Faculty
Christina Friedle
Christina Friedle has been teaching Geography & Geographic Information (GIS) classes at Portland Community College since 2007. She has worked on a wide variety of geographically based projects including Director of a Watershed Education program, Conservation Geographer for a salmon conservation organization, and as an independent GIS contractor in conservation, transportation, and planning. Christina received an M.S. in Geography from Portland State University with a focus on Natural Resource Management, Protected Areas, and Central America. Christina has been instrumental in designing and implementing the GIS certificate program at PCC.
Dimitar L. Dimitrov, Ph.D.
Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov received his academic training, as well as his teaching and research experience, from the best academic program in Geography in Bulgaria – Sofia University, where he taught at a level of Assistant Professor before coming to the US. Dr. Dimitrov has over sixteen years of academic research experience and more than twenty-five years of teaching experience in Geography.
Since living in the US, Dr. Dimitrov has taught a number of courses at several US colleges and universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Mary Washington, Portland State University, and Willamette University.
At PCC, Dr. Dimitrov teaches Human Geography, World Regional Geography, Geography of Oregon, Natural Environment, and Geography of Europe.
Joe Gordon
Joe Gordon grew up in Eugene, Oregon, and received an M.S. in Geography from the University of Oregon. His research fellowship at the UO focused on modeling the intersection between global climate change and socioeconomic vulnerability, and his thesis focused on mining and mapping social media data during the 2012 presidential election. Simultaneously, as an intern at Lane Council of Governments, Joe began dabbling with LiDAR and learning how to model vegetation and perform feature extraction. As a GIS Specialist at Metro, his current focus is split between demographics and remote sensing, the underlying theme in both fields being the identification of patterns in data and potential relationships between variables. As an instructor at PCC, Joe enjoys sharing with and learning from aspiring practitioners in the ever-changing and advancing field of GIS.
Lauren Hull
Lauren Hull is a human-environment geographer that explores social justice, urban ecology, and the intersections of nature and human systems. She received an M.S. in Geography from Louisiana State University, where she examined relationships that form between humans and non-humans in urban gardens. As a geography Instructor at PCC, Lauren teaches both human and physical geography courses. Prior to working at PCC, Lauren taught at Chemeketa Community College and worked with K-12 outreach extension programs at Louisiana State University. She continues to work with K-12 education programs in Oregon, including the Center for Geography Education in Oregon. Lauren’s goal as an instructor is to encourage conversation, collaborate, and cultivate equitable communities.
Tuba Kayaarasi
Tuba Kayaarasi is a human geographer with a particular interest in cultural geography and feminist political ecology. Her regional focus is Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Tuba holds an M.A. in International Relations with a particular focus on the political economy of the environment and studied the impacts of oil production on the environment and the Ogoni people of Nigeria. In 2006, Tuba earned an M.S. degree in Geography with a focus on gendered impacts of agricultural mechanization and intensive cotton production in Southeastern Turkey. In 2008, Tuba earned her third Master’s degree in Education in Leadership in Ecology, Culture, and Learning, focusing on vernacular knowledge, education, and self-determination for indigenous peoples.
Tuba currently teaches various human geography courses at PCC including Human Geography, Geography of Africa, Geography of Global Issues, and World Regional Geography. She also works at the Immigrant and Refugee Communities Organization (IRCO) as an instructor. The focus of her work at IRCO is to teach basic literacy and cultural adaptation skills to newly arrived refugees and immigrants.
Alee Kelley
Alee Kelley received a BA in Urban Sustainability and an MS in Earth and Environmental Sciences from CUNY Brooklyn College. Her thesis research was on urban mosquito populations in community gardens in Brooklyn New York and how land-use changes affect mosquito hotspots. Alee has also been involved in various projects, including mapping initiatives with New Jersey Audubon, the assessment and maintenance of hydroponic vegetable units, permaculture farming, conducting interviews and assessments of K-12 students in a climate science program, and teaching courses on GIS, environmental science, and sustainability. A common thread throughout her research and academic interests is climate change. She is passionate about harnessing scientific inquiry and geospatial technology to address the climate crisis.
Masoud Kheirabadi
Masoud Kheirabadi (Ph.D. and M.A., University of Oregon; M.S., Texas A & I University; B.S., University of Tehran) is an Adjunct Professor. He has taught at PCC since 1993. He has also taught courses and seminars at the University of Oregon, Lewis & Clark College, Marylhurst University, and Portland State University. These courses and seminars range from introductory to advanced courses covering various topics dealing with geography, environmental science, population, resources, sustainability, and Middle Eastern/Islamic studies. Dr. Kheirabadi has received awards for excellence in academic service and teaching from Marylhurst University. Sustainable development, ecology, politics, and spirituality and religion are among his favorite research topics. Among books published by Dr. Kheirabadi are ‘Iranian Cities: Formation and Development’; ‘Modern World Nations: Iran (second edition)’; ‘Sri Satya Sai Baba (Spiritual Leaders and Thinkers)’; and ‘Islam (World Great Religions)’.
Binh Le
Binh Le has more than 10 years of experience in GIS. He received his GIS certificate from San Francisco State University and a B.S. in Biology from UCLA. Binh has a variety of GIS experiences in environmental consulting, land planning, utility, and local government. Binh has also taught classes in nautical science and celestial navigation as a sea captain. Binh’s professional interests include cartography, data visualization, and developing apps and Python tools. As an instructor at PCC, Binh hopes to share his practical knowledge in GIS to aspiring professionals.
Lorena Nascimento
Lorena Nascimento has a Bachelor’s degree in Forestry, and she moved from Brazil in 2015 to pursue a Ph.D. in Urban Studies at Portland State University. Since then, she has been working with local nonprofits and public administration agencies in environmental education, urban mobility, and urban forestry projects. She participates in the advisory boards of City of Portland Parks Board, Urban Forestry Commission, and Urban Greenspaces Institute. Lorena sees GIS as a great tool to address social justice issues and to educate the community about their local geography. Her areas of expertise are PPGIS, environmental justice, urban forestry planning, and community engagement. In her dissertation, Lorena researches the public perceptions of urban ecosystem services in Portland, the intersectionality of social and environmental justice in progressive movements, and urban mobility patterns in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In her free time, Lorena enjoys swimming, writing for blogs, gardening, and practicing plant identification. At PCC, Lorena seeks to keep straightening the bonds between society and academia through community-based learning and the exchange of personal experiences and interests.
Kerry Pataki
Kerry Pataki has been teaching at PCC since 2002. He teaches both geography and anthropology, with a particular interest in the relationship between environment and culture. Kerry has a MA in geography and a Ph.D. in anthropology. His master’s graduate work focused on population growth, migration, and the long-term environmental effects on indigenous groups, while his doctoral research focused on cultural value systems and their impact on the environment; both involved fieldwork in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere. Kerry is published in a number of books and journals on various subjects, including health aspects among migrants in the Yakima Valley in Washington and the Heiltsuk Kwakiutl in coastal British Columbia.
As for teaching, Kerry has taught at Reed College, the University of Colorado in Boulder, University of California (San Francisco and Berkeley), and University of Papua New Guinea. Kerry also consults on health and environment for the World Health Organization and others.
Krishna Sunglieng
Krishna Sunglieng received his BS in Social Sciences from PSU in 2018 and his GIS certificate from PCC in 2021. Before returning to PCC as a UAS instructor, he completed a 1-year UAS internship at Clean Water Services, performing mapping missions to support large restoration projects throughout the Tualatin River Watershed. As a UAS instructor at PCC, he has helped update and develop the UAS certificate and college-wide UAS policy. Before completing his GIS Certificate at PCC, Krishna spent over ten years in the service industry between Denver, Austin, and Portland.