in Sociology. Caruso relocated to El Paso, Texas in late 2015 to continue his education in the field of Social Work at New Mexico State University. His previous experience as a language instructor is with the British Institutes di Napoli where he taught English as a Second Language. Caruso has also worked as an Italian-English translator for private individuals. He is a motivated and enthusiastic instructor, eager to share his experience and knowledge in the classroom.

Tamara Heather Gastelum is a highly skilled certified American Sign language Interpreter with 19 years of experience in the field. She is a child of deaf adults (CODA); with two deaf parents and a deaf uncle, ASL is her native language. After graduating from the Interpreting Training Program at EPCC's Valle Verde campus, Gastelum earned a Bachelor of Applied Science degree at Sienna Heights University in Michigan. She also has a Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Certification for Texas and a national Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Certification. Gastelum is the founder and director of El Paso SLI Sign Language Interpreters, an agency that provides ASL interpreting for the deaf and hard of hearing community of El Paso. She moved to Seattle and worked as a freelance interpreter in the tech industry for six years and returned to El Paso in August 2019. Gastelum is very excited to work with UTEP P3 and share her knowledge.

David Ghent has 30 years experience as a professional photographer with a broad background of experience including photojournalism, portrait photography, sports photography, and art photography. He has also photographed over 600 weddings professionally.

Brendda Gonzalez recently received her bachelor's degree in Studio Art with minor in Graphic Design at The University of Texas at El Paso. She has been involved with P3 Kidz on Campus since 2015 and teaches kids drawing, painting, sculpting, and graphic design.

Delilah Gonzalez was born and raised in El Paso. She is an energetic and passionate educator teaches through creative expression and sets high expectations for her students. Gonzalez enjoys participating in local art while making a positive impact in the community.

Ivan Gris Sepulveda co-founded Inmerssion in 2013. The tech startup focuses on innovative ways virtual agents (computer-generated characters with artificial intelligence) and virtual/augmented reality can help educate and entertain. The company researches and produces interactive software that has been demonstrated in Sweden, Iceland and Czech Republic as well as throughout the United States. Known professionally as Ivan Gris, the entrepreneur earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in computer science from UTEP in 2010, 2011 and 2015, respectively. He continues to be involved at UTEP through its Interactive Systems Group, which studies virtual agents. Gris is a published author of at least 17 research papers focused on gaming, virtual reality and human-computer interaction and has started two successful commercial companies.

UTEP Article: Ivan Gris #14

Snapology of El Paso offers fun programs for a wide variety of ages and interests helping children achieve academic enrichment and social development objectives through play. At Snapology there is something for everyone with everything from LEGO-themed programs, robotics, engineering, animation, and more.

Snapology of El Paso

Rebeca Orozco is pursuing her bachelor degree in biological sciences at The University of Texas of El Paso and plans to follow-up with a master's degree in biomedical engineering. Growing-up in a family of highly accomplished software developers encouraged Orozco to learn a few things about development herself, in both gaming and design. Since 2015, Orozco has been a camp group coordinator for summer technology camps for children between the ages of six and 12. She looks forward to engaging with students in these fun technology courses, and is excited to see what her students will create.

Fred Perea has over ten years of experience in Human Resources Leadership. His focus is leading organizations and their HR teams and he specializes in employee relations, organizational development, and leadership consultation. Perea understands the unique dynamics of teams and provides leadership-level guidance to nonprofit, public, and private sector organizations. He is PHR and SHRM-CP certified and received a graduate degree from The University of Texas at El Paso, and his undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University. Perea is currently the Human Resources Director for TFCU and oversees the organization's HR and training and development initiatives; he has also provided HR consultation services to various departments at The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and UTEP. For the past six years, Perea has taught P3's Essentials of Human Resources Management course which has been certified by the National Society for Human Resources Management.

Elizabeth Pini a native West Texan who grew up in Odessa, Texas. She has a bachelor's degree in Organizational Management and a master's degree in Public Administration from Ashford University; she is currently working on her dissertation in Organizational Development and Leadership at the University of the Rockies and works as a Supervisory Health System Specialist for William Beaumont Army Medical Center. As a Medical Administrator, she strives to improve Army Medicine and contribute to the El Paso community through education and volunteerism. Pini studied strategic planning at Harvard University Extension School and has several certifications including the Project Management certification, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification, and the Army's coveted Lean Six Sigma Black belt studies for ARMY MEDCOM. She has been recognized by the Department of the Army for her accomplishments and received the coveted Dr. Mary Walker Award in 2008 for her role in improving the quality of life of soldiers and their families. In September 2016, Pini received the Department of the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service. She has also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Attorney General of Texas for using her project management and process improvement expertise to save tax payers over five million dollars.

Grysell Ramos received her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from The University of Texas at El Paso. She has been a lecturer at UTEP, as well as a laboratory and research coordinator, and has taught organismal/human biology, and vertebrate physiology methods. She has developed courses for P3 that focus on active student learning using hands-on activities; her classes are interesting and understandable.

Amy Ross is an information technology consultant and has served as an information technology project manager for over ten years. She holds a master's degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology with a Chemistry/Spanish double minor degree from Brigham Young University. Amy is certified in Six Sigma Green Belt, Project Management Professional (PMP®), and Warehousing and Logistics for BaaN.

Linda Torres-Kleinhans is a graduate of El Paso High School and The University of Texas at Austin, where she received her B.S. in Secondary Education and her teaching certification. In 2002, she earned her M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix at Santa Teresa, and completed her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification. She has 20 years of experience in the private and public sectors, specializing in operations and profit and loss management in both union and non-union environments. In the private sector, Kleinhans has worked for national organizations, including Beatrice Foods, Swift Independent Foods, ACME Boot (a division of Fruit of the Loom), International Multifoods, Greyhound Lines, Inc. and West Corporation. Her experience in the public sector includes teaching at Doña Ana Branch Community College, where she specializes in management and supervisory training. She is the onsite training specialist at Thomason Hospital and is a management and human resources instructor at the University of Phoenix. She has held various positions on the board of directors for the El Paso Society for Human Resource Management (EPSHRM), including its 2006 president. As the current certification director for EPSHRM, she serves as a liaison between the chapter and The University of Texas at El Paso.

Ms. Villarreal has been in the educational system for 13 years. She started working as a substitute teacher and moved her way up. She is currently working as an instruction aide at a local high school. This past May she received a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies Degree at the University of Texas at El Paso. She is planning to become a History teacher at a local high school and continue to dedicate her time on teaching students that anything is possible in this world as long they do not give up on their dream. She has been an instructor for the P3 program for a year and you can tell she enjoys what she does.

Patricia Wickham provides international business counseling and education in the design and blueprint of strategic changes aimed at improving efficiencies to meet world-class business best practices. She has over 25 years corporate experience in the global arena of operations and worked in the forefront of advanced techniques for achieving just-in-time (JIT)/TQM operations, strategic planning & implementation, and global supply chain management. Wickham has a B.S. in Finance from La Salle University and a 2-year pre-law degree from UCLA, and has been an instructor at UTEP for over 15 years; her accomplishments are many; she has several publications to her name and accepts speaking and training engagements all over the world. Wickham is on UTEP's Department of Accounting & Information Systems Advisory Council and serves the local El Paso community in various positions.

Fernando Yamamoto studied Linguistics in Marketing at The University of Texas at El Paso and lived in Shizuoka, Japan for two years as an exchange student. He is an active member of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese and now teaches Japanese language and culture to adults and youth and uses different activities to motivate his students. One such activity was the Nengajo Contest held by the Japan-America Society of Dallas-Fort Worth for the traditional Japanese New Year's post card in 2018. There were 102 participants from different schools and universities in Texas in the contest and P3 participants won artistic, creative and humor awards. In 2019 he was awarded with an invitation to the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. His commitment, excellence, knowledge and creativity is much appreciated.