Administration and Faculty

Board of Education

Mr. Christopher Apodaca
Mrs. Olympia Chen
Mrs. Lynda Johnson
Mr. Maynard Law
Mrs. Letty Mendoza
Mrs. Sophia Tse
Ms. Soo Yoo
Dr. Mary Sieu – Superintendent

Administrative Staff

Dr. Pao-Ling Guo – Principal
Mr. Chuck Minear – Assistant Principal
Mrs. Nancy Pawlisz – Assistant Principal
Ms. Ami Takanashi – Assistant Principal

Management Staff

Natalie Maddox – Counselor
Winnie Wong – Financial Aid Coordinator
Mary Pinedo – Job Developer, Apprenticeship Coordinator

Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA)

Academics: Janet Aasness
Career & Technical Education: Rachelle Schulz
English as a Second Language: Velia Paredes
Health & Safety, Home Economics and Older Adults: Diane Jhun

Career Technical Education Center Faculty

Full Time

Part Time

ESL Department Instructors

Vicki Johnson has a Master’s Degree in Linguistics and a TESL certificate along with a teaching credential. She has taught all areas of ESL at the adult school and community college, and she has also trained teachers throughout the state. She has written curriculum for the adult school and helped to develop a pronunciation module for the ESL Teacher’s Institute. She especially likes teaching grammar, writing, and pronunciation.

Laurie Judy studied at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and graduated from CSULB. She has a teaching credential in German and English and a TESOL Certificate. Before coming to ABC Adult School in 1995, Laurie taught ESL and German in Anaheim Unified High School District. She especially enjoys teaching the Movie and Idioms class.

Jody Kirkwood earned her teaching credential at West Virginia University and has been teaching ESL at ABC Adult School since 1983. She was a teacher trainer with the ESL Institute and served as a Resource Teacher at ABC for many years. As a resource teacher, she helped teachers develop lessons and learn teaching strategies. She also ran the Language Media Center and enjoys working one-on-one with the ESL students.

Joyce Kucera earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Ohio State University and holds a teaching credential. She also studied Linguistics at CSULB and has taken numerous courses in ESL instruction content and technique. Before coming to ABC 21 years ago, she taught at the elementary and high school levels. Joyce loves teaching ESL to adults, especially helping students one-on-one in the Distance Learning office.

Joanne Locknikar began teaching at the elementary level in Long Beach, CA and then in Papua New Guinea. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Linguistics she returned to Papua New Guinea as a literacy consultant. Joanne has experience as a teacher, trainer, consultant, and curriculum developer in literacy and ESL for children and adults. She has taught at ABC Adult School for 8 years.

Bob Marseille graduated from Loyola University in 1972 and then enlisted and served four years in the U.S. Navy. He worked at a hospital for three years and then went back to school to earn his teaching credential. He has been teaching ESL at ABC Adult School since 1980.

Christine Oliviera has a Designated Subjects Credential and an MA in TESL from CSULB. Before coming to ABC Adult School in 2002, she taught in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and at CSU Fullerton’s American Language Program. She really enjoys teaching the Advanced level because she always learns a lot from her students.

Velia Paredes has taught ESL at ABC Adult School since 1980. She has a degree in English-Linguistics and Composition with a minor in Spanish from CSULB. Besides teaching language and life skills, she also helps her students build their confidence in the new American culture. Velia enjoys teaching pronunciation and grammar. She also likes engaging students with technology in the Language Media Center.

Jane Quest has been teaching at ABC Adult School since 1986. She has a Masters in German and two teaching credentials. She loves learning languages as well as teaching them, and has spent 18 summers in Cuernavaca, Mexico studying Spanish and 6 summers in Germany at the Goethe Institute. Jane particularly enjoys incorporating grammar skills into life skills, and she likes seeing students at different levels working together.

Jean Rose has taught ESL at ABC Adult School for 32 years and has trained teachers throughout the state with the ESL Institute. She has a M. Ed and an MA in Linguistics. Jean has served as a resource instructor at ABC, helping the teachers meet the many and varied needs of their adult students. Her favorite class to teach is Current Events. She has been teaching Daily News and Weekly News classes for many years.

David Saavedra has a BA in Philosophy from Cal State Fullerton, a teaching credential, and a graduate TESOL Certificate from CSULB. He has taught at ABC Adult School for 11 years. He loves teaching because he feels that he learns just as much from the students as they do from him. He particularly enjoys teaching the grammar skill classes.

Jenni Santamaria has been teaching ESL for 25 years. She started at San Francisco State University and then spent several years teaching in Barcelona, Spain. She has been at ABC Adult School for 14 years. Jenni enjoys creating materials for teachers and students and has contributed to several published ESL series, including Step Forward and The Oxford Picture Dictionary.

Rebecca Sim enjoys teaching all levels of English to people from many countries and cultures. She has worked at ABC Adult School for eight years, but has been teaching English since she was a college student. Rebecca studied East Asian Studies at Brown University and received her Master’s Degree in Education Administration from CalState Fullerton. What she loves most about teaching at ABC is the great diversity of the students.

Mona Suero has a teaching credential and has taught ESL at ABC Adult School since 1990. Before coming to ABC, she taught in Compostela, Spain and at Bellflower Adult School. Mona has lived in Sweden, Spain and England. She is interested in learning about different cultures and speaks several languages. She particularly enjoys teaching English grammar.

David Wilson lived in Paris, France for several years, teaching English and improving his second language skills. He joined the ABC Adult School faculty in 1989 and now teaches both ESL and online high school Academics. David enjoys helping students achieve their goals, and he particularly likes teaching the Grammar Skills classes.

Parent Education Department Instructors

Janet Aasness from U.C. Irvine with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. She began her career teaching Elementary School in Long Beach. She has been part of the Parent Education Program at ABC Adult School since 1994. She first attended classes with her own 2 children and has served as a teacher since 1996.

Jill Cohen-Doron participated as a parent in the program with her 2 children over a span of 8 years. She enjoyed it so much she went back and earned her Parent Education Teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach, where she had also earned her Liberal Arts Degree. She feels strongly that the Parent Education program provides a positive experience for both parent and child.

Julie Brookler began her career as a Kindergarten teacher. She has been teaching Parent Education classes for over 35 years and still keeps in contact with some of her former students. Several of them were preschoolers in her classes and are now back as parents of a new generation of preschoolers.

Nancy Cham received a M.A. in Library Science from SUNY in Albany. She has 33 years experience as a Parent Education Instructor at ABC Adult School. Languages spoken: English, Mandarin, Tagalog.

Nancy Hom has been involved in the Parent Education Program at ABC Adult School since 1986. She attended the program for nine years as a parent. Believing strongly that parents as well as children gain so much from the program, she has been a Parent Education teacher since 1994. She teaches classes for parents with siblings and also for parents with pre-kindergarten children. She received her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and her Teaching Credential from CSU Northridge.

Sandy Lakin has taught in the Parent Education program at ABC Adult School for over 27 years, working with parents and children ages 1-5 years, as well as teaching Kindergarten, first and second grades. She has a BA in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois and a Master’s Degree in Reading Education from CSU Long Beach. Teaching science has become her passion because science fosters the development of higher level thinking skills as children discover the wonders of the world around them.