Teaching

Robin Unwin-Bassett
572 N Arrowhead Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92404 - 909-693-9708 - robin.unwinbassett@upliftfs.org

October 27, 2020

To Whom It May Concern,

It is with much enthusiasm that I can express support and recommendation for Dr. Nakisha
Castillo for promotion to Associate Professor at Brandman University.

I had the pleasure of being one of Dr. Castillo’s graduate students between 2016 and 2018.
During my time at Brandman University Dr. Castillo was one of my most influential professors.
She made our lectures enjoyable, and with every lecture I became increasingly inspired to apply
the attained skills to my future career.

I appreciated Dr. Castillo’s willingness to assist her students. She was always available to
provide clarity on difficult topics, and guidance when needed. It was because of her guidance I
chose to go outside of my comfort zone and complete my practicum fieldwork hours at Loma
Linda University’s Partial Hospital Program. It was there I discovered my love for working with
the youth population.

When I became pregnant with my 4th child halfway through my graduate program, Dr. Castillo’s
support and mentoring gave me the confidence and fearlessness to continue the graduate
program.

I am forever appreciative of her support, wisdom, and positive influence on my life. I am

confident she will be an excellent Associate Professor.

Sincerely,

Robin Unwin-Bassett
Dear Faculty Personnel Committee:

It is my pleasure to support Dr. Nakisha Castillo’s promotion to Associate Professor. I met Nakisha face-to-face at her
interview for the position she now holds. The interview was held during Summer 2 when the Dean and all psychology
faculty search committee members were away and unable to attend in person. I was the only committee member
present, and the rest of the team was on a conference call, and there was no video. So, Nakisha was in the awkward
position of trying to talk to the phone and maintain appropriate eye contact with me. During that interview, Nakisha
demonstrated composure, confidence, preparation, professionalism, and a warm sense of humor. She showed that she
can make the most of any situation. In her years as Assistant Professor at Brandman, Nakisha continues to demonstrate
these desirable characteristics, and I can see her apply them to her passion for teaching, collegiality with fellow faculty
and staff, and to the leadership positions she has held.

In my role as Associate Dean, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Nakisha on program assessments and
reviews for the undergraduate and graduate psychology programs. Nakisha and I have also worked together on course
and signature assignment revisions. She carefully identifies opportunities for continuous improvement of courses and
assignments and creatively seeks approaches to assure high quality courses and challenge students. This year, as a
result of the pandemic, Nakisha had to work quickly to help adjunct faculty adapt assignments in a course she manages.
Several assignments were designed for community interaction and volunteer work which were not possible during
shelter-in-place mandates, and Nakisha lead a brainstorm session with me to assure that she was complying with
university needs and fulling course objectives. Nakisha also seeks out others’ suggestions and welcomes constructive
feedback. In our brainstorm work, she enjoys marrying diverse perspectives and seeing that work result in innovation
that would be difficult to achieve in a solitary work situation. Her positive attitude is beneficial to her work with
students, faculty, and staff.

As a faculty member, I appreciate Nakisha’s leadership as chair of GAC (Governance and Appeals Committee). She
sought out faculty governance opportunities and selected a committee that tackles academic integrity, one of the most
challenging topics at any institution. I have attended meetings in which Nakisha adeptly leads discussions about this
topic and in which Nakisha and other FEC (Faculty Executive Committee) members present information about
governance projects that they do on behalf of all faculty.

This coming year, Nakisha has been asked to serve in a leadership role in a major curriculum project to seek professional
accreditation for her program. Based on her past contributions, I see Nakisha’s positive effect on the Brandman
community growing. It is my honor to support Dr. Castillo for a well-deserved promotion to Associate Professor at
Brandman University.

Sincerely,

Ellen Baker Derwin, Ph.D.

Associate Dean, Curriculum and Assurance of Learning, School of Arts & Sciences
Associate Professor, Communications
Brandman University
 Brandman University
Center for Instructional Innovation
16355 Laguna Canyon Rd., 3rd Floor
Irvine, CA 92618
October 23, 2020

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing this letter of support for Nakisha Castillo, Brandman Assistant Professor of
Psychology. I strongly support Dr. Castillo in her promotion to Associate Professor.

I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Castillo on course development and design for the
past year. Dr. Castillo successfully collaborated with me on a number of course revisions,
expressed a willingness to learn and use new educational technologies and provided
professional support through my first year as an instructional designer.

During the last school year, Dr. Castillo and I collaborated on two, level 4 course revisions for
the Brandman Psychology program. This collaboration included bi-weekly meetings to discuss,
brainstorm and troubleshoot course activities. Throughout the revision process, Dr. Castillo
incorporated multiple aspects of adult learning theory, scaffolding and content delivery. In one
course revision, Nakisha took the time to conduct and record professional interviews, which
were then used in the course for student interaction and engagement. Working with Dr. Castillo
has pushed my knowledge as an instructional designer, as she has inspired me to try new
methods of learning and teaching.

As an ever evolving Brandman instructor and developer, Dr. Castillo has consistently shown an
openness to new educational technology. Whether it is working with the CII media team to
develop interactive course introductions or recording, editing and uploading self-made Kaltura
videos into Blackboard, Nakisha has always been willing to try new technology. With integrity,
Dr. Castillo took time to study technological methods on her own or reached out to me to better
understand institutional technological systems. She is committed to technology as an
educational resource, but remains balanced and purposeful in its use within Brandman courses.

Dr. Castillo was one of the first course developers I had the pleasure of working with at
Brandman. She has always shown me kindness, professionalism, intelligence, passion and
sincerity. I am more than happy to recommend her for Associate Professor.

Please feel free to contact me with questions.

Sincerely,

Amanda Varela
Instructional Designer
(949) 800-9411; avarela1@brandman.edu