Faculty Fellows

Karen Yescavage, Ph.D.

Karen Yescavage, professor of psychology, earned her Ph.D. in experimental personality and social psychology from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro in 1992. She has spent her entire career at CSU-Pueblo. Decades ago, she began “flipping the classroom” employing student-centered, collaborative learning strategies; in addition to applying jigsaw classroom techniques to discuss open educational resources, she utilizes experiential, community service learning. In the Emotional Intelligence class, students apply course material on self-empathy and compassionate communication by developing role-plays with youth. Most recently, her Creative Wellness class painted a 24’ x 36’ mural on the Pueblo levee of the black footed ferret, an endangered species reintroduced to the area.  She coordinates the newly established interdisciplinary Creative Wellness minor, applying Positive Psychology concepts to the Arts and Humanities to promote psychological well-being. She is active in the community in a variety of efforts to promote social justice and well-being, e.g., working with El Movimiento Sigue to break the school-to-prison pipeline, collaborating with Native American elders in theatrical storytelling with children.

Priscilla Brenes, Ph.D.

Priscilla Brenes is from Costa Rica, and she is an Assistant Professor in Health Sciences at Colorado State University in Pueblo. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Costa Rica. She obtained a master’s degree in Public Health and a doctoral degree in Public Health Nutrition, both from Kansas State University. Dr. Brenes teaches public health, epidemiology, program evaluation, and health sciences introductory courses. Her interests include using technology in teaching and creating motivational resources for students. She helps the Parkinson’s support group in Pueblo and is passionate about nutrition in Parkinson’s. She shares her home with two furry animals/friends.

Michael Briscoe, Ph.D.

Michael earned a certificate in teaching sociology from Utah State University while completing his Ph.D. in sociology. He has published in the American Sociological Association’s “Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology,” and at CSU Pueblo he teaches courses on social problems, theory, and environmental sociology.

Rashad Islam, Ph.D., P.E.

Dr. Islam is the first Director of the Southern Colorado Institute of Transportation Technology (SCITT) hosted by CSU Pueblo, and an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering. He is also a registered Professional Engineer (PE), and an ABET Undergraduate Program Evaluator. Dr. Islam received a Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering (with the grade of ‘distinction’ in the research, and a GPA of 4.0 out of 4.0 in the coursework) from the University of New Mexico. He has a Masters's degree jointly from the University of Minho (Portugal) and the Technical University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain). Dr. Islam has earned a cadre of recognitions, including the University Faculty Award for Scholarship & Creative Activity (2022), Outstanding Faculty for the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (2021) and Excellence in Research for the College of Engineering, Education and Professional Studies (2020). He chaired the university Scholarly Activity Board, sits on the University Faculty Senate, and also is the CSU Pueblo faculty representative on the CSU System Board of Governors. Dr. Islam has more than 100 publications including many textbooks, over 60 scholarly journal articles, several technical reports and conference papers. 

Lee Ann Martinez, Ph.D.

Lee Anne Martínez (she/her/hers) is an Aquatic Ecologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Biology where she teaches Ecology, Evolution, Limnology and Earth Sciences. She has served as a Program Officer with the National Science Foundation, directed a long-term Bridges to Biomedical Careers Program (NIH) at CSU Pueblo, and conducted a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Mali, West Africa. Martínez has a BA in Aquatic Biology from University of California Santa Barbara, a masters in Biological Oceanography from UC Santa Cruz and a PhD in Ecology from Cornell University, with postdoctoral experience at the University of Lund in Sweden. She was also a backcountry ranger at Crater Lake National Park, OR where she fought wildland fires. She is dedicated to empowering students from underrepresented backgrounds in the STEM fields.

Yvonne Montoya, Ph.D.

Yvonne J. Montoya, Ph.D. (Arizona State University), is an Associate Professor of Communication & Information Design at Colorado State University Pueblo. Dr. Montoya’s research interests and consulting work include work-life wellness; communication-based interventions for coping with stress, trauma, and addiction; spiritual communication; and organizational socialization and retention. Her Ph.D. is in Communication with an emphasis in organizational communication. She also holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication. Dr. Montoya has taught numerous face-to-face, online, and hybrid courses emphasizing interpersonal, organizational, and intercultural aspects of communication often using an experiential education approach. She has also earned certifications/credentials in online and inclusive teaching and incorporates Theatre of the Oppressed pedagogy in her courses. Dr. Montoya is a Ford Fellow, has been honored as an Outstanding Faculty Member in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at CSU Pueblo, and has presented and published through a variety of regional, national, and international outlets. She enjoys lifting weights, hiking and spending time with her family.

Christine Rochester, Ph.D.

Dr. Christine Rochester coordinates the Physical Education Teacher Education program at Colorado State University Pueblo. She is a passionate experiential educator that encourages people of all ages to participate in physical activity at their own level of ability.  She teaches a wide variety of courses within the School of Health Sciences and Human Movement including Secondary Methods of Physical Education, Adapted Physical Education Methods, Canyon Orientation, Methods of Rhythmic Activities, Research and Assessment in Recreation among others. She is a member of the Society of Health and Physical Educators. Christine enjoys teaching adventure education and participates in a wide variety of outdoor activities. She lives with her rescue dog Corina in Beulah and Salida, Colorado.

David Volk, DMA

David Volk joined Colorado State University Pueblo in August 2013 as Associate Professor of Music and Department Chair, having previously taught at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia. He is currently Professor of Music and the inaugural Director of the CSU Pueblo Center for Honors and Leadership.  At UVa-Wise, David was the 2010 recipient of the college’s Outstanding Teacher award and a 2010 nominee for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award. David is an active composer. Recent endeavors include an original stage play with a through-composed musical score and two full-length operas: I’m Here, which premiered in Pueblo in 2022, King Arthur (Pueblo, 2019), and Strange Fruit (Pueblo, 2017), based on the 1944 best-selling novel by Lillian Smith. David has also written extensively for choir, including Magnificat premiered in December 2014 with the Pueblo Symphony and Colorado State University Pueblo Concert Choir, and the multi-movement Gloria and Credo premiered with orchestra and guest soloists in 2016 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Pueblo Chorale Society. David holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Theory from Florida State University. He has appeared as a guest piano soloist with the Toccoa Symphony (Toccoa, Georgia) and UVa-Wise Highland Orchestra as well as a guest choral clinician for various middle and high school festivals in Georgia, Virginia, and Colorado. David, his wife Heather, and sons Reese and Julian were the 2007 Commonwealth of Virginia Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes and represented Pueblo as Ambassador Family in 2016.

Carla Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Carla Zimmerman is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies from Texas A&M University. Her teaching includes courses in introductory psychology, social psychology, psychology of gender, forensic psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology. Currently, she is developing an OER textbook for her Introduction to Psychology for Majors course. Her research focuses on how people respond to and cope with feeling ignored or excluded. In addition, she is a Discovery Scholars faculty mentor leading a research team to examine the psychological effects of smartphone-based social interactions.

Rachel Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Rachel Zimmerman is an assistant professor of art history and created the Museum Studies minor at CSU Pueblo. She teaches general education and upper-division art history courses on a wide variety of topics. She attained her Ph.D. at the University of Delaware and held a research fellowship at Winterthur Museum. Her primary area of research is the art and material culture in the early modern Portuguese empire, especially in eighteenth-century Brazil. She is an editor for Smarthistory.org, the largest public art history resource, and contributed a chapter to their open-access textbook intended for undergraduate audiences. Dr. Zimmerman is currently in the process of publishing an essay on equitable grading practices and faculty burnout and is writing about the white supremacist underpinnings of art historical approaches to colonial Afro-Brazilian artists.

Rufina Butler, Ph.D.

I have worked in adult higher education for 21 years, with 18 of those years teaching undergraduate courses both online and campus-based, and 7 years teaching graduate coursework online. She has worked as a retention academic advisor, admissions enrollment advisor, and faculty recruiter. In 2019 I developed multiple communications courses for the Colorado Community College using OER materials. I teach for multiple 2-year and 4-year institutions. I am currently a Lecturer at Colorado State University Pueblo. In May of 2022, Proposal with Anthology Events was selected.  I hold a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Phoenix, a Master’s in Communications and Liberal Arts from Regis University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Northcentral University.

Chris Creighton, Ph.D.

Rick Farrer, Ph.D.

Amaya Garcia Costas, Ph.D.

Karen Krepps, Ph.D.

Jonathan Velasco, Ph.D.

Karen Yescavage, Ph.D.