Our Team

Srta. Karla has been an invaluable member of the Early Education team for over a decade, radiating passion for the Pre-K experience and cherishing the unforgettable moments of teaching young minds. As the Spanish teacher at ACDS, she inspires students of all ages, greeting each one with a cheerful "¡Hola!" Beyond the classroom, Srta. Karla is dedicated to expanding her musical talents by learning to play the keyboard and finding joy in hiking through California's stunning landscapes. A true food enthusiast, she loves exploring diverse cuisines. This summer, she is eager to continue immersing herself in the summer camp program, where she plans to introduce engaging and creative activities that empower students to express their inner rock stars.

Marina Blom has been teaching at ACDS as an elementary enrichment teacher for 4 years, including the cooking elective for middle school (for 3 years). She is currently teaching Art 1 st grade and Garden K-3rd grades. Marina is passionate about teaching children cooking, one of the important life skills which helps young people get around in the kitchen. It is fun, healthy and makes children feel more independent in the kitchen. Marina loves cooking Scandinavian healthy food, as well as baking cookies and sourdough bread. She also enjoys reading, gardening, watercoloring and drawing, hiking and bicycling with her 12-year old son.

Sarah Bratcher has been teaching middle school English for over 8 years and currently teaches sixth-grade English at ACDS. Sarah is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and is working toward completing a 300-hour program. She is passionate about bringing mindfulness and yoga to our school community and believes yoga is not just a physical practice, but also a mindset and way of life. Sarah also enjoys reading, thrifting, listening to podcasts, taking care of houseplants, being outdoors, and spending time with her one-year-old son.

Cady Burstein graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in Economics. She received her teaching credential in Social Science from San Jose State University, and has over 20 years of middle school teaching experience in both public and private schools. She just completed her 3rd year as a Middle School Social Studies teacher at ACDS and this will be her 2nd year teaching summer camp. In her spare time you will either find her solving logic puzzles and escape rooms or working with her daughters in Girl Scouts. She is currently a troop leader and worked as the Program Manager for the Service Unit. Through Girl Scouts, she developed many programs to help scouts learn how to lead and act as role models for younger girls. She is excited to share her expertise with students interested in being counselors at ACDS.

Get ready to ignite your child's curiosity and creativity with Ms. Chamberlain Engel’s Robotics Petting Zoo class! A Bay Area native, Ms. Chamberlain Engel has 19 years of teaching experience, inspiring students in subjects like English, coding, engineering, STEM, and more. Before becoming an educator, she spent 18 years in the high-tech publishing world, giving her a unique perspective on technology. Now, as an educational technology coach at ACDS, she loves sharing her passion for tech and engineering with students—especially girls—through hands-on classes. In this exciting robotics class, kids will explore the Engineering Design Process, building and prototyping their own robots while developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills. With a focus on fun and creativity, Ms. Chamberlain Engel’s class offers a supportive environment where students can bring their ideas to life. Whether they’re new to robotics or ready to dive deeper, your child will leave with a sense of accomplishment and some new skills. Join us and watch your child’s imagination soar!

Bio coming soon!

Rebecca Elkins is a PK–5 Associate Teacher and is currently in her first year at ACDS. Prior to joining ACDS, she gained nine years of experience working in PK through elementary classrooms. She has a background in early literacy instruction, including phonics, decoding, and reading comprehension. Rebecca is passionate about helping students build confidence as readers through engaging, interactive, and developmentally appropriate instruction. In her free time, Rebecca loves going to theme parks, spending time at the beach, and enjoying time with family and friends.

Mr. Tim Ford is elated to be part of the ACDS family and a proud member of the ACDS Performing Arts and Music team. Born and raised in East Side San Jose, Tim has had the distinct honor of serving as an educator, mentor, and advocate for the youth of the greater Bay Area for over a decade and brings a palpable enthusiasm for all things music into the classroom and beyond. As a commercial trumpet player, Tim has performed live on stage and recording studios on numerous collaborative projects traversing genres from big band jazz to ska. In his free time, Tim enjoys fishing in both fresh and salt water, spending quality time with family and friends, cruising the sidewalks "kick-push" style on his skateboard, living the grill and chill life, and, of course, making music and simply diggin' the vibe. This is Tim's first year at ACDS and he is beyond stoked for his first summer camp with the amazing students and teachers of this wonderful school and community.

Allison Gerhard has been a science educator for 3 years and currently teaches both 3rd-5th grade Science and 4th-5th grade Garden at ACDS. Allison has an educational background in geology and can often be found outside looking at rocks or local mountains, pondering how they came to be! In her free time, Allison enjoys spending time in nature, cooking, reading, and cuddling with her tuxedo cat, Maggie! 

Marie Goodman (she/her) has taught elementary school for 14 years and is an enthusiastic kindergarten teacher at ACDS. She is also the parent of two current ACDS students. Mrs. Goodman comes from a long line of elementary teachers and has been working in summer camps since graduate school. She enjoys the fun, easy pace of summer camp and getting to play and explore with campers. Outside of school, Mrs. Goodman enjoys reading, riding her bike that goes nowhere (the Peloton!), and building LEGO kits with her kids. Mrs. Goodman is so excited to be back for her fourth consecutive summer at ACDS!

Emily Heffelfinger has a MS  in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and is Certified as a Child life Specialist. She and has been working with kids in some capacity for 25+ years. This is her fourth school year as a substitute teacher at ACDS  and  her second summer at ACDS summer camp. She has been a part of this amazing  community since 2018, when her now rising 8th grader  joined the school in kindergarden. “I truly love working with children and their families. It’s been such a joy to spend my days with the elementary students and teachers at ACDS.                            Emily enjoys spending time hiking, swimming, reading and traveling. Most of all, she loves spending time with her family and two dogs. 

Dalin Ji has been working in early childhood education since 2022. She previously served as a Montessori Assistant Teacher in Alum Rock and participated in an A Preschool Program at Stanford University. Before joining ACDS, Dalin also worked as a Special Education Teaching Assistant, supporting high-functioning autistic students at a public elementary school in San Jose. She believes that respect should always come before love and teaching.

Outside of school, Dalin enjoys cooking and reading, especially books on philosophy and psychology. Music brings her joy, and she loves spending her free time with her two puppies.

Mrs Nora Larson has worked in education for the past 16 years and currently teaches middle school English and private high school application support at ACDS. Outside of school Nora enjoys singing and having dance parties to Taylor Swift with her first grader as well as cuddling with her infant daughter. This summer at camp, she is excited to explore Taylor Swift’s music and world with fellow Swifties, and to help rising 8th graders get a solid start to the private high school application season.

Ms.Hyunju Lee has 18 years of homeroom teaching experience in the Korean elementary public school system, and has also taught for a Korean bilingual school here. Ms. Lee currently leads after school clubs at ACDS. She has a double major from her university in Elementary Education and Art Education, and holds a California teaching credential. She is excited to share her passion and creativity for our summer camp this year.

Athletics Director Derek McIntyre (known as Coach Mac on campus) knew from the time he was 13 that he wanted to coach and work with kids. "I loved watching the progression and seeing the improvement kids were able to make. I was fortunate to have had a number of great mentors that made me want to do the same for others."

He chose ACDS because when he visited ACDS, he realized what a wonderful community it was and it reminded him of his childhood school. "We also felt that this would be a great place for our children to continue their education."

Fun fact: His family lived in Egypt for two years. "We vacationed on the Red Sea, took a cruise down the Nile and saw the Great Pyramids every day. We made a number of wonderful friends while there and have memories that will last us forever."we

Trevor Miller is the Co-Theater Arts teacher at ACDS. Growing up in Chicago, he balanced his love for basketball with a passion for theater. Some of his favorite roles include Man in the Chair (The Drowsy Chaperone), LeFou (Beauty and the Beast), J. Pierrepont Finch (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), and Benny (In the Heights). Trevor has earned numerous theater accolades, including Georgia Literary State Champion (2019, 2020), Georgia High School All-State Theatre (2020), and Georgia 6A Region Best Actor (2019). Most recently, he was nominated for Best Performer in a Musical at the 2024 Broadway World San Francisco/Bay Area Awards.

Meagan is a movement instructor and experienced volleyball coach with over four years of coaching beach volleyball and experience in club volleyball. She is passionate about helping children develop their skills, confidence, and love for movement and sports. Meagan enjoys exploring new places, photography, and trying new things. This summer, she is excited to share her experience and enthusiasm with the summer camp.

Miss Papini owned and operated a popular summer camp program and location in Walnut Creek for six years. Her formula for memorable fun and learning is a blend of engineering and design with science and technology. “My favorite part of camp is adding surprise activities and silliness to each day!”

Christina Tran-Kenyon has been an educator for over 16 years, and currently teaches middle school math at ACDS. Christina has a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and B.S. in Business Administration from the University of the Pacific. In addition to being a math teacher, she is passionate about mentoring and coaching future educators. Christina has been an instructional coach for new teachers and worked for programs who have mentored college and high school students on how to teach and tutor younger students. She was born and raised in San Jose, and has two daughters.

During the school year you can find Cecilia in the office as our ACDS office manager. She is a mother to three daughters and together they care for 18 pets! She has run several summer camps in the past although this will be her first one with ACDS. She strongly believes that it is important to get children outside, exploring and learning about the nature "world" around them. Her hobbies are spending time with her girls, camping, hiking and reading.

Erika Villa has over nine years of experience working with children, including one year at ACDS. She is passionate about creating a positive, supportive and fun environment where children feel safe, encouraged and confident to be themselves. She strongly believes in being a positive role model and understands how important it is to guide and uplift children as they learn, grow and build relationships. Outside of work, Erika enjoys spending quality time with her daughters who are 5 and 9 years old. She likes the library, and enjoys listening to music. She also likes coffee, and she loves to eat pho!

Weronika Zaluska has been teaching Visual Arts at ACDS for over seven years. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York State College of Ceramics. She has also studied Early Childhood Education and Reggio Emilia Approach at UCLA. Ms. Zaluska's art curriculum is student-driven, and emphasizes exploration, as well as collaboration. In her free time Ms. Zaluska creates sculptures in a variety of materials, including: ceramics, paper and fabric. Her work is part of museum collections in New York and New Mexico.