Kate Griffeath

Executive Vice President, Educational Support Services

Kate Griffeath has worked as an educator, teacher trainer, administrator, and professional consultant for over three decades and brings passion and innovation to her leadership role at the Academy of Art University. As an Executive Vice President, she has built and developed seven distinct educational support departments serving both students and faculty and has worked closely with all academic and administrative departments. She has overseen numerous educational partnerships with outside companies and has been a key member of the Accreditation, Management, Student Grievance, Student Representative, and Strategic Planning Committees. Additionally, she was the founder and has been chair of the university’s Student Success Committee for over a decade.  Finally, she has published articles, both nationally and internationally, and has presented and taught at a wide range of universities, conferences, companies, and organizations.

Lynda España

Associate Director, Accessibility Resources

Lynda was born in California and grew up on the East Coast on a small island in Maine. She is happy to call San Francisco her home for over a decade now. Lynda received her B.A. in Marketing from Marietta College in Ohio, where she was also a student-athlete. She has a diverse vocational background including coaching collegiate basketball teams, a short stint as a paramedic, and several years as a sign language interpreter. She is inspired by the creativity and passion of the students and faculty here at the Academy. Lynda enjoys stand-up comedy, blogging, camping, sailing, rockabilly music, and collecting vintage clothes and mid-century memorabilia.

Phone: 1-415-618-3813

Email: LEspana@academyart.edu

Chantelle Ferguson

Director, Online Language Support

Chantelle Ferguson has been teaching for nearly 20 years. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in English, she moved to South America where she taught English at a private university and developed one of the first online academic writing courses offered in the region. She has since designed and taught numerous on campus and online courses at universities in the United States. In addition she has worked as a Spanish instructor, newspaper journalist, and yoga instructor. She has been at Academy Art University since 2003 and director of Online Language Support since 2005.

Email: cferguson@academyart.edu

Aaron Field

Director, Online Academic Support

Aaron is a born and bred San Francisco native happily stuck in the cool, gray, city of love. His love of writing led him to pursue a degree in English with the University of California, Davis. Aaron has been with the Academy in the online support department for seven years.

Email: oas@academyart.edu

Andrea Keklikian

Director, Accessibility Resources

Andrea has been facilitating equal access for students with disabilities at Academy of Art University since 2004.  She is especially interested in applying the principles of Universal Design wherever possible so that diverse groups of students can fully enjoy their curriculum and campus.  Andrea has degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education from the University of Delaware and holds a California state teaching credential.  Before joining the Academy, she taught in a K–8 school within a group home and was a public high school special day class teacher.

Phone: 1-415-618-3782

Email: AKeklikian@academyart.edu

James J. O’Hara

Director, Art Support and EAP Liaison

James O'Hara began his teaching career in 1984 while still an undergraduate at Brown University, where he earned his B.A. in Urban Studies (Honors) and English: Creative Writing. Two years later, he joined the Peace Corps and later worked as a teacher trainer and supervisor for Save the Children in Indonesia and Thailand. After returning to the U.S. to teach in the Minnesota public schools, he moved to the Bay Area, where he received his M.A. from U.C. Berkeley in 1992. He became an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University in 1989, designing the Professional English curriculum at both Golden Gate and SFSU. He has worked as a faculty member and educational support director at the Academy of Art University since 1995.

Phone: 1-415-618-3875

Email: johara@academyart.edu

Bob McDonald

Director, English for Art Purposes

Bob studied American Literature at Boston U. and U.C. Santa Cruz as an undergraduate. He then attended The California Culinary Academy, but after a brief stint working as a chef, he decided to return to his passion of literature and language. He went on to receive an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State. Bob has travelled extensively through Asia, Europe and Latin America, with the most recent trips being to Cuba. He also settled in Buenos Aires, Argentina for two years to teach English. He began working at the Academy in 1994 as an ESL teacher and became EAP Director in 2000.

Hilaire Fong

Associate Director, English for Art Purposes

Hilaire received a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA and an M.A. in English from SFSU. She has lived in Bordeaux, France and Tokyo, Japan, and has taught English in various settings, including a university, a community college, an intensive English program, and a design studio. Hilaire loves baking, hiking, spending time with her dog, and linguistic anomalies.

Educational Background: San Francisco State University (MA-English, TESOL); University of California, Los Angeles (BA-Psychology)