The American River College LRCFT Team
An important role of the Union News is to keep faculty informed about the LRCFT and its activities, and about what is happening in Los Rios and on your campuses. As part of that effort, we want to ensure that you know who the Union representatives at your colleges are. You will learn more about these people in future editions, but below is a quick introduction to the LRCFT team at the largest Los Rios College, American River College.
Art Jenkins, LRCFT ARC College President
Art Jenkins is the College President for the Los Rios College Federation of Teachers (LRCFT) at American River College. In this role, he champions the rights and interests of all faculty—both full-time and part-time—through collaborative, equity-driven leadership. Art is committed to strengthening union solidarity, increasing faculty salaries, improving benefits, and advancing shared governance and academic freedom.
With a deep dedication to faculty engagement, Art has led initiatives such as reconvening the Location Safety Committee to ensure a safe and supportive work environment. He is a strong advocate for fair workloads, adequate faculty staffing, and uplifting faculty morale. Art also plays an instrumental role in policy advocacy, including efforts to expand the CalSTRS Early Retirement Program from 5 to 10 years. Through every initiative, he works to ensure all faculty voices are heard, respected, and represented in institutional and union decision-making.
Michael Angelone, LRCFT ARC College Vice President
Michael is a longtime English professor and the current Vice President of the LRCFT at American River College. With nearly two decades of classroom and union leadership experience, he’s focused on contract integrity, fair faculty treatment, and structural reform. He chairs the ARC Type A/B Leave Committee and serves on the district’s AI Task Force Resource Panel, where he brings an educator’s perspective to emerging tech policy. Known for his clarity, grit, and follow-through, Michael works to address the real issues faculty face, not just in theory but in practice.
LaQuisha Beckum, LRCFT ARC College Part-Time Representative
Rob Griffin, LRCFT ARC College Representative
My name is Rob Griffin and I am the Veteran’s Resource Center Counselor at American River College (Main Campus) and have been there in some capacity as a counselor for over 10 years. In addition to counseling for veterans and their dependents, I also sometimes help out with the EOPS program helping first generation and other academically disadvantaged folks navigate college. I have also been teaching college success and career development courses for not only ARC, but for Yuba College for the past 10 years. I am also a graduate of Community College, having earned my associates degree in Administration of Justice and then transferring to California State University Sacramento to obtain my B.S. degree in Criminal Justice. I stayed on at CSUS and earned my M.S. in counseling as well. I have recently taken on a roll within the LRCFT as an executive board member, supporting full time and part time faculty members. I have really enjoyed my time with the union and look forward to contributing more to our members and constituents moving forward!
Bill Zanganeh-Lester
I serve as Professor and Chair of the Humanities and Religious Studies Department at American River College. As a scholar-practitioner with 16 years of experience teaching diverse community college students, I work to bridge the gaps between theory and lived experience, blending academic research with practical application to solve complex problems. Grounded in this practice, my experiences and education have inspired a sustained commitment to justice through intersectional engagements with diverse identities and the religious dimensions of cultural, social, political, economic, and civic life—dimensions that both shape and are shaped by systems of power and marginalization in the U.S. My commitment finds voice in the questions at the heart of my teaching and service: what would it look like if every student were given an equal chance to succeed and to show up as fully accepted members of society? It would look like a community college—at least, that is my aspiration as a community college educator.