ABS Faculty Bios

The Adult Basic Skills team at COCC is made up of outstanding faculty and staff that can help you achieve your goals. Also see the ABS Department Directory for a full listing of faculty and staff.


Stephina Brewer

Stephina Brewer
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
sbrewer5@cocc.edu

541-550-4118

Stef has taught in a variety of contexts including teacher education,university intensive English, high school,community college, and adult education in six countries. Stef grew up in Northern Arizona, but got her degrees in Art History, Latin and Applied Linguistics at Arizona State where it is much warmer. When she isn’t reading, she enjoys walking/hiking long distances and riding bikes of all types.


Jennifer Judd

Jennifer Judd
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
jjudd@cocc.edu
541-504-2950

Jennifer grew up in Central Oregon and teaches communications full time. She received a BA in anthropology at Whitman College and an MA in Adult Education and Training from Seattle University. She also received her initial certificate to teach English as a second language through Seattle University. Jenn discovered her passion for teaching when she worked as a reading and writing tutor at North Seattle Community College in 1994. Her favorite thing about teaching is the students because they are a constant source of inspiration and strength. Outside of work, Jenn enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, experimenting in the kitchen, reading new authors, and playing outdoors.


Sarah in Spain

Sarah Schneider
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
sschneider2@cocc.edu

Sarah grew up in Bend but left for a time to see the world. After studying German at Connecticut College and receiving her B.A., she attended the Free University in Berlin for a year. She continued her time abroad as an assistant English teacher to high school students in Kobe, Japan as a participant of the JET Program. Sarah received her M.A. TESOL degree at San Francisco State University and taught in the Composition for Multilingual Students program there after graduation. She has taught and tutored ELL students at all levels in California and Central Oregon as a teacher and volunteer. When she’s not working, Sarah likes to spend time with her family, practice singing, or go for a walk and look for birds.


Amy Stancliff

Amy Stancliff
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
astancliff@cocc.edu 
541-383-7701 x 2044

Amy Stancliff has been with the ABS department for 13 years as an ELL instructor. She also teaches College Success and Study Strategies for COCC through the Human Development Department. Amy has a BA in English Literature with a Minor in Spanish from Brigham Young University. She received her M.Ed. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Prior to coming to COCC, Amy taught English in Uruguay and at Chemeketa Community College and has been instrumental in curriculum development and lesson planning workshops for other ELL instructors. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.  


Amy Stinard

Amy Stinard
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
astinard@cocc.edu 
541-318-3793

Amy has been teaching all levels of English Language Learning at COCC since 1997. She studied and received an International TEFL certificate and spent two years teaching English in the Czech Republic prior to joining the COCC Adult Basic Skills Department. She is conversational in Spanish and is familiar with the Czech and Portuguese languages.


Cynthia Viles

Cynthia Viles
Adult Basic Skills Instructor
cviles@cocc.edu 
541-504-2914

Cynthia Viles, B.A., is a COCC Adult Basic Skills Instructor in Prineville, Madras, and Warm Springs. Prior to her current assignments, she held other positions for the COCC-ABS Program, the first as a volunteer tutor in the early 1980's, and more recently as the TOPS Data Accountability staff-person. Cynthia credits the ABS tutoring experience all those years ago for lighting her passion for working with adult-learners, which she honed in other fields of work, including positions for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, and for the Portland Public School District. Publications include; First Oregonians, "Siletz Chapter, Oregon Committee for the Humanities, 1992, and "Rapid assessment procedures to describe tobacco practices at sites managed by Indian Tribes," Tobacco Control 1995; 4:156-161 (contributor). When not working, Cynthia enjoys time spent with family, playing mobile games, doing many forms of crafts, reading or watching comedies, and exploring minerals and plant-life.