Interior Design Faculty

The interior design program has a perfectly balanced staff of highly qualified designers, all of whom come from differing university and professional experience backgrounds, representing ideas from various parts of the nation and the world. Among them are practicing interior designers and architects, theoreticians, a textile expert, history of interiors and architecture experts, researchers, a CAD and 3D Viz expert, artists in their own right, code experts, drawing and rendering experts, and educators who have specialties in such areas as health care, historic preservation, and furniture design. The faculty members differ in gender, cultural background, and country of birth, design education, professional practice experience and special interest. The teaching styles of the instructors represent diverse approaches based on a wide range of design background and experience. The faculty believes their greatest strengths are in their team work, uniqueness and diversity; a perfect fit for our culturally diverse student population. All of the interior design faculty members at California State University, Fresno have the academic and professional experience appropriate to their teaching specialty. As Interior Design Faculty, we work as a team, committed to excellence in design and skillfully advised by an outstanding Advisory Council.

Full Time Faculty
Nancy Davis Brian, Professor, IIDA, IDEC, NCIDQ # 015635
Professor Brian earned her BFA and MFA in Art with an emphasis in interior design from the University of Georgia (FIDER Accredited). She is an accomplished designer with a strong background in the history of art and architecture, and in interior design and the visual arts. Her AutoCAD knowledge is current with today’s standards. Professor Brian enhances her teaching by practicing professionally as an interior designer of both commercial and residential spaces. Her experience includes architectural history and historic preservation and adaptive reuse. She uses the research and knowledge gained from each project to keep students at an up-to-date level in the field of interior design. She is an expert in quick sketch and hand produced rendering. Professor Brian teaches both studio and architectural/furniture history classes. She has a commitment to environmental issues such as air quality, solar design, and sustainable design. Professional practice and teaching specialties demonstrate her strong background in the fine arts, and historic preservation, and her extensive domestic and international travel and study. During the last 30 years, she has traveled extensively in the US and to such countries as Egypt, Turkey, England, Spain, Italy, France, and Greece. Professor Brian leads interior design study tours to Europe in alternate years, visiting and studying important archeological sites, museums, and important architecture. She speaks Italian well and reads Spanish. She has prior teaching experience in the Southeast, West, & Midwest parts of the United States. Professor Brian practiced residential design for two years in Charleston, South Carolina in between her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She continued to practice as a freelance designer in residential and commercial applications while teaching in higher education for the last 28 years.	Phone: 559-278-3055 Office: Department of Art & Design Office Send an e-mail

A. Sameh El Kharbawy, Associate Professor
	Phone: 559-278-4840 Office: Conley Art 219 Send an e-mail

Richard McQuone, Department Chair, IDEC, CSI, Associate Professor, Licensed Architect, State of California, C11086, NCIDQ 16949
Department Chair Professor McQuone was educated on the West Coast and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California Polytechnic State University. His MCRP degree is in Urban and Regional Planning. Professor McQuone brings a strong architectural component to the California State University interior design major. His extensive architectural practice in school and institutional design enriches the program. Professor McQuone covers several areas in his teaching, which are unique to his background as a practicing architect. These teaching areas include creative, structurally sound, and code compliant design solutions. His experience as a building inspector and state certification for educational facilities has enriched his teaching of lighting, building and mechanical systems codes, and advanced commercial design and institutional projects. Much of his course work involves service learning in team approaches with University Hope, a university affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Mr. McQuone is heavily involved in Community service architecture and construction and consistently finds ways to provide his students with hands on construction experience. He teaches architectural drafting and interior architectural graphics courses. Professor McQuone has extensive interior architecture professional practice and recently became NCIDQ certified.	Phone: 559-278-4840 Office: Conley Art 219 Send an e-mail

Part Time Faculty
Debby Asbury, ASID, CCIDC #1180, CID
Debbie Asbury is from Arizona where she received undergraduate course work in Art. She completed her BA from California State University, Fresno and is currently completing her master’s degree in interior design. She has several years of residential and commercial interior design experience. She has recently completed a telecommuting design project for a Japanese client. She enjoys, Photoshop and computer aided presentation techniques. She had traveled through Europe and teaches the foundation and furniture and architectural history courses.	Phone: 559-278-2249

Imelda Golik, AIA
Lecturer Golik is Venezuelan by birth and early education. She received both a Bachelors and Masters of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University. She has practiced architecture broadly and has numerous certifications including the following: California State Board of Architectural Examiners, certified playground safety inspector, certified California energy commission residential standards, certified window designer and fashions, certified furniture retailer. Her education and international background give unique and beneficial attributes which add to the California State University interior design program’s diversity. As the president of the Fresno chapter of the American Institute of Architects, she puts our students in close contact with that allied field. Numerous CSUF interior Design Graduates intern with local architectural firms at her recommendation. Ms. Golik is skilled in Architectural and Interior Design Graphic Presentation. She is accomplished in Power Point, AutoCAD, PageMaker Adobe Illustrator and additional technology based presentation tools. Her design specialties are residential and light commercial interiors and architecture. She is currently sitting for the NCIDQ examination.	Phone: 559-278-5497

Vivian Coats, ASID, NCIDQ certified - #11150, CCIDC - #2171, CID
Vivian Coats is an Ohio native, who received a B.A. in Home Economics with an emphasis in textiles and design from Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio. She received a 74 unit post bachelorate degree from CSUF. She is current perusing a master’s degree in Interior Design. She brings fifteen years of residential, commercial and large-scale healthcare and senior living design experience into the classroom. A partner in her own firm, she is very strong in space planning, commercial design, and commercial specifications and codes. She is competent in CAD and is the recipient for several national and west-coast design awards. She is the past regional director for the central California, Nevada, and Hawaii chapter of ASID.	Phone: 559-278-5237

Andi Gaestel, Allied ASID
Andi Gaestel is from Switzerland and lived in Germany before coming to the US. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Germany and has completed a second major in Interior Design from CSUF. She completed a summer architectural study in Florence, Italy. She is the recipient of the first place award for the IIDA west coast completion for the restoration of a Victorian Hotel in San Francisco. Her professional interior and architectural experience in casino design and healthcare design adds breath to her teaching of AutoCAD.	Phone: 559-278-5237

Riitta Vepsalainen, AIA
Riitta Vepsalainen’s Scandinavian background adds an additional international vantage point for the CSUF students. She has a Masters degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and a Bachelor of Interior Design Degree from the College of Helsinki, Finland. She also has an Associates degree in Graphic Design from the same institute in Finland. She is a practicing architect who includes interior design in her practice. Ms. Vepsalainen, enthusiasm, creativity and breath of professional experience enrich her teaching of interior design foundational courses. She refers to her design practice as “turn key” design (both exterior and interior design). She is competent in both hand and computer drawings and presentations.	Phone: 559-278-5237

Kenneth Zamora, California Licensed Architect
Mr. Zamora was educated at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and has earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree as well as a B.S. in Construction Management. He has 16 years of experience in architectural/construction field and has designed, engineered and built his projects. He is an expert in both manual and Computer aided drafting. He is a full-time instructor at Fresno City College and assists with the articulation between the two programs. He teaches Architectural drawing with an exceptional blend of professional and technical knowledge.	Phone: 559-278-5237