Touro University California's The Current Touro University California

Lisa Marie Smith holds two Master’s Degrees in Education from Touro University California, one completed in 2016 and another in 2019 through the Graduate School of Education. She is a special education teacher in the St. Helena Unified School District, where she has served for 15 years. Smith co-owns a pair of businesses in Calistoga with her husband – and is not afraid to clown around when the time is right.

Natalie DuMont, who in 2020 earned her multiple-subject teaching credential trough Touro University California's Graduate School of Education, was raised with an appreciation of nature and later in life used that appreciation to support a career in environmental stewardship. Now she's teaching kindergartners in Vallejo, sharing with them her love of nature and the environment.

Dr. Robyn Young, a 2012 graduate of Touro University California’s College of Osteopathic Medicine who practices in the Orlando, Florida, area, shares her experiences while at Touro – to include a particularly challenging time academically – and how those experiences helped to shape her into the physician she is today.

Victoria “Tory” Gaba, who obtained her Teaching Credential through Touro University California’s Graduate School of Education before completed her Master’s in Education degree at Touro in 2016, knew early on that her “first love” was childhood education. But it was years before she taught in a public-school classroom. She worked along the way in the hospitality sector and in high-end retail before becoming a credentialed teacher and leader with Montessori Schools. She made the jump to public schools and is a kindergarten teacher in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, leveraging her private-sector and Montessori experience for the benefit of her young charges.

Ashley Cumpas, a 2016 graduate of Touro University California’s Independent Master’s in Public Health program, shares her experiences while at Touro and during her career with Solano County Public Health. She also shares the trials she and her peers shared during the Covid-19 pandemic and how her experiences during the pandemic taught her skills that make her a better public health professional.

Brenda Mitchell, a 2015 alumna of the Graduate School of Education’s Master’s program, had a 15-year career in the financial sector before she transitioned to teaching – a career that spans generations within her family. She discusses her family and career history, the traits necessary for a successful teaching career, and her roles as an Assistant Professor in the GSOE program and as a Clinical Coach Coordinator in the College of Education and Health Sciences.