Faculty

Dr. Bodkin started her career as a volunteer/kennel staff member and worked her way up to veterinary technician prior to attending veterinary school.  Dr. Bodkin worked at Becker College and also worked at two small animal hospitals around Boston from 2013 to 2020. She grew up in Quincy, MA and currently resides there with her husband and their 12-year-old terrier Dixie.  In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, cooking, and cheering on the Pats, Celtics,

Chief Tim Burton began a thirty-five-year law enforcement career as a Police Officer in the City of Portland, Maine. He progressed through the ranks over the next twenty-six-years and retired as the Chief of Police in 2008. He accepted a position as the Chief of Police in the City of Odessa, Texas where he served for almost ten years before retiring from law enforcement.

Before teaching for YC, Chief Burton was an adjunct instructor for Husson University, the University of Texas, Odessa College teaching courses in Business Administration at the graduate level and Criminal Justice at the undergraduate level. Chief Burton holds a Masters’ Degree in Business from Husson University and a Bachelors’ Degree in Criminology from the University of Southern Maine. Most recently Chief Burton served as the Criminal Justice Diversion Project manager for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the State of Massachusetts.

Dave graduated in 1983 from Newbury College, Brookline MA with a degree in Animal Health Technology. Following graduation he worked in small animal veterinary practice in Massachusetts until relocating to Gettysburg Pennsylvania in 2000. After returning to New England in 2004, he began teaching in the Veterinary Technology and Animal Care degree programs at Becker College in Worcester, MA. He then worked as lab instructor/imbedded tutor and curriculum developer at Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA Ma following the closure of Becker in 2021. Dave joined YCCC in spring of 2022. When not teaching, he enjoys time with grandchildren, two canine friends, one feline friend, one leopard gecko and a newly acquired flock of chickens and an occasional fishing trip with family & friends.

Dr. Dianne Fallon teaches English and Humanities courses and has served as English Department Chair 1996. Dr. Fallon earned a master’s and doctorate, in English/Creative Writing, from Binghamton University (SUNY), and a bachelor’s in English from Bowdoin College. In 2003-2004, she was one of 25 faculty nationwide selected as a Carnegie Scholar for the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). Currently, she serves on the editorial board of Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC) and frequently serves as an evaluator for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Dr. Fallon’s other professional experiences include journalism, adult education, and Peace Corps service in Morocco. She is active in Maine’s Odyssey of the Mind program and writes about history, travel, hiking, and other topics at her blog, “The Maniacal Traveler” (diannefallon.com). She also edits YCCC’s literary magazine, Pens & Keystrokes.

In addition to teaching she also has many years of clinical experience in the human service field in a wide range of areas including child protection, adoption, crisis intervention, and court investigations. Cathleen has a BA in Psychology and an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology as well as the Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician Community (MHRT/C) credential and a post-graduate certificate in Trauma Informed Expressive Art Therapies.

Joan Finkstrom holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Emmanuel College, Boston, and a Masters in Nursing Education from Framingham State University, Framingham, MA. Her nursing career afforded her experience working with patients across the lifespan. Her practice focus was primarily in Maternal Child Health and Pediatrics. Joan was a clinical coordinator for a Parenting and Child Abuse Prevention program for many years. In addition, Joan held a clinical coordinator and pediatric/adult case manager position for a large Home Health Agency for many years. Teaching was always her passion, and she has taught at the PN, ADN, and BSN levels for over 13 years. In her free time, she’s usually found in the garden or baking bread.

Gatti-Arnold holds a Master of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. Her 25 years of nursing experience includes diabetes education, geriatrics, and med-surg. She is a member of the National League for Nursing and the International Association for Human Caring. Gatti-Arnold has been teaching nursing and allied health since 2007 and is passionate about nursing education as an avenue to prepare students to be the nurses of tomorrow.

Hailing from Alexandria, Minnesota Sam Kelley has had a lifelong love for Vikings football, Twins baseball, and all things mathematics. Sam graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2005 with a degree in Math and Philosophy. He then moved to Boulder, Colorado to continue his education at the University of Colorado. He earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics in 2007. It was in Boulder that he met his future wife Annah, a New England native, and he moved with her to the seacoast of New Hampshire in 2007. They live in New Hampshire with their two daughters Aria and Summer. Sam has been working at YCCC since 2007, and really enjoys working with the excellent faculty and committed students. Sam loves teaching all levels of mathematics, but has a definite soft spot for calculus.

Birthed in the deep snow of CNY, and raised among the waves of the mighty St. Lawrence River, Michael moved to New England with his family as a youngster and fell deeply in love with the curmudgeonly Yankee culture so ingrained in this lovely foundation stone of America. Initially not receptive to traditional models of education, Michael grudgingly completed high school and worked for years in factory jobs, focused on the routine life of the everyday. Eventually the calling of higher education and career based work lured him away from the production based labor force and into school where Michael studied Art and communication. Art specifically interested Michael, as he had a natural proclivity and familiarity with due to his childhood and his father. As a boy, he grew up in his father’s painting studio, drawing and working next to his Dad, watching him working and hearing stories about his Grandfather who was also an oil painter. This lifelong love of art would lead to college, which led to Michael’s natural teacher emerging to help other students who were struggling. This caught the attention of one of the instructors who encouraged Michael to continue studies at the Masters level and become a teacher of Art. Due to his love of Martial Arts, Michael had been teaching for a while already in his dojo and knew he loved helping students learn. Now he pursued the educational credentials to go along with his natural love of teaching, and make teaching a career instead of just a hobby. Years of work in the private sector during his graduate work allowed Michael to accumulate experience relative to the areas he would teach, and provided a real world project based approach to teaching. Michael teaches in the areas of Graphic Design, Animation, Gaming and traditional Art. His favorite thing about teaching is when he sees a student achieve something they previously doubted they were capable of, and the joy and confidence that achievement brings to them. Michael lives in Dover, NH with his wife Wendy and his 6 year old daughter Zella, who shares Michael’s love of art and creates drawings and sculptures with him almost daily. In addition to the teaching at the College and his Dojo, Michael is an artist and sculptor and frequently displays his work.

Michael Lovejoy, I’m a State of Maine licensed Master Electrician with more than thirty years in the field. I’ve served as a tradesman, business owner, electrical inspector and student. My goal is to engage students with real world issues and examples of what waits for them in the trades. I enjoy new challenges and problem solving and hope to bring this to my students.

Jennifer Mallett holds a BS in Mathematics from Gordon College and MS in Mathematics Education from University of Massachusetts. Mallet has taught in both public and private high schools and has been an adjunct instructor at the University of New England and YCCC. Mallett enjoys helping students break down big concepts into smaller more manageable chunks and watching their confidence increase. Mallett has also worked with the International School Project, partnering with Russian teachers in an exchange of ideas.

Michelle was a student at YCCC herself from 2002-2005. She received her AS in Accounting in 2006 before transferring to the University of Southern Maine to complete her BS in Accounting. After that, she completed a one-year cohort program at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH, receiving a Graduate Certificate in Fraud Examination and Forensic Accounting in 2010. In 2013, she completed her MBA at Southern New Hampshire University’s Brunswick, Maine location.

In 1998, she started a small bookkeeping business and got certified in QuickBooks software. Over the years, the business has grown into a thriving enterprise. Michelle works with numerous business owners and other bookkeepers, training and supporting them with QuickBooks software. She also does forensic accounting work on fraud cases from time to time. She works remotely in her home office and every day is something different.

Michelle has been teaching part-time as an adjunct at YCCC since 2012 and became a full time faculty member in August of 2023.

In her personal time she works on self-improvement, creating art, making crafts, and socializing with friends and family.

Dr. Murphy has taught psychology and sociology courses at YCCC since 2003. Her courses include: Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology, Lifespan Psychology, Social Psychology, Positive Psychology, and Sociology of Family. Before coming to YCCC she taught at the University of New England, Drake University, and the University of Maryland, among others. Dr. Murphy does research into educational practices. Her current research interest is in the group learning environment and how it shapes student learning. Dr. Murphy holds a BA from Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio in Biology, a MA fromthe University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland in Developmental Psychology and a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland in Developmental Psychology.

Dr. Niswonger attended Kettering College of Medical Arts in Ohio, where she earned an AS in Respiratory Therapy. She worked as a respiratory therapist at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina while she earned her BS in Zoology. She also holds a Master’s degree in Pathology, studying brain tumor immunotherapy, and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology, studying the role of clathrin in endocytosis, phagocytosis, and cell division from Duke University. She has worked for the National Aids Hotline and earned a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies along the way. After a postdoctoral fellowship at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA, she worked for five years as a research scientist at Antigenics in Boston. She has taught at North Shore and Middlesex Community Colleges, as well as Regis College before coming to YCCC in 2007. Dr. Niswonger loves teaching Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology, General Biology, and Pathophysiology at YCCC.

Dr. Paulone has over twenty-five years of experience in manufacturing, marketing and finance, and has held such positions as marketing manager, manager of new product development, marketing program manager, director of marketing and finance director. He even had his own business as a consultant in business structure, business and market analysis and customer acquisition and retention. He has taught full time and part time for almost 20 years. Prior to coming to YCCC, he had extensive educational experience as a faculty member, director of graduate business programs and educational consultant.

While in the corporate world, he had created the first electronic catalog in the bearing industry, created the first website for a Fortune 100 company, led the effort on new product development of over $1 billion of projects, created the concept through production process for several divisions of a major corporation, consulted in financial services software for the surety insurance industry, and helped lead the first e business and services venture for a major manufacturing company. He has also served on committees for the State of Connecticut and Waterbury Chamber of Commerce in the area of economic development.

Dr. Paulone holds a Doctorate in Financial Management from Northcentral University. He received his MBA, concentration in marketing, and MS, concentration in Finance, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University. He currently makes his home in Kennebunk with his wife Suzanne. They have two children and six grandchildren who all love to visit Maine and enjoy the great lifestyle of the region.

David Susman began teaching at York County Community College in 2004. He teaches classes in English and Humanities, including College Composition, Introduction to Literature, Shakespeare, and Introduction to the Humanities. Since 2006, he has also served as chair of the Humanities department. Professor Susman has previously taught at Salt Lake Community College, Syracuse University, the State University of New York at Oswego, and the East China University of Science and Technology, in Shanghai. He earned a B.A. in English from Ithaca College, and an M.A. in English from Syracuse University. He publishes essays and occasional fiction, and is also a playwright.

Jamie Wendt, DNP, MSN, FNP-C, RN, C-EFM is a nurse practitioner with a background in maternal-child health. She has a passion for evidence-based practice initiatives, and loves to see nurses effect change in their communities. Her current research work is in the area of maternal substance use disorders. In addition to her teaching role, she practices part-time at Wellness for Women in Kennebunk. She has enjoyed serving as a clinical preceptor for dozens of RN and NP students, and is looking forward to joining the nurse faculty and students at YCCC this fall. When not working, she enjoys time with her husband and 3 children, traveling, drinking all manner of coffee, and reading great books.