2020 Summer Institute Facilitator Bios

Jessica Catoggio: Elementary Ed Facilitator
Jessica Catoggio has 15 years of teaching experience in both public and independent schools. Currently a 4th grade teacher, Jessica values inquiry, curiosity and questioning in the classroom and builds lasting relationships with her many students. Developing flexible, reflective thinkers and compassionate, contemplative minds is among her top priorities. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. A lifelong learner, Jessica has also received a coaching certification from the Curry School at the University of Virginia and has participated in multiple levels of The Buck Institute’s Project Based Learning training. Jessica has local and international experience in training and coaching teachers and learning teams on effective implementation of inquiry teaching and experiential learning. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, travel and outdoor fun with her family.

Jeremy Goldstein: History Facilitator
After graduate school, Jeremy worked as a Forensic Archaeologist and Anthropologist in Southeast Asia. In 1998 he was fortunate enough to pursue his passion for teaching when he served as a long term substitute in a Chester, S.C. public high school. His independent school background includes teaching grades 5-12 in a wide array of subjects that cover Modern Languages (French/Spanish), World and US History, Science, Global Studies, and World Religions. Currently, he teaches a senior elective on Antisemitism, the Holocaust, and Genocide. He began working in educational leadership when he was tasked with directing a growing Global Education program in Rhode Island. He now serves on the senior leadership team at Episcopal High School as the Director of Experiential Education where he supports faculty in developing innovative place-based curriculum, designs new professional development opportunities, and helps grow the school's network of partners in the greater Washington area. Using his anthropology experience and a design thinking mindset, he strives to build energy around innovation, and connecting his school community to unique partnerships. You can learn more about Jeremy thorugh is LinkedIn profile and professional portfolio.

Now entering her fourth summer as the science discipline facilitator at the Institute, Megan joins us from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, where she teaches physics and robotics. Megan’s students have learned through experience in diverse ways, including playing music on instruments they built, taking photos with pinhole cameras they designed, and analyzing the physics of popular viral videos. The key, she says, to make a classroom experiential is twofold: 1) adjust your traditional notions of “covering content” and 2) allow students the time and space to genuinely reflect on their experiences. Megan has blogged throughout her career in public and independent schools at http://kalamitykat.com and on Twitter from @mgolding. Before finding her way to the classroom, she worked in the factory automation and internet security industries. Megan holds a MAT in Secondary Mathematics Education from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Engineering in Materials Engineering from Auburn University.

Melissa Manning: English Discipline Facilitator 
Melissa Manning has taught her favorite subject (English!) for 25 years, first at the UW (where she earned a Ph.D.) and then at various independent schools in Seattle. Her decision 12 years ago to leave a traditional, AP-centric school for a K-12 grounded in experiential practices transformed her understanding of how students learn. At The Bush School, Melissa enjoys an environment that encourages teachers to wade into difficult conversations and take risks in trying out new ideas. Along the way, she has acquired a tool-belt of experiential practices, including project-based learning at Buck Institute, design thinking, restorative circles, and place-based learning at the school’s Methow campus across the mountains in eastern Washington.

As a 9-12 English teacher and department head, Melissa has co-mentored and co-facilitated the expansion of the inquiry-based curriculum, supervised the student-run Writing Center, and run three-week, immersive “Cascades” with math and science colleagues. She has developed an array of electives that utilize the KOLB cycle of hands-on learning, reflection, conceptualization, and transference of knowledge to new problems and questions. Melissa takes advantage of the school’s proximity to downtown Seattle to tap into urban resources and experts who are willing to provide experiences related to the literature. In Great Plays, a local theater director runs a table reading for a play, with exercises to find beats, develop characters, and block scenes. In The City, an architect accompanies students to a city neighborhood, pointing out how urban design principles have been used to revitalize public spaces.

Melissa is an avid hiker, yoga practitioner, and long-distance swimmer. Last year, she and her husband used the six-month Sabbatical she was awarded to explore and blog about their adventures in SE Asia, New Zealand and SE Australia and French Catalonia.

Christie has been teaching for over fifteen years. For the last seven years, she has been teaching middle school history, English, and various electives. During this time, she has developed unique lessons, fun activities, and creative assessments for 5th through 8th grades. Currently, she is the Director for Experiential Learning at Lake Forrest Preparatory School in Maitland, Fl. She is enjoying every moment of supporting her amazing team of educators in developing their own styles of EE. Most recently, Christie held two workshops at the 2019 Association for Experiential Education International Conference and was the Playnote Speaker for the 2018 AEE Southeast Regional Conference. Additionally, her Playscape was featured at the 2018 International AEE Conference, and her article, My 8th Grade Class Is Full of Spies!, was published on the AEE blog. She is excited to be a part of the ISEEN family and looks forward to the 2020 Summer Institute.

Siva Sankrithi: Math Discipline Facilitator
Siva Sankrithi returned to Lakeside School (Seattle) at nineteen to teach high school math, with his BS Math/Music and MS Applied Math from the University of Washington. Throughout his life, he has learned experientially both in the classroom and out, gleaning wisdom from whatever he was doing, whether it was traveling the world or cooking with his family, playing his flute or competing over a chessboard, tennis court, or table tennis table. He now he enjoys his time with his wife Aarti and sons Sarang (6) and Vivaan (2). He spent ten years teaching at Lakeside, integrating innovative experiential curriculum into traditional math courses (algebra through multivariable calculus). He’s developed many new courses at Lakeside such as linear optimization, geopolitics, election theory, and game theory. He developed and taught the Global Online Academy Game Theory course, honing his pedagogical practices as facilitator and way-finder in the online space. He is currently a stay-at-home Dad and experiential homeschool educator for his sons (4th grade and preschool, respectively), a nonprofit CEO and educational consultant for students and teachers alike with WIISER, an analyst in the renewable energy and automotive engineering fields with RIC Enterprises, as well as a flautist with Rainbow City Performing Arts. He believes there is a genius in everyone and our job as educators is to identify, encourage, nurture, and facilitate it, utilizing said genius to help overcome obstacles. Recent projects include curriculum design for a new independent high school in Seattle, utilizing chess as a vehicle to bridge the kindergarten readiness gap in WA public schools, and working with preK-post-grad math educators to make math education more equitable, experiential, encouraging and supportive of all students. He is thrilled to be returning to facilitate the ISEEN math cohort at this conference for a fifth consecutive year.

Sarah Tiamiyu: Elementary Ed Facilitator
Sarah Tiamiyu is an  Elementary Ed Facilitator co-teaching with Jessica Catoggio. Sarah formerly taught Elementary Education at  Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. She currently teaches multi-aged students at the first modern global school, the Whittle School and Studios in Washington, DC. As she embarks on her 19th year of teaching, in both public and independent schools, she continues to make arts integration central to her teaching and experiential education work. She is deeply focused on personalizing curriculum that is adaptable to both student's needs and strengths. For Sarah, learning is pervasive and must go beyond both the classroom and teacher. She has written multiple grants in her career focused on differentiation, mindfulness and experiential learning. She has completed all PBL courses through the Buck Institute as well as being an active participant at the annual POCC hosted by NAIS.

In her current classroom setting, you can find her students driven by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, building structures that personify an emotion, or producing and filming their own documentaries.

She is originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and holds a degree in Special Education from the University of Alberta (2002). She launched her career in Toronto, teaching French Immersion and providing remedial support to students with Special Needs. Her graduate studies included a focus on Elementary Mathematics, through the University of Toronto before moving to the District of Columbia in 2007

Lynne West: World Languages Facilitator
After spending 17 years both teaching and leading teachers in K-12 schools in San Jose, California, Lynne West founded Sunodia Educational Consulting to share her passion for teaching with her fellow educators. As a teacher, she used her foundation in backward curricular planning and cooperative learning to design creative and engaging lessons for her students. In 2016, she was a recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching grant and spent six months conducting a research project in the Netherlands on language learning methodologies. Lynne has presented workshops on cooperative learning, differentiated instruction, backward planning, and teaching with technology. In addition, she provides personalized instructional coaching sessions. Lynne earned her teaching credential from Santa Clara University, her masters in Classics from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and her BA in Ancient Greek and Latin from the University of California at Los Angeles.