Michelle was born in Minnesota, but grew up and stayed in Chula Vista. She married her high school sweetheart, and together they are raising two wonderful daughters. She received her B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University, and M.Ed. in Counseling, along with a PPS Credential, from the University of San Diego.

Michelle spent 4 years working for San Diego City Schools first as an Instructional Assistant, and then School Counselor, before making a career change to Human Resources management for two Fortune 500 companies. There she was still able to utilize her counseling skills, and enjoyed developing and training employees most of all. After spending several years working in HR, she decided to come back to her first passion, education. She is currently the Office Manager and Registrar for HTHCV, and is excited to be serving a community and school which she is very passionate about.

Originally from the great state of New Jersey, Allison spent her undergraduate years at a wonderful small liberal arts school called Haverford College in neighboring Pennsylvania. She moved out to San Diego to pursue graduate studies in applied mathematics at UCSD. There, she continued her exploration of beautiful mathematics and also discovered her love of teaching. She is so excited to combine the two here at HTHCV!

Allison is a baseball fanatic and enjoys playing both softball and ultimate frisbee in her spare time. She also loves to cook and play cards, and is a fiendish crossword puzzler.

Rod grew up in San Diego and attended National University where he received a degree in mathematics. He joined the HTH faculty in the summer of 2000 when he helped to start the original school in Pt. Loma. In the summer of 2002, he married his best friend, Jen. They have an incredible son, Joshua, who was born on New Year's Eve, 2004. They are currently expecting expecting the next addition to their family. Rod is thrilled to bring his experience and energy to HTH Chula Vista.

Ted is a devoted father of Sophia and Diego and husband to his wife Jill. He enjoys spending time with family whenever possible. He loves to spend time creating stories and exploring the imagination of his two kiddos. Ted has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Philosophy from UC San Diego. After graduating, he spent three years as a Mechanical Engineer. Ted's previous experiences traveling and hitchhiking through Central America and living at an orphanage in Tecate, Mexico led him to consider a field in education. He has never looked back. Ted has taught in various levels (middle school, high school and adult school) starting with Science and eventually focusing on Math education. He loves Physics and have been a proponent of project based learning since the beginning of his teaching career. Ted is teaching 9th Grade Physics and Mathematics at High Tech High Chula Vista. Some of his passions in this field are projects in renewable energy, and Engineering and Design. Ted hopes to incorporate many of his experiences as an Engineer to teach engineering and design concepts within the classroom projects he will facilitate in the 9th grade.

Jill grew up in a small town in Washington State.  She attended the University of Washington in Seattle and graduated with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in History.  After graduation she moved to 3 different cities in 3 years, during which time she sold advertising for the spring training home of the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners in Peoria, AZ, sold gourmet chocolate in Seattle, WA, and worked in marketing and PR for a large brand design firm in San Diego, CA.  Although her career in sales and marketing was exciting and enjoyable, Jill had a strong desire to spend her days truly helping people.  That is when she decided to become a teacher.  Jill completed a M.Ed. program from the University of San Diego in July 2009.  After student teaching at High Tech High for one semester, she is so excited to teach her own class this year!

 

Jill loves to spend time with family and friends, read, travel, spend time outdoors, eat delicious food, and she has a special place in her heart for Disneyland.  She is currently training for her first sprint triathlon which will take place in the fall (cross your fingers for her!).

 

Jill is excited to foster a true community of learners in her classrooms where students explore complex ideas and multiple perspectives in world history and literature.  Students will read, write, discuss, create, and explore real world problems during projects throughout the year.

 

Lisa began her career in education as a adjunct community college counselor. Seeking opportunities to develop programs and student policy, Lisa accepted an appointment as the Dean of Student Services for a private postsecondary school where she was responsible for developing student services policies and procedures for vocational, undergraduate, and graduate degree programs, as well as extensive accreditation and licensure documentation. During this time, Lisa also served as an educational specialist for the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE).

Her experiences conducting compliance reviews for BPPVE allowed her to develop strengths in writing and documentation. Following the birth of her second daughter, Lisa worked as a substitute teacher for Joseph Casillas Elementary while managing her own educational consulting firm specializing in education and business writing and editing. In 2007, her oldest daughter had the fortune to be selected as one of 150 students in the lottery for the newest HTH school, High Tech High Chula Vista. Committed to the High Tech High mission to foster inquiry and excitement in learning, Lisa quickly jumped on the chance to work with the talented and determined people that make up the HTH Learning Community.

Lisa earned her B.A and M.Ed. in Educational Counseling from the University of San Diego. She is an avid gardener, carpenter, and short-story writer and is currently working on her first play titled "The Winter" about the infamous Donner Party. A San Diego native, Lisa lives with her husband Bart and their two daughters, Dempsey and Ceiley, in Chula Vista.

Although Kay Flewelling is a 9th grade teacher of Humanities, she still mainly considers herself a student of Life. No matter how old Kay gets (and so far, it's not that old), she realizes that there will always be something new to learn and somewhere new to go. Although this is a daunting reality--that we must consistently learn and grow--Kay loves nothing more than exploration, discovery and trying new things (like Injera--which is Ethiopian bread that is actually spongy. True story.).

Kay graduated with highest honors from San Diego State University in 2007 with a Bachelor's of Arts degree in History and Political Science. She is currently obtaining her teaching credential with High Tech High's credentialing program.
In the field of Humanities, she concentrates on developing senses of self-and global-awareness within her students. She does this by making world cultures accessible to her students by incorporating poetry, artwork, short stories and other cultural products into classroom discussions.

Kay has also coached speech and debate activities for the past six years, and she advises for the Debate Student Interest Group at HTHCV.

Marisol Franco will be teaching Spanish at High Tech High Chula Vista starting in the Fall. She is originally from Orange County, having moved down to San Diego this summer to be closer to her "chico especial". Before arriving to the San Diego cloud, Marisol lived in Costa Mesa, CA and taught Spanish (from 1 to 3) for three years at La Quinta High School in Westminster, CA. She graduated from UC Irvine in 2004 with a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in Educational Studies, obtaining her Master's degree in teaching elementary and secondary education the following year at UC Irvine as well.

Marisol loves running. It's really a love/hate relationship... love the feeling after completing a long run - hate the aches and pains that come with running. Her next running goal is to complete her 3rd marathon in 2009.

She also likes reading during her leisure time. Contemporary (late 20th century - present) Latin American literature is the most enjoyable, but she will never say "no" to an interesting read of any kind.

While she also enjoys writing, the short story masterpiece that she began in college has been stored away for quite some time now... she hopes to return to it soon.

Lastly, Marisol loves ice cream! You could say that she is an ice cream connoisseur. Cold Stone, Baskin Robbins, "Thrifty"... yes... Marisol is familiar with them all, and very well. This is a passion that she pursues given the opportunity. FYI... the best ice cream she has ever had is in a small, no-name shop in Mascota, Jalisco, Mexico (her mother's hometown).

Tara Giannini is an artist currently working and teaching at High Tech High Chula Vista. She is a graduate of The Cleveland Institute of Art in Painting, and holds an MFA in Painting from Hunter College in New York City. She relocated from New York City to San Diego in the summer of 2008.

Giannini's work focuses on beauty and the macabre, and highlights the fragile and transient beauty of death and the passage of time. Giannini's work embraces visual complexity and ornamentation in a wealth of media including collage, taxidermy, beads, paint, dirt, spray paint, and objects both natural and artificial.

Tara's artwork has been exhibited in a variety of museums and galleries including The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (Novato,CA), The Torpedo Art Factory (Alexandria, VA), The Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, Acuna-Hansen Gallery (LA) , The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Marx and Zavattero Gallery (San Francisco, CA), The University of Pennsylvania, SPACES and Jack the Pelican Presents (NY).  Her work has been featured on/in OvationTV.com, BBC News, Artforum, San Francisco Weekly, The Cleveland Times, Scene Magazine, San Francisco Gate, and the Northern Virginia Artbeat.

Tara Giannini loves to share her joy and knowledge of creating and artmaking with others.  She has taught art to students from Kindergarten through the College level.  Art is her passion and first love.  When not working in her studio or teaching, Tara can be found SCUBA diving or horseback riding.  She has a sincere passion for travel, and has visited many amazing places such as Egypt, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Turkey, Sicily, Italy, Greece, Spain, Holland and Germany.  She also loves puppets and peacocks.

To view more of Tara's artwork, please visit www.taragiannini.com

The director of High Tech High Chula Vista is Mrs. Colleen Green. Colleen has taught 11th and 12th Humanities at High Tech High. Before coming to High Tech High Colleen taught extensively at the high school and university level in California and throughout the Midwest. Colleen obtained her MA in Literature from Bowling Green State University and is currently working on her Ph.D. dissertation from Purdue University. As a lifelong learner and classroom teacher, Colleen’s work in education reflects her commitment to helping every student achieve personal and academic growth.

Angie graduated from San Diego State University with a BA in English. She loves her dog Sierra, her family and friends and her students. No particular order of preference. She also enjoys traveling, reading multi-cultural literature and trying to write the break out novel. Well, she only sometimes enjoys writing the break out novel. But she does like trying to inspire students to write their own break out novels along with her. While on a teacher exchange in northern Uganda, she discovered a passion for African literature, culture, history and food which she tries regularly to incorporate into the classroom. There, she also discovered the Invisible Children non-profit organization. She hopes that students show an interest in her Invisible Children SIG for years to come because it helps them see that they can do something to impact the world in a positive way. Witnessing young people taking action to change the world is truly Angie’s favorite thing.

Francina was born and raised in a small rural town in North Carolina. Looking for adventure, she joined the Navy and served on active duty for 20 years. During that time, Francina developed of love for teaching and served as mentor in various youth programs including Drug Education for Youth and Campaign Drug Free. She also served a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Juveniles in New Orleans, Louisiana. The love for children she found through community service inspired Francina to pursue a MA and teaching credential in Special Education. Her husband Dan, children (Jasmine, Easter, and Nicholas), Angel the dog, and Sharon the cat, keep Francina very busy and full of life. She also enjoys reading historical romance novels, yoga, and nature walks.

David Hua is a lifelong San Diegan who was born on his way to Sharp Memorial Hospital.  He attended UCSD and received a BS in Electrical Engineering in 2005.  Upon finishing college, Dave joined the High Tech High family at HTHI and helped startup HTHCV in 2007.  It has been quite a journey but he has enjoyed every step of the way.

Dave enjoys working and advising students in their quest to go to college and feels lucky to have a chance to convince kids he's not just an ordinary IT "geek".  In his free time, he loves to go to the beach, play poker, go bowling, go camping and hiking, and root for the Chargers and Padres!

Jenny Morris is a native San Diegan and moved back to her hometown last year.  She attended the University of Miami and received a bachelor's degree in Marine Biology and Secondary Education and completed her student teaching at Coral Gables Senior High teaching Biology and Anatomy and Physiology. She loved her time with her students but missed the outdoors and found herself moving to Catalina Island. For five amazing years she had the opportunity to teach students hands-on marine science with the Catalina Island Marine Institute at Cherry Cove. Spending the first two years as a Marine Science Instructor she filled her days by leading students on activities such as snorkeling, kayaking, hiking and much more. She then spent the next few years as both Assistant Director and later Program Director of the Institute. She appreciates the opportunity to integrate her two teaching experiences and merge the structure of the classroom with the excitement of a hands-on, self discovery learning environment.

With her free time, she likes to play in the ocean, in any way she can, be it snorkeling, swimming, underwater photography, surfing, scuba diving, kayaking, etc, etc. When not underwater or in her classroom, Jenny can be found somewhere far far away. She has traveled to over 30 countries and 5 continents and spent this past summer exploring the wonders of South America including Argentina, Chile and Peru. Hiking four days to Machu Picchu was one of the most incredible and physically painful experiences of her life. She believes that in order to understand the diverse world we live in we must see it, really travel and experience all that lies before us.

She brings to HTHCV a passion for students, the ocean, the outdoors and traveling. She is excited to spend a second year at HTHCV and embark on another incredible journey full of teaching, learning, and growth with her students.

Lauren loves California and is glad to be back in the area.  She enjoys hiking, going to the beach, dancing, reading novels, playing Rock Band, and spending time with her husband and family.

James Richards was born in Great Lakes, Illinois, but has dubbed San Diego his home for over 30 years.  He holds a credential from the University of San Diego and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from San Diego State University.

Before teaching at High Tech High, James fulfilled a life-long dream of creating a community art space.  With his wife’s blessing and support, R. Spot Barber and Books opened its doors in 2001.  The venue served as a barbershop and bookstore by day and a spoken word poetry venue on the weekends.  R. Spot hosted art exhibits, led writing workshops, and held jam sessions by local musicians.  It was this experience of working with a community of educators that inspired him to share his experience with young adults

James is an avid record collector, oftentimes to his wife’s dismay as he has overtaken several areas of the apartment, a regular on Cowles Mountain on Sunday mornings, and a community activist.  His favorite travel destinations include Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, and Spain.

James is a devoted husband to Teresa, and loving father to two daughters, Ashley Regan, 22, and Lola James, 6 months.

 

 

Yoli Soler grew up in the San Joaquin valley surrounded by vineyards, cherry orchards, pastures with grazing Holstein cows, and a hardworking family. She attended UC Davis, and earned a Degree in Sociology and Spanish with a minor in Chicano/a Studies. Yoli taught Spanish (levels 1-4 AP) in Sacramento for 4 years at Sacramento Charter High School.  Yoli’s love for history and culture of Latin American countries is so evident, that often times you’ll find her sharing cool and interesting facts about these countries with her students in Spanish, instead of conjugating verbs. Yoli has a yellow lab, named papas, he is tons of fun, but a little trouble maker at times.    Yoli likes her students to call her Senorita Soler, she says it is part of the Spanish language to use such formalities.  For those who are looking into doing some traveling while at High Tech High,  Señorita Soler and Señorita Marisol Franco are planning a trip to Spain so stop by to get information.    If you are looking for a relaxing way to end the day, or if you just want to chat then sign up for the x-block she is offering, yeah you guessed it, “walk and talk.”  

Bob was born in Springfield, Massachusetts where he attended Cathedral High School. In 1981, Bob began his undergraduate career in Chemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from WPI, Bob left his home state to pursue his doctoral degree in Chemistry at CalTech.  In 1990, Bob received his doctorate degree and moved to Minnesota where he began his career as Professor of Chemistry at Mankato State University.  In 1994, Bob and his family moved to Fairmont, WV where he taught as an adjunct faculty.  While in Fairmont, Bob took a position with an online High School which he helped obtain its accreditation from the North Central Association.  In June, 2009, Bob and his partner, Joe, relocated to the San Diego, CA area to pursue their life together in a land of vast amounts of sunshine.

Bob is the proud father of two wonderful sons, Connor and Philip “Pip”.  Connor is a sophomore at Ohio University in Athens, OH and Pip lives with his mother in Fairmont, WV.

When Bob is not working, he and his partner are out exploring the many areas of California such as Mission Bay, La Jolla Cove, The Tijuana Estuary and taking their Pomeranian, Chachi for long walks.

Bob is thrilled to be part of the High Tech High staff and for the opportunity to utilize his many skills to positively affect the lives of young minds.

Jon Tator was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA with his two brothers and two sisters (he’s smack dab in the middle), and since he can remember he’s had a deep love of nature and an insatiable curiosity of how and why things in the world work.  To partially quench his curiosity, he studied Materials Engineering at Lehigh University and then went on to help design stainless steel and titanium alloys for various steel companies around Ohio and California.  However, while he loved the hustle and bustle of a humongous steel mill, he felt there was much more to life than making metal used for forks or exhaust pipes.  He took a few years off and indulged his other passion, wave riding, by taking extended surf trips to Central America, Mexico, Indonesia, and of course up and down the coast of beautiful California. 

Between trips, Jon was tutoring youngsters in all levels of mathematics, which led him to start substitute teaching in Orange County.  The more time he spent in the various classrooms, the more it became obvious to him that he had found his calling in teaching.  He loves thinking and discovering how math,  physics, and astronomy explain the world and universe, and really looks forward to each new school year so that he can help spread and nurture that powerful, interesting knowledge. 

Ray Trinidad has been involved in education, enrichment programs and youth development for over 18 years. He most enjoyed working with high-risk youth at the National City Police Department in the Youth Diversion Department. Ray is also a youth program development consultant for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the California Department of Education. He loves football, softball, running, napping and spending time with his wife and three sons.

Phil Wagner grew up in Los Angeles, CA in the midst of the Motion Picture Industry. Raised on magic and special effects he enjoyed many adventures that took him all over the world. After realizing that science IS magic he immersed himself in the invisible world of nuclear and electrical engineering and furthered his knowledge of the universe. Tired of keeping the knowledge to himself, Phil trained to become a teacher of this magic and began sharing it with others all over the country. Phil currently teaches creativity through robotics/physics and logic through algebra/calculus. He has a wife and a son who share his love of discovery and evolution.

Myeshia Whigham was born in Chicago Illinois and raised in San Diego California. She attended Monte Vista High School, in Spring Valley and after graduating high school she went to Cal State San Marcos and earned her B.A. in Sociology with a concentration in children, youth and families. Myeshia worked as a Social Worker, helping teen parents, at-risk youth and reuniting parents with their children. In 2005, Myeshia decided to take her passion of working with children into the classroom and she went back to school to earn her M.A. in Education. She will start her second year teaching Humanities at High Tech High Chula Vista in the fall.

Myeshia enjoys reading anything she can get her hands on; she is known by her close friends as the “Book Keeper”. She also loves sharing her passion of reading with her students and friends. She has the gift of finding the most unusual, but interesting things to read; students impervious to reading could not resist her suggestions.

On the weekends, Myeshia loves spending time with her friends and family, cooking, and watching MSNBC or The History Channel.

Most importantly, Myeshia enjoys being a teacher and helping children succeed far beyond their expectations.