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 from California State University, Fullerton and San Francisco State University. William accumulated more than three decades of experience teaching Geography and Earth Science at Santa Monica College, including field classes, exploring across the state with his students. He has guest lectured and taught classes as Visiting Professor at the University of California. Professor Selby published his first edition of Rediscovering the Golden State in 2000.
Since “retiring” from teaching, William has remained active in the geographic community. He presents at the American Association of Geographers, Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, and the California Geographical Society. 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 the web site and the book and in his continued service to academia, geography, and the State of California.
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.
