William Selby is a native Californian who has explored, researched, and worked in every corner of the Golden State. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in geography and the earth sciences from California State University, Fullerton and San Francisco State University. William started his professional career in private industry and as a high school science teacher. He then accumulated more than three decades of experiences teaching geography, weather and climate, environmental science, and other earth science courses at Santa Monica College. He explored across the state with his students and colleagues in his field courses. He was also a guest lecturer and taught courses as Visiting Professor at the University of California. Professor Selby authored the enduring Wiley publication, Rediscovering the Golden State, which is now in its 4th edition after more than two decades. His latest book, The California Sky Watcher: Understanding Weather Patterns and What Comes Next, is a Heyday publication that takes readers up, down, and across the state, following our changing weather patterns during each season.
Since “retiring” from teaching, William has remained active, presenting at professional conferences and leading workshops and docent training programs. He is taking his California Sky Watcher Show to parks, schools, museums, and other venues across the state. William also periodically volunteers his expertise for non-profit organizations and public institutions. His lifelong love and extensive knowledge of the Golden State is reflected in our website and his books and in his continued service to academia and the State of California. You might find him camping, riding, hiking, paddling, or swimming, always searching for new adventures and discoveries. wselby@smc.edu
Rob O’Keefe is the creator and primary webmaster for our web site. He has worn many hats in his professional career; including reporter, computer programmer, business analyst, software developer and webmaster. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Geography (Cal State University, Northridge), Journalism, and certificates in GIS and computer programming. He currently teaches geography classes at Santa Monica College.
An east coast transplant, Rob settled in California more than two decades ago after becoming infatuated with the geography of the state. He has traveled far and wide in his adopted home, seeking to promote exploration, geographic awareness, and conservation issues. He has been involved with the Rediscovering the Golden State Project since 2005.
Jing Liu is a Geography Professor teaching a host of classes that include Physical Geography and GIS (Geographic Information Science) at Santa Monica College. She joined our team in the spring of 2017.
Jing earned her Bachelor’s degree in Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China in 2007 and her Master’s degree in Beijing Normal University and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China in 2010. She then traveled across the Pacific Ocean to the United States and earned her PhD from the Department of Geography at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2017.
Her research interests include digital soil mapping, citizen science, and online web mapping. In addition to contributing to the Rediscovering the Golden State website, she has championed many programs at SMC while nurturing the geography program there.
