Teaching and working with students is my passion. Accounting & Finance is FUN and will give you a skill set that you can apply wherever life will take you.
Faculty Bios
Cornelia Alsheimer-Barthel
Cornelia has been teaching Accounting and Finance at Santa Barbara City College since 2001. She has a Ph.D. in Business with an Emphasis in Accounting from the Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Cornelia has also been chairing the department for 11 years. Outside of teaching, Cornelia is president of the SBCC Faculty Association who is the labor and bargaining representative for faculty at the college. She is also the treasurer for the California Community College Independents (CCCI) Association and the Vice President of the German Club in Santa Barbara.
Pamela Fack
Pam started her payroll career in the hospitality industry and has accumulated over 30 years of payroll experience through municipal services, the entertainment industry and global cloud enterprise solutions. She is a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) and processes global and, in the US, multi-state payrolls. An active member of the American Payroll Association she volunteers with the Hotline Referral Service, Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force-Best Practices, Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force-Shared Services, Certification Item Development Task Force, and is a member of the National Speaker’s Bureau. She is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award from the APA. On the local level she is past president of the Santa Barbara area chapter of the APA. In her spare time, she volunteers at the ASAP cat shelter.
My goal is to prepare people not only for business, but their future. Whether you are preparing or receiving paychecks in the future, you will remember Payroll Accounting 150!
Ben Reyes
Ben Reyes teaches Accounting 110, Introduction to Accounting, Accounting 230, Financial Accounting, and Accounting 240, Managerial Accounting. He has an MBA, and a Bachelors in Economics with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has taught business, finance, computer applications, and accounting at the collegiate level for 15 years. Prior to teaching he worked in private Accounting across various industries.
“My goal for those in the class is not only to learn the language of business, which is Accounting, but to also learn from one another’s life experiences so we gain a greater perspective of the world.”
Eva Schmidt
Eva teaches accounting classes ranging from Introduction to Managerial and has an active California CPA license. She’s earned an Associate’s Degree in Accounting from Santa Barbara City College and a Bachelor’s Degree from University of California, Santa Barbara. Eva has experience in public accounting and the private industry in Santa Barbara for over 20 years. She has a deep passion for teaching and inspiring students to understand accounting and applying it to the workplace. Her extensive industry experience combined with more than 7 years in the classroom provides an ideal mix of the practical and the academic.
I strive to help my students achieve their goals. I can relate…I began my studies at SBCC, continued to UCSB and returned to SBCC to complete course requirements for my CPA license. I understand, it is not easy; but when you put your best foot forward, everything will fall into place
Bob Smagula
Bob is a part-time instructor teaching all levels of accounting at Santa Barbara City College. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. Afterwards, Bob passed all four parts of the Uniform CPA exam on his first attempt.
Prior to attending Kings College, Bob earned an Associate Degree in Accounting from Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey. As a junior college graduate, Bob well knows the value of such a degree and how it can be a stepping stone to higher education and future success. As an instructor, Bob works tirelessly to guide his students toward a similar path.
I truly believe my 40-year career in private accounting brings a real world perspective which students appreciate.
Carolyn Terry
Carolyn has been a part-time accounting instructor at Santa Barbara City College for 20+ years. She specializes in small business accounting & cleanup, startups, and specifically, QuickBooks. She teaches Accounting 110, Introduction to Accounting, Accounting 160, Accounting with QuickBooks, Accounting 230, Financial Accounting, as well as non-credit accounting classes through the SBCC School of Extended Learning. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelors in Business Economics with emphasis on Accounting, Carolyn began her professional career working for start-up companies. It was in that setting that an accounting picture emerged for her that simplified the accounting process, from ground zero to an IPO. After working for several start-up companies, Carolyn became an independent contractor specializing in small business accounting. This eventually drew Carolyn into teaching because she saw the need for a broader understanding of accounting. Don’t be surprised if you change your major to Accounting after taking Carolyn’s class.
My goal is to get students excited about accounting and how simple it can be. Once the jigsaw puzzle of accounting is put together; a beautiful picture emerges that creates awareness of our monetary world.
Laura Woyach
Dr. Laura Woyach teaches ACCT230 Financial Accounting, ACCT240 Managerial Accounting, and ACCT150 Introduction to Accounting Software and Systems. Laura holds a Doctorate of Business Administration in Business Management from Argosy University and an MBA and a BBA in Accounting from Georgia Southern University. Before joining SBCC, Laura served as the department chair and tenured faculty at Ventura College for eight years. Laura has over 20 years of accounting experience at all levels and sectors, including private, public, and nonprofit. She is currently the CFO of a small business in Santa Barbara. In addition, Laura recently published the chapter “The Real Asset is Humor” in the book, Teach Accounting with a Sense of Humor: Why (and How to) Be a Funnier and More Effective Accounting Teacher and Laugh All the Way to Your Classroom
I believe higher education is an equalizer for all students; no matter your background, you can lose everything but your education. I teach accounting because it gives my students tools they can use forever.