FACULTY AND STAFF

Mrs. Robin Andersen has been creating with polymer clay for over 5 years. She sells her polymer clay jewelry at shops and craft fairs. She loves passing on her knowledge to young people, and watching their faces light up!  

Mr. Robert Bethea (Mr. B) has taught PE at Chandler for 14 years. During that time, he also established the Arroyo Volleyball Development program, seasonal club volleyball and summer beach program. Arroyo Volleyball Club is celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

Ms. Alycia Brown has been with Chandler School for 6 years where she is the after school program director. Her background in athletics combined with over 10 years’ recreation experience has enabled her to create an exciting summer camp program. In her free time, she enjoys attending concerts, working out and competing in various athletic events in Los Angeles.

Mr. Aukai Cain is currently the HipHop dance instructor for several dance studios around Los Angeles County, as well as for Chandler School. He trained at the Edge Dance Studios and has choreographed extensively for MTV, Clay Aiken’s “Invisible”, Clippers half-time shows, and movies. His credits also include Broadway musicals and theatre.

Ms. Tonita Fernandez has been an educator for 20 years and is a current 4 th grade teacher at Chandler School. She also volunteers as a basketball and softball coach in the community. Her goal is to seek creative and innovative methods to inspire young people around her to reach their full potential.

Mrs. Nancy Gadel has taught ancient history at Chandler School for three years and has taught the ISEE and English in the summer program. In her free time she enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures, as well as spending time working in her garden.

Miss Randi Goodman , founder of Not Your Mama’s Drama, graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has been immersed in the theatre world since age seven.  In addition to running creative theatre workshops throughout the region, she teaches drama at Mayfield Junior School.

Mrs. Jan Gotha became a second grade teacher nine years ago after working eight years in the Learning Center at Chandler. She also has taught middle school math to incoming sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. This is her tenth year teaching in the summer school program.

Miss Lindsay Holbrook received her teaching credential from Azusa Pacific University and is currently a teacher’s assistant at Chandler. She taught summer programs for Science Adventures and in the South Pasadena School District. Her summer course ideas come from an interest in the arts and animals.

Ms. Emily Hopkins graduated with a BFA from CalArts with a focus on studio art and art pedagogy. She has taught at The Armory, Self Help Graphics, and Plaza de la Raza. Emily joined Side Street Projects in 2001 and has managed the Woodworking Bus since 2003.

Mrs. Jenifer Izbicki has taught 2 nd grade at Chandler for 14 of her 21 years of teaching and has participated in the summer program for ten years. She teaches cooking to children throughout the year, has a lifelong love of cooking and exploring foods from different cultures, and continues to add to her extensive cookbook collection during her travels.

Mrs. Ashley Payne Laird has taught English at Chandler School for twelve years. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing and enjoys writing poetry. In her free time she travels, reads, and enjoys exercising. She is known by her students as the loud, outgoing teacher who can even make grammar fun.

Mr. Rand Laird is a teacher at La Salle High School and enjoys reading, logic puzzles, tinkering around in his workshop and playing disc golf. He is excited to be part of the Chandler summer program for a third time and share his hobbies with children.

Mrs. Jane Leese has been teaching summer workshop classes for over 25 years. “The summer classes give the students and me an opportunity to learn new things and explore different aspects of art in more depth and in a more relaxed atmosphere. My grandmother taught me to sew and I see it as a great creative outlet.”

Mr. John McCarty has been on the Chandler faculty for 23 years and has lead summer hikes for over 15 years. He is an avid environmentalist and works as a volunteer at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. He has had survival training and has hiked throughout Southern California for over 30 years.

Ms. Diana Moore will be starting her sixth year in the Chandler Afterschool program and fourth year in the Chandler Camp.  She has worked in numerous afterschool programs, summer camps and elementary schools.  In her spare time she enjoys reading and trying new arts and crafts.

Ms. Robin Moore , after teaching ten years in pre-school, decided to combine her degrees, love of art, teaching, and school age children. She has spent the last twenty years working in out-of-school-time settings. Currently she teaches at Long Beach City College, consults and trains staff in after school programs.

Ms. Chrissy O’Grady holds a master's degree and has been a teacher since 1977. Matthew Steinberg, Chrissy’s son, and Thorsten Pape are 2001 graduates of the Moorpark College Teaching Zoo and are Certified Wildlife Educators.

Mrs. Martha Owen has been working as an educator for thirty years and just completed her sixteenth year teaching mathematics in the Chandler Middle School. Mrs. Owen traces her passion for “flower and fauna” back to her childhood gardening experiences at the side of her Scottish horticulturist grandfather.

Ms. Erin Palfrey graduated from Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design with a BFA in fine art. She was a professional decorative painter and muralist prior to pursuing her master’s degree in multi-cultural education. She is currently teaching K-6 art at The Waverly School in Pasadena.

Mr. Young Park, a martial arts instructor for over 55 years, is the owner of the Young Park Institute in Pasadena where he and his son teach martial arts to children and adults from the age of four up. He is an inductee of the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

PlanetBravo is a multimedia education company dedicated to providing the latest and greatest lessons in key technologies. With nearly ten summer camp locations in the Los Angeles area as well as several summer workshops, PlanetBravo provides instruction and activities to over 3,000 students annually. For more information, please visit www.planetbravo.com.

Ms. Sandy Portaro opened the athletic garage, a dance fitness studio, in 1999. Her background as an RN helps her understand the need to stay fit which, combined with her love of dance, led to her venture. AG employs only professional dancers and choreographers and professionals in the personal training and related healthcare fields.

Mrs. Michelle Scoggins  earned a B.A. in political science from UCLA, and founded UNICEF at UCLA to help children through local effort. In her first year at Chandler's After School Program, she inspires children to be creative and global thinkers. Creating jewelry for 13 years, she has her own jewelry business.

Mr. Patrick J. Simmons is the Regional Program Director for Hightouch Hightech. He holds an MA in Cross-Cultural Education and a teaching credential from National University. After 11 years in elementary education, he now dedicates himself exclusively to teaching the one subject his students loved doing as much as him, HANDS-ON SCIENCE!

Mr. Brian Smith is owner and president of GymnastiKids. He has been involved in gymnastics for over 25 years coaching, competing and performing and has represented the US in several international competitions. In addition to stunt and commercial work, he has participated in acrobatic basketball with the NBA and NCAA.

Mr. Mark Spinelli has been teaching professionally for 25 years, 16 of those at Brookside golf course. Specializing in youth instruction, Mark has produced a number of area champions. He also competes in long drive competitions throughout California. Mark lives in La Crescenta with his wife and two children.

Mrs. Carol Standing has enjoyed her 21 years at Chandler as co-teacher in kindergarten and one year in first grade.  She is starting her 12 th year as a summer school teacher.  She earned her BA in Elementary Education at Brigham Young University and her two children have graduated from Chandler.  She loves reading, math, and most of all, helping children excel. 

Stepping Stones to Learning is a unique learning enrichment center, which has been serving students and their families in the greater Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley area for over thirty-five years. The dedicated and highly professional staff provides one-to-one tutoring tailored to meet each student’s individual needs. For further information, go to www.steppingstones.net

Mrs. Linda Stevenson has worked 21 years as an educator, 14 of them at Chandler where she is currently the Educational Associate in the Resource Center. She has taught in the summer programs for the past nine years. Her interest in teaching rocketry comes from having raised three boys who enjoyed creating rockets.

Miss Laura Walsh , owner and originator of Dramagination ®, also known as Queen Laura, has a theatre arts degree from California State University, Fullerton. Her acting career has included stage, film and television. A product of children’s theatre herself, she understands the medium and is committed to bringing its benefits to a new generation of interested children.

Mr. Tim Weske has trained thousands of actors and choreographed hundreds of sword fights and fencing sequences for the stage and the film and television industry. He has owned and operated his private training facility, Swordplay, for 15 years where he continues to study weapons, human movement, and the creative process involved in making memorable fight sequences.

Mr. Mark West is a three-time California State Champion, US National Champion, and member of the US Olympic team. His company, West’s Archery, was founded by Mark’s grandfather in 1937, and since 1972 their team has completed over 300 performance tours in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East.