Laura J. Mitchell
Faculty Advisor
mitchell@uci.edu
Laura is a historian the of early-modern world with a particular interest in colonial South Africa. She’s written about enslaved agricultural laborers and communities of runaways, land tenure and environmental resource use, colonial households, and the production of knowledge about Africa in western universities and museums. In both her research and her teaching, she’s committed to making sense of early-modern societies in a digital age, making history accessible to diverse audiences, and exploring digital platforms to accomplish those goals. She has prioritized conversations and collaborations with K-12 and college-level teachers throughout her career, working with the College Board’s AP World History course and exam, the OER Project’s world history course, the Online Conference for Social Studies, and—closest to her heart—UCI’s History Project, where she’s been a regular presenter for the past two decades. She served as president of the World History Association as a Provost’s Teaching Fellow at UCI. Her research received award from Fulbright, the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Mellon Foundation.
Cindy Mata
Site Director
ccmata@uci.edu
Photo & Bio Coming Soon!
Judy Wu
Faculty Advisor
j.wu@uci.edu
Judy Tzu-Chun Wu is a professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She also serves as faculty director of the Humanities Center and Associate Dean in the School of Humanities of Research, Faculty Development, and Public Engagement. She received her Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford University. She authored Dr. Mom Chung of the Fair-Haired Bastards: the Life of a Wartime Celebrity (University of California Press, 2005) and Radicals on the Road: Internationalism, Orientalism, and Feminism during the Vietnam Era (Cornell University Press, 2013). Her book, Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress (New York University Press, 2022), is a collaboration with political scientist Gwendolyn Mink. Wu is currently working on a book that focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander Women who attended the 1977 National Women’s Conference and co-editing Unequal Sisters, 5th edition with Routledge Press. She also is co-editor of Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 (Alexander Street Press) and is the co-president of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.
Mariana Ramirez
Associate Director
mariaer3@uci.edu
Mariana E. Ramírez is an Associate Director for the UCI History Project, focused on building collaborative networks between ethnic studies scholars, K-12 teachers, and their students in a meaningful study of local history through an ethnic studies methodology and pedagogy. She worked as a middle and high school teacher in the immigrant communities of Barrio Logan in San Diego and Boyle Heights in Los Angeles for 13 years. An important part of her work is engaging with students in geospatial community action research projects and serving as an advisor for student social justice organizations. She is currently doctoral student part of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies in the Urban Schooling Division. Her research agenda lies at the intersections of ethnic studies pedagogy, critical geographies, and documenting local histories of joy and resistance of people of color via oral histories and archival research.
Nicole Gilbertson
Director, Teacher Academy
gilbertn@uci.edu
Nicole served as the Site Director of the History Project from 2007-2023 and works with teachers in Southern California to promote history-social science education. She received her PhD in history with an emphasis on modern Europe and world history, while at the same time earning a secondary teaching credential in history-social science. Nicole is the author of academic articles on history education research and pedagogy and a history curriculum that combines current research, historical thinking, and academic literacy.
Emilee Ramirez
Graduate Student Researcher
emilleer@uci.edu
Emilee Ramirez is a PhD student in the Department of History at UC Irvine. Her areas of focus are 20th century U.S. History, metropolitan history, and Native American Studies. Emilee has taught courses at the collegiate level where she also worked with colleagues in creating innovative pedagogical approaches to teaching history and bridging secondary and post-secondary teaching and learning goals to strengthen pathways to higher education. She received her M.A. from California State University San Marcos, where she was awarded the History Department’s Outstanding Thesis Award in 2019.
Simon Fellowes
World History Teacher Leader and Project Coordinator
simon.fellowes@smes.org
Simon Fellowes earned a BA with Honors in European History and English Literature at the University of Northumbria in England, and later went on to earn a Masters in Environmental Science with a focus upon education and communication, at Cal State Fullerton. Simon’s teaching career began in Japan where he taught English as a second language and then pursued work in the United States as a Field Programs Instructor for the OCDE outdoor education program. He then spent seven years in the Westminster School District and at Tarbut V’Torah Jewish Community Day School, where he taught both middle and high school history classes. Simon currently works at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School of Scotland in San Juan Capistrano, where he teaches World History classes in the Upper School. Simon joined the World History Project coordinating team in January 2007, and has greatly enjoyed his time working as a presenter, coordinator, and teacher-leader for the World History Institutes
Courtney Amaya
World History Teacher Leader and Project Coordinator
camaya@orangeusd.org
Courtney has taught at her alma mater, Canyon High School for the past 14 years. As an active member of the Orange Unified School District, she has been involved with many different responsibilities over the years including: curriculum development, the authoring of district pacing guides and course descriptions, a member of Canyon’s Professional Development team, AP teacher, former Department Chair, WASC focus group leader, and the 2006 District Teacher of the Year. Courtney began working with the World History Project in January of 2007 and continues to love her responsibilities as a teacher-leader for the World History Institutes.
Sara Jordan
Literacy Program Teacher Leader and Project Coordinator
sarajordan25@yahoo.com
Sara Jordan teaches World History and Advanced Placement World History at Segerstrom High School in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Her responsibilities have included curriculum development on state level and district level projects, creating district pacing guides and common core units. She has been an AP College Board Exam Reader and presented at multiple Social Studies Conferences (CWHA, CCHE, AERA, CCSS). She was recognized by The California History-Social Science Project’s 25th Anniversary “Teacher Leader” Award.
Jane Suh
jksuh@lbschools.net
She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from UCSD and a M.S. in Secondary Education from Stanford University. She has been teaching at Jordan High School in North Long Beach for 16 years. She currently teaches U.S. History and AP Seminar, but her past experiences range from teaching in a credit recovery environment to teaching higher level AP courses. She has been involved with curriculum development, creating assessments, and writing course outlines and pacing guides at the district level. In addition to her work with the UCI History Project, she has presented at various conferences and workshops through the CSULB and CSUDH History Projects.
Trish Jorquiera
Trish Jorquiera has taught World History and Spanish at La Paz Intermediate School for the last 11 years. Previously she taught in San Francisco, Salinas and Mexico City. She has happily collaborated with the UC Irvine History Project to develop and present lessons on Sites of Encounter in the Medieval World.
Tammy Black
Tammy Black is a middle school social-studies teacher with 18 years of teaching experience. While teaching, Tammy has been in various leadership roles such as Curriculum Leader and Secondary Chair for her history department. She has co-written Social-Studies Benchmark for use district wide. Tammy continues to partner with the University of California Irvine History Project to develop curriculum that focuses on California’s adoption of the Social-Studies History Framework. In her free time, Tammy enjoys spending time with her family and going on adventures with her two rescue dogs.
Amy Hale
ahale@orangeusd.org
Amy has been teaching U.S. History at Santiago Charter Middle School for twenty-four years and has been working with the UCI History Project for fourteen years. She has written and shared many lessons that focus on the California Social Studies Framework and looks forward to continue collaborating with UCI. In her spare time, she enjoys playing golf with her husband and spending time with her children.
Elizabeth Moore
amoore@nmusd.us
Elizabeth Moore has been teaching at-risk youth for over ten years in the Newport-Mesa School District, which is also the district she attended K-12. After participating in the Understanding American Citizenship Teaching American History Grant, she started working as a teacher leader with the UCI History Project in U.S. History, Economics, and American Democracy.
Samantha Engler englers@uci.edu Samantha Engler is the Academic Personnel Analyst in the Department of History at UC Irvine. She also provides administrative assistance, such as workshop registration, website maintenance, and reimbursement process, for the UCI History Project. Samantha earned a B.A. in History at UC Irvine in 2016, where she studied modern US cultural history. especially histories of media and student activism. |