Lydia (they/them)
‍Lead Teacher and Literacy Coach

Lydia Warren was (literally) born and raised in a variety of bookstores and libraries in the East Bay (namely Pegasus Book, where both their parents worked). After a childhood of voracious reading, and graduating from Berkeley High School, they went on to attend The Evergreen State College, where they graduated with a BA in liberal arts. During college, they ran the theater troupe Riot to Follow, apprenticed at the campus preschool, and led backpacking trips for youth during the summer. Post-graduation, Lydia continued to pursue a career in education by working at preschools, taking additional college classes in education, and advocating for radical pedagogy that centers fellow neurodivergent and LGBTQ youth. They are elated to have landed at Big Minds—it's bashert!

Roan (they/them)
‍Art Teacher

Roan has a Bachelor of Arts, with a Double Major in Studio Arts & Business Management from UC Santa Cruz. They have done extensive work with the San Jose Museum of Art as a Gallery teacher. In addition to their work at SJMA, they are also an active artist in local communities around the Bay Area. Specifically Soft Times Gallery, a newer SF gallery that hosts a multitude of art events in the Tenderloin neighborhood. They recently helped facilitate an Art Swap event with the intention of creating a socialist community model for art acquisition while supporting emerging artists. Through art, education, and their community, they are reminded as to why these lived experiences of connection are the very fiber in the great, complex weaving of life. They hope to continue this empathy based educationwork with their students at Big Minds!

Emily (she/her)
‍Literacy Coach

Emily grew up in the Bay Area and has a B.A. from UC Berkeley, where she studied linguistics and English literature. She taught in a traditional elementary school classroom for 11 years and then was introduced to the world of unschooling through homeschooling her own children. In her spare time, she loves hiking, biking, gardening, sewing, and volunteering. She also reads a lot of children's literature, sometimes to help her pick books for her students, but also because she’s found there is a lot she really enjoys.

Parbat (he/him)
‍Math Coach

Parbat is a Math coach at Big Minds at Pinole and he loves solving complex problems with students, being a self-taught gifted mathematician. He is proud to be a part of the Big Minds community and has been with the Pinole site for over four years. He likes solving puzzles, playing and teaching chess strategy, and films. He enjoys hiking, playing football, and engaging in all kinds of outdoor activities. He loves being a math coach, helping students accomplish their goals. He also has memorized an astonishingly high amount of the numbers of Pi!

Tam (she/her)
‍Math Coach

Tam has been a Math Coach at Big Minds for seven years( two years as part time and five years as full time). After she graduated from Oakland High, she continued her education at Merritt College and graduated with two degrees in Mathematics and general education. She went on to University at Davis and Cal State Hayward to study Math, finance, and Business. She loves playing math games with her students and enjoying movement with them during break times.

Cove (he/him)
‍Science Teacher

Cove has a strong background in biology, graduating with a bachelor of science in Neurobiology, Physiology, & Behavior from University of California, Davis. He has also worked in the UC Davis Department of Biochemistry lab and is excited to conduct experiments at Big Minds! Cove designs his classes to inspire 2e students to use current scientific knowledge to expand their understanding of the world and to discover new knowledge!

Gavin (he/him)
‍Programming / Coding Coach

Gavin has a background in games, software, and education. Since finishing a degree in Computer Game Design from UC Santa Cruz in 2016, he has briefly worked professionally as a software engineer, as well as taught at a Bay Area private school for three years. Gavin loves to teach programming, and in his spare time can often be found playing Pickleball or any of a number of games on his Nintendo Switch.

Hannah (they/them)
‍Math Coach

Hannah has a long and varied history with a number of industries and considers herself a lifelong learner. Before shutdown Hannah worked in Learning and Development for a tech company in Palo Alto, but chose, in light of school closures, to quit and stay home to facilitate at home schooling for her two children. Hannah is excited to explore math at BMU with practical and hands-on methods, to help others understand and enjoy the fundamental way the world is put together.

Ryan (they/them)
‍Music Coach

Ryan has been working as a recording engineer, live sound technician and musician for the past decade. They believe that everyone is able to have a unique relationship to art and music, and as long as a person is given the right environment to grow and learn, there is no limit to the ways that they can express themselves.

Sam (he/him)
‍History Teacher

Sam Halterman was an English teacher in Russia for 2 years before heading to law school and becoming, first a litigator, and then a Trusts and Estates Lawyer. He practiced in Philadelphia from 2014 to 2020 before moving to California and returning to teaching. He loves history and comparative politics. He used to love Russian literature but is taking an extended hiatus from 600 page novels.