{"id":657,"date":"2026-05-12T12:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/milprogram\/?page_id=657"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:20:22","slug":"meet-the-faculty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/milprogram\/meet-the-faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Yvonne Hardy<\/strong> is an Assistant Professor and Faculty Program Coordinator for the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant with 20 years of active-duty service, she supported global humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and counterinsurgency operations across multiple deployments. Her military career included service as a Drill Instructor and as a Faculty Advisor for Marine Corps University’s College of Enlisted Military Education. Professor Hardy’s academic credentials reflect a broad interdisciplinary background, encompassing social psychology, higher education administration, management, and leadership. yhardy@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dan Balaszek<\/strong> is an Assistant Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant with over 23 years of active service, he supported global humanitarian, disaster relief, and anti-insurgency operations across multiple FMF components and deployments. Professor Balaszek brings a well-rounded academic foundation to his teaching, with degrees spanning the liberal arts, including history, religion, leadership, and business administration. dbalaszek@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Brian E. Anderson<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor and Student Success Advisor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major, he served more than 27 years on active duty, primarily in the infantry, with extensive experience in combat operations, global humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief across multiple deployments. His distinguished military career includes roles as a Marine Combat Instructor, Command Senior Enlisted Leader for 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, and Director of Marine Corps University\u2019s West Coast Regional Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy. Professor Anderson holds degrees and certifications in homeland security, business administration, executive coaching, and organizational and educational leadership. banderson1@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Eddie Baltazar <\/strong>is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with over 20 years of experience in training, organizational leadership, and mentorship. His background spans higher education, corporate training, veteran services, and instructional leadership, with a focus on supporting military-affiliated students through applied leadership and professional development. ebaltazar@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Danielle Fox<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College and a retired U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant with over 21 years of active-duty service. Her military background includes overseas operational deployments, Drill Instructor duty, and leadership instruction across numerous operational and training environments. Professor Fox holds degrees in computer\/information systems security and business administration, along with professional certifications in curriculum development, military instruction, and resiliency-building leadership, and is committed to fostering ethical leadership and professional growth among her students. dfox1@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Ronda Kirkby<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major with 30 years of active service, she brings extensive expertise in human relations, training and development, and operational leadership. Her military career included mentoring and guiding large-scale teams while fostering collaboration, inclusion, and organizational excellence. Dr. Kirkby’s academic credentials reflect a broad interdisciplinary background, encompassing social work, human resource management, and social psychology.  rkirkby@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Amanda Kirkham<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College and a program alumna. An active-duty U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant and Supply Chain Specialist, she has served in a variety of leadership, logistics, instructor, and Equal Opportunity roles throughout her career. Professor Kirkham’s academic credentials, all earned while on active duty, span leadership, management, and business administration, including a master\u2019s degree in business management. akirkham@palomar.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John Luis<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor for the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College and a Marine Corps Career Counselor with more than 20 years of military service. His experience includes combat deployments, leadership development, retention operations, and mentoring Marines across the force. He holds degrees in Enterprise Development, International Politics, and Business, and is passionate about fostering professional growth, communication, and ethical leadership among current and future military leaders.  jluis@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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John Mendoza<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor for the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. He is also an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major with over 18 years of service. He has served in the Fleet Marine Force across various billets as well as multiple instructional roles. His education includes an Associate Degree in General Studies and Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology.  jmendoza@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Alan Merritt <\/strong>is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. An active-duty U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major with over 23 years of service and experience.  He has nine deployments, four of them being combat operations, and has spent most of his career in the infantry or in teaching and instructing billets. He has served in all climes and places across the globe and brings a depth of experience in training and development, operational leadership, and team building. His teaching methodology is based in mentoring, guiding, and coaching students to become the best versions of themselves. Professor Merritt holds two degrees in Business Administration and is currently pursuing his MBA. rmerritt@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Seth Rhyne<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. He is an active-duty Master Sergeant with 19 years of experience encompassing operational service in each of the three MEFs and MARSOC including three deployments and several unique garrison assignments spanning two different primary MOSs and six exceptional MOSs. His diverse experience is further enhanced by his academic credentials in psychology and clinical mental health counseling bolstered by professional credentials as a provisionally licensed mental health practitioner and alcohol\/drug counselor. srhyne@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Melissa Wuterich<\/strong> is an Adjunct Professor in the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College and also serves as a Learning Program Manager for the United States Marine Corps School of Infantry West. She has dedicated more than 22 years to the field of military education and training with the Marine Corps. Prior to her current role, Melissa served for more than 14 years as the Academics Officer at the Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy, where she played a key role in the development and launch of the Military Leadership Program. She is proud to be one of the program\u2019s founding contributors and its first professor. Melissa holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Organizational Leadership and a master\u2019s degree in Career and Technical Education. mbalcomb@palomar.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Yvonne Hardy is an Assistant Professor and Faculty Program Coordinator for the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. A retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant with 20 years of active-duty service, she supported global humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and counterinsurgency operations across multiple deployments. Her military career included service as a Drill Instructor and as… Continue Reading Meet the Faculty<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":439,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-657","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Faculty - Military Leadership Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/milprogram\/meet-the-faculty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Faculty - Military Leadership Program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yvonne Hardy is an Assistant Professor and Faculty Program Coordinator for the Military Leadership Program at Palomar College. 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