Our Team
Meet our 2021-2022 Residents
Courtney Bean
2021 Teacher Resident
Teaching is a new journey for me; however I have always enjoyed, and had a passion for working with children. I am from Oakland, I love to fish and I am a mother of three wonderful children, who motivate me each and every day. Placing high value on education was not always the case. In grade school, going to school was not something that I looked forward to. However, once I enrolled in college, education became an awesome experience for me. It has allowed me to see that education is a foundation of support, and success doesn’t have to be such a struggle. I currently attend Alder GSE. For my Residency with OUSD, I have been placed at Coliseum College Prep Academy working with 6th and 7th grade SPED. I am super excited to give back to my community and to make learning fun for children. I am looking forward to learning from students, building meaningful relationships, and being there when they need a shoulder to lean on.
Gustavo Ontiveros (he/him)
2021 Teacher Resident
I am hella excited to start my student teaching at Oakland Tech and also excited to go back to in-person! I was born and raised in Salinas, Ca, known as the salad bowl of the world. I moved up to the Bay Area in 2014 when I started my undergrad at Cal. I fell in love with the area and the people so stayed up here since! In my free time I like to go on walks, watch Netflix, read manga or scroll on social media.
Sabrina Branco (she/her)
2021 Teacher Resident
I’m beyond excited to start my teaching experience. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, BUT that aside I’m open and willing to learn all new and exciting things in my student teaching journey. My background is in sustainable marketing with a super strong passion for the ocean and conservation. I can’t wait to show my students that. Few fun facts about myself: I speak three languages, graduated from Cal State Monterey Bay (GO OTTERS) and I have a cat and a dog. 
Trina Brown
2021 Teacher Resident
I am excited to start on this new journey teaching our youth. I spent my first career working with adults in corporate America. I am using this opportunity to prepare our youth for their next phase whether it be pursuing careers in corporate or education. I want to make sure they have all the tools necessary. I spent many years training new employees and also conducting continuation training on the job. I believe teenagers are more fun than adults set in their ways.
Sarah Carter
2021 Teacher Resident
I am so excited to begin my residency with OTR! My placement is at Skyline High School, where I’ll be co-teaching 9th grade algebra. I’m also currently pursuing my Masters of Teaching at UC Berkeley’s BE3 program. My undergrad degree was in cognitive science, and I’m truly fascinated by all the amazing things brains can do. I’m originally from Los Angeles, and I love to play ultimate frisbee and bake vegan desserts.
Alejandra Cervantes
2021 Teacher Resident
I’m super excited to start this teacher residency year (OUSD/Alder GSE Partnership)--to get hands-on experience. I look forward to learning from my mentor and of course my students. I will use this experience to guide me and to become a better educator for the following year. I hope to use my sociological lens to better understand students’ diverse backgrounds and put my Spanish to use for those who need translation. Overall, I am beyond happy to finally work with youth to provide them a solid support system and tools so they can excel academically and personally.
Angela Hernandez
2021 Teacher Resident
I am excited to be a part of OUSD! I am a teacher resident at Emerson Elementary. I am a graduate student with Alder school of education.
Carla Hernandez
2021 Teacher Resident
I am attending Alder Graduate School of Education. I am a teacher resident at Emerson elementary school in Oakland, Ca. 3-5 SPED inclusion. I am thrilled to be part of OUSD and teach in the community where I grew up.
Jeremy Jennings
2021 Teacher Resident
My name is Jeremy Jennings and I’m looking forward to continuing my teaching experience in Oakland. I have been working in the Oakland Unified School District for a few years now, including time spent most recently at Laurel Elementary and Castlemont High. Now, for the first time, I am working at a middle school, Urban Promise Academy, and I am student teaching under Ann-Marie Gamble, an experienced Trellis Scholar. I am enrolled for my credential education at CSU East Bay and am lucky enough to have a classmate and an old colleague who are also working at UPA. My goal as a teacher is to provide students with as much future professional opportunity as possible and to teach the ability to understand and critique the world, using mathematics as a lens through which to do this.
Susie Lautaimi
2021 Teacher Resident
I am grateful to be apart of this journey. I am originally from the Bay Area, born and raised. My background is in accounting, but I’ve decided to pursue a career in education because my passion for both math and community are inseparable. I love that I can give back to my community that helped raise me.
Ney Ney Le
2021 Teacher Resident
I’m Ney Ney but I also go by Ney. I am beyond excited to embark on this journey. I love science and nature and am excited to integrate the two into my classroom. One component of teaching that I love is storytelling. I love hearing people tell stories and I love telling stories. I can’t wait to build relationships with my students and everyone at OTR and hear lots of stories.
Noam Margalit (she/they)
2021 Teacher Resident
I am really grateful for the opportunity to learn from my peers and mentors. I grew up in the Bay Area as a 1.5 generation American, originally from Israel. While my background is in Sociology, I spent the last three years working at United for Success Academy in OUSD on their math team, and am so excited to build on what I learned during my time at Oakland High School and in the BE3 program.
Anneke Moser (they/them)
2021 Teacher Resident
I feel grateful to have this opportunity to work beside my mentor and feel supported by my cohort as we embark on teaching this upcoming year. I will be working at Cleveland Elementary School and receiving mentorship from Amanda Seaton as a RSP teacher. I have worked in education in different capacities for the last 6 years, beginning with teaching swim lessons. I have worked specifically in Special Education for the last two years, and have felt great fulfillment working in small groups, and seeing concepts click to understanding in my students head. I can’t wait to bring my creativity into the classroom, and create a space for my students to try without fear of failure.Anthony Noriega-Ochoa
2021 Teacher Resident
I’m excited to start this journey into teaching, it definitely feels good finally being able to say that after four years of undergrad. I can’t wait to get in person experience with students versus the experience just from Zoom. I’m glad to have my mentor with me through this first year to help me improve and help me become a better teacher. I was born and raised in Moreno Valley, CA and came out to the Bay Area to attend college. I have tutored multiple students for multiple grade levels, when I wasn’t tutoring I was a manager at a grocery store during 3 years of my college career. If you are ever down for a Taco Tuesday, I always make tacos for dinner on Tuesdays.
John-Rolf Oakley (he/him)
2021 Teacher Resident
I’m super excited to be teaching high school physics as part of the OTR, and am looking forward to sharing my experiences and learning from those of my students. I came to Oakland because I want to help underserved kids develop a lifelong love and appreciation for STEM, be able to apply their knowledge in all the many situations where technology impacts their lives, and acquire some of the tools necessary to be in control of their futures. Some info about me… I’m from the pacific northwest and lived in Seattle, Honolulu, Detroit, and Portland before landing in the Bay Area. My educational background is in electrical engineering, and I worked previously in power network design, semiconductor processing, and patent examination. Since I was ten, a large part of my life has been devoted to fencing and I have also coached for several clubs. I also enjoy spending time outdoors exploring trails, experimenting in the kitchen, and playing games of all kinds.
Catherine Castillo (She/They, Ella/Elle)
2021 Teacher Resident
I am incredibly excited for this year with Alder Graduate School of Education and OTR/OUSD, where I will be a Teacher Resident at Thornhill Elementary School, co-teaching with the school’s resource specialist. I am not an Oakland, nor a California native but I am so happy and excited to build a career and home here in Oakland! I was born and raised in a border town in South Texas and I attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where I was a double major in anthropology and history. School was a traumatic experience for me, like so many others, and I aim to be the teacher I needed when I was a child. I found my love for learning late in my educational career because of my own experiences and I want to foster an anti-racist, inclusive, and loving learning environment for students where they feel heard, safe, and have the freedom to grow. Before becoming a teacher resident with OTR I was a part of two AmeriCorps programs where I had the opportunity to work at an elementary school in Austin, Texas and across the bay in San Francisco.
Will Orfei
2021 Teacher Resident
I am incredibly excited to be working in education. Teaching is something I have wanted to do for many years, but I have only recently taken the dive. Before joining OUSD, I worked as a geophysicist helping engineers build all sorts of things. I am a transplant from the east coast and am enjoying the change of pace and weather. My primary motivations for becoming a teacher are the experiences I had as a special education student. By being open and honest about learning disabilities with my students and fellow staff, I hope to introduce a more positive outlook on neurodiversity.
Conner Parkinson (he/él)
2021 Teacher Resident
I am so honored to be a part of the Oakland Teacher Residency and am looking forward to student teaching 9th grade Biology this year at Fremont High School! For me, teaching is all about giving students the knowledge, skills, and support they need to critically question the systems that impact them and their communities. I was born in North Carolina, studied neuroscience and animal behavior for my undergraduate degree and I am now in the BE3 program at UC Berkeley. I like finding cool bugs on hikes, playing music, staying hydrated, and my dog’s eyebrows!
Stella Ray
2021 Teacher Resident
I’ll be student teaching high school chemistry at Coliseum College Prep Academy in East Oakland. I love science and I strongly believe that everyone can excel in chemistry. I just moved to Oakland from Salt Lake City where I worked in schools for three years, and I’m happy to be starting my career as an educator in the East Bay. I’m grateful to be a part of UC Berkeley’s BE3 program earning my Masters in Teaching. Fun fact about me: my socks never match!
Gretchen Richoux
2021 Teacher Resident
I am happy to begin my journey of teaching as an OTR resident. In a past life, I was an art teacher in St. Louis and NYC, as well as a 3/4th grade teacher at an international school in Brazil. I am excited to be working in Oakland, where I live, and support my community as a teacher. I look forward to teaching in this new capacity and feel grateful to be a part of the Oakland Teacher Residency.
Alexia Villegas
2021 Teacher Resident
I am very excited to be teaching in my hometown. I am a K-12 OUSD alumni and being a teacher in the OUSD is very near to my heart. I attended community college in Laney and all of Peralta. I received my BA in Liberal Studies at Cal State East Bay. I am pursuing my teaching credential and masters at Alder GSE. I am hoping that in partnership with Alder and the OTR I am able to become an excellent teacher. I wish to gain the tools and knowledge I need to best help my students succeed in their educational goals. I strongly believe that the children of my community are very valuable and deserve exceptional and caring teachers.
Esther Wong
2021 Teacher Resident
My name is Esther and I'm currently placed at Skyline High School teaching 9th grade Algebra and earning my master's and credential with UC Berkeley. I believe that as an educator, it's my job to give my students the tools and skills necessary for them to navigate their world and pursue whatever future opportunities they desire. I'm so excited to be part of OTR and partnering with others who have a similar vision of what education can be! When I'm not busy teaching or doing my own school work, I love hanging out with friends around the city, listening to music, and reading in cafes. Also dogs/cats/all animals really.
Latasha Taylor
2021 Teacher Resident