Faculty

Jennifer Lee

Department Head

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Southern Wake Campus
Building E - 321E

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Jennifer has more than 15 years of IT industry experience and nearly a decade of experience in higher education. She is passionate about human-centered learning and the integration of emerging technologies to strengthen student engagement and workforce readiness. In addition to leading innovative program development and curriculum redesign, she is pursuing a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, with research focused on bichronous learning and its role in enhancing the online learning environment.

Education

MS, Information Technology, University of the Cumberlands
BS, Information Technology, University of the Cumberlands
AAS, Information Technology, Guilford Technical Community College

Certifications / Training

ACUE: Ensuring Engagement in the Online Environment
AICPA Data Analytics Core Concepts
AWS Certified AI Practitioner
EPIC Online Teaching Certification
Google IT Automation with Python
IT Specialist: Artificial Intelligence
IT Specialist: Generative AI
IT Specialist: HTML & CSS
IT Specialist: Javascript
Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
PMI: Project Management Ready

Dr. Frank G. Chao

Professor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 326Q

919-866-5359 (office)

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Education

Ph.D., University of Missouri
MS, North Carolina State University
BS, Peking University

Certifications / Training

Oracle Certified DBA and Application Developer

Peter Chen

Associate Professor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Scott Northern Wake Campus
Building B - 340

919-866-5360 (office)

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Education

MIS, North Carolina Central University
BS, Fong Chia University
AAS, Wake Tech

Allister Chhatrala

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Southern Wake Campus
Building E - 327G

919-866-5362 (office)

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Education

MS, North Carolina State University
BS, North Carolina State University

Certifications / Training

Oracle Certified Associate (OCA)

Hong Cui

Professor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 326Q

919-866-5996 (office)

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Education

MS, North Carolina State University
BS, Ocean University of China

Certifications / Training

Microsoft Office Specialist Word & Excel 2003 Core
IC3 Certified Professional
Microsoft Specialist: Programming in C#
Microsoft Certified Professional
Information Technology Specialist Certification in Python

Ethan Gardner

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 326L

919-335-1304 (office)

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Education

MS, Information Systems, Harding University
BBA, Information Systems, Harding University

Certifications / Training

CAPM - Certified Associate in Project Management
PCEP - Certified Python Programmer
Tableau Desktop Specialist
CCST- Networking

Cindy Halliday

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Southern Wake Campus
Building E - 321Q

919-866-5126 (office)

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Education

MBA, Western New England University
BS, Troy University

Jacob Justice

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Scott Northern Wake Campus
Building B - 342

919-532-5666 (office)

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Education

MS, Computer Science, Clemson University
BS, Computer Science, Appalachian State University

Leslie Keller

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 306B

919-335-1242 (office)

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Education

MS, Applied Computer Science, University of West Georgia
MBA, Appalachian State University
BS, Business Administration, UNC-Chapel Hill

Mark Kiser

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 326P

919-335-1318 (office)

James (Jim) Matlock

Assistant Professor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 306L

919-335-1317 (office)

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James (Jim) Matlock

Assistant Professor

Jim Matlock teaches beginning and advanced Python courses. He has more than 30 years of software engineering experience, having worked at IBM, Texas Instruments and other companies. Jim holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Virginia Tech and a master's degree in computer science from North Carolina State University. Since joining Wake Tech in March 2021, Jim has brought a wealth of practical industry experience to offer students a comprehensive and real-world-relevant education in technology.

Russ McCuen

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

919-866-5201 (office)

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Education

MS, Computer Science, Ball State University
BS, Computer Science, Oregon State University
BA, English, North Carolina State University

Certifications / Training

ITS Certified Specialist in Python
CCST - Networking

Don Sommerfeldt

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

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Education

MS, East Carolina University
BS, Old Dominion University

Certifications / Training

MTA Software Development Fundamentals
MTA Java Programming
Learning Tree JavaScript Developer

Alex Tabbal

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Southern Wake Campus
Building E - 321AA

919-866-5139 (office)

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Alex Tabbal is a computer programming instructor in Wake Tech's Computer Programming and Information Sciences program. His research interests include online education, big data technology and artificial intelligence. He is a certified Scrum Master and Product Owner, and he enjoys running platform-level engineering teams in the cloud and on premises.

Education

MS, Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University
BS, Computer and Communication Engineering, American University of Science and Technology (Lebanon)

Richard Tillies

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

Scott Northern Wake Campus
Building B - 342

919-532-5754 (office)

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Richard Tillies, aka "Professor T," is an educator by trade with more than two decades of college classroom teaching experience in information technology and mathematics. His formal education includes degrees in Computer Science and IT Education. Within the tech industry, he held positions as a database specialist and software engineer. Outside of teaching and industry, Professor T is a certified kickboxing trainer who can perform a backflip and solve a Rubik's Cube – although not at the same time.

Education

MS, Education (Information Technology), Radford University
BS, Computer Science, Radford University

Certifications / Training

EPIC Online Teaching Certification - Wake Tech
PCEP – Certified Python Programmer - Python Institute
Pearson IT Specialist - Java
Pearson IT Specialist - Python
Google Cybersecurity Certificate
Certified Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE)
Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
MS Office Specialist Master (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access)
IC3 Certified Professional

Dr. Lorrie Tomek

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

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Lorrie Tomek transitioned to teaching after a 30-year career in the technology industry. She held roles at IBM as a senior technical staff member and at Fidelity Investments as director of Cognitive Computing Architecture. Her professional background includes artificial intelligence, cloud computing, enterprise systems architecture and software development.

Lorrie brings a wealth of industry experience, a strong commitment to lifelong learning and a passion for teaching and student success. Her current interests include applied AI in education, instructional innovation, ethical and responsible technology use and helping students connect academic learning with real-world computing careers. She is especially interested in how generative AI and transparent pedagogy can foster student engagement and achievement in open-access community college settings.

Education

Ph.D., Computer Science, Duke University
MS, Computer Science, UNC-Charlotte
BS, Computer Science & Mathematics, Binghamton University

Certifications / Training

EPIC Master Certification in Online Teaching and Pedagogy – Wake Tech
Advanced Certificate in Effective Teaching Practice – ACUE
QM-Certified Higher Education Peer Reviewer – Quality Matters
Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) – ISC2
PCEP – Certified Entry-Level Python Programmer – Python Institute
IT Specialist in Python – Certiport

Dr. Jing Wang

Instructor

~ Contact Info ~

[email protected]

RTP Campus
Building 1 - 326Q

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Education

Doctor of Science, Applied Information Technology, Towson University
MS, Computer Science, University of Texas at Dallas

Certifications / Training

IT Specialist – Java 2025
Oracle Certified Associate (OSA) 2007
Sun Certified Java Programmer (SCJP) 2005