Inspiring young artists is what drives me, and I’m honored to do so as part of Menlo’s Creative Arts faculty. I have been fortunate to pursue my passion for teaching across 26 years in diverse educational settings, from public and private schools to day and boarding programs, and from middle school through college. I earned my degrees from Brooks Institute of Photography and The Art Institute of Seattle and owned and operated a successful photography studio in Seattle before transitioning to education. In the classroom, computer lab, photo studio, and darkroom, I aim to capture my students’ attention and fuel their imagination while helping them develop technical skills through the creative process. I hope that art becomes a place of solace for them, bringing a heightened sense of self-awareness and balance to their lives as they explore creative expression. In addition to photography, I am passionate about yearbook, having developed award-winning programs at various independent schools. I enjoy the challenge of reinventing the traditional yearbook format with a dynamic curriculum that provides my students with leadership opportunities in a collaborative environment. Beyond the classroom, world travel is another passion of mine. I have traveled to ten countries leading photography and service expeditions for students.

When I’m not in the classroom or behind the lens, I can be found surfing with my sons Matthew ’27 and Taylor or hiking with my wife Lenna, also a teacher, and our ball-obsessed golden retriever Aspen.

I am grateful to be joining the Menlo Community after enjoying my 18 years of international teaching in schools from Canada, Macau, Singapore, and Hong Kong. As a Chinese-Canadian, I am thrilled to bring my unique bi-cultural, and multilingual background to a fun-filled English classroom. I hope to share my love of literature and language with my students, especially in multi-modal media texts.

I enjoy playing badminton and traveling with my family and am looking forward to sharing the joy of learning with everyone. 

A Bay Area native, I grew up in San Mateo before attending college in the outskirts of Los Angeles at Harvey Mudd College. My mathematical and computational biology major as well as Asian studies and literature concentrations reflect not only my love of the interdisciplinary nature of STEM (something I hope to bring to the classroom every year), but also my belief of simply learning more about the world around us.

After a brief stint working in bioinformatics and cancer research, I moved to Maryland for my masters at Johns Hopkins University. Over the past decade and a half, I have taught everything from 6th grade science to yearbook to calculus. Mostly recently, I taught at Castilleja School in Palo Alto and Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, and I’m excited to join the Menlo community.

Outside of school, I enjoy traveling, eating all kinds of food, boba, watching tv shows ranging from cooking shows to kdramas, hiking, board games, and tennis. I am an avid follower of all things NBA and love a good joke. I cherish spending time with friends and family, as those human moments distinguish us from the AI that’s increasingly prevalent!

I’m delighted to be joining the Menlo community, teaching Analytic Geometry & Algebra and Advanced Calculus I. I am an enthusiastic collaborator and am eager to share my love of analytical thinking and problem-solving with my students. 

In the classroom, I strive to present examples that intrigue, lead to insight, reinforce fundamentals, build connections, and foster curiosity and problem solving skills. I use materials that are accessible and provide varied levels of challenge. I encourage collaboration and support my students in developing their oral and written communication skills in a classroom environment that is collegial, supportive, rigorous, and fun. My ultimate goal is for the students to develop greater competence and confidence in their analytic skills and understanding. Along the way, I hope that their feeling about math is enhanced as they discover connections and apply their understanding to solve problems. 

Prior to coming to Menlo, I spent twenty-four years teaching geometry, precalculus, and calculus at Castilleja School, where I also served as a student Advisor, Senior Class Dean, and Mathematics Department Head. Additionally, I have experience teaching in the graduate schools of business at Duke University and Santa Clara University. Before teaching, I worked as a structural engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company and a decision and risk analyst at Strategic Decision Group. 

My educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.

I live in Menlo Park with my wife and our Havanese dog, Milo. We have 3 daughters, the youngest of whom is a freshman in college. I enjoy jogging, hiking, watching Stanford sports, and making things out of wood including a backyard playhouse and a Foosball table. 

I was born and raised on the island of O’ahu and have been teaching in independent schools for over twenty years. As the daughter of educators and someone who grew up on a campus, it was not a surprise that teaching became my career.

My academic interests took me to Stanford University for my first foray out of Hawai’i, where I earned a BA and MA in English Literature, and then back to the Big Island and Hawai’i Preparatory Academy for my first teaching position. Since then, I have worked at my alma mater, ‘Iolani, and more recently at Marin Academy after my family moved to the Bay.

I have taught high school for my entire career to date, and I love teaching literature and writing at all the different levels from 9th to 12th.

Outside of the classroom, I have enjoyed working with horses, dancing hula, running, walking, hiking, and going on adventures with my spouse and two children.

I was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, where I attended the University of Florida and studied English and film and made videos for the university’s communications department. Before heading west, I spent a few years in Brooklyn, NY working on commercials and documentaries.

Other than watching movies, I enjoy playing piano, reading, tennis, and making lists of things I enjoy doing. 

I was born and raised in Hawaii. I studied biology at Suffolk University in Boston. After graduating, I moved to the Bay Area where I spent over a decade working in a biotechnology laboratory. My focus was developing tools aimed at combating cancer.

My personal interests include running, reading romance and mystery novels, baking, creating photo books, and spending time with my husband and two daughters.

I am a Latina that was born and raised in Palm Springs, California and made my move to the Bay Area in 2011 to start my undergraduate career. I attended San Jose State University where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education. Currently, I’m in the process of receiving my Master’s degree in Education.

For the past eight years, I have dedicated my time to a small charter school in East San Jose. I started as a campus supervisor and was able to move up to become Math Teacher Department Head and Grade Level Lead. I quickly realized that as much as I love teaching, I wanted to do more with our students and community, bringing me to this new opportunity at Menlo.

In my free time, I love spending time with my husband, my family, and my close friends. I love baking and I am on a mission to be a successful self-taught baker. My husband and I like to consider ourselves foodies and are always looking forward to trying new spots.