Eastside Preparatory School

Eastside Prep Faculty

Gonzalo Alcalde, BA Middle School and Upper School Spanish	Gonzalo Alcalde Gordillo joins Eastside Prep for the 2007-2008 year. He is from Madrid, Spain and received a Bachelor´s in Humanities from Alcalá de Henares. He has taught Spanish in his home country and at Logan School, in Kansas (2005-2006 year). Gonzalo also enjoys playing soccer and the guitar.
Amis Balcomb, MIT Middle School Artistic Thinking Upper School Visual Arts	Amis Balcomb began teaching drawing and graphic design part time at Eastside Prep in the fall of 2005. Her art ranges from graphic design to photography, and she strives to dispel the myth that only artistic people can authentically learn art skills. BA in Art from the University of Washington; Master’s in Teaching from Western Washington University.
John Baumann, BA Assistant Athletic Director Upper School and Middle School Physical Education	John Baumann joined the faculty of Eastside Prep in the Fall of 2006. He is the Program Director of the Bellevue Boys Lacrosse Club and he is the head coach of the Bellevue High School varsity lacrosse team. BA, Sociology and Business Administration, University of Albany.
Laurie Benaloh, PhD Middle School Mathematical Thinking	Laurie Benaloh is new to Eastside Prep in the 2007-2008 academic year. She has held faculty positions at Clarkson University and the University of New Haven and has also taught at the high school and elementary school levels. Prior to her teaching career, Dr. Benaloh was a software engineer in a variety of industries. PhD, Education, University of Toronto; MS, Science, Technology, and Values, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; SB, Computer Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Adrienne Behrmann, BA Middle School Algebra I Upper School Math	Adrienne Behrmann joins Eastside Prep full time for the 2007-08 school year. She graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Mathematics and a Higher Diploma in Education. After that she taught for seven years in public and private schools in Cape Town before immigrating to Toronto, Canada in 1990, where she obtained an Honours Specialist qualification in Mathematics in Canada and taught in a Waldorf School and the public school system for seven years. She came to Bellevue in 2005 and taught at BCC for several quarters before joining Eastside Prep part-time. Adrienne is an avid reader and runner and enjoys being outdoors as much as possible.
Matt Delaney, MIT Upper School History	Matt Delaney joined the faculty of Eastside Prep in August of 2007. He spent the previous 7 years teaching Social Studies, English and Media Studies, while serving as a small school facilitator at Edmonds Woodway H.S. Matt is endorsed in the areas of Social Studies, History, Political Science and English. He holds a BA from Princeton University in Political Science, and a Masters in Teaching from the University of Washington.
Patricia Ferreyra, AADE Upper School Spanish	Patricia Ferreyra joined the faculty of Eastside Prep in the Fall of 2007. Her ten years’ teaching experience includes both her native Argentina, as well as the US. Patricia is passionate about teaching, traveling and learning about other cultures. Her goal is to help the Spanish language program continue to grow and develop while increasing cultural awareness. Profesora de Inglés, ISP “Dr. Joaquín V. González”, Buenos Aires; Certificate in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, AADE, Buenos Aires.
Patricia Friel, MBA Middle School Mathematical Thinking	Patricia Friel has been involved with Eastside Prep since the school's inception, first as a founding board member and now as a teacher of Mathematical Thinking for the 07-08 school year. Before teaching, Patricia had a 12 year career at Microsoft and prior to that, she was a radar systems engineer for Lockheed Martin. Patricia received her BS in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina, an MBA from Monmouth College, and an MS in Computer Information Systems from the University of Pennsylvania.
Melissa Hayes, BS Crew Coach Physical Education	Melissa Hayes joined Eastside Prep in the fall of 2006. She is the crew activities coordinator, and assistant physical education instructor. She graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in Psychology, and is a US Rowing Level II certified coach.
Michael Heald, BS Middle School Scientific Thinking	Michael Heald joined the Eastside faculty in the 2007-2008 year after taking a year off to travel around the world. He most recently spent 7 years teaching Earth Science and Life Science, coaching Lacrosse and running the wilderness program at St. Mark´s School of Texas in Dallas. Michael completed his masters in Geoscience from Mississippi State in 2005 and earned a BS in Environmental Science from Willamette University in 1996.
Chuck Henry, PhD Eastside Prep Impact Center Coordinator Upper School Physics	Chuck Henry joined the faculty of Eastside Prep for the 2006-2007 academic year. Most recently, Dr. Henry was the current Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of Washington, Bothell campus. He has extensive international experience, most recently serving as the faculty lead on the student program of designing and building sustainable systems in rural Costa Rica, as well as delivering an address as a featured speaker at the Centro de Investigacion Minera y Metallurgica in Chile. PhD, Soils/Organic Management, University of Washington; MS, Environmental Engineering, and BS, Civil Engineering, Oregon State University.
Marya Sea Kaminski, MFA Middle School Theater Arts Director of Play	Marya Sea Kaminski started working with Eastside Prep students during the spring of 2005. Her professional credits are numerous and she currently is a resident member of the Washington Ensemble Theatre. The Seattle Weekly’s “Best of Seattle 2006” named Ms. Kaminski Seattle’s “Best Local Performing Artist” (Readers’ Picks) and she also was singled out for “Best Work Onstage and Backstage” (Critics’ Picks). Master of Fine Arts (Acting and Performance) from the University of Washington; BA in English, the University of Pennsylvania.
Elin Kuffner, MIT Middle School and Upper School Spanish	Elin Kuffner joins Eastside Prep at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year. She comes to us most recently from the Northwest School, where she taught for two years. Prior to that, Elin received her Master's in Teaching, along with a Washington State Teaching Certificate and an Endorsement in Biology, from the University of Washington in 2005. Her undergraduate studies were in Zoology and Spanish, also at the University of Washington (and La Universidad de Cadiz in Spain). She received her Bachelor's degree in 2000. During her post-graduate studies, Elin also taught at Lakeside School in Biology, Earth Science, and Spanish classrooms while teachers were out on leave and extended school trips. She enjoyed working on Lakeside's Outdoor Education trips as well.
Allison Luhrs, MSEd Middle School Literary Thinking	Allison Luhrs joined the Eastside Prep faculty for the 2007-2008 school year. Prior to pursuing her career in teaching, she worked in editorial and marketing departments within the children’s book publishing industry. A certified Reading Specialist, she holds a MSEd in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in English and Child Development from Tufts University.
Jessica Minier Mabe, MA Middle School Literary Thinking Upper School English	Jessica Minier Mabe joins Eastside Prep for the 2006-2007 academic year. She most recently taught English at Everett Community College and at Everett High School. Jessica is an aspiring novelist, as well, and has completed and marketed several screenplays. She also taught Native American Literature at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast, Ireland. MA, Creative Writing, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, England; BA, English (Creative Writing emphasis) and Art (Painting emphasis), University of Redlands.
Laura McGough, MA Middle School and Upper School Choral Music	Laura McGough joined the Eastside Prep faculty in the Fall of 2007. Her conducting experience includes teaching children and youth choirs for the Oregon Festival Choirs and the Santa Barbara Children’s Chorus. She directed the Women’s Chorus at Westmont College in California and recently was the musical director for the Westmont youth summer camp production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Returning to her hometown of Seattle, she is pleased to be working as a choral director with EPS and the eastside children's choir, Columbia Choirs. BA in Sociology and minor in Music, Westmont College; Masters in Music (Choral Conducting emphasis), University of Oregon.
Karen Mills, MLIS Librarian	Karen Mills has been at Eastside Prep since its early days as both the school's main administrative support and librarian. She assumed the role of Director of Admissions for the 2005-2006 school year while continuing to expand the functions of the library. Master’s in Library and Information Science from the Information School at the University of Washington; BA in English Literature from the University of Puget Sound.
Elena Olsen, PhD Upper School English	Elena Olsen joined the faculty of Eastside Prep for the 2006-2007 school year. She led the establishment and will oversee the day-to-day activities of Eastside’s Writers’ Workshop. Most recently, Elena taught courses in Shakespeare, Milton, British literary Culture, and English Literature at the University of Washington. PhD and MA, University of Washington; BA in English, Bryn Mawr College.
Linda Oliver, MBA, MIT Upper School Geometry	Linda Oliver joins us for the 2007-2008 school year as a math teacher. She received her Master in Teaching from Seattle University and has taught in the Lake Washington School District as well as tutored several students from EPS. She also has a MBA from Pepperdine University and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, College of Engineering.
Adam Waltzer, MAT Middle School Scientific Thinking Upper School Biology and Chemistry	Adam Waltzer joined the faculty of Eastside Prep in 2006. Bronze Medalist in the 1992 World Ultimate Frisbee Championships, Adam will be coaching our Ultimate Frisbee team. Adam has established himself as a science educator through 13 years of teaching at Mercer Island High School, Whitman Middle School, and the Berlitz School in Ashiya, Japan; BS, Geology, and BA, Philosophy, Emory University; Masters in Teaching and Washington State Teaching endorsements in General Science, Earth Science, History and Philosophy, University of Washington.
Robin Wheeler, MA Service and Experiential Learning Coordinator	Robin Wheeler first came to Eastside Prep as a long-term substitute in the middle school in September, 2006. She joined Eastside Prep in a full-time capacity as Service and Experiential Learning Coordinator for the fall of 2007. Before coming to Eastside Prep, she served as the Director of Experiential Education at the American School of Rio de Janeiro. Robin has also served as a classroom teacher at the elementary and middle school levels for over twenty years. She holds a BS in Education from Emporia State University and a MA in Educational Administration from Michigan State University.
Katie Wichman, MIT, MEd Middle School Historical Thinking	Katie Wichman joined us for the 2004-2005 school year as our Middle School history teacher. Katie completed her master’s degree in teaching at Seattle University in 2004 with endorsements in Social Studies, History, and Language Arts. She then went back to school and earned a master’s in education with a concentration in school psychology from American Intercontinental University in 2005. For her undergraduate work, Katie attended the University of Washington and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in history. Katie intends to continue her education to receive her doctorate in school psychology from the University of Washington.