Leaders and Representatives

CCFT Council Fall 2022 with CFT Leaders!

Executive Board

Tobin W. Keller

President

Hello folks! I teach 2D studio arts, including painting, screen printing, color &amp; design, and drawing for the Art Department. My passion for teaching art has grown significantly over the past 35 years.

I think an unknown and maybe fun fact is that I used to train and ride horses while being partners in a training and boarding facility in Watsonville. The best part was training in Ireland and Portugal.

Our former Executive Director, Maya Bendotoff, brought me into CCFT through the early efforts in organizing pay parity for part-time faculty. The struggle to repeal repeatability restrictions furthered my relationship as a Council Representative.

831-588-3033
tobin@ccftcabrillo.org

John Govsky

Vice President

John Govsky
831-466-3269
john@teacherjohn.com

Albi Romero

Chief Negotiator, Associate Faculty Committee Chair, Communications Director, Committee on Political Education (COPE), COPE Chair

Hola! Guten Tag! Howdy! As you might expect from someone with a Swiss first name and a Hispanic last name, I come from a family that is very diverse culturally, politically, religiously, and most other-ly words that group and subdivide humans into us and them. Navigating that landscape of varied inputs as a child led to independent thinking, which led to curiosity, which apparently, led to becoming a chemistry instructor here at Cabrillo.

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I teach chemistry because I’m passionate about science, and I want this tool to be accessible to all. Scientific literacy, even at a basic level, allows us to observe the interconnected nature of the world, and encourages us to make rational decisions. At the other end of the spectrum, it empowers a new generation to further increase our collective understanding of the universe we all share. I teach at Cabrillo because I grew up in Santa Cruz, and the instructors I encountered at Cabrillo challenged me, supported me, and completely changed the direction of my life. I will be forever grateful to them, and aspire to repay them by doing the same for others in our community. I have always been politically aware and an informed voter. I joined the CCFT Council and agreed to become the COPE Chair motivated by outrage over the inequities perpetuated by our systems of government at every level and my sheer frustration at the lack of change. Complaining and trying to affect change by voting twice a year didn’t seem like enough. Since I have become active in the union, I have learned so much more about the inner workings of these systems. My outrage may have increased, but my sense of hopelessness has evaporated. My voice matters. My actions can make a difference. I have rallied and protested locally, marched in Sacramento, lobbied politicians, campaigned, joined forces with other unions, and made some life-long friends in the process. We won’t win every battle, but we’re certain to lose if we don’t organize and fight. I encourage you to become active in our union, become an activist by donating your time and money to our COPE efforts, and work with us to make the system a little fairer for us all. Albi Romero alromero@cabrillo.edu

Daniel Dodge

Daniel Dodge Sr.

Daniel was raised in the beautiful Monterey Bay He worked with the ground-breaking
Voting Rights Attorney, Joaquin Avila, on several Voting Rights cases throughout the State of California.

Daniel has an extensive record of community involvement. He has served his community in many roles. As the former Political Director of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council (MBCLC) he helped lead and organize solidarity actions and political campaigns in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. In 2010, Daniel was elected to the City Council of Watsonville and served as Mayor of Watsonville in 2011.

Daniel has returned to his labor roots and is currently the Executive Director of the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers, AFT 4400. Daniel
manages the day-to-day operations of the local including providing direct assistance to the President and is a member of the negotiations team.

Daniel continues to be of service to his community. He is also currently serving as serving on the Board of Directors of the County of Santa Cruz Workforce Development Board.

831 464.2238
daniel@ccftcabrillo.org

Kim Mansfield

Vice President

My name is Kim Mansfield and like many of us, I wear many hats at Cabrillo. I am an Academic Counselor, Instructor, Career Coordinator and one of the VP’s of the Union. My relationship with Cabrillo has been long; first as a student in ’86, as adjunct counselor and instructor in ’06 and full time in 2015. I have been teaching for 24 years and feel like I never stop learning! I love this part of being an educator! I am always looking for ways to improve what I am doing. Working in and for my community is just the icing on the cake!

My shared governance and union involvement has mirrored my career. I started off serving on some committees and as Rep for my Division, then I was asked to step up and serve as Treasurer, join the negotiations team and from there,VP. And like my experience as an educator, I never stop learning and am always looking for ways to improve. So, please come join us because it is our collective voice that makes the difference, we are the Union, and we listen and all learn together.

Claire Thorson

Grievance Chair

Hello! I’m an artist, I teach art, and I’m department chair of Art Studio. I’ve been working at Cabrillo for about 14 years. I love the immediacy and directness of drawing and painting and of being in the classroom with students. I became active with the union when the impacts of repeatability were hitting hard. We advocated at the state level for a change to repeatability regulations but so far we haven’t been able to welcome continuing learners back into the classroom in quite the same way as before.

Along the way, I have learned that union work happens locally, at the state level, and at the national level. Through the union work we do, we connect with a broad coalition of educators and other workers in the community, in the Monterey Bay area, and across the state. I’m the grievance chair for CCFT and I’m on the negotiations team. I also serve on the CFT Committee for Higher Ed. I continue to be humbled and inspired by the strength and commitment of my colleagues on e-board.

831-477-3700 ext.1244
clthorso@cabrillo.edu

Treasurer
Cristy Pazera

crpazera@cabrillo.ed

Organizing Chair

Historian
Megan Robertson
merobert@cabrillo.edu

Office Specialist & Program Assistant Nahara Villalobos nahara@ccftcabrillo.org

Council of Representatives

BELA: Joseph Carter (English) & Cheryl Chaffin (English)

HASS: Greg Hanle (Economics), Cassidy Sterling (Psychology),
Emily Dansker (ECE), Denise Russo (Nutrition), & Jeremy McVeigh (CAHM)

ACCESS: Sabine Arbelbide & Luz Adriana Barrientos

HAWK: Barbara Johnson (Nursing) & Megan Alisago (Nursing)

NAS: Steve Hodges (CS), Lenny Leum (Math), Jason Smith (Math), Eric Miles (Math), & Stephanie Tran (Math)

VAPA: Heather Gray (Art History), Lesley Loudon (Art Photo), & Leslie Murray (Digital Media)

Watsonville: Denyss Vela (ACCESS) & Trista Bailey (CABT)

HS, Lib., Other: Katie Dowling (Health Services)

Representative Seats Are Often Available: Contact the executive director for more information at daniel@ccftcabrillo.org.