faculty

At the cornerstone of Eastside's program is our gifted faculty, whose talents, energy, and dedication play a vital role in our students' success. In the 2009-20010 academic year, Eastside has 32 faculty members,. Our faculty members all hold bachelor's degrees; 25 hold master's degrees and 1 holds a PhD.

Please click to open and close faculty member bios:

April AlvarezspacerAlumni Services
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail April
April graduated from UC Berkeley and holds a MA from PACE University. Raised in California's Central Valley, she joined Teach For America after graduating from UC Berkeley , teaching third grade in New York City. Returningto California, she joined the team at Eastside, working with alumni to ensure they are successful in college and beyond. 
Ryan Atkinsspacer Physics, Computer Science
Joined Eastside in 2003spaceremail Ryan
Ryan teaches conceptual physics, advanced physics, computer science and algebra II. Ryan has a B.S. from Stanford University where he majored in physics and minored in philosophy. He earned a master's degree in education from Stanford, where he completed the STEP program.
Greg Avisspacer Math
Joined Eastside in 2001spaceremail Greg
Greg teaches sophomore algebra II and trigonometry. Greg earned his B.A. from Williams College and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Greg has worked as a managing partner with Summit Partners since 2005. He serves on the boards of Williams College, National Outdoor Leadership School, Community Foundation Silicon Valley, and the James Irvine Foundation.
Doug Banksspacer Math
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Doug
Doug holds a BA in Math from University of Pennsylvania and a MS in Computer Science from UC Berkeley. Before coming to Eastside, Doug spent over a decade working as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, most recently at Google.
Brian BeldingspacerHistory, Government, Girls' Volleyball
Joined Eastside in 2008spaceremail Brian
Brian, a native of San Francisco, teaches freshman world history and sophomore modern United States history, and coaches the girls' volleyball team. Brian majored in prelaw and history at the University of the Pacific in Stockton where he played NCAA Division 1 volleyball, and earned his B.A. from San Francisco State University, He received his California teaching credential from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. Brian spent the last eight years teaching history, English, and psychology, as well as coaching volleyball, at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo.
Chris Bischofspacer Principal
Founded Eastside in 1996spaceremail Chris
Chris is the principal of Eastside College Preparatory School. He attended Stanford University and received a B.A. in history and a master's degree in education through the Stanford Teacher Education Program. Prior to founding Eastside, Chris spent several years teaching in the Ravenswood City School District and working with students from East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park in an after-school program dedicated to helping them reach their full academic potential.
Donovan BlythespacerGirls' Basketball
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Donovan
Donovan learned to love basketball when he moved to the U.S. from Jamaica at age 12 and ultimately received a basketball scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. After moving to California, Donovan opened a group home for young people while also coaching players bound for professional teams. In 1997, he established The Second Chance Project which promotes the importance of self-esteem and achievement in school by providing tutorial services and positive role models. Throughout the years his work has been affiliated with the Bay Area Youth Home Facilities, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Peninsula Youth Basketball Camp/Blythe's Basketball Camp.
Sarah BroudyspacerEnglish, College Readiness, Learning Resource
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Sarah
Sarah received her BA in English from Stanford and her Masters from the Stanford Teachers Education Program). Raised in Seattle WA, she taught pre-school and English in the Seattle area, where she was raised and also competed in crew at a national level. Sarah is interested in helping students develop analysis tools with which to view literature and the world around them.
Meredith Buenningspacer Learning Resource, School Psychologist
Joined Eastside in 2004spaceremail Meredith
Meredith teaches our high school resource classes -- structured tutorials designed to help students with their humanities classes, specifically literature, history, and math and verbal reasoning. he also coordinates the evaluation and service implementation of middle school and high school students with special learning needs, in addition to providing counseling to students at all grade levels and consultation with their parents and teachers when requested. These psychological services are designed to help students with problem-solving and to help them meet their learning potential, as well as enhance their self-confidence and enjoyment of life.  Meredith was a school psychologist in Littleton, Colorado public schools for 15 years. Prior to that, she worked as a school psychologist and special education teacher in Kansas and Minnesota. Meredith has a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Kansas and a master's degree in special education with an emphasis in learning disabilities from Winona State University.
David Chaidezspacer Music
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail David
A native of San Jose, David received his B.A. in jazz/world music studies from San Jose State University. Before college, he studied music for three years under the tutelage of Grammy-nominated pianist/arranger Phil Mattson at the School For Music Vocations in Iowa, receiving his degree in professional music. David has performed as a featured soloist at several prestigious venues, including the Nice Jazz Festival in France and the Monterey Jazz Festival. David has played in jazz combos, salsa groups, soul bands, vocal jazz groups, a cappella groups, and classical ensembles. In 2002, he formed the Brazilian trio Agua Na Boca. In 2006, he put together the Higher Ground Players, a soul/hip-hop group dedicated to positivity and creative expression. In addition, he plays with his jazz group, the David Chaidez Quintet. David is Director of Music for Hope Lutheran in Santa Clara and a studio vocalist, and also gives private lessons in voice and piano.
Darren ChanspacerMath and Verbal Reasoning, Resident Fellow for Boys’ Dorm
Joined Eastside in 2006spaceremail Darren
Darren grew up in Temple City, California, east of Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in English and a minor in education studies.  At UCLA, he was involved in leadership activities, serving as a resident assistant in the dorms and as vice president of the undergraduate student council.  He earned his M.A. in Education and secondary teaching credential through the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). 
Holly ChenettespacerSpanish
Joined Eastside in 1998spaceremail Holly
Holly teaches Spanish IV, Español para hispanohablantes, and AP Spanish language and literature. She holds a master's degree in Spanish literature from Indiana University and a California teaching credential with CLAD emphasis. Before coming to Eastside, she taught at Menlo-Atherton High School and St. Mary's College High School in Berkeley.
Marianne Chowning-DrayspacerMath
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Marianne
Marianne is a native of Palo Alto, and has been teaching math for more than 20 years. She completed her masters in the STEP program at Stanford, then taught in Vermont and Washington before coming back to California where she taught in the Palo Alto Unified School District for 10 years.
Linda CuckovichspacerResident Fellow for Girls' Dorm
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Linda
Linda grew up in Sacramento. She graduated from Harvard with a major in German and American Literature. She earned her master's. in secondary education from the University of Alabama while teaching at a bilingual school in Quito, Ecuador.
Blythe DuffieldspacerMiddle School Humanities
Joined Eastside in 2003spaceremail Blythe
Blythe teaches seventh and eighth grade humanities. She grew up in California and Oregon, and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in English and Italian. After college, Blythe went to work for a non-profit consulting firm in the Bay Area, and served as a volunteer literacy tutor at the Tenderloin Recreation Center in San Francisco, where she fell in love with teaching. Blythe returned to school at Stanford University, where she earned her master's in education and secondary teaching credential in English.
Tori EichleayspacerEnglish, Boys' Volleyball
Joined Eastside in 2003spaceremail Tori
Tori grew up in Littleton, Colorado and graduated from Washington and Lee University (W&L) in Virginia with a B.A. in English and politics. At W&L, she played on the volleyball and tennis teams. She earned her master of arts in education and her secondary school teaching credential from the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP).
Linda FilospacerArt, Yearbook
Joined Eastside in 2006spaceremail Linda
Linda comes to Eastside from New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a B.F.A. from Louisiana Tech University and M.A.in art education from the University of New Mexico. She is currently working on a series of paintings about Hurricane Katrina. She worked as an artist in New York City and has taught visual arts in Albuquerque and New Orleans middle and high schools.
Paulina FloresspacerResident Fellow for Girls' Dorm
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Paulina
Paulina graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, earned her B.A. from Wesleyan University and her master's in education from Harvard’s School of Education. She has dedicated her career to encouraging academic excellence among youth from underserved backgrounds in various capacities, including as a high school teacher, assistant principal, and as a community liaison.
Juan Grauspacer Math
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Juan
Juan grew up in Mexico City, and has also lived in Brazil, Cuba and Puerto Rico. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rice University, and a M.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.  Juan enjoyed a career at Hewlett-Packard developing telecommunications, radar and satellite equipment; then at Proxim where he was the VP of Engineering, developing wireless technology that later became Wi-Fi.
Jose GonzalesspacerHistory, Spanish
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Jose
Jose graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in History and from the University of Michigan with a M.S. in Natural Resources & Environment. In between he taught US History and Discipline and Intervention at a Middle School. He grew up in the California Central Valley.
Stacy IshigakispacerEnglish, Senior Research Institute
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Stacy
Stacy grew up in the East Bay and attended college at UCLA. Studying English and education, she became interested in using literature to help people better understand their world and themselves. She earned her M.A. in the Stanford Teacher Education Program.
Jennifer Johnsonspacer Middle School Science, Math
Joined Eastside in 2005spaceremail Jen
Jen is a Bay Area native and graduated from UC Santa Barbara where she played on the UCSB rugby team. She earned her master’s degree in education from Stanford.
Shaneka JulianspacerSpanish, Middle School Reading Group
Joined Eastside in 2000spaceremail Shaneka
Shaneka teaches Spanish I, II and III, as well as sixth grade reading. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She was born and raised in East Palo Alto. In 2000 she graduated from Stanford, where she majored in sociology and minored in Spanish and history. For four years she worked for the East Palo Alto Stanford Academy as counselor, coordinator, and co-director. She served as a teacher's assistant for the Ravenswood City School District for two years and as a tutor at both Eastside and the 49ers Academy.
Helen KimspacerVice Principal, AP Economics
Founded Eastside in 1996spaceremail Helen
A graduate of Stanford University, Helen has a B.A. in history and economics. She also holds a master's degree in education from the Stanford Teacher Education Program and a California teaching credential. She taught English, social studies and English as a second language at Homestead High School in the Fremont Union High School District for four years before coming to Eastside as a founding faculty member in 1996.
Marlo Kitchspacer Math
Joined Eastside in 2005spaceremail Marlo
Marlo grew up in the East Bay and attended Stanford, earning her degree in economics and communication. She then taught elementary school with Teach for America in Compton, California. Returning to Northern California, she got her master's in education from U.C. Berkeley while teaching after-school and summer math classes at the Lawrence Hall of Science. In the 8 years before coming to Eastside, Marlo taught middle school in Palo Alto.
Helen (Koop) KupkaspacerMath, Tutor Coordinator
Joined Eastside in 2001 spaceremail Koop
Joyce LiouspacerMath
Joined Eastside in 2003spaceremail Joyce
Joyce teaches algebra 1 and precalculus. She graduated from Stanford with a B.S. in chemical engineering and continued for an M.S. in management science and engineering. After various internships in the engineering world, she decided to pursue a passion for teaching.
Christine Muellerspacer Fitness and Conditioning
Joined Eastside in 2000spaceremail Christine
Christine holds a B.S. in nutrition and physical fitness from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She is a certified athletic trainer, a certified performance enhancement specialist from the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and a certified sports safety instructor from the American Red Cross. She also works as the athletic trainer for St Francis High School.
Marlene MullinspacerBiology, Chemistry
Joined Eastside in 2002spaceremail Marlene
Marlene teaches chemistry, biology, and advanced biology. Marlene received her undergraduate degree in biology and biochemistry from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She then earned her master's of secondary education from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. Marlene taught chemistry for one year at a small school in Pennsylvania before coming to Eastside.
Suney Park spacerSixth Grade
Joined Eastside in 2005spaceremail Suney
Suney has an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan. Suney taught at both the elementary and middle school levels in Chicago and San Diego, and also has experience teaching adult English education in Korea.
Amy ReillyspacerEnglish
Joined Eastside in 2001spaceremail Amy
Amy graduated with a B.A. in English from Stanford and after some time working in Silicon Valley, returned to Stanford's Teacher Education Program (STEP), graduating with her M.A. in education. In addition to teaching Writing for College, Amy serves as a Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) site mentor for new teachers.
Josh Smithspacer Photography
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Josh
Originally from Missouri, Josh earned his MFA degree in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute. Josh has exhibited his photography throughout the United States and was the recipient of the John Collier Photography Award in 2007.
Elisabeth RubinfienspacerJournalism
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Elisabeth
Elisabeth is a graduate of Pomona College and holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  Before joining Eastside, Elisabeth worked as a professional reporter and editor for more than 20 years, including as Metro Editor at the San Jose Mercury News and as a foreign correspondent in Russia and Japan for the Wall Street Journal.
Olatunde Sobomehinspacer Boys' Basketball
Joined Eastside in 2007spaceremail Olatunde
Olatunde graduated from Stanford in 2003 with a degree in urban studies. While at Stanford, he walked on to the basketball team and was voted Most Inspirational Player for the 2002/2003 season. Since graduating, Olatunde founded his own company, Esface, Inc. with a mission to make popular culture positive. In addition to serving his company, Olatunde is a lecturer at Stanford University’s Technical Communications Department.
Anna Takahashispacer College Counseling
Joined Eastside in 2006spaceremail Anna
Anna grew up in New York and attended Brown University, graduating with a dual concentration in history and public policy. She worked in the Admissions Office at Stanford University where she served as liaison to the Asian American/Pacific Islander community, coordinated the admission process for international applicants, and worked in recruitment and yield efforts for students underrepresented in higher education.
Mohammed (Simo) TaoufikspacerMiddle School P.E., Girl's JV Volleyball, Boy's Volleyball
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Simo
Simo received his degree in English Literature from Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. He played volleyball professionally for the FUS team in Rabat, and was the setter of the Moroccan national team at the Olympic qualifier in South Africa. He moved to the United States in early 2009 and became the coach of the Stanford Volleyball Club team as well as the Assistant Coach for the Eastside Boy's Volleyball team. Today, as the Middle School P.E. teacher he continues as Assistant Coach and also is Coach of the Junior Varsity Girls' Volleyball team.