Spring 2025 Teacher bios are listed below.
Spring 2025 Session Dates
Elementary Schools: January 27 to May 12
Middle/High Schools: January 27 - TBD
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Spring 2025 TEACHER Bios
We are an organization solely devoted to promoting chess among children. Academic Chess teaches using its own unique set of cartoon characters to represent each chess piece. These characters pique the interest of children and get them involved in the lessons. Also, this visual approach gives kids mental “hooks” on which to hang new concepts. Using posters, booklets, and energetic instructors centered on these characters, we fire up the kids to learn chess!
Kayce Armenteros is a Kinesiology: Fitness major at California State University of Long Beach. From the young age of eight years old, she became fascinated with gymnastics and the idea of conditioning her body to create unique movements. After investing countless hours perfecting her recreational gymnastic skills at the District Gymnastics Academy, she was offered a spot on the competitive gymnastics team. Her dedication took her to the State Championships and taught her the importance of teamwork, discipline, and consistency. As a young adult, her resilience led her to initiate her career within the fitness community, coaching recreational gymnastics at the very same gymnasium in which she trained.
Through these memorable experiences, Kayce enjoys working with youth specifically as well as all physical types, and skill levels. Kayce remains committed to her gymnastics passion. She is excited to teach during her first season with LAEF.
Angela is a STEAM learning enthusiast. At an early age she was encouraged to excel in academics by her community of family, friends and teachers. Now with 30+ years in software engineering, she’s dedicated to leveraging her professional experience, career technical certification and in classroom training to inspire future generations to pursue higher education and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM).
Her college experience at the University of Southern California (USC), led Angela to realize the power of technology to solve business, social and economic problems. To finance her college expenses, she started a business and used school lab computers to transcribe written assignments for fellow students. This venture helped fund her tuition and best of all, helped other students achieve their goals.
After graduating from college, Angela pursued a career in Information technology. During her career as a software engineering executive, she has worked with healthcare, finance, social media and artificial intelligence (AI) companies including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Meta, IBM, NCR, Experian, CoreLogic and others.
During her career she also served with several schools and non-profit organizations to deliver education on marine biology, forensics art, computer science and mathematics and more. Some of these organizations include Wells Fargo, Samueli Academy , TGR Foundation and Huntington Beach School Districts.
Her expertise includes: the intricacies of coding, the complexities of algorithms, and the mysteries of emerging technologies like Robotics, AI, and 3D printing.
Angela is empowered with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. She is energized and driven by a purpose to help others learn through unraveling complex problems, mastering new skills plus social and environmental responsibility.
In addition to enjoying time with her husband and two adult sons, she enjoys traveling, and invests her time with several not for profit youth, social and environmental organizations including Los Alamitos Education Foundation (LAEF), Standup for Kids (SUFK), Share Ourselves (SOS), Robyne’s Nest and the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy.
Matthew Berry is a proud Los Alamitos High School alum with a deep-rooted passion for the arts and film. With a background in show choir and a strong connection to the Griffin News Film Program, Matthew has cultivated a rich and diverse experience in filmmaking. He has actively contributed to various projects, including music festivals, documentaries, short films, and student films. As a dedicated film teacher, Matthew brings a unique blend of youthful energy and seasoned expertise to his classroom. His lifelong passion for the arts and commitment to nurturing creativity in his students are evident in his dynamic teaching approach. Matthew’s enthusiasm and deep understanding of film not only inspire his students but also enrich their learning experience, fostering a vibrant and engaging environment for aspiring filmmakers.
Leslie is an experienced basketball coach and player who loves the game dearly. He enjoys all aspects of the game including: playing, watching, teaching, and coaching. He has been playing since age 5 and continues to play in multiple competitive men’s leagues to this day. He has coached all ages ranging from Kindergarten (age 5) up until high school kids. While attending UC Riverside, he even assisted the women’s team as he participated as a practice player. Currently Leslie coaches skills academies and an AAU middle school girls basketball team. Even though he is always playing he makes sure to watch and follow the majority of all NBA games. His favorite team is the LA Lakers. Leslie is excited to teach for LAEF during the fall 2021 season.
Brianne is a creative elementary art teacher who has a strong passion for introducing children to the interactive world of art. Brianne is an imaginative teacher. She is professional and highly trained in a wide array of artistic mediums. Brianne makes instant connections with her students through creative art activities.
Jackson Ferreira, also known as “Instrutor Mosquito”, was born and raised in Brazil, and has been training capoeira since he was 6 years old. He moved to the U.S. in 2010, and has been teaching in summer programs, after-school programs, and at his own capoeira school ever since. He is knowledgeable in many styles of capoeira, and loves sharing his vision and passion for capoeira with students of all ages. Instructor Mosquito has participated in world-wide capoeira competitions, placing in the top 8 in his category. In addition to teaching and training capoeira, he also builds all his own musical instruments that he shares with his students.
We bring STEM to children!
Our mission is to foster the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, leaders, and environmental stewards through hands-on creativity-enhancing exploration of STEAM concepts using renewable materials.
We cultivate creativity by providing students with the experiences they need to look at the world in new ways. We engage kids with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs. Our approach to teaching uses the Design Thinking process and “STEAM” — the “A” (art) adds the ability for students to look at a situation from new and creative angles and inspires innovation.
Adriana was born and raise in Mexico City. She grew up with two sisters, and both parents. Her family always has contributed as a team to always support each other. She earned an MBA with a focus on Finance and a BS in Computer Science. Adriana began working at 16 at her dad’s forklift truck company. Growing up in Mexico City her parents always knew that exercise was good for the mind and body. At the age of 12 she earned a shot put gold medal in the Mexico Mini Olympics, and until her adulthood she played basketball and volleyball. Adriana loves dancing too.
Now as an adult, Adriana lives locally with her two beautiful children. Her daughter, Sofia is entering her senior year of college and is majoring in Communications with a minor in Sports Business from Concordia University. Adriana’s son, Elliot, will be graduating from Los Alamitos High School and plans to pursue a degree in Music Education.
Adriana finds joy in giving back to her community and providing support to those she can. She is thrilled to teach Spanish for LAEF this fall season!
Jerry Wetzel is a passionate instructor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts which he teaches at the facility he has owned and operated for the last 14 years, Centerline Martial Arts and Fitness. Jerry runs kids classes daily in mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as the kids BJJ competition team. He has two children who attend LAHS. Jerry firmly believes that every child has the right to enjoy their school days without fear of being bullied and is committed to helping them develop the necessary tools and attitude to help them on their journey.
This school year will be her 21st year teaching! She has experience as a classroom teacher in grades 1, 4, and 5, but has spent the last 13 years as Lee Elementary’ s part-time Media Center and Makerspace teacher. She absolutely loves working with her students and supporting the classroom teachers by instructing Lee students in Internet safety, computer programming, and engineering. She has taught the LAEF STEAM Fair workshop class at Lee for the past five years and has coordinated Lee’s STEAM Fair.
Caitlyn Gutierrez is a passionate educator and artist with a heart for teaching
elementary. She’s excited to bring her energy and creativity to LAEF. A proud graduate
of California State University, Long Beach, Caitlyn holds a bachelor’s degree that laid
the foundation for her career in education. With two years of experience teaching
Speech and Debate to elementary and middle school students, Caitlyn used her skills in
helping kids find their voices, express their ideas, and speak with confidence. Speech
and Debate isn’t just about competition for Caitlyn, it’s about giving kids the tools to
share their opinions, engage in fun debates, and enrich their speaking skills, all while
encouraging respect for different viewpoints. In addition, Caitlyn is creative and
passionate about the arts such as singing, crocheting, painting, drawing, and making
intricate origami figures. She’s always exploring new ways to express herself.
All of Kanor’s driving instructors have passed industry standardized tests as well as in-house testing prior to becoming a member of their staff. You can be confident that Kanor’s instructors know exactly what it takes to help the student reach their goal of becoming an educated driver.
Founded in 2017 by two soccer coaching experts driven by a shared vision for developing inclusive youth programs, First Touch Soccer is committed to delivering world-class soccer initiatives. As the foremost provider of soccer programs for the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) in Southern California, First Touch Soccer is a local company deeply rooted in the communities.
Our leadership team has over 80 years of combined experience in this space, and we’ve become a leader in the market. Our coaching staff are experienced, reliable, and fully vetted. They are trained to work with players of all ages and abilities.
We have three core principles by which we run our sessions: enthusiasm, knowledge, and fun.
Our classes are engaging. They offer a rewarding experience for students, providing them with physical exercise, skill development, social interaction, and personal growth outside the classroom.
We are very excited to be a part of the LAEF program!
Born and raised in Torrance, CA, Sabrina Fuster-Maldonado is a genre-defying singer, songwriter, pop pianist, and voice-over actress. Years of training and honing in on her diverse skills have led her to some amazing experiences including acting in the feature film “Elena Undone” and writing an original song for the film’s soundtrack (2010), writing songs for other artists (on-going), performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live with Youngblood Hawke & Thirty Seconds to Mars, recording vocals for the Thirty Seconds to Mars album, “LOVE LUST FAITH + DREAMS,” co-writing with seasoned industry songwriters Billy Steinberg and Ken Hirsch, appearing in a Gap holiday commercial singing background vocals for Janelle Monáe, and singing on The Late Late Show with James Corden. In addition to on-camera acting, singing, performing, and songwriting, Sabrina’s voice can be heard on commercial voice-over campaigns for brands such as Universal Studios, Kaiser Permanente, Pizza Hut, SoCal Gas, The Container Store, Johnnie Walker & T-Mobile. Sabrina is also a performing artist, with released songs under her own moniker, “Sabrina Carmen.” Much of her original catalog of music is signed with top sync licensing companies like Glow Music Group and North Star Media. With all of her firsthand experience, Sabrina is thrilled to be sharing what she loves most with her students. She holds her own teachers and mentors in the highest regard and is passionate about helping others cultivate their creative voice. Sabrina teaches all levels of singing, beginner to intermediate pop piano, songwriting, and voice-over acting.
Free to Be Me Performance Academy provides quality performance training in a positive, enthusiastic, nurturing, and embracing environment. Through their classes students learn essential life skills such as teamwork, respect, responsibility, care and compassion. They emphasize the importance of character both on and off the stage and work to inspire each student to BE a positive light out in the community. Most importantly they encourage FUN!
Tanya runs Fitness For All and is a certified personal trainer. She has worked at local gyms as a personal and group fitness trainer for adults and children. She is also a mom of two LAE students.
Israel has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old. He’s always had a passion for the game and played college soccer at Long Beach City College, CSU Dominguez Hills, and CSU Fullerton where he also graduated from in 2020. He began coaching in 2019 where he was in charge of running clinics and soccer camps. Israel enjoys watching the youth develop and seeing their growth in soccer while having fun as well. He is currently coaching at Beach FC in Long Beach and enjoys seeing the kids improve their skills everyday.
Coach Nick ws a 3-year Varsity letterman in football, basketball, and track and field. He was selected All-State in football and he went on to play college football at Saddleback College and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. Nick has 10 years of coaching experience with 5 of those as head coach of a variety of club basketball teams and the last 5 years he has been head coach of JV basketball team in Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo and El Torro. He is excited to teach his first season with LAEF during fall 2024.
Sonya Henning has been teaching voice, musical theater, and dance for the past fifteen years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Fullerton in Theatre Arts and continues to perform herself in both theatre and television. Ms. Henning owns and operates an academy for arts in Long Beach, Emerging Artists Musical Theatre Academy, where the mission is to give every child the opportunity to experience a performing arts education. Sonya has been teaching for LAEF since 2016! She is a superstar!
Pending…
Anna Jackobs is an enthusiastic educator with a background in daycare, preschool education, and ABA therapy. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in Sociology, which has greatly influenced her approach to understanding and connecting with her students. Anna is passionate about incorporating art and creativity into her teaching, striving to make learning both enjoyable and engaging for young minds. Outside of her professional life, Anna enjoys staying active through running, reading books on a variety of topics, and spending quality time with her daughter.
Growing up in Los Alamitos, Kristi has always shared a love for the District and its students. Not only did she graduate from LAHS, but she raised 3 fabulous children that recently graduated from LAHS as well. With years of experience working with youth in various roles, she has learned to lead and teach with kindness and compassion. She has a creative spirit with endless energy for creating fun & engaging experiences. She can’t wait to explore art, games, science and more, while having a blast with her students!
Alejandra was born and raised in Costa Rica and has been living in Southern California for the past 11 years. Her love for nature, culture and adventure were her main motivation to get her College Degree in Hospitality and become a Travel Agent, working in the Tourist Industry for over 10 years.
She loves teaching kids her native language and uses it as a tool to teach young generations about the importance of acceptance, diversity and cultural awareness. She is a strong believer that an early exposure to different cultures is a great way to become a more inclusive and empathetic person.
Alejandra has three kids, two of them are students of Los Alamitos Unified School District and enjoys traveling in her free time. She is currently working on a Spanish Immersion Program for kids in the Cloud Forest in Costa Rica, what a great way to combine her love for teaching and nature conservation!
Elisa has always had a big love for art and teaching. She is attending CSU, Long Beach as a Liberal Arts major and will be working to be a credentialed teacher. She has worked as an instructional aide with Los Alamitos School district for two years. Elisa loves making wooden art and sharing her pieces with the community at pop up events. She hopes to inspire others to use 3 dimensional art as a form of expression.
Andrea has been a student of Kenpo Karate for over 30 years and is currently a 5th Degree Black Belt. She has been the International champion six times and has won more than 150 1st place trophies in her tournament career. Ms. Solow owned and operated a karate school in Telluride, Colorado for 15 years. She has instructed several hundred people over the years, having many advanced students, and bringing several people to the rank of black belt. She recently moved back to her home state, California, with her husband and two children who attend school in the Los Al school district. Ms. Solow is passionate about teaching kids and is excited to be an instructor for the LAEF program!
Play-Well TEKnologies was founded by Tim Bowen in 1997. Introduced to the LEGO® building system in 1996 and recognizing it to be both a popular play medium and a tremendous learning medium, Tim began to develop projects which drew on his professional experience and combined the elements of fun, challenge, and learning. He began operating a summer camp program in 1997, followed by after school enrichment classes in 1998. We explore, solve problems, and express ourselves through LEGO. Our curriculum is designed by engineers and refined by teachers, but the kids just think it’s fun!
Coralie Prince’s life has been music from the time she was born! Her father was a singer/songwriter/pianist and producer of shows. Mother, a nurse, performed at home and supported the arts. Coralie began piano when she was a toddler and violin when she was 6. She most recently taught elementary classroom music at Hopkinson and Lee from 1980 to 2014. She directed grade level shows and produced, directed, and accompanied a large musical each year with the 5th grade and/or the 4/5 chorus. She taught piano privately for many years and later, a summer Musical Theater Workshop for grades 3 thru 12. She is so excited to continue working with the students in the LAEF Musical Theater Class.
Miss Redmond is a recent graduate of CSULB with a B.A. in Liberals Arts of ASL Linguistics and Deaf Cultures. As she reaches her goals to become an interpreter to speak for everyone around the world and to all Deaf Communities with her hands, she’s thrilled at the need for teaching the hearing youth the way of speaking with their hands while they are working to achieve standard academic goals. One of Miss. Redmond’s big goals for her students is to them and their families that they can begin to develop a second language at them young age and that teaching them a new language helps make learning fun for the students.
Mr. Nick received his Single Subject Credential in Physical Education with an Adapted Physical Education Added Authorization. He has worked with students ranging from 3-22years old with varying needs of support through student teaching (Magnolia School District and Anaheim Unified High School District), After School Adapted Physical Education Program (ASAPP-CSULB), Camp Nugget, Transition Practicum, as well Camp Webber. In his free time he enjoys lifting weights at the gym, swimming, as well as playing Spikeball, Kan Jam, and Pickleball. Growing up he played a multitude of sports including soccer, cross-country/track, flag football, slow-pitch softball, dance, and swim. He enjoys hanging out with friends and going on hikes! He is excited to teach for his first season with LAEF during this fall 2024 season!
Sherryl Ramos is a Health Educator for the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Team (ADEPT) at the Orange County Health Care Agency. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the California State University, Long Beach. She has 20 years of experience working with youth in Orange County on alcohol, drug and tobacco prevention.
Richie Marin is founder/owner of Dreams Come True Dances Company that specializes in teaching dance choreography for quinceañeras and Sweet 16’s as well as, provide Master of Ceremonies and photobooth services. He has a strong background in dance, musical theatre and acting. He has traveled nationally and internationally with Contra-Tiempo dance company, performing and teaching salsa as a teaching artist at various schools. He has worked with Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre programs teaching and performing at various schools in Northern and Southern California. As an actor, Richie has been on national commercials such as Toyota, Mercury Insurance and Walmart and has appeared on TV and Film. He has been a teaching artist and taught at Harbor Lomita Schools for their enrichments programs, teaching Hip-Hop, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Swing dancing. Richie has also teamed up with E3dance Company and had the pleasure of teaching Folklorico for their outreach school programs. His fun creative teaching style makes his classes exciting and energetic. He enjoys teaching Hip-Hop for kids, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Swing, and Musical Theatre.
Toni retired from the Paramount Unified School District after teaching for twenty years. Previous to her teaching career, she was the Children’s Librarian at the Los Alamitos-Rossmoor Library. Toni conducted pre-school story times, summer reading programs, and lots of other activities. She is still often recognized in the community by many people who still remember me from the library.
Carolyn runs Fitness For All and is a certified personal trainer. She has been coaching kids sport and fitness classes for over 26 years. She grew up active in sports and wants to share her love for fitness and sports with today’s youth.
Skyhawks provides a wide variety of fun, safe and positive programs that emphasize critical lessons in sports and life, such as teamwork, respect and sportsmanship. Our programs are designed to give each child a positive introduction into sports while fostering a lifelong love for an active, healthy lifestyle. Our patient and knowledgeable staff use a variety of skill-building games and activities to give each athlete a complete understanding and overview of the sport.
Coming Soon!
The mission of Strategic Kids is to be a positive impact on our community by teaching life strategies through games. Program instructors have experience working with elementary aged children. They have energetic and fun personalities that inspire kids.
Lorie is a local portrait and landscape photographer capturing life in the moment! She has been offering family, senior and professional portrait photography services in the community for over 10 years. As a proud parent of 3 children in the Los Alamitos School District, Lorie has enjoyed volunteering her time in and out of the classroom for the past 12 years.
With close to a decade of experience coaching, Daniel takes pride in helping young athletes achieve their potential. After playing 15 years of basketball himself, Daniel went on to coach the sport. When he is not coaching, he is surfing, traveling, and working as a videographer.
Emi Torres is a Dance instructor with more than 20 years of teaching experience. His specialty is teaching dance to kids and the special needs community. Dance genres like hip hop, salsa, and cha cha are among some of the dance styles he is proficient in. From beginner to advanced levels, Emi works with the ability of the student and believes everybody can learn, grow and have fun dancing!
Donna Tran is an artist based in Orange County, earning her MFA at CSULB. She aspires to produce children’s books through her joy of painting and illustrative storytelling. Meanwhile she is learning and spreading knowledge amongst other artists.
Jaylene is currently on the coaching staff at Los Alamitos High School for girls soccer.
Rafael Verdin is currently a coach for Beach FC he coaches B-2016’s, G-2015 and G-2013. He is a soccer coach for St. Joseph High School. They just won their 1st ever CIF and State title for the School. Rafael was a staff member for the LA Galaxy for 10 years in which he got to work alongside with Head Coach Bruce Arena and with players such as David Beckham, Robbie Keane, and Landon Donovan. He is a soccer coach at Cerritos College as well. This is Rafael’s second season coaching with LAEF!
Mrs. Vida grew up speaking French as her native language. She was raised in the Loire Valley, in France; graduated from College with a language degree, and worked in Paris in an American Company, before moving to the USA in her thirties. She is very familiar with our Los Alamitos School District as she volunteered on PTA Boards for over 20 years. This is Mrs. Vida’s second season working for LAEF after-school and she is so excited to get back at it!
WeBreak Hip-Hop Dance Company was founded in 2011 by Brian Wright. Brian Wright is a natural and gifted instructor in dance and has been teaching dance for the past 12 years. He loves working with children, teens and adults and has been dancing for over 17 years and breakdancing for over 12 years. He, along with a friend, founded and designed the California State University Breakers, a campus club committed to teaching the art form of breaking at Cal State University Long Beach. The CSULB Breakers won the very first intercollegiate breakdance competition at LMU in 2006. Brian also received his bachelor’s degree in computer science from CSULB.
Jerry is the founder of Red Zone Threat Management and travels nationally and internationally teaching seminars to members of the DEA, Local Law Enforcement, and civilians on the topic of personal protection. He is the author of the book “Red Zone Prime: A Foundation for Personal Protection”. In addition he is a passionate instructor of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts which he teaches at the facility he has owned and operated for the last 14 years, Centerline Martial Arts and Fitness. Jerry runs kids classes daily in mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well as the kids BJJ competition team. He has two children who attend LAHS. Jerry firmly believes that every child has the right to enjoy their school days without fear of being bullied and is committed to helping them develop the necessary tools and attitude to help them on their journey.