February 2020: Arlisa Richardson

About Arlisa

Prior to joining Chandler-Gilbert, I served as the Director of Learning Support Services at Estrella Mountain Community College, where I taught physics as an adjunct. Through a mentorship with Dwain Desbien, in 2009 I joined AAPT and I participated in the 2011 AAPT New Faculty Experience for Two-year college faculty.

As a member of AAPT, I have made invaluable professional connections and a host of amazing friends that have resulted in great collaborative projects. In 2017, I was selected as a delegate on the United States Team of Women in Physics at the International Conference of Women in Physics in Birmingham, UK. Currently, I am serving as the Two-Year College Member-at-large on the AAPT Board of Directors. I am also is part of TEAMUP, the American Institute of Physics national research initiative that examined the reasons for persistent underrepresentation of African Americans in Physics.

I take a student-centered, hands-on inquiry approach to instruction, a methodology informed by both my academic training and engineering experience. I enjoy creating learning environments that encourage students to construct knowledge for themselves and to make students into learners who make discoveries and solve problems. I welcome any opportunity to improve the physics education environment for all students.