Presenter Profiles
Keynote Speakers
Angela Lin
Executive Director, Elementary (TK-8)
Dr. Lin has served as Elementary and Middle School Teacher, K-12 Teacher on Special Assignment, Elementary and Middle School Principal, and Executive Director, TK-8. She leads 22 schools and is a UCLA, Pepperdine University, and Claremont Graduate University alumna.
Irene Rifilato
Project Director, County Office of Education, Career Technical Education Unit, Golden State Pathways Program - RTAC Division of Accountability, Support and Monitoring
Irene Rifilato joined LACOE in May of 2024 to head the Regional Technical Assistance Center for the Golden State Pathways Program. She brings 23 years of experience in education. Being the first in her family to complete college, she wholeheartedly believes that educational opportunity can transform lives. Irene worked at the City of Norwalk and at Toyota Motor Sales while attending Cerritos College and subsequently transferred to California Polytechnic Pomona University to study Behavioral Science. Irene pursued her Master’s Degrees at Chapman University for School Counseling and School Psychology. To gain a broad experience in education she sought internships with Cerritos College, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD). She became a School Counselor focused on tangible student outcomes at NLMUSD. With an interest in helping students with disabilities, Irene became a School Psychologist. She has also provided support to students as a College Counselor and Work-Based Learning Coordinator. With a passion for program efficacy and improving student outcomes, Irene became a Program Administrator/Adult Transition Principal in the Special Education serving elementary through secondary students at NLMUSD. Her diverse professional experience includes programmatic improvements for enhancing student outcomes, strategic planning, district-wide program development, community engagement, and compliance all, of which are elemental to the implementation of High-Quality Pathways and the GSPP Regional Technical Assistance Center.
Mark Anderson
Executive Director, High School
Mark Anderson is committed to building strong and equitable school systems in diverse communities. As a teacher and administrator, his work focuses on building community-centric Ethnic Studies, Early College and dual enrollment, AP and IB, CTE, apprenticeships, and, civic engagement.
Joanna Vazquez Zelaya
Deputy Director, Engagement & Implementation
Joanna Vazquez Zelaya, Deputy Director of Engagement and Implementation for Greater LA, serves Los Angeles county districts in learning about and intentionally leveraging and integrating CaliforniaColleges.edu to meet their college and career readiness goals and priorities.
Tamai Johnson, Ed.D.
Director, Engagement & Implementation
Dr. Johnson is Director of Engagement and Implementation for Greater LA. As a former LAUSD Administrator, she brings a strong equity-focused lens to her work that addresses the unique needs of educators, students, and families.
Sherri Franson
Principal, Fairgrove Academy
Principal of Fairgrove Academy of the Arts K-8 for 14 years, Principal Franson's leadership has received recognition with Fairgrove named among the 2024 California Schools to Watch and “Best Schools for Elementary and Middle School” by the U.S. News & World Report. Her journey is rich with professional experience as she has fulfilled educational roles as a middle school principal, assistant principal, literacy coach and elementary school teacher.
Biotechnology Pathway Alignment from Middle School to High School
Jungsoo Han
Teacher
Mr. Han is one of three teachers in the Biotechnology CTE Pathway at Wilson High School. He is also a HOSA Advisor and Science Olympiad Coach at Wilson High.
Chittiphat Jim Noiboonsook
Teacher
Chittiphat Jim Noiboonsook is a science educator with a single subject authorization in Biology and Chemistry at Mesa Robles Middle School. He has been teaching middle school for 18 years and coaching for the Science Olympiad for 15. Mr. Jim Noiboonsook is also a HOSA advisor and PLTW (Medical and Engineering) Facilitator.
Creating an Aviation Pathway from the Ground Up - Drones to Piloting
Cristian Maldonado
CTE Aviation Instructor
Cristian Maldonado is a Certified Flight Instructor with over 2000 hours of flight time. He taught at the college level for three years, and now serves Newton Middle School, Orange Grove Middle School and Los Altos High school as a first-time middle and high school teacher.
Classroom Visits
Ernesto Duarte
Teacher/Coach
For 20+ years, Ernesto Duarte has developed the media arts program at Fairgrove Academy, utilizing technology as a tool to create art. He believes that technology can level the playing field, giving students opportunities to create music, graphics, video, and more. Mr. Duarte holds a a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, a CTE Credential in Media, Arts and Entertainment, in addition to holding a Supplemental Authorization in Computer Concepts and Applications.
Rene Ballmaier
Choral Director
Renė Ballmaier has been teaching Choral Music in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District for the last 23 years at Fairgrove Academy. Over the last two decades she has also given private piano and vocal lessons and even did a brief stint as a staff member at Stagelight Perfoming Arts in the city of Brea. She received her B.A. in English and Music and M.A. from Whittier College. Currently, she also holds an Administrative Credential as well as a CTE Credential in Arts and Media Entertainment.
Wendy Guess
CTE Dance Teacher
Wendy Guess has served as the dance teacher at Fairgrove Academy for 10 years. She earned her Kinesiology degree from CSUF, teaching credentials from ULV and M.A. from GCU. In 2022, she obtained her CTE credentials.