Spring 2024 Teacher bios are listed below.
SPRING 2024 Session Dates
January 29 to May 13
FREE Online World Language Session Dates
February 6 to May 13, 2024
Spring 2024 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!
Frank Acevedo was born in Long Island, NY, in 1956. He grew up in the Carson area of Los Angeles, graduating from Carson High School.
Frank started karate at about the age of 13 in the City of Carson Parks and Rec from a new Japanese instructor. Frank continued to train until his mid 20’s when the instructor passed away. His first teacher encouraged Frank to continue practicing at the JKA (Japan Karate Association) dojo in downtown LA, under world renowned instructor, Nishiyama.
He achieved very high levels of Karate knowledge under Nishiyama. Frank actively discusses karate with others from around the world, and is respected for his opinions and theories regarding non-sport Karate.
In 2010 he was invited to re-create a local Karate club as a Human Enrichment course and teaches weekly traditional karate with an emphasis on returning Karate to its origins as a self defense art.
Recently, Frank has developed an interest in Honda’s 1960’s mini-cycles. Along with his adult son, he restores these as a hobby/small business. Through his long training in Karate under the founders of the Shotokan style of karate, his understanding of Karate’s history and instruction is highly sought after, He has taught at many instructor training camps throughout North America.
Carolyn grew up in Downey and spent her childhood making art. She loved art so much she studied art in college and earned her Bachelors in Fine Art with a focus on Entertainment Art from Cal State Fullerton. As a student, Carolyn was a part of art clubs and was involved with her university’s cultural centers – she enjoyed cultivating spaces where people felt like they could explore their creativity while engaging with their community. In her free time, she loves to sew, cook, and spend time with her cats.
Pending…
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.
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!
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.
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.
Pilar DeNardo was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain and in Perú. After graduating from college, she came to the United States to learn English. Pilar earned an M.A in Bilingual Education as well as multiple teaching credentials. After teaching elementary school for 5 years and becoming a mom, Pilar decided to open her own business and teach her native language to elementary age students.
Kenna has been dancing since the age of 4. She grew up training in ballet, jazz, tap and lyrical styles. In high school, Kenna was a four-year LAHS dance program member and was a part of Advanced Dance and Dance Team. Kenna had the opportunity to teach and choreograph at Oak Middle School this fall for the opening performance to the Los Alamitos High School Dance program’s show “My Father’s Closet”. Kenna loves working with kids of all ages.
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.
Elena graduated from People’s Friendship University of Russia, earned her B.A. degree in World History. Her diploma comes with teaching credentials. Elena spent three years at Tianjin University where she earned certificates in Chinese language proficiency (including a HSK certificate) and she took Master degree courses in economic and trade law in Mandarin. She worked in Russia as a middle school ESL teacher. In China she tutored ESL to groups of students from preschool to middle school age and individually tutored Russian language to Chinese and Korean students. Elena has experience developing individual teaching plans suitable for different ages, skill sets and requirements, creating fun activities to make classes interesting and fun. She strongly believes that anyone can learn a foreign language and enjoy the process. Elena is a proud parent of two students in the Los Alamitos Unified School District. Elena is extremely excited to teach for LAEF!
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!
Katia Frias is a first-generation Cal State Long Beach Graduate (CSULB), she graduated with her Bachelor’s of Science in May 2023. She went to school to study Physical Education and is currently obtaining her teaching credential. She majored in this field because she wants to share her love for sports and physical education to her students. She wants her students to know that that they can do anything they put their mind too and that physical education is not one size fits all. Some fun facts about her are that she grew up playing soccer her entire life and She is a dog lover she has a Maltese Poodle named Benji that is her entire world. Katia is excited to teach her first season with LAEF during the fall of 2023.
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.
Jenelle is very passionate about introducing kids to an active lifestyle. She played every sport she could get her parents to drive her to ultimately focusing on volleyball and soccer. Jenelle’s degree in elementary education has brought out the joy she has when teaching kids, a new skill and how to keep going even when the going gets tough. She loves to see kids accomplish a challenge or event or basic movement that they could not previously do and finally get it.
Pending…
Meet Coach Kaylee, a dedicated professional with a degree in Physical Education from California State Long Beach. With an enthusiasm for wellness and health promotion, Coach Kaylee derives immense satisfaction from educating others about their advantages. Having honed her skills and nurtured a passion for teamwork through years of basketball coaching and personal engagement since the age of 9, her expertise extends across various domains, including Hip Hop and track and field. A thriving competitive athlete in her own right, Coach Kaylee invites you to join her on a transformative journey towards enhanced health and holistic well-being.
Krystal Lozano is an artist and storyteller predominantly focused on children’s animation. Inspired by cartoons, she received an undergraduate degree in animation from Cal State Fullerton and currently attends Cal State Long Beach, as an animation Master’s in Fine Arts student. She has freelanced with indie animation companies and individuals throughout the U.S., and has enjoyed volunteering with youth since 2019. Krystal is currently working with professors on story ideas to show-run into children’s cartoons. She promotes the importance of creativity in life and the interests that children take. Krystal is very excited to begin her first session teaching in Los Al.
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!
A native of El Salvador moved to the US in 1986. She loves sharing language and culture with students and has been teaching in Orange County since 2008. Claudia earned her Master’s in Education from Azusa Pacific University and a B.A. in Education and Child Development from National University. As a language teacher, her goal is for students to be exposed and gain a deeper appreciation of the beautifully diverse multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic communities we are so blessed to have in California and in our world. She is currently teaching as a reading intervention teacher in Los Alamitos Unified.
Coming Soon…
Benny has been dancing for over 15 years. He started dancing when he was four years old, and continued through high school, dancing with the Los Alamitos High School Dance Program on Advanced Dance and Dance Team. He is a national title winner who specializes in Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Lyrical. Benny is currently attending California State University Long Beach, and teaches at multiple local studios.
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.
Mia is in her second year of teaching 3rd grade at Dr. Albert Schweitzer Leadership Academy in Anaheim. She has wanted to be a teacher since she was in 3rd grade, and she loves every day of it! Mia received her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and attained her California K-8 Multiple Subject teaching credential from William Jessup University in Rocklin, CA. She graduated with an ASL Minor. This past summer she completed her Masters in Education in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Mia currently runs her school’s after-school ASL Club, called Schweitzer Signers, with 40 students in total. She is passionate about teaching students new skills, improving their overall communication, and bringing awareness and appreciation to the Deaf culture. ASL is a beautiful language backed by a beautiful community!
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.
Pending…
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.
Djallel obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Sports with focus on Soccer from the Institute of Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports Activities, University of Mentouri, Constantine Algeria in 2013. Additionally, Djallel obtained a Soccer Coaching Certification from the Algerian Football Federation. Djallel has been a Soccer Coach since 2014. He has coached all ages from 3 – 17 years old. Djallel has taught PE to high school students. Djallel played soccer throughout his high school and university careers. He has coached for LAEF during recent after-school seasons.
Michael is a Southern California native who is excited to be inspiring the next generations in the art of ‘Creating a Play’ and ‘Tai Chi Dance Fusion’! A graduate of San Diego State’s Theater B.A. and BADA’s Shakespeare program, actor, writer, yogi, and teacher, Michael Taber combines his talents to teach an interactive and eclectic approach to writing, movement and telling stories through the ancient practice of theater and dance. His journey with performing began at age 7 in ‘The Sound of Music’, where he discovered the magic of the arts. He went on performing, studying dance at various studios and voice privately with Denise Dumeyer and Jan Ritschel. In High School through the Academy of Performing Arts, Michael performed at Edinburgh’s Fringe festival in the musical ‘The Secret Garden’. Throughout his high school and college years, he was actively choreographing, singing, and performing through both Civic Light Opera’s and University productions. He later had the privilege of studying at BADA’s mid-summer in Oxford where he experienced not only Shakespeare but also English philosophy, history, and culture.
Post college, Michael began teaching theater to kids through International City Theatre’s PACT program and the afterschool program ‘First Position’ where he discovered the gift of inspiring youth in the arts. He also began to pursue a career in the film, TV, and Commercial world; training with The Groundlings, Howard Fine, Laurie & Diane Hull, Lainie Kazan, and Larry Gold. He produced and acted in the play, ‘Toyer’ by Gardner McKay, among others, as well as acting in numerous commercials and independent films. Along the way his need for a deeper sense of peace and tranquility brought yoga and the wellness world to him. Michael was trained and certified in 500 RYT Ashtanga Yoga, Tai Chi and a member of Oxford Street modern dance company. Loving life’s adventure, he had the pleasure of teaching yoga, hiking and wellness in Southern California, Montana, Sedona and in the Black Hills of South Dakota where he was immersed in mother nature with the Buffalo, Pronghorn and many other furry friends.
Through his journey thus far, he has always been a passionate seeker of truth, peace, and creative freedom. Ten years of teaching and working with kids has brought great joy to him and those in the local area. He currently studies acting with Alice Carter, is a Teaching Artist with Segerstrom’s Disney Musicals in Schools, volunteers coaching kids with Chronic illnesses through CoachArt and a member of ArtsOC. Through his lighthearted humor and calming energy, he invokes the playfulness of the child to help others discover their joy within. May the scene of your life bring to light the next scene of the story to be told.
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.
Sydnie is a passionate and dedicated individual who brings experience and expertise to her endeavors. She attended Los Alamitos Elementry, McAullife Middle School, and Los Alamitos High School. After obtaining a Bachlor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, she found a passion for working and instrucing the youth in our community. In addition to being CPR certified, Sydnie is knowledgable in Applied Behavior Analysis and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. As an LAHS Dance Program alum, she not only has a background in various dance styles, but competitive cheerleading and power tumbling as well. Sydnie is overjoyed at the opportunity to join the LAEF team and looks forward to creating a positive and enriching learning environment!
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.