Alison Marek 

 

Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute Co-Director / Professor

ALISON MAREK (MFA, New York University) is an award-winning writer and director who's combined words and images professionally since she was in her late teens. Her short films have played in festivals around the world and aired on cable TV. Her writing and directing have won grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Showtime Networks, Inc., been nominated for a Los Angeles Emmy Award, and received a Gold Aurora, Bronze Telly, and other awards and nominations. She's produced shorts, features, and TV. She also built and ran the video department at an online magazine, where she shot and edited thousands of videos. Her graphic novels "Desert Streams" and "Sparrow" were published by Piranha Press, an offshoot of DC Comics.

Dr. Robertson

Dean, Akio Morita School of Business
Business Chair of Research
Business Professor

Dr. Robert Robertson holds a Ph.D. in Management and Organization (Stirling University, Scotland); Master of Studies in Law (Vermont Law School); Master of Public Administration (Dalhousie University, Canada); a Master of Arts (Eastern Kentucky University); a Bachelor of Science (East Tennessee State University); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management Executive Certificate in Innovation and Strategy, Post-Doctoral Professional Certificate, International Business and Leadership (Argosy University); and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Management-China (University of London). He has more than 15 years of experience in academia as a Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of Business and MBA program director in the United States and in Kazakhstan. Dr. Robertson was selected by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to the Fulbright Specialist Program. He has served as the Chief Academic Officer and Research Fellow at the University of Phoenix's Center for Workforce Diversity, Central Florida campus in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Robertson is a Visiting Full Professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, Faculty of Economics; and, he serves as a Scientific Adviser to the Global Universities in Distance Education (GUIDE) association headquartered at Marconi University, Rome, Italy. He is an invited speaker on international business, strategy, online education and workforce training; and he regularly lectures in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Europe, Brazil and the United States. In the public sector, he has more than 20 years of management experience including serving as the City Manager for the City of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada with more than 8,500 employees and a budget in excess of one billion dollars.

Katya Strachmant

Director of Student Services and Admissions

Katya Shtrachman is the Director of Student Services and Admissions at Anaheim University. In this role, she oversees the school’s various student services tasks from admissions through completion. Prior to joining Anaheim University, Ms. Shtrachman had successfully managed programs in the higher education, not-for-profit and public administration arenas, including positions in regulatory and governing bodies in Ontario, Canada. She uses her leadership, communication, program development and policy analysis skills in her role at Anaheim University. Katya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from York University and an Honors Diploma with a Business specialization from Seneca College in Toronto, Canada.

 

David Desser, Ph.D.

Dean of the Akira Kurosawa School of Film
Film Professor

David Desser is Dean of the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film. He is also Professor Emeritus of Cinema Studies, University of Illinois, where he was Professor of Cinema Studies, Comparative and World Literatures, East Asian Languages and Cultures and Research Professor of Communication. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Kansai University in Japan, Hong Kong Baptist University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Chapman University and the University of Southern California (USC). He received his Ph.D. from USC in the Cinema program with a minor in Japanese and has authored a number of books and served as editor on a number of journals related to Asian cinema.

Dr. Hayo Reinders

Graduate School of Education Chair of Research
TESOL Professor, Graduate School of Education 

Dr. Hayo Reinders is Chair of Research and TESOL Professor for the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education. Holding a Ph.D. in Language Teaching and Learning from the University of Auckland, Dr. Reinders is also Professor of Education and Head of Department at Unitec in Auckland, New Zealand. His previous positions include Head of Learner Development at Middlesex University in London, Director of the English Language Self Access Centre at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and associate professor at RELC in Singapore. He has worked with teachers from a large number of countries worldwide and has been visiting professor in Japan, Thailand, Mexico and the Netherlands. Dr. Reinders edits the journal 'Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching' as well as a book series on ‘New Language Learning and Teaching Environments’ for Palgrave Macmillan. He is Editor of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, and Convenor of the AILA Research Network for CALL and the Learner. Dr. Reinders' interests are in technology in education, learner autonomy, and out-of-class learning, and he is a speaker on these subjects for the Royal Society of New Zealand. His most recent books are on teacher autonomy, teaching methodologies, and second language acquisition.