Site Director Bios

 

Aim High at Visitacion Valley Elementary School, San Francisco

Reiko Ando – Co-Director

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

Erica is excited to return to Visitation Valley to co-direct for her third summer.  During the school year she serves as an Admissions Associate and Outreach Coordinator at The Urban School of San Francisco where she works through the application process with eighth grade families.  She hopes that her work experience in various educational programs can be utilized to create stronger programs for all students in the Bay Area.  In her spare time, Erica enjoys running  around Lake Merced with her dog and frequenting the neighborhood shops of her native Daly City.

 

Aim High at Roosevelt Middle School, San Francisco

Karina Henriquez – Co-Director

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 also 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 Skyline College. She is currently attending the University of San Francisco pursuing a Bachelors in Organizational Behavior and Leadership.

Christine Maog - Co-Director

Christine Maog has been involved with Aim High since 2006 teaching Humanities and Issues and Choices at the Gateway campus. She is excited to be taking on the co-director position at Roosevelt this summer. Christine has a Bachelor's in Social Work from San Francisco State University and a Single Subject English Credential from Bay Area Teachers Center. During the school year Christine most recently worked at James Lick Middle School as the Equity Release Teacher and at Horace Mann Middle School as the Peer Resource Coordinator. In her spare time Christine enjoys dancing and is a part of a professional tahitian dance group.

 

Aim High at St. Paul's Episcopal School, Oakland

Danielle Dixon – Co-Director

Danielle has worked as an Aim High teacher at the St. Paul’s site since 1999, and began directing at her home site in 2008. She is a 9-12 combined Special Education Teacher for students with mild to moderate learning differences 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.

Kenton Young - Co-Director

Kenton Young comes to us from the campuses of St. Paul's Episcopal School where he is the Director of After School. He is also a member of the school's administration team, and an adviser to middle school boys. During the school year he enjoys teaching the basics of cooking to kindergarten through eighth grade students. He graduated from Holy Names University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies.

 

Aim High at Yick Wo Elementary School, San Francisco

Paula Egan – Co-Director

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-two 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 thirteen years, and has been co-directing the Yick Wo Aim High site for the last five summers.

Suzy Garren – Co-Director

Suzy has been a devoted member of the Aim High community for fourteen years and was a founding science teacher at Aim High's Yick Wo campus. She has served in the role as co-director for the past seven 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.

 

Aim High at East Palo Alto Academy High School, Menlo Park

Viviana Montoya-Hernandez – Co-Director

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 fourth year of teaching at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino and is looking forward to her third summer as Co-Director of the Aim High site in East Palo Alto.

Trish Isaac - Co-Director

Trish has spent the last ten years teaching grades 4-8 in urban communities throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento. Most recently, she has worked in East Palo Alto for the Ravenswood City School District as a K-8 Curriculum Coordinator where she assists in developing curriculum for English language arts. Trish also serves as a mentor for teachers in RCSD and enjoys the side-by-side work with the teachers and spending time in classrooms supporting students. 2010 is Trish's first summer with Aim High and she is excited to be part of an incredible program that serves the vibrant youth of the south peninsula.

 

Aim High at SF Community School (formerly ER Taylor), San Francisco

Stacy Thomas – Co-Director

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 six summers. He is currently a lead math teacher at Cal Prep/Aspire Charter School and serves on the Board of Trustees for Archway School.  Stacy has his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and is a huge Dodger and Laker fan.

Gaela Peters - Co-Director

Gaela is returning to the vibrant San Francisco Community Aim High campus as co-director after teaching Issues & Choices during the Summer of 2008. During the school year, Gaela works at San Francisco’s Balboa High School as an Instructional Reform Facilitator, working to assure opportunities for academic success for its underserved students. She received her Master’s of Education in Social Foundations of Education from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science Education from the University of Georgia. As a San Francisco native, Gaela is thrilled to be part of such an extraordinary program serving the amazing young people of her hometown.

 

Aim High at Urban School of San Francisco

Thomas Jacquez – Co-Director 

Thomas has been involved with Aim High since 2006.  He is in his fourth year as co-director at the Urban campus. During the academic year, he teaches Service Learning and Spanish at The Urban School of San Francisco.  Thomas played collegiate baseball at UCLA and achieved his childhood dream of playing professionally for 8 seasons.  Thomas graduated with honors from USF with a BA in Spanish Literature in 2005.  His hobbies are spending time with family playing guitar, snowboarding and surfing.

Alex Endo - Co-Director

Alex has been with Aim High since 1993. Over the summers, he has worn many hats and taken on different responsibilities. He has been an intern, master teacher, activities director and site director. Alex has a Master’s in Education from the University of San Francisco and a teaching credential. Playing soccer and basketball are his favorite activities. Alex is excited to be returning to Aim High at the Urban site.

 

Aim High at Lick-Wilmerding High School, San Francisco

Nathan Lundy-Gonzalez – Co-Director

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 has served on the Board of Seven Tepees Youth Program in the Mission. Nate has a BA in History from the University of California at Irvine.

Carrie Maslow – Co-Director

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 and Physiology, Brain and Behavior, and Biology at Lick-Wilmerding High School. Carrie taught outdoor education. Carrie has a BA in Psychology from Brown University, a Masters in Education from University of California at Berkeley, and received her secondary science credential through the Bay Area Teachers Center.

 

Aim High at Summit Prep High School, Redwood City

Rosanna Palomo – Director

Rosanna is the founding site director for the Aim High site in Redwood and is very excited to be returning to the Aim High community for her third summer. 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.

Kathryn Hopkins - Director

Kathryn has spent the last decade either teaching, managing, or researching youth programs. She has worked as an outdoor educator and recently served as Policy Research Associate for the Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford.  As a founding Director, she is re-connecting with former colleagues in San Mateo County to help bolster Aim High’s presence in Redwood City.  During the school year, Kathryn continues to work on her PhD while taking on evaluation and consulting projects and volunteering her time with local education initiatives.  Kathryn earned her B.A. from Brown University and her M.A. in education policy from Stanford University.  Kathryn serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Center for the Stanford Community and Blossom Birth in Palo Alto.

 

Aim High at Urban Promise Academy, Oakland

Amadis Velez – Co-Director 

Amadis Velez was born and raised in Berkeley and currently lives in San Francisco's Mission District. He earned BAs in Psychology and Spanish Literature from UC Berkeley and a JD from George Washington University along with an MA in International Studies. In 1999, Amadis returned to California to work as a voting rights attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF). In 2007, Amadis realized that education is a better solution than litigation, and began his transition into his current role as a history and English teacher at Mission High School in San Francisco. Amadis taught humanities at Aim High / UPA in summer of 2008 and will return to UPA as a co-director in 2009. He is a passionate advocate for students who aspire to reach higher education.

Yvonne Valdez – Co-Director 

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.

Oriana Ides - Co-Director

Oriana began teaching with Aim High in 2008 and served as Site Director at Aim High's Bishop O'Dowd site in 2009.

 

Aim High at Marin Academy

Vielka Hoy - Co-Director

Vielka has been a high school teacher and university instructor for over twelve years including a stretch in the Peace Corps and education consulting for Oakland Unified School District. This is her fourth year with Crossroads/Aim High at Marin Academy. Vielka earned her teaching credential and B.S. from New York University and holds an MA in Afro-American Studies from UCLA. She also just completed her fifth year of PhD work at UC Berkeley in African Diaspora Studies and welcomed her first child this past October.

Lauren Toker - Co-Director

Lauren comes to the Aim High community as part of a recent merger with the Crossroads academic enrichment program at Marin Academy. Lauren has been the director of Crossroads since 2008. She also is an administrator at Marin Academy in her role as the Crossroads Program Director and school-wide Community Action Coordinator. Prior to her current position, Lauren worked as a 9th & 10th Grade History teacher and 12th Grade English teacher at City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco and as a youth program director at the International Institute of San Francisco. Lauren is excited to be part of the Aim High organization as she has spent most of her adult life teaching and advocating for educational equity in her native Bay Area. Lauren has a BA in Social Justice from the UC-Santa Cruz and a Single Subject Credential (BCLAD) from San Francisco State University.

Dan Glass - Co-Director

Dan was born in San Francisco and raised in Berkeley, and is a proud graduate of Berkeley High School. He received his BA in English from UC Berkeley in 2002, and his Ph.D. in English from UC Davis this summer, where he wrote a dissertation on rap music, experimental poetry, and urban geography. He first taught with Crossroads in 2007, and with Aim High (at Bishop O'Dowd) in 2009. During the school year he teaches writing and humanities at The Girls' Middle School in Mountain View.

 

Aim High at Martin Luther King Middle School

Matt Helmenstine - Co-Director

After traveling through 50 countries over 6 years, Matt returned to San Francisco to get his teaching credential in Social Studies. Matt taught at Aim High @ Yick Wo for two summers before becoming a founding site director at Martin Luther King. Matt believes that educational experiences should dazzling, engaging, challenging and intense. With this in mind, he strives to give the students of Marin City Aim High an experience that will open their minds to the possibilities the future holds for them. During the school year, Matt teaches social studies at Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito.

Emily Enstice - Co-Director

Emily grew up in the Washington, D.C. metro area and attended Georgetown University, graduating with a B.S.L.A. and a Spanish major/Business minor. While at Georgetown, she was the Captain of the NCAA Division I Varsity Track and Cross Country teams. Emily received her M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown, and is now pursuing an Ed.D in International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. Since 2003, Emily has worked with kids as the Director of SCORE! Educational Centers, through private tutoring, and classroom teaching. Emily was a teacher at Yick Wo Aim High and is currently a first grade teacher at Willow Creek Academy, a K-8 charter school in Sausalito.

 

Aim High Headlands Environmental Home - Tennessee Valley

Elizabeth Reiff - Co-Director

Zander Lowery - Co-Director