Leadership

Dr. Frank A. Gomez was named in August 2019 as the inaugural executive director of STEM-NET. Prior to his appointment, he was professor of chemistry at Cal State LA since 1994 and university faculty research liaison since 2014. He has received over $21​ million in research funding and published over 130 technical articles and two books on his research in microfluidics, point-of-care diagnostics and fuel cells. He has mentored over 130 undergraduate, masters, and high school students and 12 postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists in his laboratories resulting in over 180 student presentations. He received his bachelor’s in chemistry from Cal State LA and a Ph.D. in chemistry from UCLA. Dr. Gomez was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.

Monica Alarcon joined the STEM-NET team in December 2019. Prior to her appointment, she worked at California State University, Long Beach for over 5 years as their University Curriculum Coordinator. Monica has a CSULB Master’s in Public Administration. She has spent most of her professional career working in the public sector and has worked in local government, community college, and various CSU campuses. Monica has worked for the CSU system for over a decade and is very passionate and proud of her professional path within it. As a first-generation college graduate, she wanted to be able to impact others in the same way the CSU system positively impacted her when she was an undergraduate and graduate student. Her experience at CSU Long Beach inspired her decision to remain within the CSU system and build a professional career around the CSU mission.​