Think College Now Staff
Noah Bradley, coach and intervention specialist, is in his fifth year teaching at Think College Now. Noah has taught in Oakland for the last twelve years, and began his teaching career in Teach for America. Noah has a B.A. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. During his free time he enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with his family.
Kristen Casaretto, B.A., currently teaches 4th grade at Think College Now. Kristen graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Education. She began her teaching career in Teach For America one year ago. Kristen enjoys dancing, exercising, and spending time with family and friends.
Doran Catlin, B.A., M.A., is serving as the assistant principal at Think College Now as a part of the New Leaders for New Schools program. She has taught elementary school in Portland, Oregon and Washington DC and studied educational leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. In her free time Doran enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, going to the beach, and reading.
Rebecca Dankner, B.A., joins TCN this year as a 5th-grade teacher. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley where she studied Public Policy, Education, and Sociology. Immediately after college, she joined Teach for America and taught 6th grade for two years in San Jose. She loves living in the Bay Area and enjoys hiking, being with family and friends, and traveling.
Julie Dulay, 1st-grade teacher, earned her B.A. from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and her M.A. from Pace University in New York City. She taught for 3 years at PS115 Alexander Humboldt School in Washington Heights and for 2 years at PS180 Hugo Newman College Prep School in Harlem. This is her third year teaching at Think College Now.
Julie enjoys exploring the Bay Area, traveling, and being with family and friends.
Caitlin Hanley, B.A., joins TCN this year as a first grade teacher. She graduated from the University of Michigan, and then joined Teach For America. Cait taught fourth grade for two years in San Jose. She loves exploring the Bay Area, backpacking, and being with her friends and family.
Jennifer Kaufman, B.A., M.A., received her teaching credential through San Francisco State, her Reading Recovery certificate through St. Mary’s College, and her master’s from Mills College. For the last six years she has taught in San Francisco Unified School District as a two-way-Spanish immersion Kindergarten teacher and most recently as a reading recovery teacher in Potrero Hill. Jennifer grew up in Oakland and is looking forward to teaching close to home and near her one year old daughter. Besides working with children, Jennifer enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling.
Amanda Klein, B.A., M.A., is a founding teacher at Think College Now and has worked at the school as a teacher coach, teacher, and instructional services consultant. Amanda graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in sociology and began teaching as a 1998 Teach For America corps member. She’s taught elementary school at Belle Haven School in East Palo Alto, and at Lockwood Elementary School and Think College Now in Oakland. She received her master’s in teaching from Kohl's Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco in 2002. Amanda is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher and currently manages curriculum and instruction for Alliant International University’s Early Completion Option teacher credentialing program. She and her husband, Jonathan, have a two year old. Both are proud of what TCN has accomplished and of its drive to continue to improve. They believe that Think College Now is the kind of school all children should have access to.
Charlotte Knox has spent the past 13 years writing and organizing long-term professional development projects for school districts and publishers nationally. She has worked with Dennis Parker since 2000 developing tools for implementation of his Strategic Schooling model. Recent projects include :Talking Walls: Building Classroom Environments to Support Student Achievement, co-authored with Michelle Karns: Information Please, an ELD strategies handbook and Advanced AB466 training institute; Backwards Planning for Success with Writing, a comprehensive toolkit and training course for implementation of a school-wide writing campaign; SHINE, an eight session ELD course, Literacy Scaffolds for English Language Learners, a best practice video series; RISE, an 8 week English language development course for Rigby Education; Project BOLD a 30 hour balanced literacy and ELD course for new teachers in grades K-6; and the Literacy Initiative Schools project which combines inservice, demonstration teaching, coaching, and analysis of data to increase student achievement. Prior to consulting Charlotte was a teacher and staff developer for the Oakland Unified School District. Her areas of expertise include literacy, assessment, English language development, and classroom management.
Emily Krauss, B.A., teaches second grade and has been at TCN for three years. She earned her undergraduate degree in International Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. While there, she studied abroad in Costa Rica and interned for President Carter at the Carter Center. Currently, Emily is working on her M.A. in Organization and Leadership along with her administrative credential from the SPA program at Columbia University in New York. Emily is originally from Rhode Island and made her way across the country to join Teach for America in San Jose where she taught kindergarten and third grade at D.J. Meyer Elementary.
Tom Malarkey, TCN’s BayCES School Coach, is in his third year supporting TCN’s leadership, professional development and equity work. He has been a coach with BayCES (the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools) for 10 years as the organization has helped create and support the new small schools in Oakland. A former first grade and high school English teacher in New York City, Tom worked for many years directing the Summerbridge Program in San Francisco and helping start Summerbridge programs around the country. He graduated from Williams College, has a masters degree in International Development from Stanford University, and is working to finish his PhD in Education from UC Berkeley. He and his wife Nicole, who is a documentary filmmaker, have a son, Finn, who loves coming to TCN events, and another child due in November.
Monica Martin Purdy, B.A., teaches kindergarten and is entering her fourth year at TCN. She was born and raised in Los Angeles but moved to the Bay Area to attend Notre Dame de Namur University (Belmont). Before coming to TCN, Monica was an AmeriCorp member in Oakland and was both an instructor and supervisor of a district-wide after-school program in Alameda. She enjoys watching baseball, spending time with her family and friends, reading, and traveling.
Mary Miche, B.A., Music, MS Education, teaches music at Think College Now. Mary has been a music teacher for over 30 years. She has taught music in Oakland, Berkeley, West Contra Costa, and Albany school districts. She has recorded five albums of music for children. Mary teaches courses for teachers through Fresno Pacific University, using her book, Weaving Music Into Young Minds. Mary believes that music helps children perform better in all school subjects. She loves teaching our students to sing, sing, sing.
Amber Miller, B.A., Art, is TCN's after-school College Prep Coordinator. She spent part of 2009-10 subbing in the after-school program as well as volunteering in a 4th-grade TCN classroom.
Jason Miller, B.S., Organizational Communication, is passionate about education and the development of our future. Jason joined our development and fundraising team in 2005 and is continually making strides to raise money for Think College Now and work with individuals who share the same vision of giving all students an equal opportunity to go to College. Jason is also working on a Master of Art's in Teaching and this past year did his field work in Detroit, Michigan at East Detroit High school. He is thrilled to be a part of the Think College Now team and enjoys the teamwork displayed throughout our energetic staff!!
Michelle Morales, MSW, PPSC, is joining the TCN staff as the Counseling Program/SST Coordinator. She received her Masters in Social Work and Pupil Personnel Services Credential from San Francisco State University. She holds Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Latin American Studies from UC Santa Cruz. For the last five years she has worked in elementary schools in Berkeley Unified School District coordinating Counseling and Family Support Programs. Michelle grew up in Oakland and is looking forward to working in her neighborhood community. Besides working with children, Michelle enjoys learning from her 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, salsa dancing, volleyball, cooking, and traveling.
Jill Neary, B.S., M.A., currently teaches 4th grade at Think College Now. Jill received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College in 2000. She enjoyed teaching 3rd grade for three years at Edison Charter Academy in San Francisco prior to pursuing a Masters degree at Columbia University's Teachers College. After receiving her Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education with a focus on Urban and Diverse Cultures, Jill returned to Edison Charter Academy excited to reconnect with former students with a renewed appreciation of the unique challenges of urban elementary education. In 2005, Jill enjoyed teaching 4th-6th grade Literacy and Reading in San Diego before returning to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006. She is currently in her fourth year at Think College Now. Jill lives in San Francisco with her husband, Eamonn, and adorable beagle, Ziggy.
Madeline Noonan, B.A., is joining TCN this year as a 5th-grade teacher. She graduated from Cornell University where she majored in History. She taught 3rd and 4th grade in San Jose as a Teach for America corps member. She enjoys running, reading, and being with friends and family.
Jose Ruben Olivares, B.A., is in his fourth year of teaching bilingual first grade at Think College Now. Ruben was born and raised in Compton, California. In 1999, he graduated from UC Irvine with a double degree in Social Sciences and Spanish. During his last two years in college, he was part of the Americorps National Service program serving as an after-school tutor and teacher’s assistant in Santa Ana, California at Carver Elementary. Ruben also participated in the Education Abroad Program, where he studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Before coming to TCN, he taught second grade for four years at Jersey Avenue School in Santa Fe Springs, California, where he also served as co-chair of the Student Success Team and secretary for the School Site Council and Bilingual Education Committee. Ruben enjoys taking part in sports like soccer and basketball, and also enjoys music, the arts, and dancing.
Marie Sanner is teaching fourth grade. She graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in art and got her teaching credential at San Francisco State. Her first teaching experience was at Greenfield Elementary in the Salinas Valley. After four years there, she moved to Oakland and taught at Hawthorne Elementary for seven years. She has predominantly worked in fourth or fifth grades. While at Hawthorne, she was involved in starting a school Green Team, an ecology club and creating a school garden.
Marie is excited to be at TCN.
David Silver, B.A., M.A., is in his seventh year as the principal of Think College Now. For two years before becoming principal, he worked with parents and teachers to create the school. Prior to that, Mr. Silver served as the assistant principal at Lockwood Elementary School, after having completed his principal certification and masters at Harvard University. In 2001 - 2002, he served as a Rotary Scholar in Mexico where he strengthened his Spanish by visiting 15 of his former students’ families. From 1998 - 2001, he directed a summer school program in Texas and was the program director of Teach for America in the Bay Area. Previously, he taught bilingual second grade and coached basketball for three years in Oakland and Compton. He graduated from UCLA in 1995 after moving out from his hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1991.
Brenda Tuohy, B.A., is excited to be the Science teacher for all of the second through fifth graders at TCN. Brenda is also proud to be the faculty advisor to the TCN Student Council, helping TCN students build their Panther spirit. Brenda grew up in San Diego, but proudly calls the East Bay her home. She moved to the Bay Area in 1999 to attend college at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a Minor in English, Brenda joined Teach For America, and worked for two years as a fourth and fifth grade teacher at Slonaker Elementary School in San Jose. In her free time, Brenda likes to read, pet her cats, and Google-chat with her former TCN students.
Sandra Vaughn, a TCN volunteer, has a daughter in fourth grade at TCN. She says: When I was in high school and college I had no idea that all those Spanish classes I took would one day lead to me writing a weekly newsletter in both English and Spanish for my daughter's school. Besides writing the Home School Letter, I teach high school level classes in English and Spanish at City College of San Francisco. And despite the fact that I spend a lot of time urging my daughter to do homework, we still have time for fun; which for us includes going to the park, doing art projects, swimming and traveling any chance we get.
Benj Vardigan is TCN's communication coordinator. He also works for the Oakland Small Schools Foundation, and writes articles for various Web sites and publications. He calls Michigan's two peninsulas home.
Dina Watanabe, B.S., joins the TCN team this year as a third-grade teacher. She graduated from Colorado State University in Human Development and Family Studies. Dina comes with seven years of experience, teaching in San Jose, East Palo Alto, and Quito, Ecuador. Although originally from Hawaii, Dina calls the Bay Area her home and enjoys cooking, playing the ukulele, and spending time with her puggle, Mila.
Kenan Wiley Delgado, B.A., M.A., says: I am a proud product of the Oakland public school system. I was also fortunate enough to be able to attend U.C. Santa Cruz, study abroad at the University of Natal Pietermaritzburg in South Africa, and attend graduate school at the University of San Francisco where I earned my teaching credential and Masters in Teaching. My first teaching job was as a sixteen-year-old lifeguard and swim instructor at Fremont Pool in East Oakland. I have since taught in both public and private schools in Richmond, Berkeley, and Oakland (as well as informally in South Africa and Mexico). I am entering my fifth year as a third grade teacher. I am an avid sports fan and enjoy playing rugby, soccer, and basketball (Go Warriors!). In addition I enjoy traveling and have extensively traveled through Southern Africa and Central/South America.
