Amy Dresser Held, Executive Director: Amy Dresser Held joined the board of Citizens of the World Charter (CWC) in January and became Executive Director in July 2010. Prior to joining CWC, Amy served as Executive Director of Palisades Charter High School, a diverse, high performing charter high school of more than 2,700 students and 200 staff. In her capacity as Executive Director, Amy oversaw academics, finance (a $22 million annual budget), facilities, labor relations, legal, and communications. Prior to joining Pali High in 2006, Amy worked for several years at the Los Angeles Unified School District on the staff of then-School Board President Caprice Young, then as a Special Assistant to Senior Deputy Superintendent Maria Ott, and finally as Director of Policy and Communications with then-LAUSD School Board President Marlene Canter. Amy began her career as a Teach for America corps member, teaching a bilingual fifth grade class in Phoenix, followed by a position with Kaplan and completion of the Coro Public Affairs Leadership Training Post-Graduate Fellowship in Los Angeles. Amy received her B.S. in Humanities in International Affairs from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Amy is passionate about the mission and vision of Citizens of the World Charter. Amy is a language aficionado and a world traveler who has lived abroad in France and Mexico, and considers herself a citizen of the world. As a mother of two toddlers and a veteran educator, Amy considers CWC an ideal environment to nurture and develop in children not only exceptional academic achievement but a deep appreciation of the rich diversity of our society and a commitment to be of service to the local community and the larger world in which we live.

Marissa Berman, Founding Principal: Marissa received her B.A. from Columbia University and her Master's in Education from UC Berkeley. Most recently, she was an administrator and teacher at the North Oakland Community Charter School (NOCCS), including a three year stint on their Board of Directors. Given her time at NOCCS as a K/1 and 2/3 teacher, Marissa is a hands-on instructional leader who is closely connected to her own experience as a classroom teacher and developer of curriculum. In her administrative functions at NOCCS, she helped lead fundraising efforts, while also having redesigned their after-school program, created a school-wide service-learning curriculum and developed a structure for after-school math intervention. Similar to her role at CWC, Marissa participated in teacher mentoring and professional development. Previous to her time at NOCCS, Marissa worked at various public and independent elementary schools in San Francisco and the Bay Area. She is a Project Zero Fellow at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, where she has led teacher training workshops and study groups on the Teaching for Understanding curriculum development framework, which CWC uses to structure thematic and interdisciplinary units at each grade level.

Marissa is a true "citizen of the world," growing up in Chicago and having lived in New York and San Francisco respectively for several years. Additionally, Marissa feels privileged to have had amazing opportunities living in Cameroon and France as well. With a true passion for travel, Marissa has learned a great deal from time spent in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America, Europe and North America. She speaks French and some basic Spanish.

Marissa is incredibly passionate about the mission and vision for CWC - she said when she was first reading our website she felt like we had written it personally for her! Her enthusiasm and leadership around CWC's core values is truly contagious. Marissa's great aim is that Citizens of the World will exist as proof that a progressive public school like ours will thrive in offering a diverse group of students an innovative, thought-provoking and educational experience - to, in essence, develop a new generation of positive leaders and thoughtful citizens of the world.

We are very pleased to welcome Marissa to CWC and believe she will be a tremendous instructional leader for our school.

Angelica Martinez Sammons, Office Manager: After attending San Jose State University Angelica began her career working for Crate and Barrel. As a manager she lead, inspired and educated a staff of 60. Angelica further challenged her managerial skills by working for a very successful five-star Hellenic restaurant in the heart of Silicon Valley. Moving to Los Angeles in 2000, she worked for the Screen Actors Guild and American International Group, fine-tuning her administrative skills. Angelica next worked for Prime Property Group, owners of the historical Park La Brea Apartments. As the Office Manager she lead the new acquisition due diligence team. Angelica is most proud of her involvement with the company's physical and the personnel expansion.

For the past five years, she has served on the board of the local mother's of multiples club. She finds it personally rewarding in helping new parents of multiples gain information and confidence in parenting multiples. Angelica's most challenging career to date is being a mother to twin boys, Benicio and Maddox. She lives in Eagle Rock with her husband, their twins, and an English Bulldog.

Gloria Bigelow, After School Program Coordinator: For the past 7 years Gloria Bigelow has made a living as a teaching artist in New York City. She has taught theatre and leadership skills in over 30 schools in the 5 boroughs. Before moving to New York, she attended The University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign where she earned her MFA in acting and taught the fundamentals of acting and a course in African American theatre. Gloria spent two years at The Park School of Baltimore as a teaching fellow under Ameri-Corps where she co-taught in both a 2nd and 4th grade classroom. When not working with children, Gloria is a stand-up comic. Gloria is originally from Pittsburgh, PA.

Abi Stirling, Family Support Coordinator: Ms. Stirling is honored to have the opportunity to join the CWC community for another year. Having started as an after school program teacher and then as a 2nd grade Teaching Assistant, Abi is ecstatic to use this prior experience to fill the Family Support Coordinator role to support student learning and family engagement within our larger community. As a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Boston, Abi has tutored Spanish, volunteered as a garden club teacher, and worked with a children's choir in Queens, New York on a combination of vocal expression, drama, and movement. Abi is an avid cyclist, dancer, snowboarder, and world traveler. Having moved to Los Angeles in 2010, she looks forward to bringing her love of children, culture, and the arts to CWC. She believes children teach adults as much as adults teach children and looks forward to encouraging curiosity and learning within all CWC students.

Vivian Lee, Kindergarten Lead Teacher: Mrs. Lee is thrilled to be part of the founding faculty at Citizens of the World. Although she has worked at several charter schools in L.A., including Santa Monica Community Charter and most recently at Westwood Charter, she is very excited to be at the forefront of a brand new school. She feels fortunate to be part of a school community that promotes critical thinking, embraces multiple intelligences, and cultivates leadership and global citizenship for everyone-students, teachers, and parents. Vivian is a true Southern California native who also attended UCLA, where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Developmental Psychology. She then went on to Pepperdine University to receive her MA in Education as well as a MA in Educational Administration. Still a newlywed, Vivian and her husband, Spencer, just celebrated their 1-year anniversary. She loves to travel with her husband, especially to Hawaii. Back at home, Vivian can always be found checking out her favorite bands in concert, enjoying the newest restaurants in town or trying out new recipes in her kitchen. Vivian is literate in Spanish while also being fluent in Korean.

Rend Al-Kassir, Kindergarten Lead Teacher: Ms. Al-Kassir is so excited to be joining the CWC family and to have the opportunity of bringing the school's philosophy to life in the classroom. After growing up in the L.A. area and graduating from El Camino Real High School, she enrolled at the UC, Santa Barbara and earned a BA in Global Studies followed by a MA at Pepperdine University. In spite of her California roots, Rend spent her first year teaching internationally in London, England at Kings Avenue Primary School. After moving back to L.A., she has spent the past three years teaching multiple grade levels at 32nd Street/USC Visual and Performing Arts Magnet, where she loved the opportunity of integrating the Arts into her classroom! Outside of her life as a teacher, Rend is very close to her family and is the oldest of four; one sister and two brothers. She enjoys traveling, dance, learning photography, reading, eating cookie dough ice cream, and playing with her German Shepard Sophia "Sophie" Loren. While having basic language abilities in Spanish and French, Rend is also fluent in Arabic languages.

David Coronel, Kindergarten Lead Teacher: Mr. Coronel is very enthusiastic to join the Citizens of the World Charter School. Having just returned to his native California, David was recently teaching first grade for several years in New York City at the Dual-Language Institute, P.S. 150. As a teacher, David has always been committed to providing a safe and comfortable learning environment in which individualized, child-centered instruction is imperative -- ensuring that all children thrive both academically and socially, while also developing a genuine profound love for learning. David certainly considers himself to be a life-long learner, often getting lost in the aisles of bookstores and libraries for hours on end, brimming with excitement to find a stack of new books to read when home. In his free time, you'll find David venturing the nearby hiking trails, attending concerts in local parks, exploring new restaurants, and hanging out at his favorite coffeehouses. David can read and write fluently in Spanish while also having conversational abilities in Portuguese.

Nikki Grakal, 1st Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Grakal has been teaching for 14 years. She began as a Teach for America Teacher in Compton and, since then, has taught in South LA ever since, serving a low income, mostly Latino community. In 2002 she became Nationally Board Certified in English Language Development. In addition to her role as a classroom teacher, Nikki was a reading and writing coach for 3 years, training teachers how to implement writer's workshop and independent reading in their own classrooms. She is very passionate about making sure ALL children have access to child centered, meaningful curriculum, and is very excited to be in an environment that is diverse and will support her growth as a constructivist teacher. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and practicing yoga! Ms. Grakal is proficient in conversational Spanish.

Carol Van Heerden, 1st Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Van Heerden is thrilled to be joining CWC, an exciting new school that is very much in line with her personal beliefs about teaching and learning. Before coming to teaching several years ago, Carol had a career in the creative arts, a passion she has continued to infuse in her time as a classroom teacher. Carol received her Masters in Teaching from USC and has been teaching first grade for LAUSD at 6th Avenue Elementary School. Keeping tied to her previous career as a textile artist, Carol is also an instructor of Textile Design at FIDM in downtown Los Angeles. Outside of school, Carol takes an active interest in the adoption community and the special issues faced by trans-racial adoptees and families. She lives in Santa Monica with her husband Chris Rozé and their 11-year old daughter Lucy, various cats, guinea pigs and fish. Chris, Lucy and Carol share an interest in art, books, music, and movies.

Jacqueline Melendez, 1st Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Melendez grew up and attended K-12 in Hollywood, CA, where she first discovered her love for the world of education. After high school, she attended UC San Diego, where she found a passion in the study of Sociology. However, education was always at the forefront of her career. After graduating, she came back to Los Angeles to attend Pepperdine University, where she recently graduated and received her MA in Education and her Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials. Jackie is excited to begin working at Citizens of the World Charter, given that it's hard to find a public school that holds the same mission and values related to education as she does. She looks forward to working, learning, and having fun at this new and amazing school. Jackie is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Genie Son, 2nd Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Son is delighted to be joining the CWC community. She graduated from UC Irvine with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Education. She then received her MA in Education from Biola University, focusing her thesis on parent choice for charter schools. In her first years with her own classroom, Ms. Son returned to her hometown in the Silicon Valley to teach 1st grade while working at her family's Korean restaurant. Feeling the pull back down to southern California, Genie then joined Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts, where she taught 2nd and 3rd grade for three years. Genie desires to show all of her students how learning can be meaningful and fun. She views her position as an educator to be one who facilitates the learning process and who empowers children to discover, create, and demonstrate knowledge with the right guidance and support. Genie is also passionate about integrating the arts into the curriculum and allowing students to show their understanding in creative ways. Outside of school, Genie enjoys playing the piano, finding good eats, reading on her Kindle, and chasing her dog, "Ernie." Ms. Son is fluent in Korean.

Susanne Park, 2nd Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Park is very excited and eager to join Citizens of the World. Although Susanne is a Southern California native, she lived in New York City for the past 6 years and has just recently moved back to be with family and friends. She feels truly lucky to have joined a school community that embraces the same core values and principles that she does as an educator. Before moving to New York City, Susanne attended UCLA, where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Education. After graduating, she felt the need to explore and gain new experiences, having lived her entire life to date in Los Angeles. Susanne then moved to New York City to attend Teachers College at Columbia University where she received her MA is Elementary Teaching & Curriculum. In New York City, Susanne dedicated herself to a charter school in Harlem, called Harlem Link, where she taught 2nd grade for 4 years. After being in the classroom for 4 years, she decided to take on a leadership role at Harlem Link, where she worked closely with teachers on how to effectively implement data and assessment in their classrooms. Most recently, she worked as a long-term substitute at Oakwood School to cover a teacher there during her maternity leave. Susanne loves being back in CA and spends her free time reading, hiking with her dog Jack and relaxing with her friends and family on the sunny beaches of LA! Susanne is literate and fluent in Korean.

Nicole Hill, 2nd Grade Lead Teacher: Ms. Hill is thrilled to be joining the CWC community! After receiving her B.A. from Fairfield University in Connecticut, Nicole said farewell to her east coast roots and embraced life in Los Angeles, where she participated in a one-year volunteer program. Through this year of service within an inner-city school, Nicole became truly committed to urban education. She then received her M.A. in Education from Loyola Marymount University, which she received while teaching 4th grade at the Dolores Mission School since 2007. She is incredibly passionate about progressive methods of teaching that allow all students to achieve full personal development and, in so doing, become actively engaged citizens who can promote a more truly democratic society. She has found a perfect fit in CWC, as its mission supports her personal values and beliefs about education. Nicole is eager to learn and grow with the faculty, students, and families at CWC! Outside of school, Nicole can often be found practicing yoga or hanging out at her favorite coffee shops in Santa Monica, where she lives. She also enjoys reading, and cooking delicious vegetarian dishes!

Mekenzie Kay Schneider, Visual Arts Teacher: Ms. Schneider is a graduate of Otis College of Art and Design. With a degree in painting, she has been teaching various art courses throughout the greater Los Angeles area for the last several years, most currently at the Young Artist's Summer Program at Otis College as well as at the charming Wizard of Art, a small private studio located in Los Feliz Village. Mekenzie is excited to collaborate with the CWC family to challenge and inspire our students to become amazing creative members of the community. She aims to brighten eyes and smiles!

Cynthia Romo, Music Teacher: Ms. Romo was born and raised in greater Los Angeles. She attended Azusa Pacific University where she received her BA in Music Education and is currently attending Cal State Los Angeles earning a California Credential. She has always had a passion for music: playing, performing, and teaching. She is inspired to teach music to children from all parts of the world and has been lucky to have taught internationally as well as locally. She most recently spent the last 3 years working with Camino Nuevo Charter Academy in general education as well as music education. Ms. Romo is looking forward to the opportunity to share her love for the art of music and to explore, create, grow and learn with the future leaders of CWC.

Kathia Garcia, Kindergarten Teaching Assistant: Ms. Garcia grew up in the Los Angeles area. She moved to Northern California for college and later received her BA from UC Davis. While there, she worked with a program called Davis Bridge that provided free after-school tutoring services for local schools. Through this program she realized her calling in education. Most recently she was a TA for Camino Nuevo Charter Academy and an SES tutor for the Youth Policy Institute. She is excited to be joining the Citizens of the World TA team and is looking forward to completing her credential certification in the near future. In addition, Ms. Garcia is fully fluent in Spanish. Aside from working with students, she enjoys trying new restaurants with friends, traveling locally, catching the most current action films and reading.

Philip Hur, Kindergarten Teaching Assistant: Philip Hur has wanted to become an educator since he was in high school. He pursued his passion by attending California State University, Northridge and obtaining his B.A. in Liberal Studies along with his multiple subject teaching credential (with a concentration in Mathematics). While pursuing his degree, he has also worked as an aide at Community Magnet Charter School in 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade since 2004. Not only has Philip worked with children in a school setting, he has also worked with children as a swimming instructor, a tutor, and as the founder of his own after school program. He is also working as a physical trainer and has attended Nike workshops geared toward helping structure P.E. lessons for children. He has also grown up in this community his whole life and is fluent in Korean. He also loves to have fun and enjoys outdoor activities. Some of his favorites include bicycling, surfing, and playing basketball. Philip is very excited to begin a new chapter of his teaching career at CWC.

Laura Weinberg, Kindergarten Teaching Assistant: Ms. Weinberg recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison where she studied Human Development and Family Studies. Last year she worked at Wisconsin Public Television doing children's outreach. She has also has four years of experience as a camp counselor where she first discovered her passion for working with children. As a Los Angeles native, Laura is excited to be back in sunny California as a teaching assistant. When visiting CWC she was enthralled by the tight knit community and amazing opportunities that the school has to offer young citizens of the world. She is excited to join the CWC community and is looking forward to bringing the school's incredible mission to life.

Nicole Smith, 1st Grade Teaching Assistant: Nicole Smith comes to us most recently after spending four years as a behavior therapist working one-on-one with children of various ages who have special needs; helping them to be successful in the classroom and facilitate peaceful relationships with their peers. Before 2005, Nicole lived in South Florida, where she grew up with her mom, dad and younger sister. She graduated from J.P. Taravella High School and attended the local community college before deciding to bring her imagination and experience to Los Angeles. Nicole is currently attending Santa Monica College and will transfer to UC Northridge to earn a degree in child development. Her ultimate goal is to be an educator of students with various abilities and capacities, regardless of their cognitive, physical, or emotional differences. Aside from her love of working with kids, Nicole also enjoys reading, art, yoga, TV, eating with friends, being with her fiancé, spending time with her cats (Blue and Merlin), and sleeping. She is very much looking forward to being a part of this amazing community that we are ALL about to be a very important part of. As the saying goes, "It takes a village."

Patricia Anthonyson, 1st Grade Teaching Assistant: Ms. Anthonyson was greatly influenced by her grandfather and great aunt who were founders of a grammar school in Antigua, West Indies, which is still in operation. Her mother is one of ten children, most of whom were and still are educators. Although she grew up in the Caribbean, she attended high school in Montreal, Canada, and moved to New York after graduation. She has had many different jobs since she was a teenager, but has always wanted to be a teacher or work with children in some capacity. She loves making jewelry, sewing, knitting, traveling, and word games. She's excited to be a part of the CWC community, to have the opportunity and experience what she needs to move forward with her goal of becoming a teacher. She knows she will learn a lot from CWC's unique philosophy and curriculum.

Sara Bohnsack, 1st Grade Teaching Assistant: Sara Bohnsack grew up in Cleveland, Ohio before moving to New York City to attend The New School as a first-generation college student. There, as a student in university classes and a literacy teacher in elementary classrooms, her understanding of the world and her position in it changed dramatically, and she began to think deeply about the role that schools and young people can play in the struggle for race, class, and gender justice. Sara is brand new to Los Angeles, having just arrived here from Providence, Rhode Island where she was completing her Masters in Elementary Education at Brown University. At Brown, she was part of a community composed of powerful and brilliant educators and students that she feels truly honored to have in her life. Sara is excited to join the community of CWC. She is intrigued by the school's commitment to prepare citizens of the world and very interested in the process of defining what this means with students and for herself.

Vanessa Catudio, 2nd Grade Teaching Assistant: Mrs. Catudio grew up at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert and, later, in San Diego. She graduated from the University of Miami where, in addition to studying Psychology, she tutored underprivileged elementary school students in English language skills. Meanwhile, she also spent summers as a camp counselor in upstate New York and teaching English to high school students in China. After college, Vanessa worked for a nonprofit organization in Beverly Hills but eventually decided to return to her educational roots and pursue her teacher's certification. She has spent the past two years student teaching and working as an aide at Larchmont Charter School - West Hollywood and is very excited to continue her educational career at Citizens of the World. Vanessa loves teaching because it provides her the opportunity to make a difference in children's lives as well as the world at large. Her interests also include reading (Harry Potter is her favorite), photography, hiking and going to Disneyland!

Becky Sarto, 2nd Grade Teaching Assistant: Though Becky Sarto grew up in Los Angeles, she has spent the last five years in northern California where she recently received her MA in education and multiple subject credential from UC Santa Cruz. During her time in school she developed a teaching philosophy that centers on creating a challenging yet supportive classroom environment. She loves the idea of incorporating creativity into the curriculum as well and hopes to share her love of art with her students. Becky also has a BA in fine art and in her free time she enjoys painting, drawing, and spending time with her family and cats. Education is very much a passion of her's and Becky cannot wait to become part of the Citizens of the World community.