About Us

Naomi Rutuku

Executive Editor / Designer

Naomi Rutuku is an English professor at Bakersfield College, where she has been teaching Composition and Literature since 2017. Naomi holds her Master of Arts degree in English Rhetoric and Composition and her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature—both from California State University, Northridge.

Keri Johnson

Editor

Keri Johnson holds a Ph.D. in English Literature with a Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory from the University of California, Davis. Before coming to Bakersfield College in 2011, she taught at the University of California, Davis and Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. As Professor of English at Bakersfield College, she teaches a range of English composition and literature courses and serves on the Program Review Committee.

Rae Ann Kumelos

Editor

Rae Ann Kumelos holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Mythological Studies, with a Masters in Literature/Mythology and a B.S. in Marketing. Rae Ann has spoken at a number of conferences internationally and in the United States on animals in mythology and her writing has been published in  newspaper and magazine columns, academic journals, and as a series on XM Satellite Radio. Rae Ann’s book Wild Wisdom: Animal Stories of the Southwest won a national Independent Publishers Award and she is currently under contract with her publisher working on a book about Gemstones.  

Samuel J. Moyle

Webmaster

Sam has an M.A. in English and a B.A. in Liberal Studies, both from Portland State University. Some of his earliest published writing appeared in a community college journal just like this one. Since then, he has been rejected by prestigious institutions such as The New Yorker and the Fulbright Scholarship program. His BC course load includes Expository Composition and World Literature.

Jeffrey Eagan

Submissions Editor

Jeffrey Eagan is an English professor at Bakersfield College. When not teacing composition, literature, and creative writing, you can find him poring over the beauty of sequential art and fishing obscure stretches of the Kern River.

Marissa Patton

Editor

Marissa Patton is an English instructor at Bakersfield College and have been working with the English department for the past two years. I enjoy journalism and have written in several journals such as the Bakersfield Californian, Life Magazine, and the CSUB Runner newspaper. I credit some of my aspirations to the Marvel character Peter Parker and the DC character Clark Kent who were both journalists and also “super” awesome. I hope you enjoy all of the wonderful readings coming your way. 

Danny Chavez

Marketing

A San Joaquin Valley native, Danny Chavez earned his M.A degree in English/Creative Writing from CSU, Sacramento. He has taught English at both College of the Sequoias and Bakersfield College. In addition to on-campus classes, he’s also taught at multiple prisons in Kern and Tulare counties as a member of BC’s Rising Scholars Program.

Chris Doyen

Editor

Chris Doyen has taught literature and composition full-time at Bakersfield College since 2006. Having grown up in California, he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Comparative Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from California State University Long Beach. He then received a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from the Critical Studies Writing Program at California Institute of the Arts. He first started teaching at College of the Canyons in Valencia for a few years before beginning full-time at Cerro Coso College’s South Kern site—located at Edwards Air Force Base—where he stayed for two years. He then transferred to Bakersfield College in 2006. He is now permanently stationed at the Bakersfield College Southwest Campus (BCSW). Over the years, Professor Doyen has taught Mythology as well as Creative Writing, and he regularly teaches English 1B: Introduction to Literature. He enjoys film, music, and art. He lives in Bakersfield, California with his lovely wife and daughters.