MPA Affiliated Faculty Bios
- Pauline Arneberg
Dr. Arneberg is Principal of A&A Associates, an international organizational development and training firm. She has practiced organization development and taught action training and research in Bahrain, Pakistan, Botswana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and has served as a senior consultant to the Prime Minister's Office, Singapore (Civil Service College) for over fifteen years. In addition, she has served as a consultant to many US government agencies and corporations. A few include Southern California Edison, Xerox, Frontrange Solutions, Ernst and Young, and the Federal Aviation Administration, the Social Security Administration, City of Los Angeles, State of California Office of Emergency Services, and the National Jewish Federation.
She has served as convener of the Applied Behavioral Sciences Group, School of Public Administration, and University of Southern California; lead the International Training of Trainers Program. She currently teaches Organization Theory and Behavior and Public Human Resources in CSUN and USC.
She earned a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Central Connecticut State College and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University for Humanistic Studies.- Maurice Bisheff
- Maurice Bisheff, Ph.D., has worked in and with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors throughout his career in teaching and public service. At the University of Southern California’s School of Public Administration, he consulted to municipal departments with the Center for Training and Development, was an Associate Director with its Gaming-Simulation Group for fifteen years, and co-developed and taught classes on Urban Policymaking and Strategic Planning in the Public Sector. He also taught classes in Public Administration and Society, Organizational Behavior, Organizational Designing, Public Policymaking Processes, Organization Development in the Public Sector, and Group and Intergroup Relations.
As a co-consultant, he worked with Tulare County in developing a successful strategic plan and implementation of its social services department and later worked with the University of Southern California’s Office of Community Affairs and surrounding citizen and community groups on Phase I of a community planning process which resulted in the establishment of the first neighborhood council in Los Angeles. He also worked with the U.S. Agency of International Development in conducting a trainer of trainers program in Poland in 1991. He became Research Director of the nonprofit International Institute of Municipal Clerks where he served municipalities from around the world in alerting them to new approaches to conducting their business.
He is currently a Director of Prometheus Construction where he was formerly President. As a member of the private sector, he has participated in the new initiatives in Sustainability and Urban Design in the City of Ventura and become involved in an annual, intergenerational retreat for young people on issues of Ecology, Sustainability,and Environmental Justice. He currently teaches Public Administration and its Environments, Organization Theory and Human Behavior, and Strategic Management in the Public Sector for CSUN.
- Larry A. Bustetter
Dr. Bustetter has over 35 years experience in various research, clinical, education/training and administrative positions (public and private). He currently serves as the Chief Learning Officer and Chief, Workforce Development Section-Human Resources, for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (4,000+ employees). Past experience has included positions such as Education Coordinator/Administrator for the Sepulveda VA Medical Center School of Medical Technology, College Instructor, Cerritos College, CA; Calif. State University-Northridge; Calif. State University-Dominguez Hills and Regional Cluster Administrator for Doctoral Programs in Education for Nova Southeastern University (Los Angeles area).
Consulting experience for over 50 organizations in 12 states has included workshops and in-house training in instructional design, delivery and evaluation; workforce/organization development, satellite education program administration, clinical laboratory management, safety and disaster management, and healthcare management/supervision for organizations such as Hospital Learning Centers, Inc., the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and the Veterans Administration Regional Medical Education Centers.
Research interests have included organization development and adult learning. Dr. Bustetter holds Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees (B.S./M.S.) in Biology, a Master of Arts Degree (M.A.) in Education, Administration and Supervision and Higher Education and a Doctor of Education Degree (Ed.D.) in Adult Education (research focus: workplace learning; workforce development).
- Deborah F. Ching
Following a career in executive leadership positions in the nonprofit sector, Professor Ching provides management and executive consulting services with a focus on not-for-profit organizations. For twenty years, she was affiliated with Chinatown Service Center, the largest community-based Chinese American service organization in Southern California. During her tenure as Executive Director of the Center, the organization grew from an annual budget of $1.2 million to over $5 million with a staff of 90.
The Center provides a wide range of services and programs to the community included casework, counseling, workforce training, affordable housing development, small business assistance and elderly services. In addition, the Center operates a community health clinic, youth center and child development center. In 2000, Ms. Ching was appointed President and CEO of the Los Angeles Women's Foundation, a community based public foundation whose mission focused on increasing resources and opportunities for women and girls. She later joined the Foundation's Board of Directors, serving as the Program and Public Policy Chair.
Ms. Ching is a 1998 national fellow of the Asian Pacific American Women's Leadership Institute and a recipient of the Durfee Sabbatical Award. In 1997, she was named Woman of the Year for the 45th State Assembly District by then Assembly Speaker, now Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. Currently, she serves on the Boards of Directors of Liberty Hill Foundation, Chinatown Service Center and the Community Technology Policy Council, is a member of the Citizens' Oversight Committee to the California Highway Patrol, and the Universal Service Task Force for SBC in California.
For the MPA program, Professor Ching teaches Management of Nonprofit Organizations. She holds a BA degree in Psychology from UCLA and an MPA degree from the University of Southern California.- Shauna Clark
Ms. Clark has been providing consulting and management services to various California organizations and government agencies since 1997. Prior to this, as a city administrator for the City of San Bernardino, she developed and managed the city's overall financial policies and economic strategies. She has been instrumental in establishing missions and goals for various departments such as Police, Fire, Public Works, Human Resources, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Building Services and Risk Management. As City Manager, she managed 16 major departments with an annual budget of $148 million. In her role, she provided policy advice to the Mayor and the City Council.
As a City Clerk for the City of San Bernardino from 1978-1990, she was responsible for citywide record management and collection of tax revenues through business licenses and transient occupancy tax.
Professor Clark has an M.B.A. degree from California State University, San Bernardino, and teaches Community and Economic Development, Public Human Resources Management and Public Budgeting and Financial Management courses for the MPA program.- Daniel Degravel
Dr. Daniel Degravel has broad experience in both the private and public sectors in France and in North America. Thus he brings an international/comparativeperspective and professional experience to his teaching fields of interests: strategic and organizational change management, and human resources management.
Since 1996, Dr. Degravel has taught at the University of Paris Dauphine (France's #1 School of Business Management) and is now residing in Los Angeles. He has also been a consultant and project manager for Electricity de France (EDF) Paris, a leader in Europe's public electricity sector. Dr. Degravel teaches Strategic Management & Public Human Resources for the MPA program. He received his Ph.D. (with high honors) in Business Management from the University of Grenoble II, France.- Donald Greenberg
Professor Greenberg is a Senior Civil Attorney with the County Counsel's Office, County of Ventura, where he has worked since January 1992. His current primary assignments include advising the Assessment Appeals Board, Human Services Agency, Recreation Services Division, Public Health Department, Emergency Medical Services Agency, Alcohol and Drug Programs, and handling conflict of interest issues. Donald Greenberg has taught Administrative Law in the MPA Program for over 10 years. He served as City Attorney for the City of Ventura from 1975-89. He is a past president of the Tri-Counties Local Government Attorneys Association and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Ventura County Bar Association, and a member of the County Counsel's Association Taxation Section since 1992.
Professor Greenberg is a graduate of the University of Southern California (A.B. 1964) (Phi Beta Kappa) and of the University of California (Boalt Hall) (J.D. 1967) where he was a member of the law review. He served a one-year clerkship with the Honorable James A. Cobey, Justice, State Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, from 1967-68, and then worked in the litigation department of the Beverly Hills firm, Kaplan, Livingston, Goodwin, Berkowitz & Selvin before commencing his municipal law practice as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Ventura in January 1972.
His publications include Comment, "The Scope of the Initiative and Referendum in California," 54 Calif. L. Rev. 1717 (1966); "Some Perspectives on the Regulation of Drug Paraphernalia," League of California Cities, City Attorney's Department papers, Fall 1982; "The Changing Role of the City Attorney," Western City magazine, March 1990 and 17 Current Municipal Problems 330 (1991); "Some Things City Attorneys Should Know About Counties," League of California Cities, City Attorney's Department papers, Spring 1995, "Conflict of Interest Law and its Application to the Assessment and Equalization Processes at the County Level," County Counsel's Taxation Section (November, 1998) and "A Potpourri of Items," County Counsel's Taxation Section (November 2000).- John Nicoll
Professor Nicoll has over 30 years of professional managerial experience in local government. Most recently, he was Director of Management Services in a full service Charter City with a population of 102,000. There he had managerial responsibility for Human Resources, Budget and Finance, Information Technology, Risk Management and Labor Relations as well as experience with Police and Fire on manpower-planning issues. Currently, Professor Nicoll is serving as Chief Deputy Executive Officer for the County of Ventura as the Chief Labor Negotiator. The County of Ventura has 7,500 employees in ten bargaining units with a budget of $1.2 billion.
Professor Nicoll teaches the following MPA courses: Public Human Resources Management; Public Budgeting and Financial Administration; Public Sector Labor Relations; and Entrepreneurial Management.
Professor Nicoll has received numerous awards and recognitions in his professional career ranging from the Mayor's Commendation for Service to Excellence in Budgeting from the California Municipal Finance Officers Association.
Professor Nicoll received his B.A. and M.P.A. from the University of Southern California with a specialization in personnel/finance.- H. Eric Schockman
H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D., served as Associate Dean/Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California. He was also the Associate Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, the Associate Director of the Center on Multiethnic and Transnational Studies at USC and the Executive Director of the EdmundG. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles.
Dr. Schockman currently is the president of an international nonprofit organization that makes foundational grants to address the immediate and systemic causes of hunger and malnutrition.
A public policy expert and an authority on hunger and poverty issues, Dr. Schockman has served as a consultantto the California State Assembly and the Los Angeles City Council. He presently serves as Chair of the National Anti-Hunger Organization (NAHO), an alliance of all the major national anti-hunger organizations in the United States. Additionally, Dr. Schockman is a memberof both the Interfaith Hunger Director's Committee and the Alliance to End Hunger. He was appointed by California State Assembly Speaker Emeritus Antonio Villaraigosa to serve on the prestigious Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan, independent body whose functionis to promote efficiency and economy in state programs.
He served as Policy Director of the Elected Los Angeles City Charter Commission, which re-wrote the city charter of the second largest city in the United States. He served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, West Africa, teaching agricultural and sustainable development. Dr. Schockman speaks before elected officials, professional organizations and community groups across the country and is frequently quoted in the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, CNN, NPR and other national publications and electronic media. He has written several books and edited numerous articles on politics and public policy. Dr. Schockman holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of California, Riverside.- Mike Sedell
Professor Sedell was appointed City Manager of the City of Simi Valley on June 9, 1995. Prior to his appointment as City Manager, Mike had over nineteen years of responsibility working directly with the City Manager for effective administration of city-wide programs including supervision over areas of public affairs, media relations, City Council-staff relations, governmental affairs, labor relations, transit system operations and elections.
In addition to serving as Simi Valley's City Manager, Professor Sedell teaches an Intergovernmental Relations Seminar in the MPA program at California State University Northridge, and is the Chair-elect of the Board of Directors of Interface, Children and Family Services of Ventura County, a county-wide social services organization. He worked as the City's Personnel Administrator and Community Services Coordinator in Simi Valley, being involved with the Neighborhood Council Program and Youth Services prior to being asked to become partof the City Manager's office in l975.
When then-Mayor Elton Gallegly was elected to Congress in 1986, he asked Mr. Sedell to serve as his Chief-of-Staff in Washington, D.C., and California. After three years with Congressman Gallegly, commuting between California and Washington, he decided that he preferred local government to the national scene, and he returned to Simi Valley as the City's Assistant City Manager until his appointment in 1995 to City Manager.
Professor Sedell has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from CSUN in Political Science and Urban Studies (double major) and an MPA degree from the University of Southern California.
- Jason Stilwell
Dr. Stilwell is Assistant County Executive Officer for Santa Barbara County. He is responsible for developing and controlling the County’s budget including the performance measurement and fiscal analysis. Professor Stilwell has over fifteen years experience as a practitioner of local government management and over ten years experience as a professor and researcher of public administration.
He has presented numerous papers at national conferences and has various academic publications with a specific focus on budgetary issues and strategies for effective management.
Professor Stilwell received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2000, his M.P.A. from San Jose State University in 1993 and his B.A. in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1989. He can be contacted by email at jason.stilwell@csun.edu.- William Wallis
Dr. Wallis is a professor in the California State University, Northridge Political Science Department. His specialties include Comparative Politics, American Government, Political Theory, and Political Science Methods and Political Economy. Among others, he wrote "A Model of Bureaucratic Efficiency" (1982) and "Max Webber and the New Logic" (1974). Dr. Wallis teaches Research Methods in Public Administration and Organization Leadership for the MPA Program. Professor Wallis received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He can be contacted by email at william.wallis@csun.edu.- Steven Wantz
Professor Wantz is Fiscal Manager, County Executive Office, County of Ventura. He provides management services to the County Executive Office Fiscal Services and Administrative Services Division, and he is responsible for the fiscal management of the following fund types: General Fund (operating budgets), Internal Services Funds (Medical Benefits, Personnel Services and Risk Management), Trust Funds, State and Federal Grants, and a Redevelopment Agency. Aggregate fiscal responsibility totals more than $120 million. In managing fiscal services, Professor Wantz has been involved in financial status reports, budget development and monitoring, year-end close procedures, cost allocation plans, contract rates and fees development and fiscal analysis. The Fiscal Division also provides accounting services for payroll, accounts payable, procurement, trust fund reconciliation, cash receipts and deposits. Professor Wantz also represents the County Executive Office by coordinating fiscal, administrative, and systems activities with other divisions, departments and agencies.
Professor Wantz has more than 15 years of public finance experience with the County of Ventura, City of Ventura, and the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office.
Professor Wantz teaches Public Budgeting and Financial Administration for the CSUN MPA program. He received his Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from California State University, Northridge; his B.A. in economics from California State University, Long Beach; a Certificate in School Business Management Practices from Pepperdine University; and a Local Area Network (LAN) Specialist Certificate; University of California, Santa Barbara; 1997.
