MEET OUR TEACHERS
EnCorps Fellows Inspire Students
Meet Our Teachers
Roberta Love
Chemist
Roberta was inspired by her own teacher, “She inspired every student in the class. She always tried to teach us how to pursue our passion.”
Bob Capriles
IT Project Manager
Bob is an EnCorps Teacher at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, CA. His math and engineering students benefit from his prior experience as an engineer and project manager with NetSuite and Yahoo.
LaTeira Haynes
Immunologist
With the support and guidance from EnCorps STEM Teachers, LaTeira made the transition from being an immunologist to becoming a teacher.
Miguel Cruz
MRO Flight Inspector
The EnCorps military pathway empowers veterans like Miguel Cruz, as well as active duty and reservists, to transition into second careers as teachers.
Julian Lewis
Aerospace Engineer
Julian says that the satisfaction of working on amazing aircraft equals the satisfaction he gets from watching his students become engaged in aerospace.
Krisztina Hagey
Architect
Krisztina Hagey’s journey into teaching began when her daughter was in middle school and she realized that students don’t like math.
David Hewitt
Engineer
As a former design engineer with Aerojet Rocketdyne, Dave shares his enthusiasm for “rocket science” and his hope to use his experiences to help his students explore career options they can’t even imagine.
Danielle Martin
Project Manager
In the maker community, Danielle found solidarity with learners like herself - told they weren’t good at STEM but interested in building anyways.
Geanncarlo Lugo
Molecular and Cellular Immunologist
Originally from Mexico, Geanncarlo moved from Tijuana to the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego when he was fourteen. He credits finishing high school with his grandmother’s belief in him.
John Shockley
Software Engineer
Over the last year and a half, John Shockley has written countless letters of recommendation for his student’s college applications, and he’s also received letters back - loads of thank you letters.
David Bartholomew
IT Professional
"Teaching is the hardest job I've ever had. On the flip side, it's the most rewarding job I've ever had."
In the EnCorps StoryCorps Podcast, David speaks of his passion, why he chose teaching and a student that inspires him.
Laurie Toyama
Software Engineer
"We need to give students exposure to a wider work world and more possibilities for them to explore. Teachers are an avenue for this exposure and exploration. It’s rewarding to see the lightbulb go on in my students.”
Nicole Bottomley
Research Scientist
“I grew up in a small rural community in Northern California. My high school was diverse and under-resourced. My science teachers showed me opportunities and encouraged me to pursue my dream of one day curing cancer.”
Educating from Experience
“Educating from Experience” is a new mini-documentary from WorkingNation that follows California mom Erica Parker as she transitions from her successful career in engineering to become a STEM teacher at a local high school — a pathway made possible by EnCorps.
“EnCorps wants to provide a good math and science teacher for every single student in America,” says EnCorps STEM Teachers Program Founder Sherry Lansing. “No matter where you live, no matter whether you’re born into poverty or you’re born into wealth — you get that opportunity.”
In 2017, in California alone, there was a projected need of 33,000 qualified math and science teachers over the next decade. EnCorps recruits and prepares experienced engineers and technology professionals, among others, to teach in science, math, and related fields in underserved schools across California. After 11 years, EnCorps has recruited nearly 1,000 tutors, guest teachers, and full-time credentialed instructors.
“In the United States, we have been able to identify that we are going to be short 3.3 million employees in STEM-related fields,” says STEM teacher Eric Lee in the video. “We are trying to address this issue so that we can start hiring employees within the United States instead of having to farm out to other countries.”
WorkingNation’s filmmaking crew documented Erica’s journey with EnCorps to become a teacher at Corona High School, where she now makes a lasting impact in the lives of countless young people who learn the critical skills necessary to succeeding in STEM fields.
“It’s very difficult to find teachers that are properly qualified to teach STEM because a lot of them don’t have the industry experience,” says California’s Corona High School Assistant Principal Deena Rodriguez. “The EnCorps program bridges that gap between the industry sector and education.”
Ryan Flores
EnCorps STEM Teaching Fellow – 2011 Cohort
Former Engineer
Engineering & Math Teacher, John Muir High School
photo credit: WorkingNation/Jonathan Barenboim