Hello, my name is Ray Lapuz.

I was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the US when I was 10 years old. I lived in San Francisco and attended Epiphany grade school and Sacred Heart (Sacred Heart - Cathedral) high school where I was a goal keeper for the varsity team from my second year till graduating.

I went to college in UC Santa Cruz. I earned a bachelor's degree in Pure Mathematics and Computer and Information Sciences. Right after graduating, I stayed in UCSC to work for the ACE Honors Program as a math section leader. In this role, I was responsible for developing curriculum that aligns with the Calculus courses taught at the university as well as hiring and managing tutors and peer mentors. I also worked for the Summer Bridge Program for the EOP (Educational Opportunity Program) that welcomed first-generation and underrepresented incoming students to UCSC. While working, I completed my master's degree in Mathematics.

In 2000, I began working at Cañada College as a math instructor and a MESA Co-coordinator. I eventually transitioned into a full-time faculty and have been involved in many academic initiatives:

• Student Learning Outcomes (past)

• Basic Skills (past)

• Ethnic Studies Committee (past)

• Honors Program (current)

• Curriculum Committee (past)

• College Council / Planning and Budget Council (current)

• Filipino Club Advisor and Robotics Club Advisor (past)

I have developed or co-developed some curricula:

• Math for Health Sciences was a course developed for Health Science students who need a math refresher.

• Hands-on experiential math curriculum for high school students through the STEM Institute program

• Path to Statistics course designed to accelerate the math sequence for non-STEM majors.

I was one of the founding math faculty of the MathJam program, since its inception in 2009, and have taken a lead role in the development of upper level math curriculum for students pursuing STEM. I am currently the faculty advisor for MathJam.

I have also developed curriculum and taught the math in the STEM Institute for two years. He has also been instrumental in developing and designing e-Portfolios for the students to help with their self-efficacy in STEM.

I was a faculty event coordinator for a US Department of Education grants: GANAS and INSPIRES. I have been working with other faculty and staff establish a Community of Practice for STEM faculty. We meet with other faculty discussing lesson studies: develop lesson plans, observe lessons, evaluate the teaching and learning, and work to improve the lessons for next time. This led to my training and implementation of the Faculty Learning Program (FLP) session at Cañada. FLP is a program developed in UC Berkeley for STEM faculty to focus and improve their teaching.

In my personal life, I have a loving wife and two daughters. We like to travel. We have gone on road trips and have flown to as far as Indonesia. Our favorite local place would be the beach! We all play gamelan: Indonesian music ensemble. We are part of a group called Pusaka Sunda.