Science cameron.kolk@intergenerational.school

Cam is passionate about Scientific Literacy in his students; he is an educator because he wants all students to be able to see themselves as scientists and connect scientific ways of thinking to their own lives and goals. Literacy is his number one goal and he strives for all his students to be able to understand claims and evidence to be able to understand and evaluate science in the media.

Cam completed his BS in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology at UC Santa Cruz. There, he did research on cougars and other large predators. He then received his Masters in Education from Stanford University.

Before coming to WIHS, Cam worked as a Community Educator for the Santa Cruz Mountain Lion Project, an Outdoor Educator with Naturalists at Large, as a Science Teacher at San Jose High School, and a substitute teacher at Bellingham Public Schools and Mt. Baker School District.

He spends his free time with way too many hobbies: Currently, he is very into bowhunting, spearfishing, woodworking, homesteading and cooking. He loves spending time with his wife, dog, two cats and 12 chickens. You can often find him in the mountains or on the water.

Cam’s favorite thing about WIHS is being able to spend time in the community and working in authentic contexts.

Special Education erin.obrien@intergenerational.school

Erin is grateful to be part of “the weave” here at WIHS. As a special education teacher, inclusion is her main passion here! She is also passionate about student success, instructional design, finding creative ways to engage students, and ensuring students of all abilities are included and supported in the classroom.

Erin has a BA from The Evergreen State College. Go Geoducks! For graduate school, she attended the University of Washington where she obtained a Masters in Teaching with an endorsement in secondary English instruction. Currently, Erin is a student of Seattle University working diligently to earn a second endorsement in K-12 Special Education.

Before WIHS, Erin taught 9th grade English in the Federal Way School District for 3 years.

In her free time, you can find Erin outside trail running, hiking, backpacking, paddle boarding or skiing.

Her favorite thing about WIHS is, of course, the kids! We have an amazing group of students who are caring, accepting, inquisitive, and unique. Not only does Erin get to teach and support her students, she is able to learn, grow, and shape her craft by learning from her students.

Spanish maria.torron-gomez@intergenerational.school

Maria Torrón-Gómez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in Literature and Humanities. After moving to Miami, she completed a Master’s in Modern Languages Education from Florida International University. She is a member of the Foreign Language Teachers Association and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, and has been a certified AP Spanish teacher and exam reader with the College Board since 2006.

Mrs. Torrón has been a teacher and mentor for over 30 years. She worked with Miami-Dade County Public Schools for over 15 years, teaching all levels of Spanish from kindergarten to high school. These teaching assignments provided a great opportunity to use her skills as a strong language teacher. Mrs. Torrón also includes her knowledge of history, literature, and the humanities in her practice.

She started and expanded an International Baccalaureate program at John A. Ferguson HS and became IB certified, later training and supervising 16 teachers in 8 different languages offered at the school. Mrs. Torrón taught and led an ESL department in Boston, MA for two years, where she also got an active certification in Spanish k-12.

She published a short, bilingual story dedicated to her late father in June 2012. She now lives in Bellingham with her husband Jose and continues her passion for teaching.

English Language Arts austin.johnson@intergenerational.school

Austin was born and raised in Washington state and feels a strong connection to the area. He completed his BA in Literature with a minor in Anthropology before earning his teaching certificate at Western Washington University. As a language arts teacher, it is important to him to share the significance and necessity of stories in all of our lives. He is very excited to prepare his students to better understand the world around them through critical literacy. Outside of school, Austin loves to read comic books, train Pokémon, and play games at his local game store

Math ashley.peele@intergenerational.school

Bio coming soon!

Paraeducator

Social Studies, Civics waverly.shreffler@intergenerational.school

Waverly grew up on the Olympic Peninsula (Sequim, WA), and cherishes the people and places that profoundly shaped her. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Education and a Master's in Teaching, with an endorsement in secondary social studies, both earned at Western Washington University. During her time there, she developed a passion for place-based learning, critical geography, environmental justice, and outdoor accessibility.

For the past decade, Waverly has worked with young people in various roles as a kayak instructor at the Community Boating Center, an outdoor educator, and an academic advisor/mentor for first-year college students. She is thrilled to join a dedicated team of lifelong learners and is excited to adopt WIHS values of curiosity, community, critical thinking, and experiential learning in her classes.

In her free time Waverly finds joy and solace paddling along the Salish Sea coastlines, exploring forest trails, enjoying meals with loved ones, and listening to live music.

Math katelin.catwell@intergenerational.school

Kit is excited to make math more accessible for students at WIHS. So many students are put off by math, but math is just a language like any other. She wants to help break down the barriers WIHS students are facing in mathematics and build up their understanding and confidence in themselves.

In her free time, Kit loves to work on creative writing projects, build Lego models, play video games and board games, watch anime, read, draw, swim… the list goes on! She also plays three different musical instruments: the ukulele, the banjolele, and the kalimba!

Kit is so excited to be a part of WIHS! She loves being able to work with a passionate and energetic group of educators and help positively impact the students. Kit loves the independence WIHS fosters in its students, and how it challenges them to think about problems critically and creatively to come up with novel solutions.

Art

paul.thelen@intergenerational.school