Faculty and Staff

	C. "Gus" Katsigris Gus, a legend in the Dallas restaurant industry, was the founder of our program back in 1970 when El Centro was 3 years old.  He "retired" last year, but still serves as a consultant and is our greatest cheerleader.  In his spare time, Gus still teaches wine appreciation and equipment.  He has a MS from Columbia University in New York and has owned numerous restaurants.
Photo Not Available	Beth Sonnier Ms. Sonnier is the Director of the Food and Hospitality Service Institute.  She also teaches food preparation, baking and pastry and hospitality management courses.  She has been at El Centro for 13 years and is a graduate of the CIA, The University of North Texas and Texas Womens University with degrees in Culinary Arts and Hotel/Restaurant Management.  She has 35 years of experience from the dining room to Executive Chef.
Photo Not Available	Chris Lalonde Chef Lalonde is the Executive Chef Instructor of the Food and Hospitality Institute.  He teaches food preparation, purchasing, sanitation, supervision, spa cuisine, Saucier, and Garde Manger.  Whew!  He has been at El Centro for 4 years and is a graduate of Florida State University with degrees in business and hotel and restaurant administration.  He is a Certified Executive Chef with the American Culinary Federation and is the former Executive Chef at the Westin Hotel Galleria, Dallas.
Photo Not Available	Lynn Mattie Ms. Mattie is the Bakery/Pastry Chef of the Food and Hospitality Institute.  She is a former student and 1990 graduate of El Centro and received her BS from New York University.  She has been a chef at Dessert Dreams in Irving, Texas and was the owner of Blue Moon Bakery in Elgin, Texas.
	Jesse Yearwood Ms. Yearwood is the Nutritionist of the Food and Hospitality Institute and has been at El Centro for 8 years.  In addition to nutrition, she also teaches safety, supervision and equipment. She has BS and MS degrees from Texas Women's University and is a Registered Dietician.  She is a former Nutrition Specialist for the Dallas Independent School District and instructor at Skyline High School, Dallas.
Photo Not Available	Ann MacDonald Ann is the Staff Assistant at the Food and Hospitality Institute and is in charge of the kitchen/back of the house operations.  Ms. MacDonald, who is originaly from Scotland, is the cog that makes everything work from ensuring vendor orders are placed to seeing that all equipment is working properly as well as keeping all of us in line.
Photo Not Available	Allison Hodges Ms. Hodges, the better half of our husband/wife team, is a Bakery/Pastry Instructor teaching fundamental baking and advanced pastries, pies and cookies.  She has won 2 ACF Gold Medals, 3 ACF Silver Medals and 2 ACF Bronze Medals.  She has also won numerous Best of Show Awards at the Home Sweet Home Gingerbread Contest and was a Member of the Banqueting Team that won the EWMCA Golden Platter Award in 1999.
	Bill Hodges The other half of "Team Hodges" is also a Bakery/Pastry Instructor.  Mr. Hodges also teaches food preparation classes. Like his wife, he has won 2 ACF Bronze Medals, 4 TCA Bronze Medals and 2 Golden Platter Awards.  They both attended the program at El Centro.
	Brad Trudeau Mr. Trudeau has been a Chef Instructor at El Centro for 7 years.  He teaches food preparation, Garde Manger, sanitation, purchasing and supervision.  He is a graduate of Columbus State College, Ohio and the University of Cincinnati.  He is a Certified Executive Chef and a Foodservice Management Professional.  He has worked for the Hilton and Marriot Hotels Corporations and the Dallas Independent School District.
Photo Not Available	Ben Brown Mr. Brown is a Management/Supervision Instructor.  He has been at El Centro since 1988.  He graduated with a BS degree in public administration from the University of Tennessee and has worked at the Fairmont Hotel and Wynnwood Hospitality.
Photo Not Available	Chris Miller Ms. Miller is a Bakery/Pastry Instructor.
Photo Not Available	Karen Cassady Ms. Cassady is our Catering Instructor and currently works for Marty's in Dallas.
Photo Not Available	Mike Johnson Mr. Johnson is our Marketing instructor.
	Cindy Duke Ms. Duke is a computer lab supervisor and over-sees various scholorship programs.  She has been at El Centro for 7 years and graduated from the program.
	Marc Moore Mr. Moore has been a computer lab instructor and the webmaster for the Food and Hospitality Institute for 3 years.  He is a self-taught computer geek, cook and baker having won numerous awards from The State Fair of Texas Cake Baking Contest.
	Allison Shaskan Academic: I have an M.A. in Rhetoric from Northern Illinois University, and am working on my Ph.D. at the University of North Texas in the field of curriculum (culinary arts curriculum, to be specific). I attended culinary school in Chicago, and am certified as a teaching chef by the American Culinary Federation. Professional: I have worked in Country Clubs, small restaurants, and have worked extensively in catering as well. Upon moving to Arkansas, I became the Executive Director of an Apprenticeship Program, and then wrote the A.A.S. curriculum which was approved by the State of Arkansas, and is still going strong. I am proud to be involved in what I term a "gastronomy" revolution!

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