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.

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. Returning to 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 Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP).
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.
Carlos BaquerospacerSpanish
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Carlos
Carlos grew up In Bogotá, Colombia and studied dentistry at the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá before receiving a degree in marketing and advertising at the University Politécnico Grancolombiano. Carlos spent several years working in the advertising industry and co-owned a small company managing marketing strategies for companies in the health sector before moving to the U.S. in 2003. In the Bay Area, Carlos has worked as a private Spanish tutor for high school students and taught Spanish to executives from large companies as well as doctors and nurses.
Brian BeldingspacerHistory, Government, Boys' 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 has taught 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.
Dorothy Boakye-DonkorspacerResidential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2011spaceremail Dorothy
Dorothy was born and raised in Sacramento. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science. At Stanford, she fulfilled her love for sports by managing the women’s basketball team. She was also involved with residential life at Stanford by serving as a resident assistant in the freshman dorms.
Sarah BroudyspacerEnglish
Joined Eastside in 2009spaceremail Sarah
Sarah received her BA in English from Stanford and her Masters from the Stanford Teachers Education Program (STEP). 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.
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, Residential Faculty
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 Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP), then taught in Vermont and Washington before coming back to California where she taught in the Palo Alto Unified School District for 10 years.
Heather CookespacerChemistry
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Heather
Heather teaches chemistry and has a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she majored in physical science. She earned her California teaching credential from University of San Francisco. Before coming to Eastside, Heather worked for six years as a chemistry and physics teacher at St. Ignatius High School and Palo Alto High School. She also worked for eight years as a mentor for teacher candidates in the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) and for new teachers working at schools in East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and San Jose.
Linda CuckovichspacerMath, Senior Research Institute
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 degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama while teaching at a bilingual school in Quito, Ecuador.
Tina EhsanipourspacerMiddle School Reading Program
Joined Eastside in 2012spaceremail Tina
Tina grew up in the Bay Area, and spent some time on the East Coast and in Los Angeles before moving back to earn her BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Education at the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). Before joining the Eastside community, Tina taught high school English and Humanities.
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 worked as an artist in New York City and has taught visual arts in Albuquerque and New Orleans middle and high schools.
Christine Gayosospacer 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.
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.
Carolyn HetrickspacerResidential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2011spaceremail Carolyn
Carolyn grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She attended the University of Oregon, where she earned her B.A. in Spanish and Political Science. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Carolyn joined Teach for America and taught high school Spanish in Oakland, California for three years.
Kate HiesterspacerAlumni Services
Joined Eastside in 2011spaceremail Kate
Kate received a BA in Anthropology from Kenyon College and an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied community development projects in Vietnam. For the past three years, Kate has worked on professional development for underrepresented communities in Madison and Boston. She is thrilled to return to the Bay Area after 13 years and to work on ensuring the professional success of all Eastside alumni through the Career Pathways Program.
Cristina IsaacspacerWeekend Residential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Cristina
Cristina was born and raised in Palo Alto, CA. After graduating from Los Altos High School, she went on to get a BA in psychology with an emphasis in child development. Before joining Eastside, Cristina was a case manager for a San Mateo county mental health program for youth, as well as a life skills facilitator for at risk youth at Menlo Atherton high school.
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 (STEP).
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.
Jasmine Kelly-PiercespacerMiddle School Humanities
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Jasmine
Jasmine teaches middle school language arts and social studies. She’s a Seattle native and earned her BA in Political Science and Social Studies as well as her teaching credential from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. She taught high school social studies in Seattle for two years before moving to the Bay Area and joining Eastside. In her free time, Jasmine loves to run and play ultimate frisbee.
Helen KimspacerVice Principal
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 (STEP) 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 KitchspacerMath
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jake ShoemakerspacerResidential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2012spaceremail Jake
Jake arrives at Eastside by way of Dartmouth College where he graduated in 2012 with a B.A. in American History. As a Residential Faculty member, Jake works with the dorm students as a tutorial leader and mentor. He also serves as head coach of the cross country team. Jake hails from Sudbury, Massachusetts where he attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. In his free time, Jake competes as a professional triathlete and enjoys cooking and baking.
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.
José SoltrenspacerResidential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2012spaceremail José
José discovered Eastside through the Big Brothers program. As Weekend Faculty, José enriches students' lives through an engaging extracurricular program. José is originally from Brooklyn, New York, and attended Stuyvesant High School. His family is from Puerto Rico. He holds undergraduate and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and works for a large tech company during the week. He is also a cyclist and a pilot.
Mikala StreeterspacerEngineering, Computer Science, Residential Faculty
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Mikala
Mikala teaches AP Computer Science, and as a part of the Eastside Institute of Engineering, she also teaches Fundamentals of Engineering and Architecture. Mikala has a B.S. from MIT where she majored in Computer Science and minored in Applied International Studies, with a focus on Spanish language. After college, she worked as a software engineer for a large software company based in the Bay Area. After several years in the software industry, Mikala began tutoring math at Eastside, where she fell in love with teaching and with Eastside.
Jaya SubramanianspacerEconomics, History
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Jaya
Jaya was born in Chennai (former Madras), India and received her undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Madras. She moved to San Jose, California in 1993 and received her Master's degree and Teaching Credential from San Jose State University.  Jaya taught AP Economics, World History, and Global Women's Issues at Presentation High School, San Jose for ten years.  
Mohammed (Simo) TaoufikspacerMiddle School P.E., Girls' Volleyball, Boys' JV 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.
Cal TrembathspacerHistory, Writing for College
Joined Eastside in 2012spaceremail Cal
Cal teaches the sophomore US History and the junior Writing for College classes. Before coming to Eastside, he taught World History at Match Charter High School in Boston, MA, and completed the Match Teacher Residency. He earned his B.A. in English Literature from UC Berkeley, where he rowed for four years and won a national championship his senior year.
Renee TrochetspacerMath
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Renee
Renee is originally from Sacramento. She attended Stanford University, where she received a B.S. in Symbolic Systems, a combination of computer science, philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. She earned her M.A. in Education and secondary teaching credential through the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). Before coming to Eastside, Renee taught math in San Jose.
Adam WilsonspacerEnglish
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Adam
Adam grew up in Kirkwood, MO and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.A. in English and Psychology. After Miami, he earned his master of arts in teaching from Webster University in St. Louis. At Eastside, Adam teaches World Literature and Senior Research Institute.
Judy Wong-ChenspacerStudent Services Coordinator
Joined Eastside in 2010spaceremail Judy
Judy joins Eastside as the Student Services Coordinator, sharing and monitoring learning opportunities through summer enrichment, community service and tutoring, as well as through instructing Humanities Resource classes. Aside from attending college at the University of Puget Sound and pursuing a graduate degree in School Counseling at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Judy has called Northern California home. She has committed more than a decade to advancing college access and success for historically under-represented students, which drew her to the talented students and faculty at Eastside.