Meet Our Team

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was Mrs.Dahlman, freshman year science. While science wasn’t my favorite subject, Mrs.Dahlman showed me kindness, support and fostered courage during a difficult year in my life. I found that teachers do more than teach, they are often the lifeline within our schools. I am forever grateful for her!

Most Influential Teacher: My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Nichols. In his class I made it to the state finals in the Spelling Bee and wrote a paper for the D.A.R.E. program that was chosen to be read in front of the entire school at an assembly. I feel like I did the best in his class and owe my success that year to him!

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Pam Powell, my high school Student Council Advisor, created an environment that helped me become a leader and inspired me to become a teacher.  She cared about her students as individuals; her classroom was a positive, encouraging place that fostered innovation, authenticity, and collaboration. That was just what nerdy little teenage me needed to thrive.

Most Influential Teacher: Teresa Johnston was my most influential teacher. She was my high school history teacher and taught me Robert’s Rules of Order. She led our Model UN club, an organization I joined and led in college as well. What she taught me, paved the way for me to be my most successful self in my careers to follow.

Most Influential Teacher: My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Wells, taught me that learning happens within and beyond the classroom. He helped lay the foundations for my career in STEM fields and STEAM education by making sure his students had opportunities to explore concepts viscerally and beyond the confines of our school room; to learn by DOING; to gain as much educational value from our peers as we would from him; to transcend learning paradigms through passion projects and problem-based noodling.

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was my high school biology teacher, and later teaching mentor, Dr. David Yates. He brought science to life for me and gave me room to learn and grow through discovery and personal experience. I owe much of who I am today to his influence.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Fitzgerald, my 8th-grade Science teacher.  As a young child, I thought science was magical, and as an adult, that hasn’t changed.  He taught me that failure was success no matter what, the best learning experience.  I remember him telling me, “Stephanie, the world is yours, you are the maker of your success, make it count!”.  I have held this bit of advice near and dear to my heart since that very day.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Myers, my 4^th grade teacher.  She cared for all her students, and it showed in how well behaved and eager to learn all of us in her class were.  I looked forward to going to her class every day because she made learning fun and exciting.  Her pushing me and believing in me allowed me to believe in myself and gave me motivation to be the best I could be!

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher as a grade school student is without a doubt Mrs. Burton who used a life size cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton to teach me about improper fractions! All funny stories aside, she helped me believe in myself and taught me that my disabilities were in fact different abilities! She taught me how to harness what made me uniquely me.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Syron taught me to love science by making it hands-on and engaging!

Most Influential Teacher:

Theresa Knipstein, my education college professor. After I graduated college and started my job as an elementary special education teacher, she was the one who pushed me to go back and get my master’s degree to utilize my leadership skills. She is not only my most influential teacher, but also my mentor, my #1 cheerleader, and a very close friend that I would consider family. Even 16 years later, we still go out to dinner monthly! Someday, I hope to impact someone the way she has impacted me.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr Goss, who taught us to care about our education, specifically the English language.  In order to express your thoughts, opinions, experiences, it was imperative to have the structure and vocabulary to do so.  I think it was his goal that we had the skills to express ourselves eloquently, which gave us the path to be able to do it at all.

Most Influential Teacher: Mike Smith, High School Jazz Band. Mr. Smith had an incredible impact by teaching me about dedication, integrity, and always striving to better listen not only to music, but to what others have to say. He continually pushed his students to aim higher while knocking down our fear of making mistakes. 

Most Influential Teacher: My economics and finance professor in graduate school, Dr. Anil Pawar. He had talent and passion for translating complex economic principles into real-world scenarios making them relevant to our everyday lives. He encouraged engaging in group discussions about current global and local events and their potential economic implications.

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was my high school science teacher. He was extremely enthusiastic and helpful, always willing to go on a tangent to foster curiosity. He also loved to set up outdoor field trips whenever possible.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Stewart McMillan inspired my desire to pursue a degree in teaching history with his passion for uncovering even the smallest details on how people around the world lived their lives. His classroom was a mix of chaos and learning but he always had the most interesting stories to tell. His exuberance lasts even to today as he provides guided tours around the city of Detroit.

Most Influential Teacher: My Database Design instructor Dr. Hoxmeier, who taught me to examine a scenario through multiple lenses to gain better perspective.

Most Influential Teacher: My most inspiring teacher is Todd Shelton. He was my web development teacher in college, and his authenticity and approach to teaching adults inspired me to want to teach full-time. I learned a lot about how to deliver the best student experience as well, and it led me down the path of building the best learning experiences in my classrooms!

Most Influential Teacher: My science education professor, Dr. Andrew Gilbert. He showed me how magical science learning can be in an elementary classroom and highlighted that it’s okay to let kids get messy, especially in science. When they’re messy, they’re engaged!

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Suddeth, my first grade teacher, knew how to make everyone feel special.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Goetz was my English teacher, sponsor, and coach at different times through middle and high school. She was super smart, super kind, and tirelessly encouraging. Lots of kids who were tough on other teachers seemed to behave better for her, and we learned. I don’t know if kids noticed how hard Mrs. Goetz worked, but I know she made a lot of us feel like we would achieve anything we worked at.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Louise Sebring, my 11th grade English teacher. At a time when I didn’t think much of myself, she taught me to have the confidence that I could do anything I wanted if I set my mind to it, and that changed my life

Most Influential Teacher: My first history teacher considered himself a historian. His passion, pride, and the value he placed on the subject helped me understand history on a deeper level.

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was the first person who asked me to suggest what grade I should earn on a project I completed.  This experience promoted my sense of self-efficacy and feelings of agency related to my learning experiences and progress toward my goals. This is something I purposefully integrate into the experiences I create for learners of any age.

Most Influential Teacher: My 8^th grade English teacher, Ms. Jill Colet. She really instilled in me that I could be and do whatever I put my mind to and wasn’t limited by my circumstances. One of the field trips we went on was to UCLA to see a college campus. It was then that I realized how big the world was and the possibilities that were out there.

Most Influential Teacher: My favorite teacher was my High School homeroom teacher, Bo Seaman. He was also my Anthropology teacher. Mr. Seaman was the first teacher that I had that spoke to us like we were adults. He would ask questions and then let us run with it. Not only did you learn more about yourself, but you also learned about your classmates.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Beaber, my band teacher and Student Council Advisor, saw in me a leader with ideas worth sharing.

Most Influential Teacher: Ms. Hubbard, an accounting professor, was my favorite teacher because she connected what we were learning in the classroom to real-world experiences.

Most Influential Teacher:

My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Wilgenkamp. As a young student, I was a bit hyperactive, disinterested in my studies, and struggled to stay engaged. However, Mr. Wilgenkamp recognized our mutual love for martial arts and used it as a way to connect with me. Through his mentorship, he taught me to channel my energy into being disciplined and responsible.

Most Influential Teacher: Martha Dominguez was my most influential teacher in high school. She exemplified how a teacher’s support extends outside the classroom. Despite my initial struggles with attendance and grades, she never gave up on me, often offering tough love and guidance. Her unwavering belief in me enabled me to overcome anxiety and achieve academic success.

Most Influential Teacher: This goes WAY back. Mrs. Koenig was my 3rd grade home room teacher. I was teased quite a bit as a ‘red headed’ child and yes very ‘chatty’, the name fits. She was the only elementary school teacher that I remember that told used to point out my strengths and tell me how valuable I was in the world. She gave me a confidence that still brings me tears of joy to this day.

Most Influential Teacher: My favorite teacher was my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Barba. He made our classroom into a STEM lab and was the teacher that influenced me to enjoy science.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Serine always made class an exciting place to be by bringing the content to life. His passion for learning was contagious and made a lasting impact.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Usher in the 3rd grade. I was a new student enrolling in late November and I had missed a large amount of days at my previous school that year.  Mrs. Usher welcomed me and took the time to see that I was caught up on the curriculum and made friends. She went above and beyond in the classroom and on the playground to ensure I was where I needed to be both academically and socially.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Williams was my first grade teacher, and it was her first year teaching. She had such an impact on the entire class that, years later, almost the entire class came back together and gave her a “1st Class” retirement party.

Most Influential Teacher: My favorite teacher, Mrs. McCaughey, brought learning to life with real-world simulations that required me to apply the concepts and skills we were learning.

Most Influential Teacher: Dr. Nance was my business professor and he taught me the importance of continuous improvement while thinking outside of the box. (Plus, he coupled that with great jokes!)

Most Influential Teacher: One of my High School English Teachers, Elmo Hegge. He was a man of great enthusiasm for English and Literature and his influence extended far beyond that. He was man of great tolerance who was true to himself. He demonstrated how even though people and life can be hurtful, compassion and strength were the most important qualities.

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was one of my high school math teachers, Mr. Morrison. He is who really inspired me to get into education and how to teach passionately.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Fleming, my fourth-grade teacher, had a tremendous influence on me. She created such a warm, caring, and fun environment for us as students, and she really filled me with a love of education and inspired me to enter the field myself!

Most Influential Teacher: My most influential teacher was Mr. Bill Tucker. Tucker was my psychology teacher in high school and was a dynamic, funny and inspiring man. He was the reason that I pursued a degree in psychology and became a lifelong teacher.

Most Influential Teacher: My grandparents were my most influential teachers. They taught me many things – from kindness to acceptance to strength to perseverance and resilience, but the biggest thing they taught me was that happiness is a choice not a result so chose to be happy when you wake you up and you’ll have a better day and those around you will have a better day.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr Zurbrick, my high school music teacher and theatre director for our amazing high school plays. He was an inspiration to all that met him. He instilled in me a love of art, music and theatre, and encouraged me to pursue Art in college. When he asked me to play piano in the orchestra pit for a local production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies when I was only 16, I was hesitant out of fear, but he gave me the confidence to do it.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Cianciabella, my kindergarten teacher, helped every student see what made us unique.

Most Influential Teacher: My second grade teacher really knew how to make school fun and engaging.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Sawyer, my third grade teacher at La Marina Elementary School in Manhattan Beach, CA. She was awesome and led us on so many adventures. She walked us to Pollywog Park to get crawdads and let us keep them in the classroom while we were “scientists”—measuring, weighing, gathering data, making predictions, observations, and doing “experiments” with them.  I took her love of learning and adventure with me into my classrooms when I became a teacher.

Most Influential Teacher: Ralph Coate, my high school biology teacher, profoundly impacted my career as an educator. He encouraged curiosity and challenged me academically. He not only shaped my career journey but also inspired me to return to the same classroom where I once learned from him, as a biology teacher myself.

Most Influential Teacher: Mrs. Grabfelder, my fifth-grade teacher, was profoundly influential because of her contagious enthusiasm and genuine love for her students. Her dedication to our growth and success left a lasting impact, inspiring me to embrace learning with curiosity and determination.

Most Influential Teacher: Mr. Timoteo, my high school Art teacher. After seeing my work, he told me that I would go places. It boosted my confidence and motivated me to improve my craft.