2022-2023 Faculty Cohort
Frank Cassano teaches math at Marin Academy and is also the Math Department Chair. Entering his fourth year at MA, Frank has taught Algebra 2, Precalculus Honors, and Calculus. Prior to Marin Academy, Frank worked at the Taft School in CT and Poly Prep in Brooklyn.
Frank earned his B.S. from Union College and M.S. from St. Joseph’s University. In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, playing baseball with his sons, and continuing to explore California with his family.
Bethany is the Director of the UrbanX Labs at the Urban School, where she leads Urban’s integrated and interdisciplinary educational approach to science, technology, engineering and design for the 21st century. She enjoys teaching students how to develop, design and build their ideas.
Tony has been teaching computer science at The Branson School since August 2016. He currently teaches classes in web design, Java, Arduino, Python and iOS mobile application development. He holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Psychology and Computing from the University of Plymouth and a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Bath. Tony previously worked for a leading cell phone company in England as a software developer and team leader from 1998 to 2005, prior to becoming a computer science teacher. He was chair of computer science at Priory Community School in North Somerset, England from 2006 to 2015. Tony lives in San Francisco with his wife and young son. He enjoys cycling, golf and snowboarding in his spare time.
Don Rizzi has been teaching Biology and Chemistry at Lick-Wilmerding High School since 2007. He also coaches wrestling, is an advisor, and mentors independent study students in electronic music production. Prior to coming to Lick, Don taught Physics, Math, Chemistry, and Media Production at High Tech High, which is a charter school that emphasizes project based learning and the cultivation of 21st century skills. He also received his MA in Instructional Technologies from San Francisco State University.
Jason Chang joined the history department at College Prep in 2021, and teaches Asian and Atlantic history to ninth and tenth graders. Before arriving at CPS, he taught for ten years at Bentley, where he covered topics that ranged from ninth grade world history to seminars on the prison industrial complex, the Cold War in a global context, the global revolutions of 1968, race in American legal history, the history of capitalism and slavery, and many others.
Originally from Berkeley, Jason obtained his BA in American Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and earned his PhD from the University of Michigan in American Studies, where his broad area of research focused on the intersecting histories of racial formation, capitalism, and empire. He is a passionate classroom teacher who believes deeply that having a strong historical understanding of the ways that race, gender, sex, class, ability, and other markers of difference and identity have shaped our present is a prerequisite for radically reimagining how we want our shared future to look. Whenever he has some down time, Jason loves nothing more than to read, eat delicious food, and cook.
Nicole Hunter has been a librarian at San Francisco University High School since 2003. Working with the history department she teaches research skills across the history curriculum with a focus on the use of primary sources. She has co-taught an English course called the Fourth Estate in which students both examined media coverage of current and past events and created media pieces of their own. Nicole has a passion for research, constructivist learning, art, and history. She has a degree in history from UCLA and a master’s in library science with a focus on archives from San José State. Nicole lives in Oakland with her husband and son. She loves to sew and knit and hosts a podcast on her creative pursuits. She enjoys running on the trails of the East Bay hills and exploring local history sites.
Kevin teaches math at Marin Academy and is also the 9th-grade Dean. In his sixteen years at Marin Academy he has taught all levels of math from Algebra I to Multivariable Calculus, including courses in Computer Science, Number Theory, and the new transdisciplinary course on Smart Cities and Data Science. Prior to Marin Academy he worked at American and International schools in Europe.
Kevin earned a B.A. from Colgate University and a M.S. in Mathematical Sciences from Clemson University. In his spare time he enjoys reading fiction, riding road and mountain bikes, trying to surf, hiking, and spending time with his family.
The English Department Chair since 2020, Cathleen Sheehan has been a teacher at the Urban School since 1995 where she has taught and designed a variety of classes, including Shakespeare and Advanced Shakespeare. (Her party trick is relating any subject to Shakespeare.) Cathleen has been a theater professional for the better part of twenty years, working as a guest lecturer and writer for Shakespeare Santa Cruz as well as doing seasonal work primarily in dramaturgy with The Marin Shakespeare Company and The California Shakespeare Theater. In addition to helping students with college auditions, she has coached professional actors on audition monologues and lead text workshops with acting interns. Cathleen holds AB and MA degrees in English Literature from Stanford University and did post-graduate work in Victorian Literature at Oxford University.
Kevin Wray has been teaching mathematics for the past six years at The College Preparatory School, and prior to that for four years at the University of California at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently Kevin is teaching single variable calculus and multivariable calculus at CPS. He has also taught courses in linear algebra, abstract algebra, analysis, several seminars at Cal, as well as courses in classical mechanics, quantum physics, and relativity.
After finishing his undergrad, Kevin moved to Holland for a year as a member of the Mathematical Research Institute in Utrecht. He followed this by moving to Amsterdam, where he was a grad student in theoretical physics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. After completing his degree at the UvA, Kevin moved to Berkeley for work as a graduate student in mathematics. Upon completion at Cal, Kevin started work at The College Preparatory School.
Kevin enjoys taking hikes, bike rides, surfing, really pretty much anything outdoors, basketball, olympic-style weightlifting, and, of course, reading math and physics papers and books.
Nora is a saxophonist and composer from Queens, New York. She has written for, and performed with artists like David Murray, Butch Morris, Geri Allen, Mathew Tembo, and Macy Gray. She completed a PhD in jazz composition at the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. After relocating to Oakland in 2016, she has worked at SFUHS and the Athenian School, where she directs student ensembles and teaches classes in music history, composition, and electroacoustic music production. She maintains an active presence in the local music scene and performs throughout the US and Canada.
Anton Krukowski has been in the science department at Lick-Wilmerding High School since 2004, and has taught a number of classes including Brain & Behavior, Music & the Brain, Genetics & Evolution, Physics and Biology. Prior to teaching, he did research in neuroscience, visual and auditory perception, and got his PhD in Biophysics from UCSF. Anton also sings in chamber choirs, and has performed jazz standards on the piano.
Ashton Richards, a thirty+ year veteran of the classroom, teaches United States History and Modern World History at Branson where he has been teaching since 2010. A self-described “political junkie,” Ashton loves digging into the American political process and has done volunteer work on a number of political campaigns throughout his life. When he is not teaching or coaching, Ashton enjoys working in the garden, rowing, and cheering on his children in their various athletic pursuits. Ashton earned his BA in History at Syracuse University and his Master of Liberal Studies at Wesleyan University.
Megan has been teaching at University High School since 2015, and serves as the Math Department Chair. As a math educator for 16 years, she has experience ranging from Algebra I to AP Calculus BC. In addition, Megan has taught math online to high school students through Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development. Megan has an M.A. in Mathematics from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Educational Technology from Boise State University.
