We have 8 new Residential Faculty going through FYRE this year. If you pass by one of them on campus, please give them a warm welcome to our GCC Community.
Below is a quick paragraph about each new faculty member:
Kevin Shufford – Communication
Kevin Shufford is Residential Faculty in the Communication and World Languages Department. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Communication from San Diego State University, as well as a Doctorate degree in Communication from Arizona State University. He has been teaching since 2014 and focuses on teaching students how to improve their interpersonal relationships, critical thinking skills, and presentation abilities. Aside from teaching, Kevin is a Certified Personal Trainer, loves to travel, and enjoys spending time with his Pitbull.
Helen Devereux – English
Helen Devereux is an instructor in the English department. She began teaching in 1996 and began teaching eCourses in 2008. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a focus on Speech Communication and English. She also earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from NAU. She continued her education with master level courses in English and Reading from Grand Canyon University. Currently, Helen teaches composition and reading courses in live online, in person, hybrid and online formats. Helen is passionate about public education and she is proud to be a part of the Gaucho community.
Tevis Tumulty – CIS
“I’m from St. Louis, Missouri, where I originally pursued a career as a History professor. I earned B.A.s in History and Philosophy in 1995 and an M.A. in History in 1998, all from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. I began my Ph.D. in History at St. Louis University when I decided to transition to Information Systems. Having sold computer systems at Office Depot and Circuit City and utilizing prior IT skills, the first part of that shift was my teaching C++, Visual Basic, and Web Development at a technical school, Vatterott College in St. Louis, and continued with subsequent stints as a Software Engineer, Web Developer, Database Programmer, and ETL Developer. I worked in Data Warehousing with Ticketmaster (now part of LiveNation Entertainment) from 2003 to 2016. Remaining in the realm of education, I’ve taught at the community college level since 1998. I’ve been an Adjunct Instructor with Maricopa Community Colleges since 2003, when I first moved to the Phoenix area. I taught American History and Western Civilization at the Estrella Mountain campus from 2003 through 2006 and have taught Information Systems at Phoenix College since 2009 and at Glendale Community College since 2019. After a brief stint teaching Coding (primarily JavaScript, HTML, and PHP) at Western Maricopa Education Center, I worked as a software engineer at CSAA (a AAA company) from January, 2017 to August, 2020. In May, 2018, I graduated from Emporia State University (Emporia, Kansas) with an MS in Mathematics. For the 2020-2021 school year I was Associate Professor of Information Systems at St. Louis Community College, in St. Louis, MO, where I continue to serve as adjunct faculty for online instruction. Most recently I accepted the full time role of Residential Faculty at GCC. I also play keyboards, bass, guitar, and bagpipes.”
Jessica Plouffe – Nursing
Jessica is the Simulation Coordinator for the Nursing Department. She has been serving in the department since 2018, as adjunct and then OYO. She holds an MSN-Ed, and is currently in her DNP program with an emphasis in Educational Leadership. Her nursing background is primarily in pediatric emergency room nursing but has also involved obstetrics, med surg, hospice, and school nursing. She’s married to her high school sweetheart and they have four little girls ages 10 years old down to 2. She enjoys teaching dance at the studio her girls go to, traveling with the competitive dance team, watching sports, and seeking out adventures!
Eric Biber – English
Eric Biber is Residential English Faculty at GCC. He has a Bachelor’s in Education from ASU and a Master’s in English from NAU. He started as Adjunct Faculty at GCC in 2016 and became Residential Faculty this year. He has 12 years teaching experience in the Peoria Unified School District where he taught Advanced Placement English and Dual Enrollment. He primarily teaches First-Year Composition (ENG 101 & 102) here at GCC. Eric has lived in Arizona most of his life and is proud to be a Gaucho as a student and as an instructor. Eric spends his free time camping in Arizona on holidays and weekends and around the country during the summer.
Mitch Mantle – Art
Mitchell Mantle is Residential Art Faculty at GCC. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Virginia University as well as a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Arizona. Mitchell started teaching as an adjunct professor at GCC in 2019 and recently accepted the residential faculty position where he teaches 2D mediums, such as Drawing and Life Drawing. He helped create GCC’s first ever online student art show which went live in spring of 2020.
Kara Kujawa – CIS
Kara Kujawa is Residential Faculty in the Business and Information Technology department. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. She started her teaching career with five years in a 7th grade science classroom, then six years in a High School Biology classroom. During that time she acted as an Innovation Ambassador supporting implementation of technology use in the classroom. She started at GCC as Adjunct Faculty in 2016, transitioned to OSO then OYO, then became Residential Faculty in Fall of 2021. She primarily teaches CIS105 (Survey of Computer and Information Systems) and CIS114DE (Excel) in multiple formats, including HyFlex, Live Online, Hybrid, In-person, and Online.
Stephanie Burchett – Art
Stephanie Burchett serves as a Photography Residential Faculty member at GCC. She earned an MFA in photography from the University of Arizona and a BA in Graphic Arts from the University of Northern Colorado. Before coming to GCC, Stephanie worked as an adjunct at the University of Colorado Denver and Aims Community College in Greeley. She is passionate about encouraging students to seek and tell their unique story through photographic images. Professionally, her lens based artworks have been displayed internationally and nationally at institutions such as The Center for Creative Photography in Phoenix Arizona and the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City.