A California native, Howard spent the formative years of his life growing up in the Santa Clarita Valley, a sprawling suburb in Los Angeles county. Being the son of a clinical psychologist and a mother who had a severe mental illness, his interest in psychology piqued at a young age. Howard’s love of mathematics, psychology, and literature also made him an excellent candidate for Revelle College at the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Pure Mathematics with two minor degrees in Psychology and Literature/Writing. He went on to earn his Master’s Degree in Mathematics with an emphasis in Community College Education from San Diego State University.
While an undergraduate, Howard worked with the late Dr. J. Christian Gillin, an internationally renowned sleep specialist, and psychiatrist at UCSD and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. Dr. Gillin was instrumental in the advancement of sleep medicine and the understanding of how sleep deprivation affects cognitive reasoning abilities and an invaluable mentor. Howard was similarly inspired by Dr. Stuart Anstis, who taught him about the nature of sensation and perception, and Dr. John Polich, who offered his valuable insights into the connections between mathematics and psychology. Howard also worked for three years at the UCSD Science & Engineering library, where he furthered his interest in the physical and biological sciences.
At SDSU, Howard worked with Dr. Chris Rasmussen in the field of mathematics education, a discipline that combined behavioral psychology with mathematics. He published a Master’s thesis about straight-line solutions to ordinary differential equations and a peer-reviewed international journal article on emergent mathematics involving systems of linear differential equations. He began his teaching career in mathematics, working part-time for various community colleges in San Diego County before obtaining his first full-time position at San Diego Miramar College. Howard secured his next full-time position at Las Positas College (LPC) in Livermore, CA in 2008, where he still resides as a tenured mathematics professor. For the past three years, he served as the Professional Development Committee chair in addition to teaching a full load of classes.
While at LPC, Howard befriended Dr. Ernie Jones, Emeritus professor of psychology, who was passionate about his field of study. Ernie brought some great minds and personalities to LPC, including Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. William Dement, and the original “Rainman” Kim Peek, and Howard had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of them. Ernie and Howard spoke regularly about hot topics in psychology, and Ernie encouraged him to follow his passions and write about novel and exciting psychology ideas. Howard also gave numerous presentations, both locally and at conferences, on a wide range of topics, including community building, the use of social media and technology in the classroom, and mathematics teaching techniques. He is also a founding member of two professional development groups at Las Positas College, centered around forming meaningful communities of practice among faculty and staff. He is the recipient of numerous professional awards and recognition, including the 2014 John and Suanne Roueche National Award for Innovation and Leadership in Higher Education.
Howard and his family currently reside in Oakley, CA. In his spare time, he enjoys weightlifting, cooking, baking, traveling, and spending time with his family. Howard also loves reading about the latest developments in the social and physical sciences and is interested in learning more about age-old philosophical and metaphysical topics such as the origin of the universe, the nature of time, and how the brain works. When he is not busy writing, Howard binge-watches Netflix and Hulu with his wife Victoria, who is a talented portrait artist. Some of their favorite shows include 12 Monkeys, The Walking Dead, Dark, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things.
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