Andrew Fraknoi retired as the Chair of the Astronomy Department at Foothill College in 2017. He currently teaches non-credit astronomy classes through the University of San Francisco Fromm Institute and San Francisco State’s OLLI program. For 14 years, he served as Executive Director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Fraknoi was named Professor of the Year for the state of California in 2007 and often appears on the radio explaining astronomy in everyday language. He is the lead author of a free, open-source, introductory astronomy textbook, published by the non-profit OpenStax project, and has also written two children’s books on astronomy. Asteroid 4859 has been named Asteroid Fraknoi to honor his contributions to the public understanding of science.
The San Francisco Amateur Astronomers, operating since 1952, is dedicated to helping promote an appreciation of the wonders of the night sky within the Bay Area community. SFAA welcomes all those interested in the varied aspects of astronomy. The group has public outreach events, star viewing trips, lectures, telescope making sessions, private member-only dark sky viewing nights, and more. Once monthly, the SFAA hosts distinguished guest speakers who are leaders in the fields of astronomy, physics, and related disciplines.