Our Faculty
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Nichole Bond
Dean of Curriculum & Upper School Instructor Teaching at GATE is so much fun! The kids are inquisitive and interested. With freedom to explore deeply and go to the next level of questions, nothing ever gets boring or repetitive. We are thrilled to have Nichole Bond at GATE, where she uses her diverse scientific background to educate and inspire GATE's kids—our next generation of thinkers, scientists, and leaders. Nichole obtained her PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and comes to us after five years of postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. A teacher for most of her life, Nichole has received awards from UNLV and NIH for many things, including her instructional abilities, and she loves learning new things, too. Along with teaching core class, weekly lab, and algebra, she's in charge of keeping our state of the art science lab ready for fun experiments. Her enthusiasm for fun is infectious. |
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Joan Pont, MD
Upper School Instructor - Specialist There is nothing as energizing as seeing a student feel the joy of mastering something difficult, just a little out of reach. The largely self-directed projects of each inquiry period support that experience each and every time. Joan retired from a busy Internal Medicine practice and has turned to...farming. She gives as much attention to learning about crops, soil composition, biodiversity and retaining native plants in the scheme as she did to medicine and this has yielded a second life-long learning career. Sheep for wool production, spinning, weaving and knitting, and the fun of competitive horseback riding and equine husbandry take up all the extra time she has available. It is a privilege to have Joan's help with our special Inquiry period of I5 when the eighth graders take on Hearts’ Desire. Prior to farming and spending specialist time at GATE, Joan majored in math and chemistry at Wellesley. She proceeded from there to Harvard Medical School. Joan's post-doctoral education took place at Stanford University Medical Center and UCSF, and she followed up her formal education with a robust medical career as an internist. |
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Kristen Huang
Upper School Instructor I enjoy teaching because it involves constant learning and exploring, and I thrive with balancing excellent plans and teachable moments in inquiry and project-based environments. Kristen's background spans a wide variety of locations and experiences, from directing the Children's Discovery Center Preschool in Texas, to teaching in The Navajo Nation (Arizona), Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Novato, to being a Marin Master Gardener, to parenting two gifted children. Kristen attended University of Texas, Austin and gained her bachelor's degree in Educational Psychology. She obtained her master's degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education. At every step of her career, Kristen has been involved with children and education, as a student, as a professional, and as a volunteer. |
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Roland Johnson
Physical Education & Aftercare Our kids love the challenge of different PE activities, from dance and track and field to games like capture the flag. Learning excellent sportsmanship, resilience and adaptability is part of PE and these are tools for life. Coach Johnson has over 20 years of experience with physical education in public and private schools, and in afterschool programs as well. He has an extensive background in hip hop dance form, teaching master classes and popular summer camps. Coach Johnson helps children understand that physical activity is important to lifelong health and happiness, as well as being a great way to stretch out their bodies after a morning exercising their minds. He mixes up his classes between the national physical education standards activity recommendations, dance performance, and outdoor exploration on the GATE campus. Coach Johnson is also well versed in mindfulness and believes that treating others with respect is one of the first steps to success in life. |
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Tracy Kiles
Upper School Instructor I love coming to work at GATE. My colleagues are gifted educators who are constantly creating and building on successes to deliver a dynamic and powerful learning environment for the students. And don't get me started on the students themselves—they are engaged and excited to learn. It's a tremendous pleasure to nurture that enthusiasm and to help them reach their very high potential! Tracy Kiles obtained her BA in International Relations/Economics from Tufts University and her MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Study. Her career included positions at the United Nations Development Programme, the U.S. State Department and the World Bank before moving to California with her husband to raise their children near family. An avid writer, Tracy is at work on a re-draft of a novel and loves to teach language arts and creative writing. She has extensive tutoring and curriculum development experience and created the content for several training programs as part of her duties at the United Nations. She began her involvement at GATE as a temporary math teacher and is delighted to have an even bigger role as classroom teacher. |
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Annika Miller
Lower School Instructor GATE is a wonderful place for hands on experimentation, lots of questions, and excitement about our world. I'm so excited working with GATE's amazing kids! Annika spent her childhood in Switzerland before attending Trinity College in Connecticut. She loves working with nature and children, and has taught 1st and 2nd grades in New York City and San Francisco. When Annika's two children were younger, she created an environmental program in Marin for girls called GirlSprouts. Annika has also tutored students for many years. Her talents include branding and marketing and administration, which entertained her at Conde Nast in New York City, Sony Signatures in San Francisco, and Annie's Mac and Cheese in California. Annika has boundless energy and actively volunteers within her hometown of Mill Valley. |
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Alexis Fineman
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Arin Wiscomb
Dean of Students, Lower School Instructor Creating a classroom full of adventure and joy makes my job the best in the world. Arin has taught at GATE Academy since 2003. His understanding that the academic development of gifted kids is intertwined with their social growth, makes his classroom a place of safety and community for our youngest students. Arin's teaching career began as in junior in high school with an internship position at the Exploratorium. Before coming to GATE, Arin taught at Windrush School in El Cerrito. His education includes a degree from S.F. State, and master's work at Sonoma State University. A fine artist by training, Arin integrates and mindfulness into his teaching here at GATE. Arin also directs our school's fine arts and mindfulness programs. |
Supporting Faculty & Staff
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Max Kligman
Performance Arts Instructor Max comes to GATE with a deep background in the performing arts, focusing on opera and stage technique. A Lawrence Conservatory of Music graduate, Max has performed as an actor and teacher for a variety of companies, including Throckmorton Theater locally. His work at GATE focuses on improvisation, drama, and singing. He loves teaching GATE kids dramatic expression, audience connection, use of volume, diction, enunciation, and timing, all of which are useful during our inquiry presentation days. Max is also an accomplished glassblower focusing on intricate marble-sized pieces. |
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France-Laude Gohard
French Instructor, Lower School Madame Gohard, a native of Paris, France, has lived and taught in the U.S. for more than two decades, and is our lower-school French teacher. As well as providing daily exposure to spoken and written French, Madame Gohard infuses her program with rich French cultural and historical context. Children cook French cuisine from time to time and through the prism of another country, learn relevant and significant social studies appropriate to the overall themes covered in their other classes. |
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Sandy Jacklin
Administration & Operations GATE Academy's students, teachers, and parents create the most wonderful community of learners. The students are enthusiastic, engaged, and most of all they are happy. This is truly an amazing school. Sandy heads our front office, where she takes care of everything from school administration to enrollment, tours to our lunch/snack program. If you call GATE with questions about the school, admissions, or testing, you will mostly likely get Sandy on the phone. She graduated from San Francisco State, majoring in Early Childhood Education, and before joining GATE, taught preschool for many years, mentored many budding teachers, and served as President of Marin Association for the Education of Young Children. Currently, Sandy is an appointed commissioner serving on the Marin Childcare Commission and has guest lectured on early childhood education at venues around California. With years of experience running a large pre-K classroom at Marin Day Schools/Bright Horizons, Sandy knows how organization and communications can help make everything run smoothly at a small school. |
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Dawn Madole
Music Theory, Lower School Dawn Madole is an accomplished violinist and graduate of U.C. Berkeley's music program. She teaches our lower school music enrichment classes on Mondays. In addition to playing with the Marin Symphony and Vallejo Symphony, Dawn teaches at the Marin Music Conservatory, the Crowden Music Center, and to other private students. She loves teaching the joy of violin to young students, and GATE students also take private lessons with Dawn weekly. |
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John Metz
Music Theory, Upper School John holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Lawrence Conservatory of Music as well as a B.A. in Philosophy from Lawrence University. He has studied extensively with Catherine Kautsky, chair of the Lawrence Conservatory piano department, as well as with Dmitri Novgorodsky, current professor of piano at the Rubin Academy of Jerusalem. John has performed in master classes for esteemed pianists Simone Dinnerstein and Natalya Antonova and acclaimed soprano Measha Brueggergosman as well as the members of the respected Guarneri String Quartet. |
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Chris Alexander
Literature, Upper School I love teaching at GATE because the tempo and ambience are so conducive to thoughtful, creative work—for both students and teachers! Chris holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University, U.K. Chris delights in exploring literature of all types, including short stories, song lyrics, and novels. Chris has been teaching English language arts and ethics for many years at the high school level, and is also an accomplished French and German teacher. In his minimal spare time, Chris is part of a rock music band, and he is an intrepid dog walker, too! |
