Mendocino College Coast Center is the newest location to be added to the Mendocino Lake Community College District (CCD). Other Centers are located in Willits (North County Center) and Lakeport (Lake Center), with the main campus in Ukiah. The goal of all Centers is to provide classes, services, and access for students in remote parts of the Mendocino Lake CCD. To this end, the Coast Center offers fall, spring, and summer classes; admissions and registration assistance; academic counseling; financial aid; EOPS; CalWorks; and other support services.

The beautiful Coast Center campus provides a friendly and accessible atmosphere for new and returning college students. Our faculty and staff offer continuing education and support services that lead to college degrees, certificates, improved job skills, transfers to other colleges and universities, and personal enrichment. It's never too soon (or too late!) to start thinking about what higher education can do for you. For information and/or assistance, please call or stop by the Coast Center.

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1211 Del Mar Drive, Fort Bragg CA 95437  •  707-961-2200

The Coast Center

The Coast Center is located at 1211 Del Mar Drive in Fort Bragg CA, about three and a half hours north (172 miles) of San Francisco traveling on Highway 101. The campus consists of two main buildings: Building 100 contains the Registration/Learning Commons and eight classrooms dedicated to video conferencing, computer lab, the sciences, and most academic subjects except art. Building 100 also contains the Part Time Faculty offices. Building 200 is dedicated to art.

Click here for a PDF version.

Fine Woodworking

The Fine Woodworking Program in located in the Krenov building, an off campus site at 440 Alger Street in Fort Bragg CA, which is privately tucked away behind the Fort Bragg Middle School/Bus Parking Lot. Call 707.964.7056 to set up an appointment for a tour and to get more information, or visit https://thekrenovschool.org

Staff:

Christine Samaniego, Operations Manager

Raquel Velazquez Yanez, Coast Center Assistant

Part-Time Staff:

Zoe Barnard, Part-Time Center Assistant

Chris Schomer, Part-Time Center Assistant

Shane Powers, Part-Time Center Assistant

Counselors

Mark Edward-Osea, Transfer Counselor

Melanie Dease, Counselor

Tomas Sanchez, Counselor

Faculty Bios:

Bell, Joseph

Classes Taught: HST 201, 202, 203, 208, 221; ANT 201; POL 200

Bio: Joseph has taught at Mendocino College since 2014. He received his BA from Chico State university and his MA from San Francisco State university. He is most interested in cultural history and hopes one day to write something about hats and facial hair in US history.

Susan Black Diemer

Classes:  HLH 104 Medical Terminology; HLH 200 Health Education

Bio: Susie Diemer has been teaching at the College level for sixteen years. She LOVES teaching! She has taught Health Education, Women’s Health and a variety of activity classes in the past. She has been teaching for Mendocino College since 2019.

James Budlong

Classes:  WOD 70A Introduction to Wood; WOD 70B Woodworking II; WOD 80A Fine Woodworking I; WOD 80B Fine Woodworking II

Bio: Growing up working in his father’s woodworking business in Salinas California, Jim became well acquainted with the craft at an early age. After college he spent some time restoring antiques and refinishing furniture. He then attended the College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program (now the Krenov School of Fine Furniture) for the 1983/84 and 1984/85 school years. After four years of working in a co-operative workshop in Ft. Bragg with fellow graduates, Jim began his teaching career at the College of the Redwoods during the summer of 1989. That led into teaching in the nine-month program for what has now become over 31 years. At the same time, he continued to teach various summer classes every summer. Jim valued greatly the opportunity to work alongside James Krenov for 13 years, prior to Krenov’s retirement.

Jennifer Clark

Classes:  ENG 60 Reading and Writing Laboratory; ENG 85 Advanced Preparation for College Composition; ENG 160 Transfer-Level Reading and Writing Lab; ENG 200 College Composition; ENG 560 Basic Reading and Writing Lab; ESL 511 English as a Second Language Advanced

Bio: Jennifer Clark is an instructor in both the English and ESL departments. She has a PhD in Literature and Creative writing from USC, and is active in theatre and performance arts in the Mendocino/Fort Bragg area, where she lives. She enjoys using her background in storytelling and creative writing to teach both Composition and English as a Second Language.

Jonathan “Max” Dunn

Classes:  CSC 500 Computer Laboratory; CSC 520 Beginning Computer; CSC 116 Information Technology; CSC 117 Computer Network

Bio: Jonathan has worn many hats as an IT professional before becoming a teacher here at Mendocino Community College. He has worked for and helped support everything from small businesses, to school districts, healthcare facilities, and tax offices.

Michael Grady

Classes:  CHM 200 Introduction to Chemistry; SCI 51A Science Resource Laboratory A; SCI 201 Survey of chemistry and Physics

Bio: Mike Grady’s job in a chemistry laboratory led to more college education, then biomedical research at UCSF, then pharmaceutical development in the Bay area. Twenty years ago he decided to try something as important but more difficult to do and that is teaching introductory college chemistry and physical science. So back to school to study science education – he’s still working on that but knows for certain that everyone could and should

Andrew Kendl

Classes:  ADJ 202 Concepts of Criminal Law; ADJ 204 Community Relations

Bio: Andrew Kendl was born and raised in Fort Bragg. After graduating high school, he spent two years in college before joining the US Navy. He was in the Navy for eight years. Upon leaving the Navy, he became a police officer. He worked twenty-two years in Law Enforcement and retired in April 2020. While a police officer, he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Management and a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership. He has a wife and three beautiful, amazing daughters.

Greg Smith

Classes:  WOD 80A Fine Woodworking: Theory and Practice I; WOD 81A Fine Woodworking: Special Studies in Cabinet Making I

Bio: Greg has made a life working with wood since 1986. He attended College of the Redwoods Fine Woodworking Program from 1991-1993, began teaching there in the Fall of 2002, and is proud to be a part of the same incredible program under the auspices of Mendocino College. Smith maintains a woodworking shop in Fort Bragg, California, building furniture speculatively and on commission. His work has been featured in Home Furniture, Fine Woodworking, and woodworking magazines, several books on furniture making. His work has been represented in galleries across the country.

Jessica R. Thompson

Classes:  ART 210A Drawing; ART 246 Raku and Primitive Clay; ART 240A Ceramics I; ART 240B Ceramics II; ART 250A Beginning Sculpture; ART 250B Clay Sculpture I; ART 250C Clay Sculpture II

Bio: Jess Thompson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from Pennsylvania State University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. She moved to Mendocino County in 2001 to begin a 4 yr. apprenticeship at Doug Browe and Jan Hoyman's earthenware pottery in Ukiah, and has lived in Comptche since 2008 with her husband, potter Nick Schwartz. Together they run Flynn Creek Pottery, a studio and residency program for emerging artists in the ceramic arts.

Faculty Contacts:

ADJ: Andrew Kendl; Joseph Shaw

AGR: Teresa Sholars

ANT: Tobias Green

ART: Mina Cohen; Jonathan Palmer; Rebecca Wallace; Jessica Thompson; Sarah Logan

AST: May Benson-Martin

BIO: Jared Crowley

BSK: Karen Rakovsky: Teresa Rodriguez

BUS: Stephen O'Mara; Andrew Kendl

CHM: Michael Grady

COM: Diana Coryat; Lorraine Hee Chorley

CSC: Jonathan (Max) Dunn; Melissa Kuhn Fornari

ENG: Molly Dwyer; Vincent Poturica; Kailyn McCord

ESL: Jennifer Clark; Melissa Kuhn Fornari

HLH: Susie Black Diemer

HST: Joseph Bell; Tobias Green

MTH: Diana Dominguez

MUS: Jenni Windsor

NRS: Tanya Smart

SPN: Ana Loreto Rojas

THE: Diana Coryat; Virginia Reed

WOD: Laura Mays; Ejler Hjorth-Westh; Greg Smith; James Budlong

Mendocino College's Krenov School for Fine Woodworking offers a nine-month program in fine cabinet and furniture making with Laura Mays, Jim Budlong, Greg Smith, Ejler Hjorth-Westh, and Todd Sorenson. In addition, workshops lasting a few days or weeks are offered in the summer.

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All of our courses are designed for the aspiring cabinetmaker who hopes to combine sensitivity with personal expression, patiently striving toward a goal best described as fine craftsmanship. We view craftsmanship as our legacy from woodworkers who have striven toward consistent excellence, which is perhaps the best definition of the word quality. Our efforts toward this goal have been recognized by the woodworking community around the world.

To learn more call (707) 964-7056 or visit: www.thekrenovschool.org

Spring 2025 Coast Classes

Please see our Course Catalog at the Coast Center for Spring 2025 Courses.

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