Brandman Speaks

Dr. Paulette Koss became principal of the Road To Success Academy at a pair of juvenile detention camps in California midway through her doctoral program. The academy's project-based learning model shares much with what Koss learned at Brandman University, including the need for trust, collaboration and integrity.

Dr. Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg helped launch the Brandman Speaks podcast series as a pilot project this spring. The Communications Department will begin a regular series of podcasts this fall, but we couldn’t resist turning the tables on Steinberg first. As an environmental sociologist and a professor in the School of Arts and Science, Steinberg has long had an interest in climate change and its effect on humans. When she learned that His Holiness the Dalai Lama was celebrating his 80th birthday in Orange County and joining a panel discussion on climate change as part of the Global Compassion Summit held at UC Irvine, she made arrangements to attend and offered to share her observations. So instead of Steinberg asking the questions, we asked them. You can listen to the podcast here or download it from iTunes. Beginning this fall, we want many more Brandman University faculty members, including adjunct faculty members and those who teach through Extended Education, to join us at the podcast microphones to tal

Frawn Morgan, who began studying gender issues in the workplace while earning her Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from Brandman University, talks about the challenges she's faced in the male-dominated real estate development business, the need for both flexibility and continuity in the workplace and how society can help make that possible for both men and women. Morgan is a principal with LDC Advisors, a Newport Beach-based asset manager and developer of complex master-planned communities located across the US. She joined the firm in 1998 in the accounting department with subsequent promotions through office manager project manager to managing director of asset management. The company’s current portfolio is valued at over $1 billion and in excess of 100,000 lots, making it one of the largest residential land programs in the country. The principal investors in these assets is the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). Between 2005 and 2015, LDC Advisors was the principal real estate cons

Diane Goldstein served 21 years with the Redondo Beach (CA) Police Department, retiring as the first female lieutenant in the agency. During her career she served in patrol and investigative assignments that included gangs and narcotics. She is a subject matter expert and recognized leader in the area of crisis negotiations and developed national training guidelines for use during critical incidents, including the development of POST guidelines for Basic Crisis Negotiator Course Recommended Topics, and Crisis Negotiations Core Competencies. In addition she served as an Academy Instructor at the South Bay Reserve Academy, is a nationally recognized guest lecturer, writer and political commentator on drug policy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies from Brandman University and is a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Brandman Speaks sat down with Jeremy McKinnon to talk about some of the challenges facing transitioning veterans today. Jeremy shares his experiences after returning from duty and beginning the next chapter of life as a student. His determination to help fellow veterans has lead him to establish several veterans support groups and programs while he worked through his own transition. Jeremy McKinnon was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. Joining the Marine Corps at nineteen years old he served fourteen months in Fallujah Iraq during 2008/2009 as Personal Security for the command of Multi-National Forces West (MNF-W). Then serving in Afghanistan during 2010 he was part of the Nato Training Coalition at Camp Sha'heen as a military instructor to the Afghani Army troops. Honorably discharged in November 2010, McKinnon has traversed different schools/cities of California and currently resides in Huntington Beach attending Brandman University Irvine Campus. Working as an Intern at the Veterans Legal Institute (Pub