I am new to High Tech High, but not to teaching. I graduated from Mary Washington College (now the University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg with a bachelors in Political Science. Upon graduating, I decided I wanted to give back, so I applied to Teach for America and was accepted as a member of the 1995 Phoenix Corps. I intended to complete two years at Valley View Elementary school then enter law school but, as life as has a tendency to ignore plans, I found that I love teaching and have made it my life-long career. Now, having taught second and third grade in Arizona and 11th Grade US History at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake Virginia, I am thrilled to have landed in San Diego and at High Tech High.

Currently, I stay very busy with my three beautiful daughters, Maya, Sofia and Isabel, and my first year at High Tech. I am excited to bring my experiences and passions to the classroom. Moslty, I am looking forward to working with students motivated to think and participate. My philosophy of teaching is simple: I believe students learn best when made responsible for their learning. It is my desire to create a classroom where work is done in the passionate persuit of learning, not just for a grade or for the validation of an arbitrary adult.

When I'm not teaching, I love to read and take my kids to the park. My favorite creative outlet is sewing and poetry. In the past I have competed in Spoken Word poetry (sample) competitions and would love to return to the stage. It is also my intention to earn a Ph.D in Ethnic Studies -- but all of that can wait while I enjoy my young family.

A California native, Pam grew up in a small desert town called Ridgecrest where entertainment consisted of waiting to see the three stop lights in town all turn green at the same time. Thankfully, life has gotten much more interesting since then.

This is Pam’s first year at HTHI, but her 12th year teaching English composition with an emphasis on language issues like propaganda, doublespeak, censorship, political language and other fun stuff! She has taught at various colleges in California including Mesa College in San Diego, Palomar College in San Marcos, UC Davis, and Sacramento City College. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State and her Masters degree from Sacramento State. Besides teaching, she stays very busy with her husband, three children (ages 17, 13, 8), one dog and 5 chickens.

I was born in Uruapan, Michoacán, México and was raised in Shelley, Idaho around fields of russet potatoes, cows, and lots of snow! After my high school graduation, I moved to Salt Lake City, Utah and completed a B.A. in Psychology, becoming the first person from both sides of my family to have graduated from High School and college! After that, I moved to Barcelona, Spain to attend the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and received a B.A in Spanish. I took advantage of my time in Europe by traveling throughout Italy, France, and other areas of Spain!!!

In 2005, I took another step and enrolled at the University of San Diego’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences and started working on my M.A. in Counseling, with a specialization in School Counseling. During my time at USD, I had the opportunity of studying abroad in Bangkok, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Any chance I get to travel… I take it!

In July of 2007, I joined the High Tech High International team as the English Language Learner Student Support Specialist. I am now co-teaching English 3 with Erin Wyatt, who is a Humanities guru! I am super excited to get to incorporate my career development knowledge into this course and help our Juniors make the most of their Internship experience.

--All dreams are possible, if you have the COURAGE to pursue them! --- What’s your dream?

Rachel has taught 10th Grade Math/Chemistry in the High Tech Village since 2003. Prior to coming to San Diego, she taught at Emma Willard School, a girls' boarding school in Upstate New York. Rachel graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Chemistry in 1998. After graduating, she worked for a management consulting firm and an internet company before transitioning into teaching in 2001.

Jill Renee Chiodini, a 32 year old, Virginia native, has called San Diego home for the past twelve years. Jill moved to San Diego in 1995 in order to attend San Diego State University. She received her BA in English with an emphasis in American Literature from SDSU in 1997. After going back to school for her teaching credential and Master’s Degree, Jill spent 4 years teaching English at Helix Charter High School.

In 2003, Jill decided to pursue a position at High Tech High teaching Freshmen Humanities. In HTH Jill felt like she had found the nirvana for teachers. Never before had she experienced such creative freedom in the classroom and she was thrilled! When presented with the opportunity to move to High Tech High International one year later, Jill jumped at the chance to incorporate international travel opportunities and curriculum into HTH’s flawless vision. Three years after HTHI’s opening, Jill is still happily teaching freshmen Humanities, coaching cross country and advising the yearbook staff. She has had the opportunity to travel with her students to many exciting places such as New York, Mexico and Peru. During the trip to New York, Jill’s students worked with Ball State University and The Baseball Hall of Fame to host a television special that was broadcast in classrooms across the country. Her students were also given the opportunity to trek far down into Baja, Mexico where they were able to actually touch a wild grey whale and her calf. This Spring Jill looks forward to adding another adventure to her repertoire as she accompanies her students to Peru in order to hike the trail to Machu Picchu.

In her free time, Jill enjoys training for ½ marathons, reading, traveling, going to the beach and spending time with her friends, her husband, Jason, and their beautiful daughter, Mia Grace. Jill also has a soft spot for animals and as a result has one dog, two cats, and one lizard.

Joanna Clark, a San Diego native, has worked in the field of education for over 11 years. She began working as a Special Education Technician at Lindbergh Schweitzer Elementary. She instructed elementary-aged children on the use of augmentative devices and computer software. Later with the San Diego Community College District, she worked in the Welfare-to-Work program developing programs for working mothers to complete their education through distance education courses. Joanna holds a Master’s degree in Education and a Pupil Personnel Services Credential. Currently she is working towards her Doctorate in Education, emphasis in Technology and Learning.

Elika Dadsetan was born in Tehran, Iran during the “Revolution.” When she was five months old, she visited family in Paris with her parents. During their stay there, the Iranian borders closed, and they were not allowed back into the country. Twenty seven years later, Elika has yet to return.

In the meantime, her family moved every few years until they landed in Southern California. Elika went to high school in the San Fernando Valley and college at UC San Diego where she majored in Political Science and Sociology with minors in Philosophy and Law & Society. In between college and grad school, Elika backpacked through Europe by herself.

After college, she moved back to Los Angeles to go to law school, finishing in the Bay area at USF. While she was still in school, she lived abroad in Madrid for a few months and studied International Law, with an emphasis on European Economics. Much to her family's surprise, and initially sadness, she decided to change careers and started teaching Pre-K and substituting through the San Diego Unified School District. Last year, Elika returned to her high school to teach 12th grade classes in Government and Law & Society, while helping coach the swim team alongside her old coach. Elika feels as though she has found her “calling” and loves every minute of the work she does with her students!

Fluent in Farsi, conversational in Spanish, and currently working on French, Elika enjoys international travel and leaves the country at least once or twice a year (although she won't complain about a domestic vacation). Currently, Elika keeps busy by taking classes toward her teaching credential through High Tech High, taking a French class at UCSD, learning the guitar, and freelance writing for several magazines. When she isn't busy, you can find her watching sports, writing, swimming, doing yoga, playing the piano or reading…

Brian Delgado supervised carpenters, painters and locksmiths at Merck after graduating with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Brian spent two years as a project engineer/maintenance supervisor at Merck and Co. prior to spending six months traveling overland through sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt and Israel.

Brian returned from his Africa travels and spent a year working at the San Diego Eye Bank, placing eye tissue for research and transplant purposes. This was followed by another eight-month trip abroad in South and Southeast Asia.

From the fall of 2001 through the spring of 2004, Brian worked as a Math and World Religions teacher at the Gary and Jerri-Anne Jacobs High Tech High School. His focus was on creating a project-based approach to mathematics that helped students understand mathematics as a precise language used by scientists and engineers.

In the fall of 2005, Brian moved over as part of the team that started High Tech High International. He has worked as the Dean of Students at HTHI since then. He is passionate about using any classroom experience as a tool to help students develop strong critical thinking skills, social awareness and lifelong interests.

On his free time, you will most likely find Brian hanging from a rock wall or riding a wave along the southern California coast.

Jeremy began his life in Los Angeles. He spent his formative years in two coastal towns, La Jolla, California and Bolinas, a small town just north of San Francisco. Upon graduating from La Jolla High he moved back north to attend UC Santa Cruz.

With his mind set on studying fine art he chose to transfer to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in his junior year. Deciding that winters in Santa Cruz were friendlier and that being in a school full of pretentious artists added to an already chilly winter, he transferred back to UCSC to complete his senior year and graduate with a BA in Fine Art. A couple years later he went to grad school in Oakland, CA and received an MFA from the California College of Art.

Jeremy moved to the Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and found a job in a mural painting studio. He worked full-time for a couple of years painting large scale murals, mostly for hotels and casino’s such as; Caesar’s Palace, the MGM Grand, Harrah’s, and Disney to name a few. He then left San Francisco to pursue an independent art career in San Diego. He found reasonable success, exhibiting in galleries and selling paintings to residences and corporate businesses such as; Nokia, Merck Pharmaceuticals, the Bellagio and Fairmont Hotels, City National Bank…the list goes on.

In 2003 he joined forces with a few friends to open the Cassius King Gallery in the Gaslamp District, downtown, San Diego. This hip, underground venue lasted nearly two years and showed great up and coming artists and bands from around the nation. Since then Jeremy has found comfort teaching with the wonderful people of HTHI. All the while he continues to paint, play music, travel and surf.

Raised in Rhode Island, Colleen graduated from Boston College with a BA in psychology in 1995. She earned her MA in environmental education from Prescott College in 2000. She has led wilderness trips for teenagers, lived and taught in Mexico, Texas, Arizona and northern California, and started her own catering business. Colleen loves to rock climb, mountain bike, and teach yoga.

Will is a native New Yorker, who spent his adolescent years running around Albany trying to survive 13 years of Military school. After high school, Will split town and went to Virginia to study Philosophy and East Asian culture deep in the Shenandoah Valley at Washington and Lee University. After college Will wandered around New York, Colorado, and spent several years in New Mexico contemplating the meaning of life and the implications of all his philosophical studies. While living in Santa Fe Will got a job teaching Anatomy and Physiology to adults at a school and was quickly hooked on teaching. Will then moved to San Diego to pursue a degree in Biology and a teaching credential. While studying for his Master’s degree in education Will became very interested in methodologies that not only support learning but also help students develop thinking skills. Will finished his Master’s degree in 2004 after writing his final thesis on Critical thinking in education. After this, Will got jobs teaching Biology and physical science and enjoyed the experiences well enough, but was not really satisfied with the work. So Will decided to go back to school, this time to pursue a Math degree, and as luck would have it he ran into a High Tech High teacher who encouraged him to apply and he got the job. Will now teaches 11th and 12th grade Math at High Tech International and is currently having an exceptional amount of fun exploring the joys of math with his wonderful if sometimes reluctant students. Aside from teaching Will enjoys walking the beaches, contemplating existence, doing math proofs, playing guitar, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and hanging out with friends.

I was born on a blustery Tuesday morning in a hospital located in the middle of an iced over Virginia quagmire. From a swamp, life can only go up, which thankfully it has. After a happy childhood of not fitting in, I found myself wandering various mountain sides and shorelines, eventually arriving in the hustle and bustle of San Diego.

With an academic background in Marine Science, I followed the predictable career path as that of a music teacher. I absolutely love teaching music and everything about music. My favorite musical element these days is the analysis and use of the subtleties used in creating ‘musical excellence’…the details of that certain song that touches you to the core. Great stuff. When not teaching, I enjoy reading whatever ends up on my living room table, performing jazz and bluegrass music, backpacking abroad, riding my bicycle and playing on the wet side of that area where the oceans meet land.

Many moons ago, in a land that time forgot...who am I kidding!! Having just received my Bachelor of Arts in Applied Physics at San Diego State University, I began my career as educator in the land of the rising sun, Akita Japan. After a year of challenging Sumo Wrestlers to sushi eating contests, I returned to the states with new perspectives about myself and our educational system. For seven years I taught all things math, science & advisory at The Preuss School UCSD. During this time I was very active in and out of school working to improve math & science pedagogy across our nation. Locally I was involved in the implementation and development of the Interactions in Physical Science (f.k.a. C.I.P.S.) curriculum. As a MSSELI Fellow I participated in an intensive year long professional development program focused on science content, leadership strategies, and collaboration with San Diego area public and private scientific institutions. In my free time, I worked closely with the San Diego Science Alliance to develop robotics programs throughout San Diego County and served as emcee for both local and national Botball Robotics tournaments. Throughout all of these phenomenally rewarding and challenging experiences, I was most proud of guiding my groups of advisees, many of whom I served for seven years, towards a remarkable 94% acceptance rate (4 year college or universities)!

The past year I had the enviable opportunity to join the staff here at HTHI as a teacher of Engineering/Robotics/Culinary Arts/Rock Climbing and much, much more. Currently I am focused largely on forging stronger connections between HTHI and USD, UCSD, & SDSU, establishing a greater sense of community for all 9th graders, as well as supporting all of the tremendous efforts of those who help to make our school one of the preeminent institutions for learning in our nation!

Mingya Mansfield was born and raised in Hangzhou, China a garden city located two hours South of Shanghai. She grew up during China’s “Culture Revolution” and experienced the chaos of that period. After high school she went on to study Environmental Design for two years at the China Academy of Fine Art. In 1987 she came to American and went to San Diego State University Language Institute to learn English. Later, she earned a BA in Environmental Design from SDSU. She has been teaching Mandarin at UCSD Extension since 2004. She also taught Mandarin for the Cultural Enhancement Program in the La Mesa Spring Valley School district.

Mingya, her husband, and their thirteen year old son, live in La Mesa. However, they return to China each year to work and travel. Over the years they have witnessed the enormous changes that have taken place there. Mingya enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening, hiking, playing tennis.

Nicole Pack grew up in Chico, CA and has slowly continued to move south. Nicole graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While at Cal Poly Nicole also had the opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Thailand, where she studied international business and art. Nicole then experienced two brief experiences as an industrial engineer in San Jose and Irvine, CA. Upon graduating from Cal Poly, Nicole moved to Huntington Beach to volunteer and eventually work for a small non-profit called the Free Wheelchair Mission. It was during this time that she decided to pursue teaching – a career that would allow her the opportunity to help others while still pursuing her interests in mathematics, engineering, and design. She attended USC for her Master of Arts in Teaching and credential in mathematics while gaining teaching experience in Santa Ana and Torrance.

This year is Nicole’s second year at HTHI and in San Diego, and she couldn’t have landed in a better place. She loves being a part of the amazing community of students and teachers and to bring her passions and interests into the classroom. Outside of teaching, Nicole enjoys spending her time exploring the city and spending time with her sister and friends. She is also having fun watching the Chargers and Padres in addition to the Trojans. Nicole continues to volunteer for the Free Wheelchair Mission and will train for her third ½ marathon (Run for Mobility) with them this year!

Jen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education in December of 2000 with a B.S. in Education and certification in secondary English education. From there, she picked up a job substitute teaching for the Madison and Middleton Public School Districts. She then taught at a boarding school in Northcentral Arizona for a year. Living 20 feet away from the girls' dormitories on an operational ranch complete with rattlesnakes in the dorms and tarantulas in the parking lot was exactly what she expected it to be: much warmer than Wisconsin and different than anything she'd ever experienced.

After deciding to live somewhere a little more urban than the middle of the desert, she interviewed for a teaching position at High Tech High. While she was interviewing, her husband, Adam, drove around San Diego and discovered Sunset Cliffs. That was all it took to realize this was the place they wanted to call home. She is now in her seventh (yikes!) year teaching for High Tech High schools. Five years ago, she left High Tech High to become a founding faculty member of High Tech High International.

Jen earned her Master's Degree in Curriculum Design through UCSD in 2006. Her thesis was on encouraging perseverance in the project-based learning classroom. In addition, she recently completed her first year working toward her Ed.D in Education at UCSD, but decided to take a year off after her first child, Henry, was born in March of 2008. She is currently working on finding just the right work-life balance and loving motherhood.

Ross was born near the central coast of California in a quaint town called Pismo Beach. As he grew older, he attended his local high school in Arroyo Grande, which happened to be five miles south of Pismo. As the years progressed, Ross seemed unable to resist the Southern California pull and eventually entered into college at the University of Santa Barbara, another one hundred miles south. After four years, Ross came out of the university with three majors, one in English, one in Spanish and a last in Comparative Literature. Yet Ross returned to his school the next fall, this time as a graduate. One year later he left Santa Barbara for good after receiving his Masters in Education and his teaching credential.

Clearly, at this point in Ross' life, he saw that the farther south one travels, the better. Which is why, without surprise, his next journey led him to High Tech High in San Diego, another few hundred miles south. While he is sure that he can bring students many creative and fresh approaches to real world applications through his teaching, he worries about one thing: graphs have been drawn up plotting Ross' southern migration and extensive research shows that with his current rate of travel, he will end up in Mazatlan, Mexico within seven years. But until then, Ross plans to inspire and encourage students by personalizing his curriculum around not only their life, but by matching the curriculum up with the world of today and the skills needed to compete in it.

Yet when Ross isn't busy enlightening young minds, he finds time to play piano, read books, and surf badly. He also claims to have invented the "U-Turn" blinker, but as of yet, cannot find a buyer. He believes reading is cool...really.

I graduated from UCSD with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (with special emphasis on Ecology, Behavior and Evolution) and a minor in Psychology. I’ve feel fortunate to have applied my studies of Biology, through Ecological education, all over the globe including the South Pacific, Europe, Mexico, Central America. I will be sharing many of these experiences with students throughout the year and demonstrating the many applications of this exciting area of study. Exploring biology with students is one of my strongest passions and project-based learning is fundamental to my teaching philosophy.

Hillary Swanson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 2002 from Colorado College where she had the opportunity to participate in many meaningful research and engineering projects. She helped with the design and construction of the Pikes Peak Panoramic Camera, as well as the installation of a sensing system for the world’s largest primary mirror telescope. She also got to help with the physics behind research on Orca Whale communication. To satisfy her curiosity about education she wrote grant proposals and traveled to Japan to conduct interviews and make a documentary on the Japanese education system. One summer she worked with a professor to develop physics problems that spoke to a greater diversity of perspectives.

Hillary loves physics, math, chemistry, world history, reading, writing poetry, running, hiking, dancing, singing, theater, croquet, photography, quilting, grain art, permaculture (sustainable agriculture), and building solar ovens.

She is thrilled to be a part of the HTHI team and look forward to a year of awesome physics investigations and creative meaningful projects!

Kelly Wilson's passion for creating small school environments focused on project-based learning was sparked when she completed her M.A. in Education at Stanford University. In her first year of teaching, she had the exciting opportunity to help establish a small, charter school for low-income students in East Palo Alto with Linda Darling-Hammond from Stanford University and Aspire Public Schools. Through that experience she found that personalized learning environments, where students are known well by adults and are asked to solve meaningful, real world problems, have a dramatic effect on student engagement and performance.

She was excited to be able to continue this work at High Tech High as a math/physics teacher when she relocated to San Diego, the town of her alma mater, U.C.S.D. Through various projects she created with her teaching partner Mark Aguirre, such as "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and the "Taco Salad Film Festival", Kelly also learned the value of engaging students through technology and real world learning. In her current position of Director of High Tech High International, she is able to continue implementing the HTH design principles, getting students excited about science and technology through the robotics elective she teaches and sharing her passion for international issues and traveling. Having lived abroad in both Costa Rica and New Zealand, Kelly enjoys immersing students in new cultural experiences to help them develop a broader perspective of our world.

Erin Wyatt was born and raised in San Diego. She completed her BA in English at the University of Idaho where she was on a four year athletic scholarship for tennis. After graduating from the U of I, Erin returned to San Diego to pursue a career in education. She has been teaching for over 10 years in public schools.

Erin began her teaching career as an English teacher in the Sweetwater Union High School District. She taught at Bonita Vista Middle and Eastlake High School. She joined HTH in the summer of 2002. Erin taught 9th and 10th grade Humanities before taking on her current position as the Director of Academic Internships for High Tech High International.

Erin is responsible for developing the internships that all students complete in their 11th grade year. She creates curriculum to help support integration of internships with core classes and she works with mentors, teachers, and students to make sure students are engaged in meaningful project work at their sites. Erin believes that internships are one way in which students can distinguish themselves in the college application process. “Internships are a great way to build relevance between school and the adult world besides giving students an opportunity to learn about themselves as workers.”

In her free time, Erin is pursuing a MA in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University. Erin currently lives in Ocean Beach with her husband and one year old daughter.