Our Faculty

Jill Hornbeck

• BS - Interior Design, UC Davis
• MBA - Marketing, Cal State East Bay
• Owner, Everett Interiors, Livermore, CA – Established in 1992

Ms. Hornbeck has been teaching at Las Positas College since 2001, as well as currently teaching at Ohlone College, Fremont, CA. She recently taught Interior Design classes at Canada College, Redwood City and Chabot College, Hayward.

Ms. Hornbeck had always wanted to be an architect then found working with colors and furniture was a lot more interesting than designing houses and buildings. After UC Davis she worked at an interior design firm doing model homes and residential design. She then worked for a homebuilding company as a marketing coordinator, working with the sales offices doing graphics and public relations.

"I wanted to get more into homebuilding" she said "so I worked on my MBA at night. Marketing is so important to that business because you have to understand who your customers are and what appeals to them. When you design a home and the models you create a profile of who that buyer is and how they will live in that home. "Understanding how to market to different economic and cultural groups is essential to building a successful housing development.

Along with teaching at LPC, Ms. Hornbeck runs her own interior design business and has 3 children. Her advice to potential students is "to get experience right away. There is a lot of awareness about this industry thanks to HGTV and you need to show that you understand it's more than just putting samples on a board. The products in Interior Design are more complex than people realize. For example, if you are designing for a family with small children you will recommend very different finishes than for a single person with no pets. So, having experience with products and clients will help you build confidence in your design skills and your ability to communicate with the many people you will encounter."

Kia Romano

B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies: U.C. Berkeley

Ms. Romano has guest lectured at Las Positas College since 2007 and has been teaching since 2019.

Ms. Romano has owned and operated a To The Trade Designer showroom since 1999, which exclusively servers Interior designers, Architects and General contractors in the Bay Area.

"My introduction into the Interior design field started as a very young child, running around design showrooms and carpet mills. I have a deep family history in the design business dating back to the 1940's. However, while studying Business and Economics in college and working for a Commercial Design Firm in San Francisco, I developed my own desire to enter this wonderful business. After attending and obtaining my degree from U.C. Berkeley, I managed multiple design centers for local residential builders and fell in love with this business which allowed me to utilize both my passion for operating a business/showroom and the creativity of interior design. After a number of years in the industry, I was fortunate enough to travel for work to numerous countries overseas to observe and learn different manufacturing techniques, benefits and limitations. This knowledge has greatly impacted me and many of the area rug designs I have created. I have been blessed to work on many exceptional design projects over the years, including creating many custom area rug designs for large department stores displays, specified through store planning interior design firms in New York. I have expanded and managed a large trade showroom, which is a premiere resource for hundreds of bay area interior designers and other trade professionals. I have my own flooring contractors license and appreciate that this business is constantly changing. The nature of the changes in the industry encourages an ongoing growth in knowledge, and requires designers to stay current with new trends and manufacturing methods. I am grateful that the design industry has seen such ongoing growth and requires a continual education. Every project is unique, and as clients themselves have become more educated buyers, I greatly enjoy being able to daily share my expertise and provide unique, exquisite and quality products to my client's on both commercial and residential design projects."

Over the past decade Ms. Romano has hosted numerous interns at her showroom, through various college interior design programs and greatly enjoys sharing her passion and knowledge of the design industry with her clients and her students.  

Shelley Ham

B.S. in Physical Education, Cal State East Bay

Interior Design Graduate, Las Positas College

Ms. Ham has been an educator since 1982.  Most of her training time has been spent in the corporate sector followed by nonprofit.  She has guest lectured at Las Positas College since 2012, and joined LPC in 2024 as a faculty member. 

Ms. Ham has always loved interior design.  She knew when she was in third grade that someday she would have a career in this industry.  Upon graduation from college, she went in a different direction, but still in service of others.  Then, after a family crisis pushed her in this direction, she took countless design courses at LPC and decided to start a nonprofit in 2013 called Rooms of Hope where she is still the Executive Director today.  Rooms of Hope provides dream room makeovers to local Bay Area children battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer.  Through design, Ms. Ham knows that she and her team can give back a little control to these children who need it most while creating a healing space for that child that is unique to their personality.  Design comes in many forms and this nonprofit form is a space she loves!  It is a dream for her to work with these children as the co-designers, and the dozen or more volunteer interior designers that she manages along with the volunteer construction crew in the hundreds.  May it be one space or a whole home makeover, Ms. Ham’s attention to detail and design skill set is a perfect match.  Now a new dream has come to fruition for her.  That is teaching LPC students how to use design to better their lives and the lives of others. 

Along with teaching at LPC, Ms. Ham, as mentioned above, runs a nonprofit organization and has three adult children.  All three live in the bay area and two are middle school teachers.  Her husband is an architect and specializes in school architecture.  Education, and the importance of education, plays a huge role in her family along with the great outdoors.   

Ms. Ham’s goal at LPC is to inspire, educate and collaborate with her LPC students and open their eyes to the wonderful world of interior design.  “There’s so much to learn and know…and the benefit…to serve your clients well in whatever design career choice you land!”