M.F.A. (b. 1975) John studied design and photography at Humboldt State University and received his graduate degree in 2005 from San Jose State University School of Art & Design with a thesis in the relationship between the connoted and denoted meaning of image. Trefethen has served as a guest lecturer at San Jose State University and Humboldt State University. He has also been a panel chair at the Society for Photographic Education, where he discussed a collaborative work titled, “Guarding the Garbage: an alternative approach to dealing with the endless accumulation of the worlds waste.” He has been working within the field of design and photography for 16 years and currently serves as faculty at Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he teaches both MFA and BFA students about photography.