Teresa Cheatham has taught in the English Department at Cerritos College since 2005 and received both her BA in International Business with a minor in French and an MA in English Rhetoric and Composition from CSU. Teresa is the first person (and female) to even consider going to college in her family and the first to travel abroad. She went to a city college for two years and transferred to a CSU.

Teresa's love for travel started as an undergrad when she participated in a summer study abroad program at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. Her love for Japan began after grad school when she moved to Japan to teach Japanese public middle and high schools (1 year in Osaka and 3 years in Tokyo). She has travelled to over 30 countries, but is especially excited to be teaching English 110 "Critical Thinking through Literature" with an emphasis in Japanese literature, incorporating the mysterious world of the Geisha, Japanese ghost stories, Japanese Tanka poetry, and anime/manga. All of the coursework learned in the classroom will be brought to life on the Japan trip where students will experience firsthand what they have studied. 

Teresa will be teaching ENGL110 during the Japan 2025 summer program.

Christian Brown is faculty adviser of Talon Marks newspaper and the head of the journalism program at Cerritos College since 2017. He currently also serves as chair of the Journalism & Media Studies Department.

In addition to teaching, Brown is an award-winning multimedia journalist, specializing in print and broadcast reporting on topics of politics, culture, and public affairs.

In 2009, Brown joined The Downey Patriot newspaper as an intern and was hired as a staff writer the following year. Since then, he's worked at NPR-station LAist 89.3 FM (Southern California Public Radio) as a fill-in reporter and traveled to Indonesia as a foreign correspondent for GlobalPost and PRI's The World. In 2016, he was named editor-in-chief of The Norwalk Patriot newspaper, where he oversaw all news content in both print and digital platforms. Since 2014, Brown has won three L.A. Press Club awards. 

Brown graduated cum laude from Cal State Fullerton in 2010, earning his B.A. in Communications. In 2015, he graduated at the top of his cohort from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism with an M.S. in Journalism.

Christian will be teaching JAMS 100 during the Japan 2025 summer program.

Dr. Sunday Obazuaye has taught political science courses at Cerritos College since 1998. He received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University in California, where he studied comparative politics and public policy. He teaches courses in American government, comparative government, international relations, global citizenship, model United Nations, and Middle East politics. He is the faculty adviser for the Cerritos College Model United Nations club (CCMUN). 

Dr. Obazuaye considers himself a global citizen haven immigrated from Nigeria to the United States in 1980 as an international student. He encourages his students to be globally competent and have a global outlook on life. He is excited and looking forward to engaging his students as they immerse themselves in Taiwanese culture from a global perspective while learning about the political, economic, social, and environmental factors that shape global interactions through the application of political science theories, research methods, and social science concepts.

Lance Kayser has been teaching at Cerritos College since 2006 and received his MA in English from Cal State Fullerton. His areas of expertise include American Literature, Creative Writing, Literature and Film, and Queer Literature.  Professor Kayser is excited for the opportunity to assist students in learning to be better writers, thinkers, and readers in a global context. Students will also have the unique opportunity to explore and experience the culture of various authors they read first-hand.  Professor Kayser is eager to experience this once-in-a-lifetime educational endeavor with his students.  In Summer 2024, he taught:

ENGL 110: Critical Thinking Through Literature (4 units)
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) -- A.3. Critical Thinking requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) – Area 1.B. Critical Thinking—English Composition requirement
Prerequisite: Completion of English 100 with a grade of “C” or higher, or “pass,” or the equivalent.
Course Description: In this course, students apply critical thinking skills, close textual analysis, and research practices in writing analytic, argumentative essays about literary fiction, poetry, and drama.

Brandt Reiter is an educator, director, actor, performance coach, journalist, editor and playwright. He directed the world-premiere of Lisa Kenner Grissom's Tattoo You, which won the 2013 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival, and his acclaimed New York production of Tennessee Williams' Vieux Carré was selected as the centerpiece of the 2014 Provincetown International Tennessee Williams Festival. For Cerritos College, where he is co-Chair of the Theatre & Film Department and Associate Professor of Acting & Voice, Brandt has directed Our Lady of 121st Street; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; The Seagull; Oedipus the King; All My Sons; The Caucasian Chalk Circle; Tucumcari; 3x2x1; Waiting For Lefty; The Glass Menagerie; Stupid F#!%ing Bird and A Streetcar Named Desire. Brandt has also taught acting in New York & Beijing and is the founding editor-in-chief of PARODOS, the journal of the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. He previously served as a Chair of Playwriting for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and for five years was jazz critic at Los Angeles' LA WEEKLY where, in addition to music, he weighed in on everything from Architecture to Zen (and the art of motorcycle riding). Brandt is a proud longtime member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA. Education: MFA, Theatre, Sarah Lawrence College; Certificate, Film Theory and Criticism, Sorbonne, Paris; BA, American Studies, Temple University. In Summer 2024, he taught

TH 102: History of the Classical Theatre  (3 units) 
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) – C.1. Fine Arts requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) – Area 3.A. Arts requirement
Course description: This course is designed to introduce the student to the history and literature of the theatre from ancient times to the English Restoration. The role of theatre in human affairs will be explored, and particular attention will be given to the way theatre shapes-- and is shaped by-- the cultural, intellectual, and political forces of its time.

TH 103: History of the Modern Theatre  (3 units)
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) – C.1. Fine Arts requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) – Area 3.A. Arts requirement
Course description: This course is designed to introduce the student to the history and literature of the theatre from French Classicism to the 20th Century. The role of theatre in human affairs will be explored, and particular attention will be given to the way theatre shapes-- and is shaped by-- the cultural, intellectual, and political forces of its time.

Dr. Lisa Boutin-Vitela has taught Art History at Cerritos College since 2012. Previously, she was a lecturer at UCLA, Loyola Marymount, and California State University, Long Beach. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from UCLA with an emphasis on Italian Renaissance art. Lisa has lived in Rome as a study-abroad student and has spent long periods of time in Mantua and Florence conducting dissertation research. Lisa looks forward to introducing students to Italian culture and teaching the ART 102 course through on-site visits to Florence's churches, palaces, piazzas, and museums. 

In Summer 2019, she taught:

ART 102: Art History II Renaissance to Rococo (3 units)
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) -- C: Fine Arts (1.) requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) -- Area 3: Arts (A.) requirement
Recommendation: ENGL 52, or ENGL 72 or ESL 152 and READ 54 or READ 97 or equivalent with grades of Pass or "C" or higher. 
Description: This course covers art and its role in human affairs from the Renaissance to the Rococo with an emphasis on giving students an understanding of all of the visual arts. It is designed to be of interest and value to the art and non-art major alike.

Dr. Steve Clifford has taught at Cerritos College since August 2003. His Ph.D. is from the University of Washington (Seattle), where he studied gender theory, modernism, and 20th century British and American literature. He spent the 2015-2016 academic year on a research sabbatical, gathering information to create and implement a study abroad program at Cerritos College, researching prospective sites for the program pilot in Dublin, Paris, and Florence. Steve is eager to encourage students to study literature and develop their writing skills as they encounter new global cultures and broaden their understanding of those cultures through academic travel.

In summer 2019, he taught (students may enroll in either of these but not both):

ENGL 102: Introduction to Literature (3 units)
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) – C.2. Humanities requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) – Area 3.B. Humanities requirement
Prerequisite: Completion of English 100 with a grade of “C” or higher, or “pass,” or the equivalent.
Course Description: This course introduces representative works from major genres, develops students’ close reading and analytical writing skills, and promotes appreciation and critical understanding of the cultural, historical, and aesthetic qualities of literature as produced by authors who reflect culturally diverse backgrounds.

ENGL 110: Critical Thinking Through Literature (4 units)
Transfer Credit: CSU; UC
Fulfills Plan B (CSU) -- A.3. Critical Thinking requirement
Fulfills Plan C (IGETC) – Area 1.B. Critical Thinking—English Composition requirement
Prerequisite: Completion of English 100 with a grade of “C” or higher, or “pass,” or the equivalent.
Course Description: In this course, students apply critical thinking skills, close textual analysis, and research practices in writing analytic, argumentative essays about literary fiction, poetry, and drama.