People at the Center

Lori Clinchard

Director 2019 - Present

Lori Clinchard is the Humanities Department Chair at DeAnza College and Faculty Director of the California History Center. She received her Ph.D. in Humanities, with a concentration in Transformative Learning and Change, from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Her research interests are  creativity, consciousness, and the pedagogy of experiential learning. Through FHDA’s Mellon Foundation-supported Center for Applied Humanities, she is developing an interview series to engage with artists and philosophers on the challenging questions arising out of the AI era.

She is a 4th generation Bay Area native, currently living in Santa Cruz. She has been teaching since 2001, and has been full-time at De Anza since 2005. She lived for 12 years in Taos, New Mexico, and 1 year in France, and still enjoys speaking French and Spanish. She loves the De Anza students, and wants her classes to give students opportunities to know themselves more deeply, to learn in ways that are meaningful to them, and to discover and respect what they already know. 

Tom Izu

Director 2000 - 2019

Tom Izu directed CHC's work in promoting local, regional and state history through publications, exhibits, oral history projects and courses, and the operation of a research library and archives. During his tenure with the center, he launched a civil liberties project inspired by the lessons learned from the World War II experience of Japanese Americans. He continues to serve its board as an advisor.

While a staff member of the college (1994 to 2001), Izu also served as a project director for the campus’ Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) US Department of Education grant funded program.

In addition, Izu has had extensive experience working in the San Jose Japanese American community, having served as the Executive Director of the Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center (1980s – early 1990s), and on the boards of numerous other Japantown community organizations. He was the first chairperson of the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee (1980), which was involved in the campaign for redress during the 1980s for the Japanese American WWII mass incarceration.

He currently (2025) serves on the Advisory Board of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, helping to lead various grant funded projects with a special focus on public programming that connects the community’s experience with other communities of color, especially in regard to cultural and civil liberties concerns. One such project for which he is a co-director is an augmented reality community art project, “The Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown” (2020). It explores the stories of the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino American communities and their overlapping histories and connections in the
making of modern day Japantown.

His current activism includes being the co-founder of San Jose Nikkei Resisters, a grassroots, social change and advocacy organization for South Bay Japanese Americans, which is currently working on solidarity projects that include organizing Asian Americans to respond to anti-Asian harassment and violence as well as supporting the African American reparations movement. He also serves as a volunteer chapter leader for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California.

Kathleen Peregrin

Director 1993 - 2000

James C. Williams

Director 1985 - 1993

James C. Williams is Emeritus Professor of History at De Anza College, Cupertino, California.  He received his Ph.D. in the History of Technology and Public Historical Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1985.

He has published numerous articles in the history of technology and public history, and his book Energy and the Making of Modern California (Akron, Ohio: University of Akron Press, 1997) won an American Society for State and Local History book award as “the definitive comprehensive history of the role that a wide variety of energy resources played in making California.”

As a practicing public historian, he managed the California History Center Foundation for several years, served as a consultant to corporations and local governments in issues dealing with the history of technology, environmental and toxic waste, and cultural resources management and historic preservation. 

Excerpt from Academia.edu profile

Seonaid McArthur

Director 1972 - 1985

Seonaid McArthur joined the California History Center staff in 1972, just after earning her MA degree. She managed the Center’s activities—along with overseeing a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. Her connection to the CHC and the college remained strong until 1984, when her husband’s career as a TWA pilot took them to the Midwest shortly after their son was born. 

After a fulfilling career in art history, she has settled back in her hometown of La Jolla, where she is actively involved in historic preservation at La Jolla Historical Society.

Lisa Christiansen

Archivist and Librarian 1988 - Present

Lisa Christiansen has served as the California History Center’s librarian and archivist for over 37 years. To us, she is the social heart of the center. She warmly welcomes everyone who stops by and engages in thoughtful conversation. Being so intimately familiar with the center’s library and collections, she pulls resources from the shelves that offer insight into any question or curiosity that is brought up. Please join us in celebrating Lisa and her extensive contributions to living history at CHC.

Saroj Bangaru

Assistant Archivist 2023 - Present

I’ve always been captivated by the past. Whether it was flipping through old photographs my parents had stashed away in albums or listening to cassette tapes neatly arranged in briefcases, I’ve always felt drawn to things with history. My favorite part of the summer holidays was visiting my maternal grandmother, sitting with her and hearing stories about her childhood. The nooks and crannies of her old house seemed to hold memories, transporting me to another world.

My middle school introduction to the Harappan Civilization was a defining moment. It was a spark that fueled my desire to study History academically. This journey eventually led me to earn two master’s degrees in the subject. But, while this path felt natural to me, I soon realized that formal history education often created a distance between students and their more personal, intuitive connection to the past. As a teacher in Hyderabad, India, for over twelve years, I focused on helping students build meaningful connections with history encouraging them to ask questions, spot patterns of change, and recognize how much of the past still shapes the present.

After moving to Cupertino, I began volunteering at the California History Center, where I work hands-on with archival and library collections. I initially focused on organizing materials that had been in storage, including relocating boxes and arranging administrative files by subject. Over time, my role expanded to include archival and librarian duties, and I am currently cataloging books that were previously in storage and integrating them into the De Anza College library catalog to make these resources more accessible to the public. I also collaborate with interns and volunteers to create catalog records for archival materials. Along the way, meeting with students and community members has helped me get to know the fabric and everyday life of the Bay Area.

Working with books, postcards, photographs, and other historical documents has given me a fascinating window into California’s past. I am immersed in materials that capture both broad historical trends and surprisingly familiar small, everyday moments from earlier eras. Through this hands-on engagement with history, I am not only discovering California’s story but also finding my own place within it, becoming part of the state’s ongoing narrative as I settle into life here.

Anya Nazarova

Student Staff Summer 2023 - Present

Anya joined CHC as part-time student staff in 2023. She initially joined to continue the digitization work started by previous student intern Kevin Candra. She completed a full inventory review of the audio/video tapes in the CHC collection and worked with interns and volunteers to digitize, transcribe, summarize, and catalog as many tapes as possible. 

Anya also maintains the CHC website, assisting with regular updates and the creation of webpages to present materials and stories preserved and generated at the Center. 

Anya has a background in graphic arts and website design/development, and is currently studying GIS and data science.

Margaret Butcher

Volunteer 

I became aware of The California History Center when my mother was one of the Trustees of the CHC Foundation. She was the inspiration for The Audrey Edna Butcher Civil Liberties Education Initiative at The California History Center; she reminded De Anza students that there should never again be anything like the Internment of Japanese Americans. In 2014, I was able to begin consulting with Tom Izu and Lisa Christiansen to make that Education Initiative come to life. In 2023, I heard that many years’ worth of donated books were coming back to the CHC, and so I began helping with the sorting and preparation of the books for cataloging, to make them part of the Stocklmeir Library. It is a real pleasure to work with the Director, Lori Clinchard, the Foundation Board, the staff, the scholars, the interns and the volunteers, in order to be a part of sustaining this historical treasure.

Edwin El-Kareh

Volunteer Fall 2023 - Present

Edwin is committed to preserving history through the digitization of archival collections, preparing select materials for inclusion on the California History Center website. He is currently restoring the Carroll Pursell Historic American Engineering Record project, revitalizing an important chapter in engineering heritage.

An electrical engineer by training, Edwin built a career in manufacturing and industrial processes before expanding his expertise into education. Today, he tutors in STEM and Presentation Graphics, combining technical precision with clear, engaging instruction.

A lifelong volunteer, Edwin has devoted decades to libraries and museums, strengthening community connections through service. He is a familiar presence at the 129‑year‑old South Bay Yacht Club and the century‑old Coyote Grange, where his gregarious nature thrives.

As an active Sea Scout, Edwin mentors youth as a merit badge counselor in aviation with the Experimental Aircraft Association and in archaeology with the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project. His personal interests reflect a love for mid‑century modern music and design, a preference for representational art, and a curiosity that extends to recreational mathematics.

Passionate about collaboration and lifelong learning, Edwin champions win‑win solutions, community colleges, and the transformative potential of online education.

Ashley Sanchez

Student Intern Fall 2025 - Spring 2026

Ashley Sanchez is a returning De Anza student with the goal of transferring and completing her baccalaureate in Sociology at U.C.S.C.

Ashley began as a creative artist–learning how to cultivate language as a means of determining the past and one’s place in it. She also studied under famed sociologist and social activist, Scott-Myers-Lipton, on how to use strategies from the past to implement current grassroots campaigns she’s led and assisted in strengthening.

Now, an exhibit assistant at the California History Center, she’s continuing her self-education of how to transform information from the roots of local history and converge it with the contemporary into a visual representation of our collective past and present with nuance and emotional resonance.

Kevin Zhao

Student Intern Fall 2025 - Spring 2026

Kevin helps organize books in the Lisa Christiansen Research Room. He is also a freelance photographer for La Voz.

Johanna Cheng

Student Researcher Spring 2026

Johanna is writing a paper on Betty Peck of the Saratoga Community Gardens based on research from the CHC Archives. 

Mirian Torres

Student Intern Spring 2025

Sydney Nutter

Student Intern Winter 2025 - Spring 2025

Anthony Parra

Student Intern Winter 2025 - Spring 2025

Anthony helped out at our 2025 Taste of History event. He is enthusiastic and always ready to help. He is a founding member of Calle Willow Business Association.

Rama Haileselassie

Student Intern Winter 2025 - Present

Rama is working on inventorying archival files and documents in the Lisa Christiansen Research Room. She is interested in art history, particularly in Ethiopian art and culture.

Yansy Ngai

Student Intern Winter 2025 - Present

Yansy joined the CHC in Winter 2025 as an intern through the Humanities Mellon Scholars program. Though she is no longer an intern, she continues to volunteer whenever her schedule permits. Her tasks include cataloging and organizing the library's books, as well as the physical archives collection. Yansy plans to transfer to a 4-year university for Cognitive Science in Fall 2026. 

Jjuan Yeap

Student Intern Winter 2025 - Spring 2025

JJ worked with archivist Saroj Bangaru and other interns and volunteers to organize books in the Stocklmeir Regional History Library and Lisa Christiansen Research Room by subject and call number for entry into the online catalog. 

John Madrid

Student Intern Spring 2025

John supported the expansion of the Stocklmeir Regional History Library and the establishment of the Lisa Christiansen Research Room. He moved countless boxes of books and archival materials, and helped organize books by subject for entry into the catalog.

Destiny Lara

Student Intern Spring 2024 - Fall 2024

Destiny helped transcribe many of the audio and video tapes in the California History Center archives. 

Nam Nguyen

Student Intern and Volunteer Fall 2023 - Fall 2024

Esteban Harkins

Student Intern Fall 2023 - Fall 2024

Born in San Francisco, Esteban cultivated a lasting interest in architecture while growing up amidst the Eichler homes that lined his path to school. Currently, he is planning to transfer from De Anza to pursue studies in both architecture and philosophy. Looking ahead, Esteban hopes either to serve as an architect for the UNHCR or to engage in architectural interventions for underserved communities through participatory planning to create uplifting living environments. As an intern with the Mellon Scholars Program, Esteban is serving as an epitomist for the CHC, summarizing oral history transcriptions.

Clare Aligbe

Student Intern Fall 2023 - Fall 2024

Clare helped transcribe many of the audio and video tapes in the California History Center archives. 

Lakshmi Kandala

Student Intern Spring 2023 - Summer 2024

Lakshmi Kandala is a Humanities Mellon Scholar majoring in Computer Science at De Anza College. She was an intern at the California History Center through the HMS internship program. She has learned much historical information about California and its history from the place itself and also from Lori and Lisa. Her main project was to research more about the history of CHC itself and to make an informational project that will be accessible to all of the willing public. She assisted with documenting the contents of our Californian magazine.

Marcus Jacob

Student Intern Fall 2023 - Spring 2024

Marcus Jacobs is a biology major and Humanities Mellon Scholar, and he is extremely passionate about dessert. He used skills learned at Foothill College and California History Center to make a positive impact on the environment. Marcus’ work at the Center focused on transcribing some of the Yvonne Jacobson oral history recordings. His technical prowess enabled us to explore transcription software.

Matt Piasecki

California Youth Leadership Corps Intern Fall 2023

Matt was discovered abandoned in a box on the steps of the California History Center - a strange fate for a 40-year-old adult. Unsure of what to do with him, it was discovered that he had rudimentary audio/video skills and a passion for history. He was put to work creating content for the History Center. 

Mykala Marandia-Chau Irvin

Student Intern Summer 2023 and Summer 2024

My name is Mykala Marandia-Chau Irvin, and I had the pleasure of serving as a member of the CHC during my summer breaks in 2023 and 2024. Some of my favorite memories include organizing books and magazines down in “The Dungeon” and chatting with Ms. Lisa as we worked together. I truly valued the friendships and connections I made at the Center and often find myself missing those long, hot summer days spent surrounded by good company and shelves full of history.

Vivian Doss

Student Intern Spring 2023 - Summer 2023

Vivian was born and raised in San José and she was an intern for the CHC through the Humanities Mellon scholar program. She found the program by clicking through the De Anza website and got so excited when she saw the word “internship” that she started an application in the middle of class. She worked on investigating the everyday lives (what did they eat, what music did they listen to, what were their days like?) of those who were held in Japanese internment camps. She wrote several articles for the Californian magazine on this subject. She also enjoys testing the odd recipes she finds in the California Digital Archives.

Bobby Banks

Student Intern Spring 2023 - Summer 2023

Bobby Banks was a huge help to us over the summer of 2023, in his last quarter as a CHC Intern. He helped organize archival materials and books during the expansion of the Stocklmeir Library.

Bobby was a Humanities Mellon Scholar at Foothill College where he majored in Geography. He applied to Foothill as a geography major simply based on a childhood interest in maps and the Earth as a whole. The idea of using maps as a useful tool to manage and analyze data opened his eyes to a possible career path that continued to pique his interest with every GIS class he took. We wish him a happy and successful future.

Kevin Candra

Student Intern Winter 2023 - Spring 2023

My name is Kevin Candra, and I was a student employee at De
Anza’s California History Center (CHC) in 2023.

I was first introduced to the CHC by sociology instructor Steve Nava, through the Spaces of Belonging pilot oral history project. During the Winter ‘23 quarter, I contacted Prof. Lori Clinchard to ask if I could continue to help with and learn about oral histories.

Through a connection with previous CHC director Tom Izu, I was able to do an oral history interview with Steve Fugita, a retired Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethnic Studies at Santa Clara
University who was born in a World War II concentration camp for Japanese Americans. Dr. Fugita shared his experiences with me, and helped me see the effects that the concentration camps had on the Japanese American community. I was especially interested to see how some Japanese Americans bounced back from being oppressed during that period of incarceration to become activists, in a relatively short period of time.

From this one-time involvement, I got to know Prof. Lori, the CHC director, who then offered me a job opportunity at the California History Center for Spring quarter.

I helped set up a system to digitize the past oral history recordings that are stored on cassette tapes (around 250 tapes) and on VHS (around 150 tapes), and to then make them available to students and community members.