About Our Staff

2009-2010

OUR PAGE WILL UPDATE SOON

Sandra Coughlin
Operations Manager
Email: scoughlin@kippbridge.org

This will be my second year at KIPP as the Office Manager. Although I have many years of experience as an Office Manager, this is the first time I have had the privilege of working in such an incredible institution as KIPP. My duties are as varied as the people I am in contact with (students, parents, companies), since each day is different from the one before. I began working at KIPP in April of 2007 after many years as an Office Manager in the corporate environment. I am originally from Massachusetts, moving to California in September 1999 with a semi-conductor company that had an office in Waltham, MA. When they closed their MA office, they offered to move me out here to Santa Clara to support the US operations. A couple of my passions are traveling, reading and photography.

Catherine Dobroff
5th/6th Grade Science Teacher
Email: cdobroff@kippbridge.org

I heart the Bay. I am a Bay Area girl, born and raised. After living in sunny San Diego and then battling New York City's bitter cold winters and hot, humid summers, I returned back to the beautiful Bay Area. This is my 3rd year at Bridge and my 6th year teaching. Prior to teaching PE, I have taught 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 5th/6th Science. In my free time, I love spending time with my family and friends, watching sports and reality T.V. (like Top Chef, Project Runway, and LOST), or drinking yummy coffee from Peet's.

Yesenia Duarte

Office Assistant

Email: yduarte@kippbridge.org

Amy Dundas

5th Grade Science Teacher

E-mail: adundas@kippbridge.org

Cassie Duprey
8th Grade Math Teacher
E-mail: cduprey@kippbridge.org

Originally from Snohomish, Washington, this is my fourth year at KIPP Bridge. Before moving to the Bay Area in the summer of 2004, I graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in politics and spent three years teaching in the Mississippi Delta through Teach For America. When not at school, I enjoy reading (especially comic books), cooking, traveling, and listening to music. I also spend as much time as possible playing my DS and Wii.

Karen Fairhurst

8th Grade English Language Atrs Teacher

E-mail: kfairhurst@kippbridge.org

I am a recent transplant to California. I have spent the last four years teaching 7th Grade ELA in Massachusetts, and the two years before that teaching in San Antonio, Texas. I received my B.A. in English from Southern Utah University and my MEd from Boston University. I am happy to be teaching at KIPP Bridge and truly feel that my students are the best I've ever worked with. In my spare time, I like to hike, read, run, bake, go to the movies, and spend time with my husband, daughter, and dog.

Lauren Hamilton

6th Grade Reading teacher and 6th Grade Team Leader

E-mail: lhamilton@kippbridge.org

This is my second year teaching 6th grade Reading at KIPP Bridge College Prep, and my fifth year teaching. I taught 9th grade English in south Texas for three years before moving back to my native Bay Area in the summer of 2007 to join the KBCP staff. While I was born and raised in Northern California, I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2004 before moving to Texas. When I’m not at KBCP, I enjoy exploring the Bay Area, listening to live music, and reading.

Richard Hernandez

8th Grade Social Studies Teacher

E-mail: rhernandez@kippbridge.org

I am an East Bay native and have been at KIPP for two years. I graduated with my BA at UC Davis and my MA from San Francisco State. I like watching public television because I refuse to pay for cable. I am interested in politics and yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

Sherrye Hubbard
Vice Principal
E-mail: shubbard@kippbridge.org

This is my third year at KIPP Bridge College Preparatory. I am the Dean of Culture. Prior to coming to KIPP, I was living in Houston, Texas teaching fourth grade Language Arts. I am a veteran teacher with six years of experience under my belt and I earned my experience in Oakland teaching sixth grade at Verdese R. Carter Middle School. I am a graduate of San Francisco State University and I earned a Masters in Second Language Acquisition from Patten University in Oakland. Outside of teaching, I enjoy spending quality time with my three-year-old daughter, while she observes, adapts, and conquers the world around her. I am a devout Christian and an avid reader. I love to travel, sing, and cook.

Lilly Kim

5th Grade Writing Teacher

E-Mail: lkim@kippbridge.org

Joan Le

8th Grade Science Teacher

E-mail: jle@kippbrioge.org

I have recently moved to the Bay Area from the DC Area. This is my first year at KIPP Bridge. I love my husband and my dog and enjoy spending time outdoors and watching Indie and foreign films of all shapes and sizes.

Kerry Muse

5th Grade Math Teacher & 5th Grade Team Leader

Email: kmuse@kippbridge.org

I am the 5th grade Math teacher and this will be my third year at KIPP Bridge College Prep. I am a native Texan who attended the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!) and then taught for three years in Killeen, TX and Austin, TX. Although I am a math teacher, while attending the University of Texas I received my BFA in Studio Art. I try to incorporate elements of the fine arts into my curriculum whenever possible in order to make connections between art and math. In my spare time I enjoy playing the violin and guitar, making relief prints/lithographs, drawing, kayaking, cooking and traveling. I am excited about the upcoming school year at KBCP and helping our students to learn that Math is Life!

Allison Nash
7th Grade Math Teacher
Email: anash@kippbridge.org

Brittany Ojala
5th Grade Reading Teacher
Email: bojala@kippbridge.org

I am so glad to be teaching at KIPP Bridge this year! I am originally from the East Bay, but attended Boston University to earn a degree in elementary education and a teaching credential in Massachusetts. I returned to California and taught 3rd and 5th grade in East Oakland before coming to KIPP. In my free time I love to read, see live music, kayak, and travel.

Sharifa Siti
7th Grade English Language Arts Teacher
Email: jssiti@kippbridge.org

Erika Strand
Director of High School Placement & Alumni Support
Email: estrand@kippbridge.org

I’m looking forward to beginning my fourth year at KIPP Bridge College Prep and working with the FABULOUS classes of 2012 and 2013! Before coming to KIPP, I taught virtually every elementary and middle school grade level at schools in Oakland, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Mexico. I received my B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and my Master’s in Education from UC-Santa Barbara. When I’m not at KIPP, I love spending time with my family, reading, and traveling to warm places where I can eat good food, get a tan, and swim.

Michele Sutton

Principal
Email: msutton@kippbridge.org

I am excited to join KIPP Bridge Charter School as a New Leaders for New Schools Resident. At KIPP Bridge, I serve as the Administrator-in-Residence and the acting Dean of Culture while receiving training and support from the New Leaders for New Schools principal training program. I claim three alma maters: I received a B.A. from Duke University, a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University, and a Masters in Public Policy from UC-Berkeley. I have spent the last five years teaching and working in Phoenix and Oakland public schools and cannot imagine doing anything else. When I’m not at KIPP Bridge, I enjoy dancing, cooking and being outdoors.

Aisha Umar, MA

School Based Counselor

E-mail: aumar@kippbridge.org

Rachel Zell

6th Grade Social Studies Teacher
E-mail: rzell@kippbridge.org