Teachers
Stephanie Sawyer (Chair)
Courses Taught: AP Statistics, AP Precalculus, Precalculus (Honors)
Phone: 801-984-7309
Email: stephaniesawyer@skaggscatholiccenter.org
Biography: Stephanie Sawyer joined the JD math faculty in the fall of 2009. Although originally from New Orleans, she has lived and worked in northwestern Pennsylvania; Tidewater, Virginia; Coastal North Carolina; Utah; and South Texas. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BS in Mathematics, after beginning her college career at the US Military Academy at West Point. She had begun coursework towards an MS in Finance at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and plans to complete this degree at the University of Utah at some point. Sawyer has over 20 years of teaching experience in Catholic elementary school, Catholic high school (taught math at Judge for many years), public high school, and community college. Before joining the JDCHS faculty, she wrote high-stakes assessments for Harcourt Assessment and Pearson Education.
Michael Maier
Courses Taught: Foundations of High School Math, Algebra I, Personal Finance
Phone: 801-984-7685
Email: michaelrmaier@skaggscatholiccenter.org
Biography: Michael Maier grew up on the East Coast and in the Midwest. He earned his BSBA at the University of North Carolina and his MBA at the University of Denver Daniels College of Business. Mr. Maier then worked on Wall Street starting in 2003 and pursued a career trading currencies around the world. After living abroad for 8 years, Mr. Maier returned to New York City where he met his wife. After having 2 sons, Mr. Maier settled in Red Bank, NJ, and began teaching at Red Bank Catholic High School. For several years, he taught Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 at Red Bank Catholic High School. Mr. Maier moved to Utah in August of 2022. Mr. Maier has also coached high school and club lacrosse, and can often be found attending JDCHS sporting events after school and on the weekends.
Amanda de Roda
Courses Taught: Learning 360, Intro to College Math
Phone: 801-984-7392
Email: amandaderoda@skaggscatholiccenter.org
Biography: Amanda de Roda was born in Texas, but considers herself a Utah native. She attended Catholic school in Salt Lake City from Kindergarten through 12th grade. She attended Westminster College after graduating from Judge Memorial Catholic High School, completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 2001. Since graduation she has held various positions in the field of education. She spent several years at the UofU Counseling Center and as an Admissions and Financial Aid Officer at Westminster College. She then worked for the Granite School District for 8 years as a Vocational and Life Skills Trainer in a transitional post-high school special education program called GIFTS. She started working at Juan Diego Catholic High School in January of 2015, gaining experience as a math tutor, mentor, substitute teacher and Classroom Instructional Assistant in Math Foundations, Academic Algebra I, Academic Algebra II, and Academic and Honors Geometry classes. She has a passion for helping students and feels honored to be a part of the Juan Diego community.
Mike Melonas
Courses Taught: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC
Phone: 801-984-7687
Email: mikemelonas@skaggscatholiccenter.org
Biography: Mr. Melonas was raised in Sandy, Utah and graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Fine Arts and Mathematics. He has subsequently received his MEd from the University of Utah. Mr. Melonas has taught at Juan Diego since the school opened and oversaw Challenger School's curriculum before coming to Juan Diego. Mr. Melonas has one son and one daughter who are both (in his words) his favorite hobbies and greatest accomplishments.
Ellie Walden
Courses Taught: Enriched Algebra I (Honors), Algebra II (Academic), Geometry (Honors)
Phone: 801-984-7638
Email: elliewalden@skaggscatholiccenter.org
Biography: Mrs. Walden grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska where she attended Catholic schools from preschool through 12th grade. She earned her bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Dallas and became a certified teacher. She has taught math at a public high school in Temple, TX; a Catholic high school in Houston, TX and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Salt Lake City. Mrs. Walden joined the faculty at Juan Diego in August 2021. She enjoys sharing her love of learning and passion for math with her students.
Monica Moynihan
Courses Taught: Geometry (Honors and Academic), AP Calc BC
Phone: 801-984-
Biography: Ms. Moynihan attended Juan Diego Catholic Schools pre-school-12th grade. At the University of Utah, she earned her bachelor's in Secondary Mathematics with an ESOL endorsement. Following undergrad, Ms. Moynihan joined the PACE program through the University of Portland and taught mathematics at an all-girls Catholic high school in Honolulu, HI. After two years in the program, she earned her master's in Education from the University of Portland. In the fall of 2022, Ms. Moynihan joined the JDCHS community and is excited to be back in a place that feels like home.
Email: monicamoynihan@jdchs.org
Ophelie Claudon
Courses Taught: College Math Preview, Algebra II (Honors)
Phone: 801-984-7401
Biography: Ms. Claudon joined the Juan Diego faculty in 2022. Before moving to Utah, she grew up in France where she earned an MSc in Marine Engineering at SEatech in Toulon, France in 2004, she then pursued her education with an Advanced Master's degree in Hydraulic at ENSEEIHT in Toulouse, France. She graduated in 2006.
After college, Ms. Claudon worked as a Civil and Environmental Engineer for about 8 years. In 2015 she decided to change careers and earned an M.Ed. in Secondary Education in Math from the University of Besancon , France. She began her teaching career in France, moved to England in 2017 and then to Louisville, Kentucky in 2018 where she taught Chemistry, Physical Science and Precalculus in a Christian School before moving to Utah in 2022.
Ms. Claudon sees teaching as a real accomplishment of her academic journey and tries to share with her students her love of learning and solving problems.
When she is not at JD she loves hiking, cooking and reading!
Email: ophelieclaudon@jdchs.org
"Mathematics is no more computation than typing is literature." - John Allen Paulos (1945- ), American mathematician