Brandman Speaks

Elizabeth Bader always thought her main "career" would involve being a wife and mother. But by her early 30s, she was the divorced, single mother to a toddler and desperately in need of career advice. In this Career Talk podcast,

Kevin Bailey, President of VF Action Sports and CEO of Vans (VF Corporation) spoke to a group of business students at the Irvine campus and it was recorded as a podcast for this episode of Brandman Speaks. Joining in the discussion is Joe Cockrell,

When Adam Coughran graduated from Chapman University with a degree in political science, he knew he wanted to be a police officer. It wasn't until he started working on his Master of Arts in organizational leadership (M.A.O.L.) and graduated from Brandman University that he realized that there might be other career options in store. Now he has his own consulting business, Standards Training and Consulting, and works with a variety of companies on a security issues. In this Brandman Speaks: Career Talk podcast, Coughran talks about how his education benefited his career. More Brandman Speaks podcasts can also be found on iTunes, or subscribed to on Android devices or by email. Or download directly from www.blubrry.com/brandman_speaks. Transcript Welcome to Brandman Speaks: Career Talk. In this episode, Adam Coughran talks about his journey from police officer to officer training to entrepreneurship. It's a transition he doesn't think he would have made without the Master of Arts in organizational leadership he earned at Brandman University. But before that came a degree in political science from Chapman University. Adam Coughran: When I graduated Chapman I was tracked right in to being a police officer. So I graduated in May and I found myself in the police academy in July of the same year. His focus on law enforcement began to shift after earning his master's at Brandman, and it wasn't just what he learned that helped. There were also new connections that proved fortunate. Coughran: And I got really interested in teaching are really interested in the training and around the same time span I had become a field training officer at my agency and there was an offer to come teach at the police academy I said,'Oh, what a great way to get in.' And I initially ran into a couple obstacles here and there and had to push and fight my way through but eventually got myself an application and initial job offer to teach it academy. Well, unbeknownst to me as I go in for my final interview none other than at the time Lt. Toni Bland was sitting behind the desk of the commander's office and we looked at each other and it was like old times at Brandman. We had gone through the M.A.O.L. program together we'd had classes together. It was like seeing an old friend and we you know we give each other a hug and how have you been and it was very maybe a year or less out of the program. And everyone standing in a room looking around going who is this guy and why is he hugging our lieutenant? And of course through her podcast and everything, we now know that she's done, very successfully, very well for herself. But I would not be tracked as a trainer as an entrepreneur or as an instructor in higher education had it not been for my Brandman connection in the real world. Field training other officers lead to training opportunities and other industries. Coughran: You know I started initially my training career as a field training officer, in the field training brand new police officers and through a number of specialty details that I worked and eventually into a college training I found there's a large need. A lot of people was at were asking me to do training videos, to come speak at conferences, to come train their particular industries. And throughout this, there was a lot of, I start getting honorariums here and there. And I was never asking for money and I never treated it like really a business or an entrepreneur. But eventually my tax man's like you have to do something yourself. There's too many, too many 1099 forms that are coming in. And it was through that I go, 'Well, you know, maybe I should a business license just for a tax purpose.' I just enjoy teaching. I enjoy training and that has evolved over the last few years now into a full-fledged train...

In this episode of Brandman Speaks, Dr. Sheila L. Steinberg talks with her colleague Dr. Lata Murti about Murti's education, the value of a liberal arts education and what Murti has in common with the students she teaches and mentors in the Santa Maria...

Toni Bland, Ed.D., is an assistant sheriff with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She leads field operations and investigative services, including all street operations, investigations, the crime lab, the coroner’s office and emergency services.

Herb Callahan is senior director, human resources, McDonald's Distribution, for Golden State Foods. He also runs their in-house training program, GSF University, and is an MBA graduate of Brandman University and working to complete his Doctor of Educat...

In this two-part podcast, Vicki Brannock, senior director of programing for Brandman University School of Extended Education, talks with Dr. Kimberly Greene, associate professor in the Brandman School of Education,

In this second part of a two-part podcast, Vicki Brannock, senior director of programing for Brandman University School of Extended Education, talks with Dr. Kimberly Greene, associate professor in the Brandman School of Education,

Marc Posner had a more than 20 year gap between starting college and earning his degree at Brandman University last spring. Although he didn't need a bachelor's degree when he started as a journalist — he worked at the Anaheim Bulletin,

A new subseries of Brandman University  podcasts, Brandman Speaks: Career Talk, launches with Master of Arts in organizational leadership (M.A.O.L.) graduate Essraa Nawar talking about how she got her job as coordinator of development at Chapman Uni...

In this episode of Brandman Speaks podcasts, Dr. Sheila Steinberg interviews fellow faculty member Dr. David Long about his career in law enforcement, his concerns about the use of real estate to launder money and what he tries to impart to his Brandm...

Michael Moodian, associate professor of social sciences in the Brandman University School of Arts and Sciences,  is also the author of “Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence: Exploring the Cross-Cultural Dynamics within Organizations...

For Dr. Jalin B. Johnson, assistant professor in the Brandman University School of Business and Professional Studies at the Ontario campus , the study of ethics isn't an obscure philosophical or psychological topic. In this episode of Brandman Speaks, Johnson talks about how ethics are at the cornerstone of what makes us human (and what makes a superhero heroic) and how experience, context and perspective come into play for decisions both personal and political.  In addition to her work at Brandman, Johnson has been an active volunteer and serves as a mentor to young women and girls, focusing on life-long learning and community enrichment. Brandman Speaks podcasts can be downloaded from iTunes.

Dr. Judy Matthews, an assistant professor of psychology for Brandman University’s School of Arts and Sciences, wants to raise awareness about the plight of deported veterans in Mexico, many of whom have left families behind in the U.S. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 veterans have been deported after serving while legal residents of the U.S. […]

Brandman University recently received official word that it is accredited under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards through the Council of Accreditation of Educator Preparation system. Dr. Christine Zeppos, dean of the School of Education, talks about what makes this additional designation important for Brandman University and Brandman students, what it says about the School of Education's approach and what's next for a school known for being ahead of the curve when it comes to teaching teachers. Related press release: Brandman University earns an A+ in teacher preparation.

Dr. Deborah Ferber teaches courses on entrepreneurship as a member of Brandman University's School of Business and Professional Studies faculty. She is also an entrepreneur, an investor through Tech Coast Angels and a valued source of help for students at Brandman and other universities. Earlier episodes of Brandman Speaks can be found at brandmannews.org/podcast or on iTunes. Transcript Welcome to Brandman Speaks. I’m Cindy O’Dell, communications manager at Brandman University. Today I’m speaking with Dr. Deborah Ferber. Dr. Deb, as she likes to be called, is an assistant professor of Business and Organizational Leadership in the School of Business and Professional Studies with experience in international business as well as in building and teaching business courses. In your Brandman bio, you call yourself an entrepreneur and intrepreneur. Tell me what you mean by both of those terms. Dr. Deborah Ferber: Well this is great, we have a radio show at Brandman University. This is wonderful. The difference between an entrepreneur and intrepreneur. The intrepreneur is the individual who is very innovative in an internal environment, such as an organizational structure. An example would be Art Frye from 3M who invented the Post It Note. And the entrepreneur which everyone is very familiar with is the risk-takers who go out and forge their own way to start their own endeavors. You’re going to be talking to the Young Professionals Leadership Summit on Oct. 30 in Irvine about thinking like an entrepreneur. What does it mean to think like an entrepreneur? Ferber: I think we learned some very valuable lessons with this last economic downturn we just had and that is we constantly have to reinvent ourselves and we see that with our students here at Brandman University. We have professionals who are already business leaders but they’re constantly building their skill sets. So the presentation is really geared toward telling people that they need to reinvent themselves and be entrepreneurial in their own business environment or go out and forge their own way by starting their own organization. You help Brandman students and others prepare for presentations with Tech Coast Angels. Tell me about your relationship with Tech Coast Angels. Ferber: Oh my goodness, they’re the most wonderful group. So they’re truly the catalyst for the economy. They’re what we refer to as the 1 percent that really gives back to the economy. They invest, not just in the stock market by buying mutual funds, but they actually go out an invest in companies and build ideas and organizations so we can hire people. I’m happy to say that last year we did about $36 million in funding and we hope to double that again this year. And your role? You’re on the board? Ferber: I’m also an investor in Tech Coast Angels, so I also invest in companies and I just did one recently, one of the Chapman Alumni groups I hope we’ll talk about and then I also review business plans and bring in companies that I think might be a good investment and a great way to grow the Orange County economy. I know you help students. You mentioned Chapman students and I think you’ve helped Brandman students as well. How do you prepare them for a meeting with potential investors? Ferber: At Brandman, I’m really pleased, I’m teaching several entrepreneurial courses so students are already targeting me and looking to take courses with me to build a business plan. And then I would say out of every 20 business plans, we filter them down to ones that are really looking for funding and then I do the introductions and sometimes that can be anything from an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan to a microloan. And then the TCA (Tech Coast Angels) is usually up to a minimum of a half a million dollars, so we see a lot of small business owners, especially here at Brandman, first looking for the micro and then pursuing the TCA loan.

Alan Enomoto loved teaching school but he also loved being a school principal and administrator. He shares his enthusiasm for education with Brandman students, teaching in every aspect of the School of Education program from introductory classes to mentoring doctoral students. Learn more about Enomoto and the School of Education's newest master's program designed for 21st-century administrators.

Francisco Vazquez, a recent summa cum laude graduate of Brandman University’s social science program, talks with his former instructor Dr. Sheila Steinberg about his plans to attend Hult International Business School in London this fall. He also talks about migrating from Mexico to the south side of Chicago as a child, his experiences in the Marine Corps in […]

For the past 18 months, Nick Lacy, director of CBE national relations and strategic business development, has been getting the word out to businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to...

Dr. Laurie Dodge, vice chancellor of Institutional Assessment and Planning at Brandman University and vice provost of the university, has been a key figure in the development of the MyPath competency-based education (CBE) program. The university has been testing the beta versions of the program and is planning a full launch this fall. In this podcast, Dodge talks about how Brandman went about creating its version of competency-based education, what students should expect and how it will change higher education. For a video from a student's point of view see Pursuing the American Dream at Brandman. An introduction to the program can be found at www.brandman.edu/mypath. Transcript Cindy O'Dell: Welcome to Brandman Speaks. I’m Cindy O’Dell, a member of the Communications Department at Brandman University. Today I’ll be talking with Dr. Laurie Dodge, vice chancellor of institutional assessment and planning, and vice provost of the university. Dr. Dodge is a driving force behind the creation of Brandman’s new competency-based program, a program known around the university as CBE. Dr. Dodge, I would like to hear your “elevator speech” explanation of competency-based education. Dr. Laurie Dodge: Thank you, Cindy. So competency-based education is really when the learning is fixed and time is variable. So in our credit-hour program, which is what we’re used to, time is fixed and the learning varies. The other thing I would say in my elevator speech is that the focus is on mastery of the competencies so students must demonstrate that they can do certain things before they can progress further. The other piece that I would add for competency-based education is the quality of the program and the relevance to what workforce needs are asking for. How did you and others at Brandman go about creating this version of CBE? So this was the fun part, Cindy. The faculty established the competency-based program based on what I call a framework origin. And the framework origin looked at AAC&U essential learning outcomes, the degree qualification profile, the Department of Labor ONET data and certification. So let’s back up just a little bit.  Maybe put that in more layman’s terms. Ok. So the competency-based program really looked at what students need when they graduate, what are the things they must be able to know, understand and do to be successful in the workplace. So we used these frameworks to see what are the knowledge, skills and abilities that students need to then build the program. Can you give me a quick example of what one of those competencies would look like and how you went about adding up to get to the competency part of it? So, one of the areas is look at general education. So an example of that might be oral communication. So in oral communication your competency might be able to speak to a specific audience on a certain topic and then in a specific amount of time. So students have to be able to perform and then their speech is evaluated. Tell me who at Brandman was involved with comping up with the competencies and the ideas for the program. So the program really started looking at two white papers that Brandman University developed. The first one was looking at degree programs in competency-based education, so the good things about those programs and then the things we knew we wanted to differently. And then we also had a faculty member, instructional designer, who developed a white paper on the pedagogy or teaching strategies for competency-based education. Hadassah Yang in institutional research worked on the models and then Dr. Sara Zaker developed the white paper on the pedagogy. How is it different from other competency-based programs at other universities? I think our program is different from the very beginning because of the design.

Dr. Paulette Koss became principal of the Road To Success Academy at a pair of juvenile detention camps in California midway through her doctoral program. The academy's project-based learning model shares much with what Koss learned at Brandman University, including the need for trust, collaboration and integrity.

Dr. Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg helped launch the Brandman Speaks podcast series as a pilot project this spring. The Communications Department will begin a regular series of podcasts this fall, but we couldn’t resist turning the tables on Steinberg first. As an environmental sociologist and a professor in the School of Arts and Science, Steinberg has long had an interest in climate change and its effect on humans. When she learned that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was celebrating his 80th birthday in Orange County and joining a panel discussion on climate change as part of the Global Compassion Summit held at UC Irvine, she made arrangements to attend and offered to share her observations. So instead of Steinberg asking the questions, we asked them. You can listen to the podcast here or download it from iTunes. Beginning this fall, we want many more Brandman University faculty members, including adjunct faculty members and those who teach through Extended Education, to join us at the podcast microphones to talk about their areas of expertise. If you’re interested in being part of Brandman Speaks, please fill out the interest form.  You can also subscribe to podcasts via iTunes if you just want to listen.

Frawn Morgan, who began studying gender issues in the workplace while earning her Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from Brandman University, talks about the challenges she's faced in the male-dominated real estate development business, the need for both flexibility and continuity in the workplace and how society can help make that possible for both men and women. Morgan is a principal with LDC Advisors, a Newport Beach-based asset manager and developer of complex master-planned communities located across the US. She joined the firm in 1998 in the accounting department with subsequent promotions through office manager project manager to managing director of asset management. The company’s current portfolio is valued at over $1 billion and in excess of 100,000 lots, making it one of the largest residential land programs in the country. The principal investors in these assets is the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). Between 2005 and 2015, LDC Advisors was the principal real estate consultant and independent fiduciary to CalPERS on their $15 billion land, housing and urban funds. Morgan was one of three principals responsible for managing this portfolio through one of the most turbulent real estate markets since the 1930s. Prior to the CalPERS assignment, Morgan was responsible for managing the development of hundreds of residential lots in complicated projects, including multi-jurisdiction entitlements, brownfield remediation and hillside development. Previously she held positions as the accounting manager for an Orange County homebuilder and the budget and job cost manager for a Los Angeles real estate developer. Morgan is pursuing a Master of Science in corporate and organizational communications from Northeastern University.

Diane Goldstein served 21 years with the Redondo Beach (CA) Police Department, retiring as the first female lieutenant in the agency. During her career she served in patrol and investigative assignments that included gangs and narcotics. She is a subject matter expert and recognized leader in the area of crisis negotiations and developed national training guidelines for use during critical incidents, including the development of POST guidelines for Basic Crisis Negotiator Course Recommended Topics, and Crisis Negotiations Core Competencies. In addition she served as an Academy Instructor at the South Bay Reserve Academy, is a nationally recognized guest lecturer, writer and political commentator on drug policy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies from Brandman University and is a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Brandman Speaks sat down with Jeremy McKinnon to talk about some of the challenges facing transitioning veterans today. Jeremy shares his experiences after returning from duty and beginning the next chapter of life as a student. His determination to help fellow veterans has lead him to establish several veterans support groups and programs while he worked through his own transition. Jeremy McKinnon was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. Joining the Marine Corps at nineteen years old he served fourteen months in Fallujah Iraq during 2008/2009 as Personal Security for the command of Multi-National Forces West (MNF-W). Then serving in Afghanistan during 2010 he was part of the Nato Training Coalition at Camp Sha'heen as a military instructor to the Afghani Army troops. Honorably discharged in November 2010, McKinnon has traversed different schools/cities of California and currently resides in Huntington Beach attending Brandman University Irvine Campus. Working as an Intern at the Veterans Legal Institute (Public interest law firm for Veteran issues) he is looking to attend law school after completing his BA in sociology with Brandman. Former President of the Veterans Group at Orange Coast College, McKinnon is hoping to create efficiency in the communication/interaction between transitioning veterans and the Veteran Service Organizations.