Experts Guide

Adjunct Professor
Associate Professor of Legal Writing
Expertise: Legal writing, Education law, Employment law
Nicole Phillips is an Associate Professor of Legal Research, Writing, and Analysis at the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law. As an attorney, she represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation, with a focus on employment discrimination claims. Nicole also has extensive experience representing local Bay Area school districts in various litigation and pre-litigation matters, including those involving students, staff, and faculty. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in 20th…
Assistant Professor
Expertise: Critical geographies of race and violence, How Black youth experience, locate, and practice safekeeping
David Alexander Philoxène was awarded a PhD in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley in 2021. His research focuses on critical geographies of race and violence, including how Black youth experience, locate, and practice safekeeping. His dissertation employed interviews, youth mapping artifacts, and critical ethnography to examine the sense- and spatial-making practices of Black youth who navigate violence across schooling and neighborhoods in Oakland, California. He is committed to…
Adjunct Professor
Expertise:  , Asia Pacific political economy, Nonprofit organizations, US political system,  
Dr. N. Bruce Pickering works with a wide range of organizations on international policy and development. Currently, he works with a consortium of four UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Merced and Riverside) on improving productivity and decreasing income inequality in the inland regions of California, using potential models derived from Japan, Denmark and Israel. He is also an adjunct professor teaching Political Economy of the Asia Pacific at the University of San Francisco and the North American…
Adjunct Professor
Expertise: Ancient Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, Continental Philosophy
Brian Pines researches continental philosophy with a special focus on French and German thinking of the 19th and 20th centuries. He maintains active interests in ancient philosophy, especially that of Greece, India, and China.
Professor
Kalmanovitz Hall 133
The Rev. Vincent Pizzuto, PhD, is an Episcopal priest and Professor of New Testament and Christian Mysticism in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Francisco. He received his PhD (STD) in New Testament Exegesis from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (2003). Seeking to link ancient Christian tradition with contemporary faith, his core courses explore the relationship between historical-critical methods of exegesis and theological interpretations of…
Museum Studies Program Manager
Javier Plasencia is a seasoned arts administrator and the current Program Manager for the Museum Studies MA Program at the University of San Francisco. Prior to joining the USF community, Javier worked as a Program Manager with the Arts & Design team at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, managing public art installations on the subway and commuter rails. He has worked in Museum Education departments (MoMA), arts nonprofits (Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Creative…
Associate Professor
Kalmanovitz Hall 148
Professor Danny Plotnick roared into the underground film world in the 1980s. Fueled by his love of alternative culture, his films were infused with the DIY spirit of the times. His films have been shown at the MOMA in NYC, and on the Independent Film Channel and MTV. As an educator, he was the director of education at The Film Arts Foundation for seven years, and he taught at the esteemed high school arts program California State Summer School For the Arts from 1995-2007. He was chair of the…
Adjunct Professor
Kathi Gallagher Dance Studio Office
Expertise: Ballet, Pointe, Repertoire classes, Choreography, Alexander Technique, Mind Body therapies, Somatics
Jennifer danced ballet professionally for over ten years, with the Miami City Ballet, the Alabama Ballet, and the Washington Ballet. Throughout her career she experienced mind-body techniques as an important and valuable measure for preventing injuries. In addition to a career in ballet, Polyocan is also a graduate of New College of California with a degree in arts and social change. She has taught ballet for over 20 years to both children and adults at ODC, UC Berkeley, and the University of…
Professor
Malloy Hall 309
Sonja Martin Poole is a pre-eminent thinker, influencing key decision-makers in transformative marketing strategy and public policy. As Professor of Marketing at USF, Professor Poole, pays particular attention in her research, teaching and public commentary to the ways in which marketing transforms individuals, institutions, systems, and societies, and impacts consumer well-being. Her latest research focuses on the role of race in the marketplace and has appeared in a range of academic journals…