Instructors and Staff

Naomi Sether Administrative Assisatant

I grew up in MN and at age 11 moved to OR. i completed my certificate in offic studies in 1988 and began work at Mt. Hood community college. I transferred to CCC in 2001.I enjoy working in the community in which I live and helping our students.

I have been married (21 years!) and have a daughter and son. I am currently working on obtaining a degree in horticulture here at CCC.

Matt LaForce Ph.D. Department Chair Instructor

I grew up in Syracuse, New York and went to State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland where I was awarded my Bachelor of Science degree in Geologic and Environmental Sciences. I also minored in Biological Sciences.

I moved west to continue my education at the University of Idaho where I received my Masters of Science Degree in Geology and focused my studies in contaminant hydrogeology. My research was on arsenic, lead and zinc mobility in Lake Coeur d’Alene.

I obtained my Doctoral Degree at the University of Idaho in Soil Science working in Inorganic Environmental Chemistry. I focused my research on mine waste impacted wetlands studying trace element contaminant mobility. 

After completing my Ph.D. , I was a post Doctoral Research Associate at Stanford University in Environmental Chemistry.  I studied the bioavailability of contaminants in soils and humans conducting research at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).

I was an Assistant Professor of Hydrogeology at San Francisco State University, before moving to the Portland metropolitan area to instruct at Clackamas Community College. My teaching and research focused on contamination in the vadose zone impacting drinking water supplies.  

Currently, I am the Department Chair of Engineering Sciences at Clackamas Community College.  Our Engineering Sciences department hosts transfer engineering, Oregon Backflow Training, and the Water and Environmental Technology (WET) programs.

On the personal side I have a beautiful wife and two active young boys.  I coach numerous youth sports and enjoy skiing, hiking, and canoeing in the Northwest.

Jim T. Nurmi Ph.D. Instructor

I was raised in the midwest (MN) and obtained my undergraduate degree in Biology from a small liberal arts school call Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, MN. After graduation, I moved to Chicago and worked at Argonne National lab on the physical and chemical immobilization of low-level mixed radioactive wastes.

A year later, I moved to OR to start my graduate studies. I entered into the Masters degree non-thesis program at the Oregon Graduate Institute (now part of OH&SU) and 5 years later left with my Ph.D. in Enviromental Engineering. My doctoral dissertation was focused on the electrochemical properties of natural organic matter and of zero valent iron.My research interests are broad covering topics such as drinking water and wastewater, remediation of environmental contaminants, fundamental processes of material corrosion, and the use of electrochemical techniques for the detection and characterization of engineered nanoparticles.

Currently, I am afaculty instructor in the Engineering Science department at CCC. Jim previously worked as a senior research scientist and graduate faculty in the School of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University.

I love teaching and have taught graduate level water chemistry , undergraduate environmental chemistry, and classes in the Water & Environmental Technology program. I also enjoy teaching a water chemistry summer camp for middle school aged kids.

When not working, I enjoy spending time with my family, fishing, hunting, various sports, reading and most recently, gold prospecting. There's gooold in them thar hills!

Greg Carr Instructor