Meet the Instructors
Olivia Bishop
Olivia Bishop recently graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in political science and philosophy. While she was an undergraduate, she was a competitor on the UW Mock Trial team. Currently, Oliva is a legal assistant and debate coach for elementary school students. She hopes to attend law school in the near future. Olivia is excited to share her love of law, competition and mock trial with students and to work alongside them in cultivating their skills related related to those topics.
Teaches: Inside the Courthouse
Caleb Burke
Caleb Burke is a programmer analyst at Boeing. He’s worked in Java for the past five years and has taught Java courses for UW Professional & Continuing Education. Before learning Java, he used other languages such as C programming for embedded systems and JavaScript. Caleb recently completed a master’s degree in electrical engineering through the University of Washington Bothell.
Teaches: Coding in Java I and Coding in Java II
Emma Campbell
Emma Campbell is a language arts and journalism teacher with more than 10 years of teaching and classroom experience in California, Nevada, Arizona and Washington. Emma graduated from the University of California with a bachelor’s degree in English and recently earned her master’s in curriculum and instruction. She loves reading outdoors and working with students to encourage a love of reading and writing for any purpose.
Teaches: Entertainment & Media Writing
Caitlin Chamberlin
Caitlin Chamberlin earned a master of education with a science concentration from the University of Washington, and she’s taught elementary and middle school students since 2013. Before graduate school, Caitlin developed and taught field-based science courses at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island and for the Pacific Science Center. Caitlin loves to inspire students to be curious about their world.
Teaches: NanoCamp! and STEAM Innovation Lab
Konnor Clark
Konnor Clark hails from Michigan but has lived in Seattle with his spouse since 2015. Teaching runs in his family — his mother, aunt, grandmothers and brother all are or have been teachers — and his own teaching experience began in high school when he worked as a tutor. Konnor earned his doctorate in classics from the University of Washington. He’s happier on a cloudy, rainy day, and he loves gaming, traveling and animals.
Teaches: Latin Language Discovery for Elementary School and Latin Language Discovery for Middle School
Josephine Cripps
Josephine Cripps is an educator in Seattle Public Schools and teaches writing, history, English and journalism to middle and high school students. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting from UCLA and has worked in story development for film production companies, publishers and literary agencies.
Teaches: Art of Cinema: A Survey of Film Over Time and Screenwriting Workshop
Jennifer Cuffman
Jennifer Cuffman received her doctorate in English literature from the University of Washington. During her time at the UW, Jennifer taught a variety of writing classes in the Expository Writing Program, and she loves helping her students feel more comfortable and confident as writers.
Teaches: Sharpen Your Writing Skills, Writers Workshop for High School and Writing Arguments That Matter
Hannah Dahleen
Hannah Dahleen is a recent University of Washington graduate with a degree in English and political science. During her time as an undergraduate student, she served as the president of the UW Mock Trial team and won awards at the national level for her performance as an attorney. Currently, she works in the legal field and volunteers as an assistant coach for the collegiate Mock Trial team. She hopes to attend law school in the future. She's tutored students of all ages in various subjects and is passionate about writing, teaching and advocacy. Hannah is looking forward to returning as an instructor for YTP this summer.
Teaches: Inside the Courthouse
Meganne DesRosier
Meganne DesRosier graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a bachelor's degree in architecture and a minor in sustainable environments. Her studies in Copenhagen during her fourth year shaped her design approach, which has a specific focus on adaptive reuse and people-centricity. Her portfolio includes a range of civic, arts and cultural, residential, winery, art installation and graphic design projects.
Teaches: Architectural Studies and Community Architecture Studio
Willow Heath
Willow Heath is a watercolor artist, book illustrator and art instructor. A second-generation artist, Willow’s been exhibiting her paintings in galleries and museums, and teaching art courses for over 20 years. She lives in Seattle where she teaches her uniquely original watercolor courses to adults and youth. She also teaches online art courses to students all over the world. Willow is currently watercolor illustrating her second cookbook and her third publishing project. When she’s not putting paint to paper, you can find Willow instructing art at Gage Academy, Pratt Fine Arts and Coyote Central, and in Seattle Public Schools.
Teaches: Nature Watercolors
Jessica Holmes
Jessica Holmes teaches English and writing at Eastern Oregon University. She has taught college-level classes in composition and rhetoric, modern and contemporary literature, creative writing, interdisciplinary writing, science writing, environmental humanities, women’s studies and public scholarship. She holds a doctorate in English language and literature from the UW.
Teaches: Writing for College Readiness
Steve Howard
Steve Howard is a middle school STEM teacher in the Edmonds School District. His work focuses on engineering and design-build projects. Steve takes a hands-on approach to promote technical skills in youth, including CAD modeling; coding; robotics; 3D and laser printing; and using shop tools to build confidence, creativity and career-connected learning.
Teaches: 3D Design & CAD Modeling, Engineering Challenges! and Exploring Microbiology
Angela Kelley
Angela Kelley has been a professional actor for more than 30 years and has worked with youth in theater in many capacities, from Missoula Children's Theatre to Studio East and Seattle Children's Theatre. She’s especially proud of her involvement with Newport Heights Elementary School in Bellevue, where she’s directed large-scale theatrical productions for almost 20 years.
Teaches: Actors Workshop: Scenes From A Midsummer Night's Dream and Young Actors Workshop: Adventures Under the Big Top
Terence Kelley
Terence Kelley has been a professional actor and teacher for more than 30 years. He has toured nationally with the Missoula Children's Theatre, where he played such roles as Oz the Great and Powerful in The Wizard of Oz. At Seattle Children's Theatre, he played Aslan the Lion in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He codirects the theater program at Newport Heights Elementary School with Angela Kelley.
Teaches: Actors Workshop: Scenes From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Musical Theater for Kids: Schoolhouse Rock and Musical Theater for Middle School: Mama Mia!
Stephen Kernaghan
Stephen Kernaghan is a writer and teacher who’s spent more than a decade helping students of all ages hone their writing skills. He’s the founder of Write Seattle, a small tutoring company that specializes in writing and reading skills. He holds a Master in Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Washington, where he won the David Guterson Prize for his novel-in-progress, Public Speaking.
Teaches: Writers Workshop for Middle School
Cole Kopca
Cole Kopca is the assistant director of the Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium and a doctoral student in the Smart Transportation Applications & Research Lab at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the interplay between new and emerging mobility services and more classical modes of transportation. Cole received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in urban planning from the UW.
Teaches: Introduction to Autonomous Cars
Dora Lanier
Dora Lanier is an actor, writer, director and teacher working in the Puget Sound and beyond. Most recently she performed Horvath in Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy of the People for a tour of Minnesota with Sod House Theater of Minneapolis. As a musical theater director and choreographer, she’s worked with Shoreline High School, Meadowdale Middle School, Youth Theater Northwest, Studio East, Seattle Public Theater, Village Theater KIDS and Second Story Rep youth programs.
Teaches: Musical Theater for Kids: Schoolhouse Rock, Musical Theater for Middle School: Mama Mia! and Young Actors Workshop: Adventures Under the Big Top
Zach Long
Zach Long is passionate about creating welcoming, collaborative spaces for students to grow in their writing. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication and is a current graduate student at the University of Washington. He’s also an English teacher in Seattle Public Schools and has previously worked in the same role in Austin, Texas.
Teaches: Entertainment & Media Writing
Erik Ma
Erik Ma is a student at the University of California, Berkeley and is studying electrical engineering and computer science. He has extensive robotics experience, teaching various courses and mentoring students and robotics teams from all over the world.
Teaches: Introduction to Autonomous Cars
Julie Olsen
Julie Olsen is a Washington state certified K–12 drama and English language arts instructor and teaching artist. She currently teaches theater skills and directs the drama program at Assumption-St. Bridget School in Seattle. Julie has taught at the Veladare School, the Washington Academy of Performing Arts Conservatory High School and Roosevelt High School. An executive board member of Washington state’s Educational Theatre Association, Julie chairs the Washington State Junior Thespian Conference. She has a Master of Fine Arts from the UW School of Drama and a master's in teaching from Seattle Pacific University.
Teaches: Writers Workshop for High School and Young Writers Workshop
John Parker
John Parker is a STEM specialist and former middle school science teacher for Seattle Public Schools. John enjoys showing students the creative possibilities and applications of makerspace tools and technology.
Teaches: 3D Design & CAD Modeling, Engineering Challenges! and Exploring Microbiology
Shannon Perry
With master’s degrees in English and communication in digital media, Shannon Perry spends a lot of time immersed in words. In 2016, she turned in a new direction — podcasting — and in 2020, she launched her own podcast production company, Audiotocracy. Shannon also teaches part time in the Communications Leadership program at the University of Washington and has a sci-fi comedy podcast, Oz 9. She can be found in Seattle, often between a pair of headphones, or possibly being dragged through the streets by her enthusiastic dog Zoey.
Teaches: Podcasting: The Art of Storytelling
Ray Pfortner
Ray Pfortner loves photography and teaching, especially to teens. He's been doing both for over 20 years in New York City, California and Seattle. Ray is an instructor for the UW’s Certificate in Photography and Bellevue College’s Digital Photography Certificate Program. He’s worked in photography as an educator, stock agent, editor, consultant and photographer. Ray has a bachelor's in biology from Yale and a master's in environmental management from Duke. He’s been a fellow of the North American Nature Photography Association since 2003. His photography is represented by Getty Images.
Teaches: Digital Photography: Camera, Composition & Beyond and Wild About Photography
Jack Straub
Jack Straub spent more than 35 years as a software developer and engineer in the computer industry, where he focused on system-level implementations using a variety of languages and platforms. He also helped develop corporate coding standards in PL/I and C and authored textbooks on several programming languages, including C. Jack has been honored for teaching excellence by UW Professional & Continuing Education.
Teaches: Coding in Java I and Coding in Java II
Glen Tokola
Glen Tokola is an esports professional with nine years of industry experience specializing in editorial management and content strategy. He works as the University of Washington’s esports manager. Previously he supported major productions and content-driven partnership campaigns between tier 1 esports organizations, game studios and streaming platforms. Glen is passionate about Destiny 2, card games and developing the next generation of esports leaders.
Teaches: Esports, Gaming & Broadcasting
Dan Vallejo
Dan Vallejo is a senior software engineer at Nordstrom. Over his 25‐year career in software development, he's worked on a number of diverse and complex projects, including Microsoft Money, Microrim’s R:Base for Windows and Microsoft Visual Studio. Dan has taught classes in C, C++, MFC, OLE, COM and other programming languages for more than a decade at Bellevue College. He’s also taught courses in C# at the UW since 2016.
Teaches: Algorithmic Thinking: Programming Logic Fundamentals
Sabet Vallejo
Sabet Vallejo has been an engineer for more than 30 years and a technology instructor for 20 years. She’s excited about the power of engineering to create simple solutions to complex problems. During her career, she’s solved many engineering problems through the use of software development tools. Sabet earned a master’s in engineering construction from the University of Washington.
Teaches: Algorithmic Thinking: Programming Logic Fundamentals
Wei-Chih Wang
Wei-Chih Wang is an affiliated associate professor in the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. His principal research is in the area of optical MEMS, fiber-optic sensors, and advance materials and structure study. Wei-Chih is passionate about engaging youth in STEM-related learning. He encourages students to engage with the materials directly because he believes that students learn about technology far more effectively through hands-on experiences than from absorbing it only from textbooks and theory.
Teaches: Introduction to Engineering Design & Process