2026 STAFF BIOS
Kevin Christenson
After working on projects for Netflix, ABC, NBCUniversal, and others, Kevin brought his industry experience to launch Hope Studios. Raising the quality of entertainment with messages of faith, Kevin oversees feature films and series in an Executive Producer capacity.
Kevin travels the world telling stories, building partnerships, and encouraging others to follow the creative calling God placed in their heart.
If you value your message, your delivery needs to show that. By combining business and art with a mission, you have the potential to impact the world.
Nate Furness
Nate Furness is the Lead Pastor of the Pacific Union College SDA Church. He attended Pacific Union College and graduated from Southern Adventist University. In 2001, Nate started his ministry as an elementary teacher. He has been a pastor since 2006. He has competed a Masters of Theological Studies at La Sierra University. Nate lives in Angwin with his wife, Jennie, and their two sons, Alex and Anders. Nate enjoys cycling, snowboarding, and traveling with his family. Nate is dedicated to Christian education and is passionate about PUC. Nate’s hope, in his personal life and in the church community, is that we will reveal Jesus by loving one another.
tara hargrove, M.A.
Tara Hargrove, Associate Professor of Communication at PUC, holds an MA in communication studies from Colorado State University. She has taught communication for over ten years and also was executive producer for a student-run live comedy sketch program. Tara has also taught film criticism and acting. Her love of both the mountains and the beach brought her to Northern California, where she inspires students to embrace that most terrifying of skills: public speaking.
amy hill
A bio will go here.
brian kyle, MFA
Brian Kyle is a multi-disciplinary artist with a background in photography, graphic design, illustration, and printmaking. Brian holds undergraduate degrees in Photography and Graphic Design from Pacific Union College, and an MFA in Photography from the Academy of Art University. Before coming to teach at Pacific Union College in 2011, Brian worked as a graphic designer and illustrator in San Diego, California, working for such clients as Disney, Universal Studios, NBC, Urban Outfitters, and Nordstroms. Brian also enjoys mountain biking, cooking, playing music on a variety of instruments, and designing/building/fixing things.
milbert mariano, MFA
Milbert Mariano is Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Professional Studies at Pacific Union College. For more than 30 years, he started his leadership in visual arts, and now, as Dean, leads music, business, English, communication, education, aviation, visual arts, the Honors Program, and graduate programs in education, business, and communication. Committed to collaborative and experiential learning, he brings global perspectives into the classroom, inspiring students and faculty to pursue creativity, scholarship, and meaningful real-world experiences. Mariano also directed the Publication Workshop for 16 years and recently returned to lead it again after several years away.
nephtali marin
A PUC graduate,
andrianna Massena
A bio will go here.
Patricia Maxwell, PHD
Patricia Maxwell is a communication professor, writer, and former publicist for the Claremont Colleges, Natural History Museum of LA, and Catalina Island Conservancy. She teaches public speaking, interpersonal communication, digital media, and data analytics for communicators. Her doctoral degree and research interests include language and cognition, emotional communication, multimodal media, artificial intelligence, and the ways digital technologies influence human connection. Dr. Maxwell helps students and emerging writers strengthen their voices by focusing on audience, purpose, ethical communication, and thoughtful revision. She brings to publication workshops an encouraging, practical approach grounded in the belief that compelling ideas become publishable work through careful shaping, constructive feedback, and persistence.
MIKE MURTAUGH
A PUC graduate, Mike is an editorial and commercial photographer, based in Sonoma County, California and adjunct professor of photography at PUC.
cliff rusch, MFA
A PUC graduate, Cliff earned an MFA in graphic design from Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He teaches graphic design at PUC and was the college’s art director for many years. As an award-winning designer, he has worked for such clients as Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Sunset Magazine, the Napa Valley Symphony, St. Helena Hospital, and photographer John Sexton. Cliff is a photographer, mountain biker, and hiker.