Meet our Imagination Chapter Leaders
These are the talented teachers, librarians, and business and community leaders who are helping to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in kids around the world through the 2014-15 Imagination Chapters Pilot Program. To learn more, please visit www.imagination.is/chapters.
Amy FLeury
M.C. Riley Elementary | Bluffton, SC
For the past 4 years, I have had the privilege of being a second grade teacher at M.C. Riley Elementary in Bluffton, SC. Teaching is a second career for me, which I chose to pursue after realizing that I wanted a profession where I could inspire children and make a positive, memorable impact on their lives. Each day in the classroom presents a new opportunity to not only teach a child but to also be mentor, a coach, and a friend. I can’t wait to see where this new journey with the Imagination Foundation leads me and my students.
Fun facts:
1) I am a Northern girl from Pennsylvania, but one of my favorite foods is Shrimp and Grits (Southern Girl at heart). 2)
Favorite children’s book: ‘Lulu and the Brontosaurus’ by Judith Viorst
Ann Akif
Comly Elementary School | Philadelphia, PA
Ann Akif is an art educator in the School District of Philadelphia with additional certification in English as a Second Language and Middle School/High School English. She is interested in the student-centered model of teaching art. She also oversees the school garden and teaches gifted children. In her spare time she studies French and writing for children.
Fun facts:
1) I’ve liked collecting caterpillars since I was a kid. 2) A goat herder once invited me to hang out with him in the gorges of Morocco.
Anne Nelson
Spensley Street Elementary | Melbourne, Australia
I have worked in education with students of all ages, from 5 year olds to adults, for thirty five years. I am the principal of a fabulous school in Melbourne, Australia. It’s called Spensley Street Primary School, a public school where a community of learners – students, teachers, support staff, parents and carers – work together. Our shared goal is to develop thoughtful, knowledgeable, creative and caring young people who become active lifelong learners. I love reading, gardening, walking, spending time with my family and sharing food with friends.
Favourite author: Hilary Mantell
Favourite walk: by the beach and by the Merri Creek, at the bottom of my street.
What I’m reading today: books about productivity!
What I’d like more of: time!
Andrew Tapia
Hollenbeck Middle School | Los Angeles, CA
I am often referred to as “Mr. Hollenbeck” due to my passion and tireless commitment to Hollenbeck Middle School (LAUSD). Having been raised in Boyle Heights, I work hard to bring opportunities to youth that I didn’t have growing up. I believe this engages students in school and motivates them to participate in their community. Some of the opportunities I have spearheaded are our Edible Community Garden, Students Run LA Running Team, and Student Leadership. I also work throughout the summer for the “Summer Night Lights” program under the GRYD Foundation for Mayor Eric Garcetti at various parks in Los Angeles. In my spare time I enjoy running, art, 80s music and spending time with loved ones.
Fun facts:
1) I have run 7 marathons. 2) I enjoy going to concerts.
Ashley Baylor
North Grove Elementary | Indianapolis, Indiana
I am an elementary art educator living in Indianapolis. I graduated from Marshall University in West Virginia where I spent the first three years of my teaching career. During that time I also spent a summer in Africa teaching with Invisible Children’s Teacher Exchange program and volunteering at Rhino Fund Uganda. When I’m not keeping up with my #teacherdiaries, traveling, or going to Pacers games, I enjoy taking creative writing and ballet classes. I aspire to be a lifelong learner and I am excited to see the student’s confidence in their own ability to learn and create evolve in this Imagination Pilot Chapter!
Currently reading: ‘Middlemarch’
Favorite concert: Bonnaroo ’10
What I wanted to be when I grew up: Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen
Beth Cohen
Cherry Creek School District | Denver, CO
My experiences have been exciting and eclectic. I began my career in education in 1988 with a Commodore 64 and a dream to guide children to find their strengths and passions. I left teaching for a number of years to work in the imaginative worlds of network television and feature film production. Writing and all things creative are my passion. Hikes in the mountains surrounded by nature and daydreaming have planted the seeds to many a new adventure. I am thrilled to bring my many experiences and limitless enthusiasm for seeing the world through the eyes of a child to the Imagination Chapter Pilot Program!
Fun facts:
1) I spent many hours aspiring to make curved drawings on my Etch-a-Sketch. 2) Favorite childhood book: ‘James and the Giant Peach’ 3) Song I belt out at the top of my lungs when driving alone: “Jack and Diane” by John Mellencamp
Camela Giraud
Visible Men Academy | Sarasota, FL
I have been teaching since 1995. My love of experiential learning gained context through my work with adjudicated youth in Outward Bound. Currently, I am the Director of Collaborative Learning and Educational Outreach at the Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Florida. My work focuses on developing the school’s blended and online classes, teaching journalism, and navigating initiatives with my school’s Global Citizens Club. In the summer of 2014, I had the great privilege of traveling with a group of activists to East Africa to tour social enterprises and educational programs funded through the creative and philanthropic efforts of what I call “an army of passionate, creative, and inspired young people.”
Fun facts:
1) I spent a summer making & selling goat cheese in central France. 2) My first job in education was teaching swimming to fishermen’s kids on a small island in Labrador.
Cheryl Atwater
Creative Problem Solving Society (CPSS) | Burnaby, BC
In my role as President of CPSS, which sponsors the Odyssey of the Mind program in B.C., I have the opportunity to work with many other dedicated volunteers in fulfilling the Society’s mission to “Generate Future Problem Solvers”.
I’m an elementary/middle school teacher and have taught for the past 17 years at a Challenge Centre for Gifted Learners. I have a passion for engaging kids in fun, hands-on activities in order to encourage and develop their creativity and innovative thinking. I have never outgrown my own love of “playing around with things” and encourage a lot of designing, tinkering, constructing and divergent thinking at the Centre.
I love living on the west coast, am married to a creative thinking engineer and am the proud mom of an entrepreneur /inventor.
Favorite day of the year: International Mud Day
Food I would win an eating challenge with: Brownies
Chris Kiewra
Dimensions Learning Center | Lincoln, NE
In my role with the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation/Nature Explore, I devote my time to initiatives that create connections between families and nature as well as expand quality educational opportunities for children. With a Master’s degree in early childhood special education, I coach teachers, develop Nature Explore resources, and coordinate research initiatives. The highlight of my workday almost always is time I spend in outdoor classrooms with children and teachers. As a child, I grew up on a Nebraska farm and enjoyed helping my dad. My husband and I love to spend time with our three children who amaze and delight us with their adventures!
Favorite day of the year: International Mud Day
Food I would win an eating challenge with: Brownies
chrisk@natureexplore.org | dimensionsfoundation.org | natureexplore.org
Holly Murdoch
Dimensions Learning Center | Lincoln, NE
I have been teaching at Dimensions since 1994. My additional roles include serving as a research analysis team member and supporting our Nature Explore Classrooms. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Education with an endorsement in Special Education and a minor in Music. I believe that helping children find out who they are and what they have to contribute to the world is the most important role of educators. Children have taught me how important it is to provide an array of plenty of interesting natural materials and allow learners the time they need to blossom with support. Supporting the imagination of children is exciting because their involvement is whole-hearted and tells us more about them than we could ever know otherwise.
Favorite obscure recipe: Homemade PawPaw Ice Cream
Section I browse for in bookstores: Bird and Insect Field-Guides
Christina Ung
Extera Public School | Los Angeles, CA
I am currently a 4th grade teacher in the historical neighborhood of Boyle Heights located in East Los Angeles. I love what I do every day because I am as much a learner as I am the teacher. I have worked in various educational capacities from New Orleans to the San Francisco Bay Area. Echoing Paulo Freire, I truly believe that education is the practice of freedom and that it can be a vehicle for social change. I was born and raised in Long Beach, California. I received two Bachelors of the Arts from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Education and California Teaching Credential from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Fun facts:
1) My favorite author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 2) I have a blind pug named Wilbur, and he is named after the pig from ‘Charlotte’s Web’.
Collette Murray
The Hatch and Tinker Club | Manchester, UK
I currently teach acting, voice and directing in a BA and MA programme.
I live in Manchester with my husband, Chris, a photographer, writer and saxophonist and our four year old son, Gabriel, who informs me he is going to act, direct and build the set of the next trilogy of Star Wars films. I recently have trained as a Forest School Practitioner and am working as an atelierista in a Reggio Emilia school in Manchester, UK. I am also a active member of our regional home education network.
I am a genuine believer in the vital role that engagement with the arts plays in the development of our selves as individuals participating in a society. We are reminded that there are many ways to achieve our desired outcomes; we are only limited by our imaginations.
Our group will be made up of local kids both schooled and home-ed, and has been titled The Hatch and Tinker Club.
Fun facts:
1) My party trick is that I can sing two (sometimes three) notes at once. 2) My Mastermind specialist subject would be The West Wing (I am obsessed!)
Dave Hartzell
Shamrock Gardens Elementary | Charlotte, NC
I grew up in the Philadelphia area and have been teaching in high-promise areas for 7+ years. I am currently a Master Reach Teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. My wife, Kristina, and I are so, so proud of our 4 month old son Calvin. When I grow up I want to be a world traveler, visiting schools around the world and helping to spread innovative ideas to education everywhere.
Fun facts:
1) I tried to secretly invent things in my parents’ basement when I was younger. As a result, I almost blinded my best friend. 2) One of my college roommates was Joe Flacco–Baltimore Ravens QB, Super Bowl MVP, and all around nice guy.
David Tominsky
Iowa Startup Accelerator | Cedar Rapids, IA
I am a 15-year veteran of the technical staffing industry: 10 years with the largest IT staffing company in the country, and an independent recruiter since 2010, focused on technology, engineering, and other tough to find talent. I am a father and entrepreneur who’s passionate about education and finding innovative ways to develop critical skills through events that are fun, engaging, and beyond awesome. I am actively building the startup community in Iowa’s Creative Corridor through organizing events like open coffee meetups, barcamps, and Startup Weekends. I currently serve as the Program Manager of the Iowa Startup Accelerator and am an organizer for CoderDojo Cedar Rapids and Startup Weekend Iowa City.
Favorite book: ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger
Hero: Robby Novak, Caine Monroy, and Elon Musk
Evie O’Dor
Rashkis Elementary School | Chapel Hill, NC
I’ve worked as an artist and educator all of my life. In the 1990’s my husband and I, along with our three young children, worked as professional puppeteers, writing and performing original shows in museums and theaters across the state of North Carolina. I am an elementary school teacher striving to amplify the power of creativity and imagination in my students. I love a classroom buzzing with the sound of collaborative conversation and the productive clutter of creative projects.
Favorite book: Everything written by E. B. White
Favorite art medium: papier mache
Gabriel Sim-Laramee
U School | Philadelphia, PA
I am an artist who uses design, science, technology, and education to further my search, process, and work. I teach design and technology at the U School in the Build Innovation Lab. I have taught visual art and design for two years in various high schools in Philadelphia. My interest is in the free form exploration afforded by fine art. I seek out collaborative work with young people who can make art alive and bring a level of challenge and authenticity often missing from studio art. As a graphic designer and art director, I have learned to share the vision of my clients and develop complex processes of visual communication. I love the paradox of high-tech high-profile design work being expressed in urban low-income settings. I was born and raised in West Philadelphia.
Fun Facts: 1) I make electronic music and worked with the Roots rap group when I was a teen. 2) I enjoy doing “pre-technological” processes like sifting and lifting, sand, clay and dirt.
Samuel Reed, III
U School | Philadelphia, PA
I teach my students at the U School to read write and make (sense of the world) and I lead the Highlight Innovation Lab. My passions include arts in education, media literacy and understanding youth culture. I blog for the ‘Philadelphia Public School Notebook’ and recently published an article titled, ‘Connected Learning and the Rules of Engagement’ for ‘Heinemann’s Digital Campus’. I organize Boys.Write.Now and Girls.On.Fire, Art and Writing Workshops, and I organized a 2013 Cardboard Challenge in Philadelphia. I attended Philadelphia public schools, and have been fortunate to live and travel abroad to such places as Botswana, Kenya and Russia. I enjoy playing secret agent games with my 5 year old grandson.
Favorite book: Anything by Walter Dean Myers (R.I.P.)
Guilty pleasure: Salsa Dancing
@Sriii2000 | @PhillyBoysWrite | thenotebook.org/users/sriii2000
Gina Silveira
Schaefer Elementary | Sonoma, CA
I am an elementary school principal in Santa Rosa, California, who is excited to be a part of this journey with the Imagination Foundation! I taught grades K-8 for 16 years, have a Masters Degree in English, and have been an administrator for the past 3 years. As a mother of a 9 year old daughter, an 11 year old son, and a 17 year old stepson, I can speak first-hand about the positive effect creative play has on children of all ages. I love to see the light in students’ eyes when they discover new things, and I have recently become a Maker Movement enthusiast! #LoveMakerEd
Favorite book: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen
Favorite superhero: Thor
Favorite kind of music: Country
Jean Kaneko
The Exploratory | Culver City, CA
Chief Tinkerer at The Exploratory. Mom of Hudson Kaneko. Protector of Creativity and Innovation. Obsessed with Making! I started The Exploratory to give my son and other kids a chance to do hands on, inquiry-based learning that uses both sides of the brain.
Fun fact: The first time I got a Mac (in the late 80’s), I didn’t go home for 3 days.
jean@theexploratory.com | @theexploratory | www.theexploratory.com
Jennifer Bond
Hornung Elementary | Brighton, MI
In my 15+ years as an elementary teacher, creativity has always been a driving force in my instruction. I have embraced BYOD Days, Genius Hour, and the Maker Movement to engage students, nurture passion, and connect them to world beyond the classroom walls. I have also been a team manager and coordinator for Destination Imagination since 1999, guiding students in the creative problem solving process. My classroom was featured in the documentary, ‘Look I’m Learning,’ which highlights the impact of digital learning. My favorite things to do are sing (I was in a classic rock band), hang out with my husband and 2 kids, and utilize the gift of gab that was given to me by my mom!
Favorite books: ‘The Secret Zoo’ series by Bryan Chick
Teacher that most impacted my creativity: Ms. Maddren
Jennifer Owen
Billings Head Start | Billings, MT
Jennifer Owen is the executive director of Head Start, Inc. in Billings, Montana. An attorney and political junkie, Jennifer is passionate about creativity, innovation, entrepreneurialism, and challenging conventional wisdom. Prior to Head Start, Jennifer lived and worked in Nicaragua for nine months, helping to open a clinic for women and children living in extreme poverty – and met the man who is now her husband. The two make their home in Billings with their 10-month old son.
Julie Byrnes
Stevenson Elementary | Fate, TX
I am an elementary educator who loves to give students hands on experiences and develop real world skills. I’ve started several after school clubs including a building club, robotics, garden club and ECO club. I love that I live in a community where I can see my students grow into young adults. Photography is a passion of mine and I am fortunate to have opportunities to help people capture their family memories. I enjoy being outdoors and traveling with my husband and two boys.
Favorite singer & musician: Keith Urban
Only movie I’ve watched over and over: ‘The Princess Bride’
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