Please join me in welcoming Jessica Strickland and Dr. Orlando de Lange as our new Acting Deans for Transitional Studies and STEM CTE for the upcoming academic year.  

Jessica earned her BA in Writing from Washington State University in 2007. She began teaching as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, and first taught at a college in Ukraine from 2009-2011. Later, she taught in China for a year. After nearly five years overseas, Jessica returned to Washington State, teaching at Lower Columbia College (LCC) while earning her Master’s degree in TESOL from USC Rossier. She then taught international students at the University of Texas for a couple of years before returning to Washington State to teach at LCC and Centralia College. In 2022, Jessica was tenured at Big Bend Community College and started teaching at Shoreline in June of the same year. With over 16 years of teaching and leadership experience in Transitional Studies, Jessica is thrilled to take on the responsibility of Acting Dean of a department she is so passionate about and extremely proud of. 

Orlando grew up in London, UK. He got his first taste of science from working in a hall of dark, Victorian cabinetry, managing the seaweed collections of London’s Natural History Museum. That ignited not just a love of science but a love of planning and organization. He completed a BA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge and a PhD in plant molecular biology at the University of Munich in Germany. He moved to Seattle in 2016 to pursue synthetic biology research at the University of Washington and then in 2022 started as tenure-track faculty in Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing here at Shoreline Community College. He spends a lot of his free time doing science education and outreach, and otherwise enjoys playing indie video games, reading too many sci fi books, and going for hikes with his husband and dog. 

Jessica will begin her new role this month in a limited capacity (66% contract) while she completes her summer teaching assignment.  She will assume the 1.0 Dean role on September 1st. 

Orlando will begin his new role on August 1st in a limited capacity (66% contract) while he completes the summer teaching assignment. On September 16, 2024, Orlando will assume the 1.0 Dean role. 

Both Jessica and Orlando will begin attending regular weekly meetings with the Deans this summer and will then work directly with me on the rest of their 2/3 schedules. 

Congratulations, and we look forward to working with them in their new roles. 

Best, 

Ben Weng