Site Director Bios

Reiko Ando – Co-Director, Aim High at Visitacion Valley Elementary School

Reiko has a BA from the University of Michigan in Environmental Studies. Reiko Ando has been with Aim High since the summer of 2007, when she was a Master Teacher in math and science for rising 9th graders. This year, she is excited to return to the Visitacion Valley site as a co-director. Reiko has been involved with the field of education since 1999, when she worked with high school students in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and has since worked for environmental education organizations and public schools throughout the Bay Area. During the school year, she serves as a school garden teacher for E.R. Taylor Elementary School.

Erica Hernandez – Co-Director, Aim High at Visitacion Valley Middle School

Erica has directed at Vis Valley for two years. Currently, Erica serves as an Admissions Associate at the Urban School of San Francisco. Prior to her work at Urban, Erica served as an Academic Service Coordinator at the Telegraph Neighborhood Center, providing tutoring and academic services or youth. She was also the Director of Instruction of SCORE! Educational Center in Menlo Park. Erica has a BS in Sociology, and a minor in Urban Education and Spanish from Santa Clara University. She is certified in CBEST and is proficient in Spanish.

Kate Baker – Co-Director, Aim High at Gateway High School

Kate has nine years of teaching experience, and has a teaching credential in Social Studies and CLAD certification. As a founding teacher at Aim High Academy, Kate taught 7th grade Humanities and 6th grade Issues & Choices. Prior to coming to Aim High Academy, Kate taught Humanities, Science and Computers at San Francisco Community Alternative Public School, and was a master teacher at the Aim High / Chinatown site at Yick Wo for three years. Kate has a BA from Wesleyan University, is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work at San Francisco State University.

Karina Henriquez – Co-Director, Aim High at Gateway High School

Karina is an After School Program Director at Mission High School where she manages day-to-day operations of the program, coordinates evaluation efforts, coaches and provides professional development for staff. She has served as the After School Program Coordinator and a paraprofessional at Paul Revere Elementary School. Karina has an Associate’s degree in Science and Early Childhood Education from Sklyline College. She will start SFSU in the fall of 2008 and is pursuing a teaching credential.

Danielle Dixon – Co-Director, Aim High at St. Paul’s Episcopal School

Danielle has worked as a Lead Teacher at Aim High / St. Paul’s since 2002, and will serve as a site director in 2008. She is a 9-12 combined Special Education Teacher and Resource Specialist for students with severe developmental disabilities at Oakland High School. She has a Special Education Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and African American Studies from Wesleyan University.

Zoe Duskin – Co-Director, Aim High at St. Paul’s Episcopal School

After working as a Teaching Assistant, Intern, and Master Teacher in Aim High, Zoe Duskin will begin her first year as a Site Director in the summer of 2008 at the St. Paul's campus in Oakland. Zoe attended Barnard College in New York where she majored in American Studies with an emphasis on race politics and education. While in New York she was a student teacher in the Bronx School of Law and Finance, and a director of "Let's Get Ready," an after school SAT-prep and college counseling program for students at the Young Women's Leadership School of Harlem. She was also a lead facilitator on The StoryTelling Project, a curriculum development initiative for teaching about race and racism through storytelling across the arts. Zoe left New York and moved to Washington D.C. where she taught high school history, literacy, and math in public charter schools before moving home to San Francisco. She now works on issues of equity and student achievement at the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, and will graduate with a degree in policy and leadership from Stanford University's School of Education in 2009.

Paula Egan – Co-Director, Aim High at Yick Wo Elementary School 

Paula Egan attended the Kansas City Art Institute and Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio. She is an artist who has supported her two sons through college by working at Yick Wo Elementary School in San Francisco for the past twenty years. She currently runs the school computer lab and teaches art classes for the students by special request from the classroom teachers. She has been a part of Aim High for twelve years, and has been co-directing the Yick Wo Aim High site for the last four summers.

Suzy Garren – Co-Director, Aim High at Yick Wo Elementary School 

Suzy has been a devoted member of the Aim High community for twelve years and was a founding Science teacher at the Yick Wo campus. She has served in the role as co-director for the past five years. Her undergraduate degree is from Reed College and she received her teaching credential from UC Berkeley. She has been a public school teacher in San Francisco and the East Bay for many years and also operates her own landscaping business.

Greg Fobbs – Co-Director, Aim High at Costano Elementary School / 49er Academy (East Palo Alto) 

Greg is a native of East Palo Alto and has taught in the Ravenswood School District for over fifteen years. His undergraduate degree is from San Francisco State University and he received his teaching and administrative credential from SFSU as well. He is the founding Director of Aim High/East Palo Alto.

Viviana Montoya-Hernandez – Co-Director, Aim High at Costano Elementary School / 49er Academy (East Palo Alto) 

Viviana Montoya-Hernandez was born and raised in San Francisco's Mission District. She attended Aim High at the Lick-Wilmerding campus from 1994 to 1996 where she found a passion for education and service that led to academic success and community involvement. After graduating from St. Ignatius High School in 2000, she attended Santa Clara University. She obtained a B.S. in Sociology in 2004 and a single-subject credential in Social Science in 2005. She recently completed an M.A. in Education at Santa Clara University. Viviana is completing her third year of teaching at Monta Vista high school in Cupertino and is looking forward to her second summer as Co-Director of the Aim High site in East Palo Alto. In addition, she aspires to obtain an Ed.D. and is in the process of completing applications for enrollment in the Fall of 2008.

Stacy Thomas – Co-Director, Aim High at SF Community School (formerly ER Taylor) 

Stacy has been involved and invested in Aim High for seven years. He began as a math intern while working on his teaching credential at University of San Francisco. He taught Math in Aim High for two years and was the founding site director of the SF Community campus and has served in that leadership role for five summers. He is currently a lead math teacher at the Lionel Wilson/Aspire Charter School. Stacy has his undergraduate degree from UCLA and is a huge Dodger and Laker fan.

Wendy Ginsburg – Co-Director, Aim High at SF Community School (formerly ER Taylor) 

Wendy graduated from University of Georgia with a BA in Environmental Health and worked in the biotech industry for six years as molecular biologist. Four years ago, she received her teaching credential at University of San Francisco. Wendy currently teaches sixth grade Math at Lionel Wilson College Prep Academy-Aspire Charter School and is the lead middle school math teacher. Wendy was a volunteer and student teacher at Aim High Academy, taught in the summer program for one summer and has been a co-director for two years.

Jaime Jacinto – Co-Director, Aim High at San Francisco State University 

Jaime brings over 25 years of professional experience in academic literacy instruction at the adult, college and secondary school level. Jaime is a Lecturer in the Step to College Program at San Francisco State University. He has served as the Director the Teacher Preparation Center and as an Instructor for the Urban Teacher Academy Program at the College of Education at SF State. Jaime is a published author and poet, and has conducted numerous faculty development workshops and presentations on ESL instruction, Filipino students in higher education, and Asian American studies. Jaime He has a BA from UC Santa Cruz, an MA in English (Teaching English as a Second Language) and an Ed.D. in International-Multicultural Education.

Helen Serafino – Co-Director, Aim High at San Francisco State University 

Helen is an Aim High veteran, co-directing and teaching at the Aim High campus at Lick-Wilmerding High School for six years. She is currently a 2nd Grade teacher at Longfellow Elementary School. Helen was also a professional dancer for 12 years, performing Polynesian dance. Helen holds a MA in Multicultural Education and Multiple Subjects Credential with Cross-Cultural, Language, and Academic Development Emphasis, and a BA in Liberal Studies with a Math Emphasis, Minors in Asian American Studies and Counseling from San Francisco State University. Helen was a Fulbright Scholar in the Advanced Fillipino Abroad Program in 1998.

Thomas Jacquez – Co-Director, Aim High at Urban School of San Francisco 

Thomas Jacquez teaches Spanish, Service Learning and is a Varsity Baseball Coach at the Urban School of San Francisco. He graduated with honors from USF with a BA in Spanish Literature in 2004. Thomas has been with Aim High since 2006. In his first year with Aim High, he taught 8th grade humanities. Currently, he is in his second year as co-director for the Aim High Urban Campus. Prior to becoming an educator, Thomas played collegiate baseball at UCLA as well as professional baseball for eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles organizations.

Anne C. Loarie - Co-Director, Aim High at Urban School of San Francisco 

Anne served as a Master Teacher at Aim High’s Urban School site in 2007. She is a Third Grade teacher at Buena Vista Alternative Elementary School, a Spanish-English dual immersion school. Anne served in the Peace Corps in Panama in 2001-2003. She spent two years working as a Case Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters in Mendocino after graduating from college. Anne has a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon and a Multiple Subject Credential (BCLAD) from San Francisco State University. Anne is proficient in Spanish.

Marco Jordan – Co-Director, Aim High at Bishop O’Dowd High School (Oakland) 

Marco has worked extensively with Aim High beginning in 1997 when he served as a Science Teacher for three consecutive years. Marco also worked with Aim High students during his 18-year tenure at the Exploratorium, where he served in many roles, and ultimately as a Lead Teacher in the Children’s Educational Outreach Program. At the Exploratorium, Marco led hands-on science workshops at local after school programs, and provided professional development and resources to local community based organizations. He also developed curriculum for the program, and provided training for partners. Marco has also worked as a Science Teacher at the Randall Museum and a Site Director at the Bayview Hunters Point Community Science Workshop. Marco studied audio production and general education at City College of San Francisco and was recently accepted into the Culinary Arts program at CCSF which he will begin in the Fall of 2008.

Aimee Suzara – Co-Director, Aim High at Bishop O’Dowd High School 

Aimee, after teaching Humanities at Bishop O’Dowd last summer, returned to Aim High as one of the site’s directors. She is is an English instructor at City College of San Francisco, Laney College and Las Positas Community College during the academic year. She studied Comparative Religions, Women’s Studies and Creative Writing at UC Berkeley and received her MFA in English/Creative Writing at Mills. She has worked for a number of years with NGOs that promote literary and performance arts and arts education such as Youth Speaks. Aimee instructs English and Writing classes at a number of community colleges and is herself a visual and performance artist.

Nathan Lundy-Gonzalez – Co-Director, Aim High at Lick-Wilmerding High School 

Nate serves as the Associate Director of Admissions and Outreach, and the Assistant Director of Athletics at Lick-Wilmerding High School. Nate serves as an Advisor to the Black Student Union. Before joining Lick, Nate was the Co-Director of Admissions at the Bay School of San Francisco, and was an Admissions Counselor at Chapman University. He is a member of POCIS (People of Color in Independent Schools), and is on the Board of Seven Tepees Youth Program in the Mission. Nate has a BA of Arts in History from the University of California at Irvine.

Carrie Maslow – Co-Director, Aim High at Lick-Wilmerding High School 

Carrie has been an Aim High Co-Director since the summer of 2003 and was a master teacher in science in 2001 at the LW site. During the school year, she teaches Anatomy, Physiology and Biology at Lick-Wilmerding High School. Carrie taught outdoor education for two years and has been a classroom teacher for nine years. Carrie has a BA in Psychology from Brown University, a Masters in Teaching from University of California at Berkeley, and received her secondary science credential through the Bay Area Teachers Center.

Rosanna Palomo – Aim High at Garfield Charter School (Menlo Park / Redwood City) 

Rosanna will serve as the founding site director for the Aim High site at Garfield Charter School in Menlo Park and is very excited to be joining the Aim High community. Since 1999, Rosanna has worked for the Ravenswood School District as a SST/04 District Coordinator, a Certificated Analyst, and SST Site Coordinator at Willow Oaks School and a First Grade Teacher. Rosanna is proficient in Spanish and has a deep understanding of the student population in East Palo Alto and Redwood City. Rosanna has a BS in Political Science from Northeastern University, a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from National Hispanic University, an MA in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University, and an MA in School Counseling from the University of Laverne.

Erica Ramirez – Co-Director, Aim High at Urban Promise Academy  

Erica is the founding site director for Aim High / Urban Promise Academy. She has taught ESL at Francisco Middle School, and has worked with youth in a variety of settings such as the WritersCorps, Cal State East Bay Upward Bound Program and Pie Ranch. She is currently an English Language Learner teacher at Mission High School. Erica has a Masters degree in Education from UC Berkeley, a Single Subject Teaching Credential in English with CLAD emphasis and a Bachelor of Arts in Chicano Studies and American Literature & Culture from UCLA.

Yvonne Valdez – Co-Director, Aim High at Urban Promise Academy 

Yvonne served as a Humanities Teacher at the Aim High site at Urban Promise Academy in 2007, and is currently an English and Writing Instructor / Recruitment Coordinator at the Alameda Science and Technology Institute. Prior to her current position, Yvonne has worked as a Puente Project Teacher and a Reading Intervention Teacher at Hayward & Tennyson High Schools, and as a 12th Grade English Teacher at Hayward High School. Yvonne has an MA in Education from the School of Education and a BA in Spanish and Interdisciplinary Field Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Yvonne has also received numerous award including the Mayor’s Community Service Award (UCB), Chancellor’s Community Service Award (UCB), Governor’s Teaching Fellowship, AVID Outstanding Teacher Award, and California Teachers Association / Human Rights Award.