2016 Geo2YC Officer Elections

It is time to vote for Geo2YC: Two-Year College Division of NAGT. The ballot includes Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Webmaster. Voting begins on May 24 and ends on July 1, 2016.

Officer Candidate Biographies

Vice President

Callan Bentley is an assistant professor of geology at Northern Virginia Community College's Annandale campus. He is the Chancellor's Commonwealth Professor of Geology for the 2015-2017 school years. In addition to teaching introductory geology courses there, Callan has developed new courses including Snowball Earth, Regional Field Geology of the Northern Rockies, Regional Field Geology of the Canadian Rockies, and Regional Field Geology of Eastern California. His academic background includes a BS in geology at the College of William & Mary (1996), an MS in geology from the University of Maryland, College Park (2004), and an MS in Science Education from Montana State University (2009).

Since starting at NOVA in 2006, Callan has given more than a 130 public talks at venues across the Washington DC region and at professional meetings around the country. In addition to publishing in the professional scientific literature, he contributes book reviews, travel stories, and cartoons to EARTH magazine. He has served as newsletter editor for Geo2YC, the two-year-college division of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (3 years) and the eastern section of NAGT (1 year and counting), and in several official roles for the Geological Society of Washington, including Councilor, Meeting Secretary, Executive Secretary, and Vice President. In addition to writing his popular geology blog Mountain Beltway, Callan was a contributor to five geology and Earth science textbooks published by Pearson and is under contract to write another as lead author. He has become known as an innovator in digital geology, in particular for the use of GigaPan images of outcrops and samples, a technique that allows "virtual field experiences" for distance learners and students with disabilities.

Callan was a 2010 Fellow of the Fine Outreach for Science initiative. He won the Golden Apple award in 2007. The Virginia Community College System named Callan as the recipient of the 2012 Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. NOVA honored him with the Presidential Sabbatical Award in 2013. He received the Biggs Award for Geoscience Teaching Excellence from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America in 2014. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia recognized Callan with the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2015. During the 2015-2017 academic years, Callan serves as the Chancellor's Commonwealth Professor of Geology. He lives with his wife Lily and their son Baxter in the Fort Valley of western Virginia.

Secretary/Treasurer

Wendi Williams is an adjunct professor at Northwest Arkansas Community College and adjunct Lecturer with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She teaches in person, hybrid, and online sections of introductory physical geology with laboratory as well as environmental or physical sciences, as needed. She is presently serving Geo2YC as Interim Secretary-Treasurer, and would like to continue in a more permanent basis (at least for the next three years!). She served on the NAGT Executive Committee from 2013 – 2015 as a Councilor, and was Liaison to several committees and the Divisions (most notably, during the formation of the Geo2YC into Division status).

Education: BS Geology, Univ TX Arlington (starting at Tarrant Co Community College, transferring in to UTA); MSc Earth Science, Univ CA Riverside; Ph.D. Geological Sciences, Univ TX El Paso. Appointments and Professional Experience: Faculty with Austin Community College, North Harris Community College (now Lone Star District in Houston), Lewis Clark State College, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Northwest Arkansas Community College; Education Director with residential Ozark Natural Science Center; Riverside County Geologist; Geologist with Buena Engineering in southern California. Service: NAGT Geo2YC Division Interim Secretary-Treasurer; NAGT Executive Councilor; International Association for Geoscience Diversity Executive Counselor; GSA Education Committee, Past Chair; GSA SC Section Board Member; GSA GPPC SC Section Rep; AGI Geoscience Policy Advisory Committee (NAGT Liaison); Arkansas Governor's Earthquake Advisory Council (Vice Chair); Arkansas Pre-Disaster Mitigation Advisory Council; Triangle Coalition for STEM Education Board Member; UALR Math & Science Partnership Co-Director; Arkansas Master Naturalists, NW Chapter Board Member; Council on Undergraduate Research Councilor; NWACC Faculty Senator; Ozark Water Watch Stream Smart Citizen Science Team Leader.

Webmaster

Christopher Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Geology at Salt Lake Community College at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus location. Currently, he serves as the interim-webmaster for the Geo2YC Division. Christopher has ten years of community college teaching experience with six of those years as a full-time faculty member. In addition, he has five years of private sector experience in environmental consulting. Christopher holds a PG for California.