2025-2026 Faculty Cohort
Jason Chang joined the history department at College Prep in 2021, and teaches ninth grade Asian Worlds and a senior seminar on the History of Capitalism. 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.
Bryan Jennewein, or “Dr. Bry” as he prefers to be called, is a Computer Science and English teacher at Head-Royce School. For more than twenty years, he worked in industry for a variety of technology companies and start-ups, including Salesforce and Splunk/Cisco.
Throughout these career years, he has taught a variety of classes at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels, and in 2024 made the transition to teaching high school full time. He earned his undergraduate degree in English from Stetson University, and his master’s degree in English from Creighton University with a focus on the intersection of composition pedagogy and digital technologies. He earned his Ph.D. in Transformative Studies with an endorsement in Consciousness Studies from the California Institute for Integral Studies, where he designed a transdisciplinary approach toward appreciative methodologies that beget cultural flourishing for technology companies.
As an educator, Dr. Bry remains both a transdisciplinarian and a social constructivist, believing that great meaning and movements await those that would thoughtfully deconstruct the strictly disciplinary to instead fashion entirely new ways of knowing, being, and believing.
Dr. Bry currently lives in Oakland with his best friend, two cats, an air fryer, and a Disney+ account.
Meaning of Life: Philosophy & Lit
Scott Laughlin has been teaching English at San Francisco University High School for over twenty years. He’s served as Department Chair (twice), Class Dean, and Mentor, among many other roles. He’s also the Co-Founder and Director of the DISQUIET Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal and is an advocate for Gap Years through his program Open Road. Scott is also a parent of two teenage girls and loves the NBA.
Alex Quinn joined College Prep’s science department in 2023 and teaches physics and chemistry. Prior to working at College Prep, Alex taught middle school science in Richmond, CA. They graduated from College Prep in 2015 and then studied biology and engineering at Harvey Mudd College. After college, Alex got their MA in Education from Claremont Graduate University and began their teaching career.
In their free time, Alex loves reading science fiction, fiction, and fantasy. On a week night, you’re likely to find them at the gym lifting weights, running, or working on their handstands. On the weekend, Alex races sailboats, bakes bread, and walks their roommate’s poodle.
Dr. David Hanson is the Chief Financial and Operating Officer for The Branson School. He is also a partner with Winthrop & Associates, LLC, a consultancy focused on financial and operational sustainability, as well as legal and risk management for non-profit organizations, colleges and independent schools. Prior to joining Branson, Hanson served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Boston office of a global non-profit foundation where he oversaw operations, finance, accounting, investment management, information technology, human resources, and facilities functions. Prior to joining that foundation, Dr. Hanson served Phillips Exeter Academy in dual roles as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer. He had responsibility for all financial affairs, information technology, human resources, risk management and legal affairs, as well as facilities and various operating departments.
Hanson is a full-scholarship graduate of the University of Tampa’s Sykes College of Business, and earned a J.D. from Ohio Northern University with high distinction as his class valedictorian, also on an academic merit scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in education and business from the University of Florida and Emory University, respectively, and earned his doctorate in education management from the University of Pennsylvania, which he completed with distinction in his dissertation defense. He has taught classes and given presentations at institutions across the globe, and his articles have appeared in publications like NASPA’s Net Impact Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the University of Tampa Journal. He currently volunteers for various nonprofit organizations and runs marathons to raise money for those organizations.
Digital Music Production & Marketing
Vicente Jurado combines a deep passion for electronic music with more than 15 years of teaching experience across Spain, Ireland, the UK, the USA, and Cameroon. He earned an M.A. in Music Production from ProAudio – Escuela de Música Electrónica, the Ableton Certified Training Center in Sevilla, Spain, where he developed hands-on skills in music creation. His time working and collaborating in Ibiza, the heart of the global electronic music scene, has been especially influential in shaping his perspective on music and its vibrant culture.
Alongside his music background, Vicente holds a B.A. in World Languages, an M.A. in Peace Culture, Education, and Human Rights, and a Ph.D. in Social Science. These academic experiences inform his approach to teaching, which focuses on creativity, inclusivity, and using music as a tool for positive change.
With his international experience and strong foundation in music production, Vicente is dedicated to helping students develop their skills and navigate the complex world of music with confidence.
Zen in the Bay: A Holistic Exploration of Buddhist Meditation & Practice
Since 2006 Erin Merk has been a faculty member at Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco, teaching yoga, health, human sexuality, and rock climbing classes to students through the Body-Mind Education department. Erin began Zen practice at San Francisco Zen Center’s City Center and has also lived at Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara. She was priest-ordained in 2005 by Eijun Linda Cutts and was Shuso (head student) at Tassajara in 2012. In 2024 she received dharma transmission from Eijun-san, and continues to practice and teach at all three centers as her schedule allows. She is delighted to be offering this BlendEd course to students from around the Bay!
Cinematic Storytelling: Fundamentals of Filmmaking
Peter started out as a playwright and earned his MA at Boston University and his MFA from UCLA. His plays have been produced at a wide range of theaters and venues including Boston Playwrights Theater, Francis Ford Coppola’s One Act Festival, Kennedy Center Festival, Oakland’s Black Box Theater, and Stanford University. He has been published in MONOLOGUES FOR ACTORS OF COLOR (Roberta Uno, editor).
He also is a screenwriter and his last screenplay, LINK, has made it onto Coverfly’s Red List and it was listed in the top 6 percent out of over 11,000 short film screenplays. LINK has received accolades and awards from the following festivals: Hollyshorts, Austin Film Festival, Outstanding Screenplays, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, WeScreenplay Shorts, New York International Screenplay Awards, Top Shorts Film Festival, and many more.
In addition to screenwriting, Peter has been a drama and film teacher for twenty years and has worked with youth from the inner city to the suburbs. He currently teaches filmmaking at The Athenian School. He is also the founder of the film production company, Storytelling for the Screen LLC. Visit his latest project at www.questionfilm.com.
Evan has been teaching at San Francisco University High School since 2022 and has been teaching Latin, Ancient Greek, and Classics courses generally since 2014. Evan earned a BA in Classics from Xavier University and a MA in Classics from Vanderbilt University. Evan also did PhD work in both Classics (Cornell) and Applied Linguistics (Ball State University). Evan’s graduate school work focused in Classics on ancient philosophy and medicine and on LGBTQ+/Queer language use in Applied Linguistics. As a teacher of Classical languages Evan is aligned with a student-centered, humanistic, multimodal approach to learning which incorporates insights from linguistics and language-acquisition research. Outside of the classroom Evan is an accomplished bluegrass musician (banjo, guitar) and singer, performing regularly at venues in the Bay Area and beyond. Evan identifies as gay/queer, uses they/he pronouns, and lives at home with Andres, a 12 year-old Yorkie.
The Golden Gate: Bay Area Literature, History & Activism
James has been an English and Humanities teacher at Marin Academy for the past seven years, where he has also served as the Director of Community Action and a co-teacher in the Transdisciplinary Leadership Program. A fifth-generation Californian, James is passionate about Bay Area and California history, and sees community engagement and experiential learning as essential components of his teaching. He completed his BA degree in English from the University of San Diego and MA degrees in both English and Education from Stanford University. He is also a published writer and musician and brings together his various interests and experitise in the design of The Golden Gate course.
Charlotte has been the Digital Literacy Specialist/Librarian at Branson since 2021. Previously she served as Director of Library Services at the Northwest School in Seattle, and has over a decade of experience in both public, academic and school libraries. Before becoming a librarian, she taught and developed arts & humanities programs for various non-profits. She’s passionate about cultivating learner-centered spaces that address equity gaps, incorporate information literacy standards, and encourage a love of reading. One of her favorite things to do at Branson is collaborate with faculty and students on a variety of research projects, especially those that uncover the magic of primary sources. She has a degree in women and gender studies with a concentration in art history from DePaul University, and a master’s in library and information sciences from San Jose State University.
She’s presented numerous times on equity issues including a briefing presented to the California State Library in 2018 as part of the California Library Leadership Institute. She also presented on teaching and promoting anti-racism for the 2017 California Library Association conference.
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.
Hearing in Color: Level Up Your Music Listening
Jeff is a data solutions architect and internationally performed and exhibited artist-composer who teaches Creative Code + Design at Lick-Wilmerding High School.
The MIT Museum exhibited his comparative data visualizations of sixty pianists’ interpretations of Anton Webern’s solo piano variations. His work has also been featured in Art in America, Computer Music Journal, San Francisco Classical Voice, the Association of Computing Machinery’s Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, Ecopsychology, the International Conference on Technologies of Music Notation and Representation (A Coruña, 2017), and JupyterCon (NYC, 2018).
