2023-2024 Faculty Cohort
Intro to Comparative Ethnic Studies
Jason Chang joined the history department at College Prep in 2021, and teaches ninth grade Asian Worlds and a senior seminar on the History of Capitalism. Before arriving at CPS, he taught for ten years at Bentley, where he covered topics that ranged from ninth grade world history to seminars on the prison industrial complex, the Cold War in a global context, the global revolutions of 1968, race in American legal history, the history of capitalism and slavery, and many others.
Originally from Berkeley, Jason obtained his BA in American Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and earned his PhD from the University of Michigan in American Studies, where his broad area of research focused on the intersecting histories of racial formation, capitalism, and empire. He is a passionate classroom teacher who believes deeply that having a strong historical understanding of the ways that race, gender, sex, class, ability, and other markers of difference and identity have shaped our present is a prerequisite for radically reimagining how we want our shared future to look. Whenever he has some down time, Jason loves nothing more than to read, eat delicious food, and cook.
Charlotte has been the Digital Literacy Specialist/Librarian at Branson since 2021. Previously she served as Director of Library Services at the Northwest School in Seattle and has over a decade of experience in both public, academic, and school libraries. Before becoming a librarian, she taught and developed arts & humanities programs for various non-profits. She’s passionate about cultivating learner-centered spaces that address equity gaps, incorporate information literacy standards, and encourage a love of reading. One of her favorite things to do at Branson is collaborating with faculty and students on a variety of research projects, especially those that uncover the magic of primary sources. She has a degree in women and gender studies with a concentration in art history from DePaul University, and a master’s in library and information sciences from San Jose State University.
Charlotte’s presented numerous times on equity issues including a briefing presented to the California State Library in 2018 as part of the California Library Leadership Institute. She also presented on teaching and promoting anti-racism for the 2017 California Library Association conference. She lives in the East Bay with her lovely husband and very cranky, but cute, cat Miles.
Anton Krukowski has been in the science department at Lick-Wilmerding High School since 2004, and has taught a number of classes including Brain & Behavior, Music & the Brain, Genetics & Evolution, Physics and Biology. Prior to teaching, he did research in neuroscience, visual and auditory perception, and got his PhD in Biophysics from UCSF. Anton also sings in chamber choirs, and has performed jazz standards on the piano.
Tony has been teaching computer science at The Branson School since August 2016. He currently teaches classes in web design, Java, Arduino, Python and iOS mobile application development. He holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Psychology and Computing from the University of Plymouth and a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Bath. Tony previously worked for a leading cell phone company in England as a software developer and team leader from 1998 to 2005, prior to becoming a computer science teacher. He was chair of computer science at Priory Community School in North Somerset, England from 2006 to 2015. Tony lives in San Francisco with his wife and young son. He enjoys cycling, golf and snowboarding in his spare time.
Bethany is the Director of the UrbanX Labs at the Urban School, where she leads Urban’s integrated and interdisciplinary educational approach to science, technology, engineering and design for the 21st century. She enjoys teaching students how to develop, design and build their ideas.
Noah Orgish is the Educational Technologist at Marin Academy.
Don Rizzi has been teaching Biology and Chemistry at Lick-Wilmerding High School since 2007. He also coaches wrestling, is an advisor, and mentors independent study students in electronic music production. Prior to coming to Lick, Don taught Physics, Math, Chemistry, and Media Production at High Tech High, which is a charter school that emphasizes project based learning and the cultivation of 21st century skills. He also received his MA in Instructional Technologies from San Francisco State University.
Megan has been teaching at University High School since 2015, and serves as the Math Department Chair. As a math educator for 16 years, she has experience ranging from Algebra I to AP Calculus BC. In addition, Megan has taught math online to high school students through Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development. Megan has an M.A. in Mathematics from San Francisco State University and a Master’s in Educational Technology from Boise State University.
Kevin Wray has been teaching mathematics for the past six years at The College Preparatory School, and prior to that for four years at the University of California at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently Kevin is teaching single variable calculus and multivariable calculus at CPS. He has also taught courses in linear algebra, abstract algebra, analysis, several seminars at Cal, as well as courses in classical mechanics, quantum physics, and relativity.
After finishing his undergrad, Kevin moved to Holland for a year as a member of the Mathematical Research Institute in Utrecht. He followed this by moving to Amsterdam, where he was a grad student in theoretical physics at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. After completing his degree at the UvA, Kevin moved to Berkeley for work as a graduate student in mathematics. Upon completion at Cal, Kevin started work at The College Preparatory School.
Kevin enjoys taking hikes, bike rides, surfing, really pretty much anything outdoors, basketball, olympic-style weightlifting, and, of course, reading math and physics papers and books.
Nicole Hunter has been a librarian at San Francisco University High School since 2003. Working with the history department she teaches research skills across the history curriculum with a focus on the use of primary sources. She has co-taught an English course called the Fourth Estate in which students both examined media coverage of current and past events and created media pieces of their own. Nicole has a passion for research, constructivist learning, art, and history. She has a degree in history from UCLA and a master’s in library science with a focus on archives from San José State. Nicole lives in Oakland with her husband and son. She loves to sew and knit and hosts a podcast on her creative pursuits. She enjoys running on the trails of the East Bay hills and exploring local history sites.
Julie has been teaching history since 2008: nine years at Lexington High School in Lexington, MA, and at Branson School since 2017. She has a B.A. in print journalism from the University of Southern California and an M.Ed. from Boston College. In her career, she has taught ancient and modern world history, U.S. history, journalism, media studies, East Asian studies, and introduction to law. In addition to teaching history, she enjoys advising the student newspaper at Branson and volunteering as a baker for Cake4Kids, an organization that provides sweet treats for underserved youths in the Bay Area.
Byron Philhour is the Dean of Teaching and Learning at San Francisco University High School. Over the last two and a half decades, he has taught astronomy, cosmology, physics, chemistry, computer science, and computational modeling. He earned his undergraduate degree in physics from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on gamma-ray astrophysics and his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology with a focus on observational cosmology. As an educator, Byron aligns with the constructivist and humanist movements, understanding that human beings are capable of explosive, self-directed, experiential learning once obstacles to their well-being are removed.
Byron lives in San Francisco with his wife, three children (one in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school), three dogs, and two cats. Byron wishes he had a bird, too, but thinks that would be unwise because of the cats.
Cinematic Storytelling: Fundamentals of Filmmaking
Peter started out as a playwright and earned his MA at Boston University and his MFA from UCLA. His plays have been produced at a wide range of theaters and venues including Boston Playwrights Theater, Francis Ford Coppola’s One Act Festival, Kennedy Center Festival, Oakland’s Black Box Theater, and Stanford University. He has been published in MONOLOGUES FOR ACTORS OF COLOR (Roberta Uno, editor).
He also is a screenwriter and his last screenplay, LINK, has made it onto Coverfly’s Red List and it was listed in the top 6 percent out of over 11,000 short film screenplays. LINK has received accolades and awards from the following festivals: Hollyshorts, Austin Film Festival, Outstanding Screenplays, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards, WeScreenplay Shorts, New York International Screenplay Awards, Top Shorts Film Festival, and many more.
In addition to screenwriting, Peter has been a drama and film teacher for twenty years and has worked with youth from the inner city to the suburbs. He currently teaches filmmaking at The Athenian School. He is also the founder of the film production company, Storytelling for the Screen LLC. Visit his latest project at www.questionfilm.com.
