Meet Our Faculty

Lilli Ann Linford-Foreman
Professor of Theatre/Speech
Chair of Fine Arts and Communication
Email: lforeman@cocc.edu 

Lilli Ann began teaching actors, public speakers, and other communicators at COCC soon after earning her MFA from Pennsylvania State University in 1987, beginning by running the Theatre Performance program (now on hiatus).  

For the Stanford-trained actor, who brings to the College working experience as an actor, singer, playwright, and director (of more than 60 works), her focus on empathy yields more than believable characterizations — it helps encourage personal growth. "I truly believe that the material students learn in acting and communication can be life-changing for them," she says. "I love the 'aha' moments where a student suddenly puts information together in a new way and discovers something unexpected about themselves or the world." 

Justin Borowsky
Associate Professor of Speech
Email: jborowsky@cocc.edu 

With his Ph.D. in interpersonal and family community from the University of Denver, Justin wants students to know that he wasn’t always so certain of his career path. "I never knew I wanted to study hostage situations, but I became curious about the topic and then pursued it." Justin went on to be published in the field of hostage negotiations and serve as a law enforcement consultant. "I really encourage students to be curious and to follow what they find fascinating and try to build those opportunities into my classes." 

Justin focuses on hands-on learning, where students get to practice communication skills. One of his favorite classes to teach is Interpersonal Communication. "I love seeing students begin to understand their own communication behaviors and how actions impact those we care about." 

Jon Bouknight
Professor of Writing/Speech
Email: jbouknight@cocc.edu 

Building on his education from three state universities and across two programs, Jon earned his Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Washington and has been thrilled to teach Speech and Writing at COCC since 1998.

In addition to covering General Education core classes in Writing and Communication, he regularly teaches classes ranging from the Introduction to Drama to Free Expression and Public Assembly. During his time at COCC, Jon has continued to publish and has presented a dozen competitive papers at conferences. He owes his growing body of communication research to his continual interaction with learners in Central Oregon. 

(Photo coming soon)

Anne Zmyslinski-Seelig
Assistant Professor II of Speech
Email: azmyslinskiseelig@cocc.edu 

Anne loves teaching students how to communicate more effectively in the close relationships that matter most to them. For this reason, Anne’s favorite classes to teach include Interpersonal Communication, Communicating Love, Listening, and Emotional Intelligence. Anne earned her Ph.D. in interpersonal communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; her dissertation focused on how couples talk about money. In the future, Anne would like to continue this line of research and also research other topics relevant to close relationships, such as how parents talk to their kids about sex.  

Outside of teaching, Anne serves as a volunteer and board member for Community Solutions where volunteers use mediation skills to help people have difficult conversations.