KIPP Raíces Academy Staff
Amber Medina , Founding Principal - bio
amedina@kippla.org
Mara Bond, Dean
mbond@kippla.org
Matthew Bragman, School Operations Coordinator
mbragman@kippla.org
Candice Cruz, Office Manager
ccruz@kippla.org
Chelsea Wiener, Dean
cwiener@kippla.org
Adriana Acero, Kindergarten Teacher
aacero@kippla.org
Ashley Brickner, Physical Education Teacher
abrickner@kippla.org
Mercedes Castro, Instructional Assistant
mcastro@kippla.org
Yesenia Castro, Spanish Teacher
ycastro@kippla.org
Shannon Cheuvront-Torres, Apprentice Teacher
scheuvront-torres@kippla.org
Christina Duenas, Instructional Assistant
cduenas@kippla.org
Mario Echeverria, Third Grade Teacher
mecheverria@kippla.org
Amber Fleming, Second Grade teacher
afleming@kippla.org
Carrie Gendreau, First Grade Teacher
cgendreau@kippla.org
Kasey Gentry, Kindergarten Teacher
kgentry@kippla.org
Kim Gilmore, Kindergarten Teacher
kclement@kippla.org
Sasha Gorelick, First Grade Teacher
sgorelick@kippla.org
Tania Hernandez, Second Grade Teacher
thernandez@kippla.org
Chris Hofmann, First Grade Teacher
chofmann@kippla.org
Jenny Huber, Third Grade Teacher
jhuber@kippla.org
Janine Juarez, Instructional Assistant
jjuarez@kippla.org
Heather M. Lynch, First Grade Teacher
hlynch@kippla.org
Brett MacArthur, Second Grade Teacher
bmacarthur@kippla.org
Stephanie Maggard, First Grade Teacher
smaggard@kippla.org
Jackelyn Mandel, Kindergarten Teacher
jmandel@kippla.org
Rosana Maran, Instructional Assistant
rmaran@kippla.org
Amanda Mull, Third Grade Teacher
amull@kippla.org
Tina Nguyen, Second Grade Teacher
tnguyen@kippla.org
Wanda Pacheco, Apprentice Teacher
wpacheco@kippla.org
Natasha Pytlik, Apprentice Teacher
npytlik@kippla.org
Marly Rios, Instructional Assistant
mrios@kippla.org
Adriana Rodriguez, Third Grade Teacher
arodriguez@kippla.org
Candy Rodriguez, Instructional Assistant
crodriguez@kippla.org
Suzanne Stasica, Art Teacher
sstasica@kippla.org
Edana St. Pierre, Kindergarten Teacher
estpierre@kippla.org
Melissa Vasquez, Science Teacher
mvasquez@kippla.org
Kimberly Walker, Apprentice Teacher
kwalker@kippla.org
About Our Staff
Amber Young is the founder of California’s first KIPP elementary school, KIPP Raíces Academy. Most recently, she served as the Interim Principal at Ralph J. Bunche Elementary School, her original placement school through Teach for America. Prior to becoming principal, she served as a resource teacher. In this position, she coached teachers and oversaw the categorical budget, among other responsibilities in and out of the classroom. At Bunche, she also taught second grade, served as grade level chair, and created the school’s “College Bound” program. During her six-year tenure at Bunche, she played an integral role in transforming the school from low-performing to Compton Unified’s first California Distinguished School. Amber received her BA from Amherst College as a double major in History and Sociology. She also holds a Masters of Arts in Elementary Education and a Masters in School Administration from Loyola Marymount University. Amber was one of 13 Fisher Fellows selected out of approximately 550 applicants for the prestigious and rigorous KIPP School Leadership Program.
