ANGELA HANNA. YES! Teacher
Angela has a background in mental health, trained as a school counselor and also working for the National Suicide Hotline. Before signing on full-time with YES!, she served as a counselor at a high school within the School District of Philadelphia. She was a student-athlete in college, playing field hockey at St. Joseph’s University and then going on to coach at the collegiate level at both Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania. Her passion is working with inner-city youth, especially within the academic setting. She believes that education should focus on nurturing the development of each unique student, which ultimately alleviates stress and supports creative growth at its fullest potential. Angela earned a BA in Psychology, with a concentration in Education from St. Joseph’s University, and an MA in Secondary School Counseling from Rosemont College.
Brinda (Bambi) Sivaramakrishnan. YES! Teacher.
Bambi is a graduate of the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After graduation, Bambi worked in research on environmental health in India, and conducted biomedical research at the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. In her free time she uses art, photography and videography to document social issues. She is honored to be a YES! program instructor and plans to pursue a career in public health, with the vision of integrating YES! techniques into trauma relief and wellness programs for youth in an international context.
Nancy Zalazar. YES! Teacher.
Nancy was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and raised in the US. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has a degree in communications from the University of Texas in Austin. Her professional work experience includes market research, inside and outside sales, Spanish translation and interpretation, ESL instruction and six years working as a reporter and communications professional for the oil industry. In the last three years, Nancy has dedicated her life to humanitarian service initiatives that uplift the lives of underserved Latino communities. She has been teaching YES! since the spring of 2011 in middle schools and high schools throughout the US.
Jeff Knepper. YES! Teacher.
Jeff has a has a BS in marketing and a MA in education. In his twenties, he worked for his parents’ business teaching children gymnastics. This experience inspired him to work with special education youth and to coach the Special Olympics gymnastics team. Today, Jeff is a California credentialed general and special education teacher. Currently, he teaches math for both general ed and special ed students at Los Angeles High School. Additionally, he holds a seat on the school based management team for Los Angeles High, where the YES! program has been uplifting Los Angeles inner-city students for over 10 years.
Hemanth Venkataraman. YES! Teacher. Hemanth graduated from Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2002 with a BS in Computer Science and Physics. Though he enjoyed engineering, he came to realize that his true calling was working with teenagers in underserved communities. Soon after, he joined the New York City Teaching Fellows program, and began teaching mathematics and computer science at Louis D. Brandeis High School in Manhattan. After five years of classroom teaching experience, Hemanth began working with youth outside the classroom, inspiring them to embrace positive values and transcend the negative influences in their lives. He is a motivational speaker and community organizer who lives and works in New York City. He is dedicated to uplifting the lives of youth and will be opening a public charter school, grade 6 through 12, in Brooklyn in 2013. The school will incorporate the YES! program into its daily schedule for all students.
Clay Courchaine. YES! Teacher.
Clay has been teaching YES! in high schools nationwide since 2009. He is a poet, a musician, and an artist. He is currently working on a CD of spoken word poetry, as well as a book of poetry.
Indu Viswanathan. Indu is an educator, parent, and musician from New York. With a BA from Cornell University in Economics, she spent three years as the research assistant for the Chief U.S. Economist at Citigroup. Indu received an MA in Elementary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She brings to YES! for Schools fifteen years of global experience in program design, teaching, and teacher education. Indu has served in American public schools, Ecole Francaise Internationale de Bombay, and with educational NGOs Teach for India, Akanksha, and Nouvelle Vie Haiti. A former YES! Director, Indu was responsible for monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, and research coordination. She designed and implemented evaluation metrics and systems that reflect a whole child, whole school philosophy. Indu is currently a doctoral student in the department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College. By championing wellness as a cornerstone of teacher preparation and school life, she is committed to supporting and uplifting educators across their career-span, from pre-service education on. Indu’s lifelong passion is inspired by the prospect of a revitalized teaching profession.