Rayvin Abraham

U.S. History and Government Teacher at Far West High School in Oakland, CA.

Valerie Barth

I am the teacher-librarian at Horace Mann Academic Middle School in San Francisco where I have worked since 2004, first as an English/Language Arts teacher and, since 2007, as the librarian/media specialist. Before that, I worked for sixteen years in book publishing mainly as an editor/publisher. I am also an immigrant. I emigrated from Singapore to the U.S. in 1991 with two young daughters. I was not a refugee or economic migrant. I was not pursuing the American Dream. I moved because I had fallen in love with an American who persuaded me to leave my country to live in his. As a person of mixed Asian and European ancestry, I do not fit into any of the neat, ethnic categories into which the U.S. likes to classify its people. Since I have lived on two continents and have family members scattered over five continents, I see myself as a citizen of the world and tend to view issues through a global perspective. I am deeply passionate about tearing down barriers to understanding among different ethnic and cultural groups. Fear and suspicion of those who are different arises from ignorance and a lack of human connection to members of those communities. My mission is to bridge those gaps through outreach and education.

Danielle Belluomini

Danielle Belluomini is a resident of San Francisco where she works as a Science teacher at Martin Luther King Academic Middle School in the San Francisco Unified School District. She is in her third year of teaching and is very committed to improving public education for all students, especially in underserved communities. Danielle was born and raised in San Mateo County where she attended public school and graduated with a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Teacher site: http://mlk-sfusk-ca.schoolloop.com/msbelluomini.

Eric Chow

is proud to represent Phillip & Sala Burton Academic High School, where he teaches English Language Development, Digital Media in the Academy of Information Technology, and advises the Journalism program. Teacher site: http://echow.wordpress.com/.

Kia Clarke

Kia is a 6th Grade English Teacher at Roots International Academy. And she also teaches a Radio Broadcasting class. After receiving a Master's Degree in Education from Loyola Marymount University, she decided it was time to come back to her native Bay Area and give back to the children of Oakland.

Ricardo Elizalde

Ricardo Elizalde is a native San Franciscan. He enjoys working with new media and students. He loves to see people learning and then reflecting on their learning. He has been a teacher for more than a decade. When a student says 'Ahhh, I get you,' it's a kind of music. Currently, he works at International Studies Academy in SF's Potrero Hill. For his Masters thesis last year, he built a social networking site, ala Facebook, that houses his students' Electronic Portfolios. Go check it out at ISA Globe. He is afraid this bio is way too formal and would like to think of something creative to say about himself. He does a mean Haitian accent, especially when there are no Haitians present to tell him that his lilt has a wrong tilt. He listens to the news way too much, but likes that his students don't just watch media but create it as well. Teacher site: www.isaglobe.org.

Kim Emilianowicz

Kim is a high school visual art teacher, currently working in the SFUSD Court Schools, who truly enjoys the challenges and rewards of working with her amazing students. Kim has been teaching for three years and previously taught in Stockton, CA and Frankfurt, Germany. She graduated from Kent State University with a B.A. in Art Education and a B.F.A. in Jewelry, Metals & Enameling. When she is not teaching or making art, she enjoys taking advantage of the arts and culture of San Francisco.

Sumoha Jani

Sumoha is in her 4th year of teaching at KIPP Bridge Charter School in downtown Oakland. After graduating from New York University, where along with studying South Asian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Performing Arts she also co-directed a dance company and performed poetry, Sumoha joined Teach for America. As a member of the 2006 Hawai'i Charter Corps, Sumoha learned the ropes of being a classroom teacher to middle-schoolers teaching English Language Arts, Poetry and Dance enrichment, and a summer intensive writing course. In search for a new challenge and a different atmosphere, she landed herself in Oakland with the task of developing a Performing Arts curriculum for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Needless to say, she is excited about the World Savvy program, the resources available and the support she will be getting as a participant. As someone new to the San Francisco Bay Area, she is also looking forward to making new friends and hopefully that will help her social life a little more!

Kim Kasner

Visual Art Teacher at Civic Center Secondary in San Francisco, CA.

Joel Key

I have been teaching for 7 years as a Spanish, Music and Visual Arts teacher. I am currently in my 2nd year as a visual arts teacher and leadership team member at Impact Academy of Arts and Technology in Hayward, California. This is my third year as a World Savvy Global Youth Media & Arts Program Cohort member. Teacher site: http://impact1.es-impact.org/~jkey.

Zuleica Lopez

English Language Development Teacher and School Newspaper Advisor at Roots International Middle School in Oakland, CA.

Megan McMahon

This is my 5th year teaching art at Horace Mann Middle School in the Mission district of San Francisco. I teach 6th, 7th and 8th grade art and also work on art integration projects with teachers in math, ELA, social studies and science. Previously, I've worked as a graphic designer/art director in advertising, as a health education volunteer in the Peace Corps Bolivia and also in education/training at a children's museum. I enjoy the relationships that I build with my students and am thankful that together we get to learn about life and the world through art. I am looking forward to working with World Savvy this year and expanding into the theme of immigration!

Monica Mueller

Monica is excited to be working with World Savvy as an artist and educator in the Bay Area. She is passionate about bringing engaging tools of art and world issues together to help youth communicate, grow, and empower them to create a positive community. Monica believes in life long learning, and received a Bachelor of Arts Education K-12 and certification in Exceptional Education from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has taught students of diverse ages, abilities, and backgrounds and is happy to currently teach Art at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School in San Francisco.

Charlotte Nehm

Charlotte Nehm received a degree in dance and single subject teaching credential from San Francisco State University. Charlotte has studied ballet, lyrical, modern, jazz, Dunham, Afro-Haitian, Flamenco, Salsa, West African, Afro-Brazilian, Bhangra, Bollywood, hip hop, Belly dance and many other fusion styles. She currently dances with Loose Change (Urban Contemporary), Duniya Dance & Drum Company (Bhangra, West African & Bollywood) and Damage Control Dance Theater (Modern & Funk Fusion Belly dance) and has performed in the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Festival. Charlotte loves sharing her knowledge of both traditional and fusion dance forms with her middle and high school students at International Studies Academy in San Francisco. Charlotte is also the Assistant Director of Village Dancers, a program that employs many teachers to go out into various after-school sites to share the joy of dance with children of all ages. The program also has a performing dance ensemble and summer intensive, where Charlotte is the lead teacher and choreographer. She is also in the process of becoming a Katherine Dunham Certified Teacher.

Paula O’Connell

I have been teaching Social Studies at Phillip & Sala Burton High School, San Francisco, California, since 2003. I began my teaching career in 1970 at El Monte Elementary School in Orosi, California. Not only was this my first teaching position, but it was also my first exposure to a Mexican American community and immigration issues.

After six years living in the Central Valley of California, I left California to 'find myself', which was the trend in the mid-seventies. I found myself broke, stuck in the winter snow in Little Rock, Arkansas. My intended short Christmas visit with my parents in 1976 ended in 2003 when I moved back to San Francisco. I left California in a small car with a dog and most of my belongings. I returned to California in a small car with my daughter and most of our belongings. My son later joined us in San Francisco.

While in Little Rock, I taught four years with the Little Rock School District and ten years at St. Edward's Catholic School. I married and raised a son and a daughter. I also worked several years for different business concerns as an office manager and bookkeeper. In addition, I was the life science curator and education outreach director for the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. I have exceeded the word limit; therefore I will have to conclude my biography!

Laurie Reemsnyder

I grew up in a monochromatic town in Connecticut; set out to find my passion, 5 majors later, I diverted from becoming an art teacher and dove into refugee resettlement in Rhode Island. This led to my own 3000-mile migration and 20+ years working with mostly Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants at SFO, using my photography to document as much as possible. 1n ’99, I finally became an art teacher, first in Vallejo (Jesse Bethel High School, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in America), and now at Marin Catholic High School, not very diverse, but very community service oriented. My Photo 2 students are required to utilize their photo skills to give back to the community, fondly coined "Photophilanthropy" by Nancy Farese, a local photographer involved with us. This involvement is challenging to implement with over-extended students trying to juggle an already full schedule, but I am deeply committed to trying to develop a sensitivity and awareness in them.

Renee Whitworth

I first began teaching art when I was 24 to a group of 9 year olds. It was the first day. They stared at me, and I stared back at them. I had nightmares for the duration of the six week class.

Things have evolved since then, and I am happily beginning my third year teaching art at Conley Caraballo High School in South Hayward. Previous to becoming a high school art teacher, I worked as a reading instructor for the Institute of Reading Development, taught art classes at the local adult school, and worked as an aid in special education with students who were autistic or mentally delayed.

Outside the classroom, I like to draw, paint, and take pictures, swim and hike. My own art combines my love of landscape with questions of identity/destiny. : I try and blend the two to create personal narratives that belong to a specific landscape. Often I create many small drawings or paintings that are placed together to present different aspects of a story. In the classroom, I encourage students to tell their own stories through their art.

Both my students and I grew last year from our collaboration with World Savvy, and I am excited to begin a second year!