Connie Petlack has earned both a B.A. in Business Education and an M.A. in Business. She also has done additional graduate work in the areas of computers, curriculum development, and accounting. Connie has taught at the high school, adult school, ROP, and community college levels. Connie is an instructor for the Business Computer Information Systems Department, and she serves on a number of campus committees.

In addition to her teaching experience, Connie has been an educational consultant with the McGraw-Hill Book Company, the State of California, and the County of Los Angeles. She has also published several practice sets, text materials, and numerous articles for professional magazines. Connie is the mother of six and also runs an import/wholesale business for RV appliance parts.

She believes the BCIS Department has created a learning atmosphere that is interesting, challenging, appropriate, and empowering for students. "Please let us work with you in a friendly, enriching environment to develop new skills and talents for personal growth or for finding the job that is just right for you!" Connie can be reached at 530.895.2506; at petlackco@butte.edu; or in BE 123.

Dorinda Salvo has been a Butte College employee for 14 years. Prior to joining the full-time faculty at BCIS, she was a classified employee for six years, holding the positions of Secretary II in Job Placement & Cooperative Education; Instructional Support Specialist in the Transfer & General Ed Division; and Secretary to the Dean of Transfer & General Ed. In addition, Dorinda has been a member of the Management Association at Butte College as a Classified Management Administrative Assistant in the Department of School & College Relations. Prior to working at Butte College, Dorinda worked for over 20 years in positions that included Medical Office Management and Medical Transcription.

Dorinda completed her A.A. Degree at Shasta College and took additional coursework at Southern Oregon State College. While at Butte College, she has served on numerous committees, including the Butte College Budget Development Committee, the Scheduling Workgroup Committee, the Staff Development Health & Wellness Committee, and the BCIS Medical Advisory Committee. In addition, she also serves as the faculty advisor for Work Experience for the Medical Front Office and Medical Transcription for Certification students. She is currently the faculty advisor for the Butte College chapter of IAAP.

Dorinda brings "real world" experience to the classroom, helping ensure that BCIS students are well prepared to enter today's workforce. Dorinda can be reached at 530.895.2205; at salvodo@butte.edu; or in BE 104.

Sandy Sloan is the newest addition to the BCIS family. Sandy has been teaching a variety of business courses at the postsecondary level for the past 14 years. She has an A.S. Degree in Word Processing, a B.S. in Business Education, and an M.P.A. in Public Administration. She is currently completing her Ph.D. and hopes to defend her dissertation in fall 2008. Her research interests include subbaccalaureate business students and subbaccalaureate institutions.

Early in Sandy's career, she worked in the office support field for ten years; during this time, she discovered that she really enjoyed the training aspects of her job. She decided to return to school to seek a degree in teaching. She found she was able to combine her two interests: business and teaching!

Sandy is involved in professional organizations such as the National Business Education Association and Delta Pi Epsilon, a national graduate honorary society for professionals who support and promote scholarships, leadership, and cooperation toward the advancement of education for and about business.

Sandy truly enjoys working with students and finds great reward when students succeed. Sandy can be reached at 530.895.2385; at sloansa@butte.edu; or in BE 116A.

Dorene Thompson has been teaching business technology courses full-time for 12 years and previously taught computer applications courses part-time while working in administrative positions in the fields of technology and politics. She has also designed computer applications training courses and instructional materials for corporate clients as a freelance instructional designer and trainer. Dorene has an M.A. in Organizational Management, a B.A. in English, an Adult/Vocational Education teaching credential, and a certificate in Online Teaching. She also plans to complete an Ed.D.

Dorene designed and taught the first course online for the BCIS Department at Butte College and is designing another online course for the department. She was a presenter at the Western Business and Information Technology Educators conference in Hawaii in February 2006 and at a Butte College technology symposium on the topic of 'Best Practices in Online Teaching.'

Dorene has participated in several Butte College activities and committees, including the Butte College Leadership Development Institute, the Curriculum Committee, the Early Alert Committee (chairperson), and the Butte College Student Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (club advisor). Dorene says that her role as an instructor is to "help students obtain the knowledge and skills they need to create the successful and happy lives they want for themselves and their families". Dorene can be reached at 530.895.2971; at thompsondo@butte.edu; or in BE 102.