Douglas Hoffman, Jefferson CAS

First in an occasional series of chapter chair profiles

Julie Carson

 

Douglas Hoffman, chapter chair at Jefferson CAS for his second year, is a native Californian who grew up and went to school in the Whittier area.  He attended college at USC and Mount St. Mary’s, earning degrees in Religious Studies and American Studies.  His path into adult education came through his volunteer work at Manual Arts CAS.  He currently teaches in the Basic Skills program (reading) and has also taught ESL and academic classes.

 

Don’t let his quiet demeanor mislead you into thinking he’s a man without convictions.  A repeated theme when you talk to Doug is his drive and determination to help others and make the world a better place.  That’s why he does volunteer work at a soup kitchen on skid row, works at his church, and teaches for a living.  He became chapter chair of his school because a colleague heard him speak out on social issues and decided Doug would be a good representative for teachers there.

 

Beyond teaching, Doug would like to travel more extensively.  He wants to visit Europe again, and would especially love to get to Central and South America.  This summer he flew to Ohio to visit family, then drove back to Los Angeles so he could meet and experience “some of the extraordinary people and places of the country.”  His dream is to someday get his pilot’s license.

 

Although Doug is a fairly new chapter chair, he’s taken his role seriously by participating in many AOEC activities.  He took our chapter chair training last March, was present at a CTA Adult Ed caucus in May, attended this summer’s leadership conference in Palm Springs, and is a regular attendee at our monthly committee meetings.  Doug is a fine example of a person who has put his goal of wanting to ensure teachers’ rights into action.  It’s through the dedicated volunteer actions of people like Doug Hoffman that adult and occupational education teachers will get the respect they so deserve.

 

 

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