About SCCA

Prior to joining the Seattle Central College faculty in 1993, Marc Salverda operated his own design practice in Seattle, specializing in corporate identity, print and digital communications. Marc has a BA in Graphic Design from Washington State University and attended Beloit College in Wisconsin. In their second year as full time faculty Marc and Margaret Parker rewrote the entire Graphic Design curriculum. The curriculum continues to frequently grow and change based on industry and alumni feedback. Marc is an active member of the Seattle Central College Council, Instructional Computing Committee and the Accreditation Committee. He is an active member and former board member of the Seattle chapter of the AIGA and belongs to the Graphic Artist Guild. Marc is currently chair of the Graphic Design program at Seattle Central Creative Academy.

Ben is a creative media producer and tells stories through motion graphics and video. After graduating from Hampshire College, he began his career creating content for historic and scientific museums including the FDR Library and Boston Museum of Science. Since moving to Seattle, Ben has produced videos for Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Sub Pop Records, and more. An Adobe Certified Instructor, he has taught at the School of Visual Concepts, LuminousWorks, and Seattle University, and has written textbooks on Premiere and After Effects. When he’s not teaching or creating media, Ben can be found drawing, writing and performing music, or running elaborate Dungeons & Dragons campaigns.

Courtney is a Seattle native and alumni of our Graphic Design program (Class of 2011). Since graduating, he’s worked as an interaction and user experience designer at companies big and small. He partnered with teams at Microsoft for several years to help refine their Remote Desktop apps and was one of the lead designers in the creation of REI’s iPad app. He says, no professional environment has come close to matching the spirit of open collaboration and density of talent he experienced as a student in our program, so Courtney was excited to return to us as faculty in 2017. Today he enjoys sharing his passion for interaction best practices and user advocacy with our students.

Erik Fadiman is an interactive designer and front end developer who likes solving challenging problems and creating brands for interesting companies. He spends a lot of time reading about emerging technologies and implements those concepts into the curriculum. His classes cover Web Design, UX Design, and Motion Graphics, with a focus on inclusivity and designing for underserved populations. As a former chef, he sees a huge overlap between cooking and Graphic Design and frequently creates food-related assignments for his students. At home, he likes to spend his time gardening with his wife and baking with his children. He usually rides his bike to school, even when it's raining.

I am Jason Hoppe, a production specialist with graphic design background. I have a passion for classic cars of which I have several and enjoy problem solving of all things mechanical as well as design, production and digital issues. I have worked at several agencies in Seattle over the last 20 years, allowing me to hone my skills in production as well as the industry leading software. I teach Adobe Creative Suite and design classes in Seattle at The School of Visual Concepts, Luminous Works and Seattle Central College and am the founding Instructor at creativeLIVE. I am an Adobe Certified Expert and Adobe Certified Instructor with certification in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat.

Jill Vartenigian migrated from the east coast after high school, making stops at Oberlin College in Ohio for her BA and at The University of Iowa for her MFA in Design and a Certificate in Book Arts. She arrived in Seattle where she worked as a designer and art director for local and national companies. In addition to her commercial design work, Jill moonlighted as a teacher of book arts, letterpress printing and papermaking at Pratt Fine Arts Center and in Florence, Italy. She joined Seattle Central Creative Academy and happily brings her experience from the corporate design world and her background in traditional arts and printing to the design program.

Julia is a 2005 graduate of the Graphic Design program at Seattle Central. Her love of ink on paper began while earning a B.F.A. in Printmaking from the University of Washington. Julia has worked with a wide range of clients including: American Greetings, McGraw/Hill - Scholastic, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and numerous small business in the Seattle area. Her work has been featured in HOW Magazine and The New York Times.

Katie comes from an industrial design background. At an agency internship in Ohio, she discovered packaging and was hooked – she had found the perfect combination of industrial and graphic design. Since then, Katie has designed packaging for anything from orange juice to motor oil to headphones, working with brands such as Tide, Tropicana, Quaker, Gatorade, Microsoft, and racking up bottle patents along the way. She continues to freelance for a wide range of clients, loves self-publishing books, and teaches both adult and children’s drawing classes.

Before moving West to Seattle, Lori worked as an Art Director and Associate Creative Director in New York City for over a decade. She has a Super Bowl spot to her credit as well as having her creative work earn rave reviews in Creativity Magazine, AdAge, and AdWeek. Her vast client list includes work across all marketing channels and venues for brands such as The United States Coast Guard, Seattle Children's Hospital, The New York Rangers, and Carlsberg Beer. She has traveled from Hong Kong to New Zealand (even New Jersey!) to create national campaigns for her bigger clients like The Bank of America and Kforce.com. You can still hear her exotic Upstate New York accent, especially when she talks about her Alma mater Syracuse University where she earned a BFA in Advertising Design.

Bliss grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, and has spent his life living between Germany, Italy, and the United States. Though a dedicated cinematographer for over a decade, he holds a degree in International Relations. Bliss began his film career in Rome, Italy where he studied at the “Scuola di Cinema”. He spent the next 10 years in New York City, working as a Director of Photography and freelance lighting technician for films, commercials and documentaries. His clients have included National Geographic, BBC, CNN, NPR and PBS, as well as many independent directors and producers.

Erik was born and raised in the small town of Truckee, California. From a young age, he picked up his dad's video camera and began filming anything and everything he could think of. In high school, he won first place at an Indy film festival for a short film entitled, "Kawasho." The film ended up with a few awards and a photo op with actor Christopher Lloyd. Since then, Erik has enjoyed teaching video editing and compositing with Adobe After Effects, as well as having fun creating amazing projects for clients such as Microsoft, Dell, VMware, Keen, Filson, Pokemon and Nike. For the last few years, Erik has been developing 360° videos and VR/AR experiences. When not working, you can find Erik in the great outdoors with his family exploring the wilds of the PNW.

Adrienne received her MFA in documentary filmmaking from Chapman University, and BA in Film Studies from Whitman College, and currently works as a documentary filmmaker and freelance videographer, with a focus on social justice documentaries. Her films have screened at festivals around the country, and her latest project, Out of the Shadows, was nominated for Best Documentary at the Pasadena International Film Festival.

Ed Harrington is the Instructional Technician for the Creative Academy. He grew up in wilds of unincorporated Snohomish County. Ed has a BA from The Evergreen State College and an AAS in commercial printing from Seattle Central College. Ed also has an expired Merchant Mariner credential and Pesticide Distributor license. He does have a current CPR/first aid card and is an Ordained Minister with the Universal Life Church. More relevant to his current position, he provides a wide and shallow knowledge of most printing process, photo and video equipment, and an odd assortment of software. When he is not fixing things, ordering supplies, or checking out equipment, he likes helping students make cool stuff.