Our Staff
At Brightworks we seek to break down the hierarchy between teacher and student to empower kids to be the authors of their own education. That is why we call our educators collaborators.
Leadership & Administrative Team
MACKENZIE PRICE - Head of School
As a founding member of the teaching staff at Brightworks, Mackenzie’s experiments and leadership have been key to implementing and refining the unique pedagogy of the school. During the last two years she helmed the Brightworks Curious Educators Division where she worked with the Collaborator team to distill and share the Brightworks methodology of student-driven project work with schools of all types—locally, nationally, and around the world—training others how to see teaching and learning in a new way, and to put that vision into practice. Mackenzie uses her amazing co-creation skills to lead the Collaborators and community in further clarifying our program, in keeping student agency and curiosity at the center of our work together, and in challenging ourselves and each other to continue to grow into what is possible.
GEVER TULLEY - Founder and Chief Collaborator
Gever founded Tinkering School in 2005 in order to learn how children become competent and to explore the notion that kids can build anything, and through building, learn anything. A self-taught computer scientist with no formal education, Gever’s expertise is really in… thinking. Gever has taught workshops and made presentations to both kids and adults around the world. He has spoken at TED, twice, written articles for MAKE:, and authored the book Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do).
KENYA STRONG - Head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
Kenya has been teaching on and off for thirty years with the last twelve years in independent schools. She started her journey in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging nearly fifteen years ago, has founded and Chaired Diversity committees facilitated teacher education workshops on cultural consciousness, performed DEI audits for institutions, and served in several leadership capacities to unpack and dismantle inequities in contemporary school curriculum and systems.
She has an eclectic background, having once worked as a dog groomer and as an electrical technician for an oil servicing company. She is a certified Life Coach and Fitness instructor and holds a Masters degree in Education. Kenya has two children who she prides as her greatest accomplishments and enjoys camping, working with her hands, and traveling as much as possible.
JUSTINE MACAULEY - Director of Admissions & Transitions
As a founding staff member, Justine has worked since the school’s beginnings to make Brightworks welcoming, accessible, and loving for students and families alike. She was hired to assist in the admissions process, and as the school morphed and changed, so did her job. Along with admissions, she has worn dozens of hats and engaged in almost every part of the school, from park time and curriculum planning to answering the phone and teaching kids to love writing. In addition to handling the school’s admissions process and the odds and ends as Assistant Director, Justine works with the high school as a humanities workshop collaborator, transition counselor for college or the next steps post-high school, and Mastery Transcript coordinator. She greatly values all time spent with students, and believes that building trust and community with children is one of the most important things that educators can do to foster happy human beings.
ANTHONY CONSILIO - Assistant Head of School
Anthony started working with children in his junior year of high school and never looked back. For the past three decades, he has worked in almost every facet of schools from pre- to high school. Through a multitude of classroom, play based, administrative and hands-on experiences Anthony has always been a firm believer that there is no single approach for all children. He has striven to work with them as individuals to help them pursue and explore their interests and let their ideas be the driving force of their educational experience. Since the beginning of Brightworks, Anthony has been a fierce advocate for the hearts and minds of the kids, seeing their need for love and support as paramount to a good educational experience. He acts as advisor to the collaborators, teaches a high school philosophy class and works closely with the parents. Mostly he loves the joyous challenge of discovering the passions of the children and pursuing all the amazing paths that open in these transformative moments. When not in school Anthony delights in surfing, working on his book, sharing joy, hanging out with dogs and spending time with his family and exploring deeply the world through the lens of his seven year old son Gus who continues to show him that each day is a beautiful adventure to be savored and enjoyed. He is so wildly happy to call Brightworks his home.
QI DIAZ - IAT Executive Director
Qi most recently served as the Executive Director of Dreamcatchers, a non-profit focused on educational equity for socio-economically disadvantaged middle school students in the Palo Alto Unified School District, and before that as the Director of Educational Innovation at The Resource Area for Teaching, where he trained educators and designed and produced popular STEAM activities, including an electric windmill from 90% recycled materials and a hands-on growth mindset play kit for 3-5-year-olds. He has taught 5th grade (all subjects) and high school English and Latin. He earned a degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing and poetry and a Masters in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Technology. Beyond work, he is a husband of ten years, father of two children (Aeon and Quest) and two dogs (Puppy and Shadow), an archer, a movie buff, a chess enthusiast, a food scientist, and an avid tinkerer.
LIBBY CATZALCO - Human Resources & Curious Educators Coordinator, Special Projects Manager
Libby has been hailed as the most gentle human to ever work in the office at Brightworks school. She grew up in San Francisco as part of a huge family of teachers and educators, and brings the spirit of kindness, true knowing of people, and full-hearted empathy to everyone she talks to. Libby has three amazing children and teaches us about patience and love above all, every day. We could not imagine Brightworks without her.
ADRIAN SKAJ - Finance Officer
Adrian is a San Francisco native who is grateful to have brought her gift with numbers to non-profits for over twenty-five years. As Finance Manager, Adrian works with the leadership team to maintain the financial health of the IAT and Brightworks School. Adrian values working with innovative, mission-driven organizations and she enjoys the puzzle-solving and meditative aspects of her work.
Having learned so much as an alumni parent at a cooperative preschool, Adrian is energized by communities of learning and is excited to return to the world of education and child development by joining the Brightworks team.
Adrian is a certified Iyengar yoga instructor and enjoys taking long walks in nature, working in her garden, playing Settlers of Catan, and spending time with her family.
Alexandra Oeffinger - Office Manager
MARIA FAVATA - Director of Operations, Finance, and Human Resources.
Maria joined the IAT as Business Manager in October 2022 and moving forward will serve in the role of Director of Operations, Finance, and Human Resources. This is a new role for the IAT and is part of continued efforts to develop our administrative capacity in service of better supporting our programs, community, and mission. Maria has worked in a wide variety of areas including tech and educational publishing and holds an MBA from NYU. (Watch for her passion for fashion to show up in the Fashion arc this year!)
LISA NOWELL - Interim Director of Admissions & Communications
Lisa is the founder and executive director of the Recess Collective, a community-driven organization that supports families and young children in perinatal education, play, creativity, support, and connection. She has a background in child development and psychology and a decade of experience with children & adults with learning differences. She is an advocate for play as a way for children to develop motor skills, social skills, and language and has worked with the Brightworks admissions team for the past year to promote the program city-wide. This year she will be stepping in as Interim Admissions Director while Justine is on maternity leave.
Lower School Collaborators
DANIELLE CONOVER - Early Elementary Collaborator // K-1st
Gever always says, “Brightworks aspires to be the best of pre-school and grad school combined.” Danielle is truly the best of preschool. In her over ten years as an early childhood educator Danielle has honed an approach to our youngest learners that embodies so many Brightworks values. She writes:
“I believe that if children are supported by grown-ups who are not afraid of their feelings, they can grow to trust themselves and rely on their internal compasses in all aspects of their lives. To build frustration tolerance, children need to be allowed to fail, fall apart, and recover. To learn generosity and sharing, children need to feel like they have enough. To learn empathy, children need to feel seen and understood by their grown-ups. To learn discipline, children need to feel connected…I consider my work as a teacher to be my activism. I believe that if children can experience a trusting and respectful experience of being at school, they may grow to expect and protect this experience for themselves and others in their communities.”
We are excited for the ways Danielle’s playful loving presence, attunement to her students needs, and commitment to parent education will make our kindergarten students and families feel welcomed and inspired!
JAHI JOHNSON - Early Elementary Collaborator // 1st-2nd
Jahi comes to us by way of Park Day, Nueva and New School, all of which are incredible schools committed to project-based learning. In fact, New School is a public charter that partnered with Brightworks in its design! Incredible resume aside, what really impressed us about Jahi was his attention to detail in building relationships with students. In a 30-minute demo lesson with Diamond Band, he invited students to share their routines and agreements with him, made space for all voices to be heard, and had meaningful 1-1 connections with each student all while exploring the properties of shapes together. By the end of their short time together, our young learners were grounded and engaged. One student even gifted Jahi a portrait she had drawn of him! It’s easy to train an educator in project-based learning, but learning to build meaningful connection and community with young learners is one of those foundational skills that we always prioritize in hiring collaborators. Through inspired projects and strong community, Jahi is going to deeply enrich our early elementary experience.
KARIN SORIANO-BILAL - Elementary School Lead Collaborator // 2nd-3rd
Karin is overjoyed to be joining the Brightworks community. She is an educator, parent, and creative who revels in the beauty and magic of childhood. Karin has taught toddlers to pre-teens, in public and private schools in San Francisco and Los Angeles for over 20 years. At the beginning of her professional life, she worked for DrawBridge, an arts program for children living in emergency shelters and affordable housing in the Bay Area. It’s there she experienced the importance of integrating expressive arts as pedagogy. She believes in the power of building meaningful relationships with students and families by allowing each child to be themselves and express their unlimited imagination. Every year she looks forward to creating opportunities for children to care for and learn about themselves, each other, and the world around them.
Karin and her family— an 11-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son, partner, and yappy rat terrier+chihuahua— have recently relocated from San Francisco to the Stanford campus, where they live with 92 college students as the Resident Family. Karin enjoys taking walks alone, watching anime with her son, roller skating with her daughter, cuddling with her dog, and dancing with her husband.
MARY CATHERINE MUNIZ - Lead Collaborator for Elementary School // 3rd-4th
Mary Catherine is thrilled to be returning to Brightworks after two years away teaching 5th grade in Daly City. Before coming to Brightworks Mary Catherine co-taught at the Chinese American International School and earned her Master’s in Education from BATTI (the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute). She has also spent a few years working in outdoor education at outdoor schools and environmental summer camps noticing how powerful it can be to learn about nature through observing what is going on around you. She feels that she is at her best both as an educator and as a person when she is sharing her joys with others and learning from everyone’s curiosities. She is drawn to education because of the opportunity to be surrounded by a community of inquiry, exploration, and discovery. In her free time Mary Catherine likes to get lost wandering in San Francisco or go for an adventure in the mountains.
CASANDRA ANTHONY - Elementary Collaborator // 4th-5th
Casandra comes to us from the International School in Billund, a project of the Lego group in Denmark. This world-renowned school centers playful learning for students of all ages. At this school, she was a Teacher Researcher through Harvard University’s “Project Zero” which honed her practices as an educator tremendously. In her nearly 10 years teaching abroad in the International baccalaureate system Casandra has honed an approach to students that centers on collaboration. In her teaching portfolio, she shared a project proposal that her 5th-grade students created that shared so much DNA with the Brightworks declaration it was remarkable. As a National Geographic Educator and Forest School Leader, she provided a safe environment where children of all ages could take risks and initiate their own learning while developing an appreciation for the natural environment. From the moment she walked through our doors with her work boots and Keith Haring sweatshirt covered in sawdust from a building project I knew she was a Brightworks collaborator. We are so lucky to have her join our team.
RICHARD PERENYI - Elementary School Science Collaborator
Rich is a bilingual naturalist, artist, and educator from Michigan. A life-long animal lover, he has a Bachelors of Science in Zoology from Humboldt State University, and a California Teaching Credential with a focus on biology in secondary education. Starting in 2011, Rich worked as a research assistant at the renowned Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, studying the effects of climate change on pollinator diversity loss and flowering plant reproduction. Rich has worked as a naturalist at Camp Winnarainbow and the Mendocino Woodlands Outdoor Science School, and taught biology and physics at Mendocino middle and high schools. He loves the way Brightworks aims to create not only inventive thinkers, but also good human beings.
He would love to build you a super sweet obstacle course.
Upper School Collaborators
SAM PHILLIPS - Middle School Collaborator // 6th
Sam has been helping kids make projects and trust in the power of their ideas since 2009. From facilitating video production workshops in movie theaters across the rust belt of rural Ohio to teaching 6th grade English in Mississippi and Tennessee through Teach for America to partnering with Northwestern University and the YMCA to build a free makerspace for middle-school students in northern Chicago, Sam’s career in education has been (literally) all-over-the-map, yet consistently focused on improving educational equity and leveraging the transformative power of the expressive arts. He has given presentations at the National Art Educators Association Conference and Argonne National Laboratory, was named a 2016 Fellow through the FabLearn program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, and was a contributing writer to Meaningful Making Vol. 2 published by Constructing Modern Knowledge Press. Over the past two years, Sam has juggled several roles at the IAT, including Aftercare and Park Collaborator and Site Manager of Tinkering School Overnight Camp, and is thrilled to be leading a Band this year. When he’s not at Brightworks, you might find him three rows from the front at the Roxie Theatre, catching up on the latest documentaries, drawing by Lake Merritt in Oakland, or volunteering at the Exploratorium.
MANDISA LYONS - Interim Middle School Collaborator // 6th-7th
Mandisa began her educational journey at HBCU Philander Smith College where she received a full academic scholarship. She completed her matriculation at UOP earning both a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in communications as well as a Master of Public Administration.
Mandisa brings to Brightworks a diverse background. With the previous service as the Executive Analyst to the Vice-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry of UCSF as well as Assistant to the President of the National Sleep Research Society.
Mandisa worked for five years within the San Francisco Unified School District, in both Payroll and Personnel, and as interim Supervisor of the district’s Substitute Teachers’ office. Prior to joining us at BWX Mandisa served as the Operations Manager, Executive Assistant and 9th grade Student Advisor at the San Francisco Girls School.
She is also a current Brightworks parent to two students in the Brightworks community.
PHILLIP FILLASTRE - Lead Collaborator for Middle School // 7th-8th
Phillip began teaching as a science, math, art, and graphic design educator in 2008 at Joseph George Middle School in San Jose, for five years, through Teach for America. After teaching core subjects for a year, Phillip was asked to pioneer the introduction of digital arts and sculpture curriculum at the school. He currently holds a Multiple Subjects (K-8) Clear Credential and a Single Subject (K-12) Credential in the Visual Arts. Phillip is drawn to learning that incorporates multiple disciplines and weaves the sciences within the arts as often as possible. Joining Brightworks in 2013, Phillip drew and expanded on his experiences in public education to create his own curated, project-based curriculum for students at all ability levels. Since 2017, Phillip has co-authored and led workshops at Brightworks for visiting educators, as spreading the Brightworks pedagogy to different leaning environments remains a passion of his. Phillip believes in teaching students to be disciplined lifelong self-learners, through collaboration, rooted in the design thinking process. Outside of teaching, Phillip is a practicing graphic artist, sculptor, and event designer.
MICHLENE COTTER - Director of Community and Belonging, High School Collaborator
Michlene Cotter is a grassroots educator and community activist. In 2014 she co-founded Ka-Lo Academy, a self-directed program for youth who do not wish to attend traditional high school. Michlene has been teaching and facilitating independent learners in Oakland, across many subject areas, for the past 15 years. As an adult she thinks about all the possibilities that were unknown to her as a child - as an educator she seeks to illuminate these possibilities for young learners.
In “education” she values trusting children’s inherent desire to learn, developing communication with them, preserving their curiosity and letting the idea of liberation lead. She has a passion for equity and equality, writing, gardening, cultivating mindfulness and living in kinship with the Earth.
Michlene studied social science at the New School for Social Research in New York. Along with being an educator, she has also been a childbirth doula for 20 years and is raising three interest-driven, self-directed young people of her own.
Michlene has lived in Trinidad & Tobago, England, Louisiana, New York and California. She loves Prince, birds (especially ravens), cool shoes and dark chocolate.
AILI OSTERAAS-CONSTABLE - High School Collaborator
Aili’s passion for teaching stems from her lifelong love of asking questions. As a child, she was known to spark conversation with questions such as “Where does all the water go?” and “Where is the future?” This stance still informs her outlook as a learner and educator. Aili believes that most meaningful learning happens in risk-positive environments that celebrate questions of all kinds. She enjoys spending her days working with a cohort of people committed to cultivating a learning community rooted in self-awareness, critical inquiry, and good humor. Aili holds a BA from Occidental College in American Studies with an emphasis in Urban and Environmental Policy as well as a Single Subject (6-12) Credential in Social Studies from San Francisco State University. When not in the classroom, Aili can be found cycling and running all over the Bay Area.
JUN YI - Upper School Math & Science Collaborator
Like so many great collaborators, Jun has had a circuitous path to Brightworks. From being an earth sciences researcher at Yale to working in museum education at the Exploratorium and American Museum of Natural History, to designing curriculum for companies in the US and China, and getting a master of education from Columbia University, Jun has always been led by her curiosity and commitment to inquiry-based learning. Jun truly became a classroom teacher at High Tech High, where she designed and implemented interdisciplinary projects that allowed her students to explore and master complex mathematical concepts. When she came for her demo lesson, she had students and collaborators alike at the edge of our seats as together we discovered the quadratic formula by describing a growing pattern. At the core of her teaching practice is the belief that her students are her most important project. We are so excited for all the ways she is going to continue to build and shape math education at Brightworks.
Support Collaborators
JAMES ALLEN - Assistant Collaborator
James’s superpowers are his joy and his ability to connect with just about any young person that he comes across. For over ten years as a para-educator in SFUSD, James has built relationships with students of all learning styles and profiles and transformed their learning experience into something more fun than they could imagine!
Working with children is James' favorite activity. Over his years being in their classrooms, students have shown him ways to be a better teacher. He has also learned from coworkers how important it is to have kids want to come to school.
Some of his notable celebrity influencers include Rodney Dangerfield, Dick Van Dyke and Werner Klemperer. Real-life influencers include Marc L.B., Beth G.S. Anthony C.C. and Amber L.F.
A quote James believes in: "I am every man, I am no man".
GRACE LEARY - After Care Collaborator
After graduating from Brightworks, Grace boomeranged right back to it. She has taken classes on child development at City College of San Francisco and is interested in alternative learning approaches. From being a Teaching Assistant at The Little School, to supporting youth artists in Southern Exposure's Mission Voices Summer Program, to helping kids dream big at Tinkering School, Grace has always been passionate about alternative education and working with children. She believes kids should be able to express themselves freely and aims to encourage that notion by helping bring their ideas to life. As an artist, this is especially important, and she strives to uphold a safe and supportive learning environment that promotes unlimited potential.
Whether it's accompanying 4-6 year olds on field trips, helping teachers with projects, supporting 12-21 year olds and their artistic expression at camp, or playing crazy chess after school with 5-12 year olds, when it comes to kids, Grace is happy to help.
When she's not wrangling kiddos, you can find Grace curating playlists, editing photos, collecting interesting things, following intriguing recipes, or gradually checking off flicks from IMBD's list of must-see-movies.
DANIEL BIGLER - Elementary Assistant & After Care Collaborator
Inspired by countless viewings of the film “Jurassic Park” as a kid, Daniel Bigler really wanted to be either a dinosaur or a filmmaker when he grew up. It turns out the “growing up” part never actually happened, though, and instead Daniel has made a career out of supporting children’s play and curiosity. Prior to coming to Brightworks in 2016, Daniel spent many summers building and playing with kids (and Gever) at Tinkering School while also working as a faculty member in Children’s Studies at Eastern Washington University during the school year, where he taught courses on the Sociology of Children, the Geography of Childhood, Children’s Play, Children in Film, and more. He holds an MA in Childhood Studies from King’s College London and is finishing an MA in Children’s Rights from the University of Geneva. As an Assistant Collaborator at Brightworks who helps with Aftercare, Parktime, and the younger bands, Daniel has an immense fondness for silliness, adventure playgrounds, children’s books, playing around, movies, and trying to build the longest Hot Wheels track ever in the history of the universe.
NATHAN SAVOY - Early Years Assistant Collaborator
Nathan is someone who takes life as a series of footsteps, one in front of the other. He obtained a Bachelors in Colouring Development (BCD) from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After studying community design and environmental planning, Nathan came to SF in 2009 and found Brightworks through living in the neighborhood. For the next few years he honed his inner-child, helping kiddos try really hard to collaborate and treat each other well while making mistakes and building something bigger then themselves with Tinkering School, before beginning his role assisting the Brightworks Lower School. Nathan is looking forward to grow, move and sing with the students of the Brightworks community.
ROB AIMAN - Shop & Art Collaborator
Rob is a professional artist who works with as many mediums as possible: wood, stone, and clay as well as paint, pastels, pencils, pen and ink. Drumming is his second love and he currently plays with three bands in the genres of rock, blues and instrumental surf music. He also studies reggae, Latin rock and jazz. In order to put in the 10,000 hours developing his art and drumming, he relied on a construction background to pay the bills. As a carpenter, his specialty was working on San Francisco Victorian homes. After 35 years of building homes, he shifted to work in the hospital setting at Kaiser Permanente.
Rob has been volunteering at schools in their art programs since 1998: at New Traditions Elementary School, at his daughter’s school as an art instructor and drummer for their school choir, and with the New School. During Covid, he taught a neighborhood outdoor art program, and did some volunteer work at Nomad Elementary.
Rob comes to us through Tinkering School and quickly joined the Brightworks family as an all around substitute, shop wizard, and collaborator with the Little Gems bands. He is so grateful for the opportunity to work with the organization and has never been more happy than he is right now working for Brightworks School.
BETHANY HILLIARD - Learning Specialist
As a long time educator with a passion for fostering each individual’s unique path to learning, Bethany is thrilled to be joining the Brightworks community as a Learning Specialist. With more than 16 years of experience in special education, Bethany has worked with a wide variety of learners in a wide variety of settings and capacities. From public to independent to private tutoring and consultation, she has had the privilege of working with kids and families of all ages across the beautiful patchwork of neurodiversity.
She is inspired every day by the resilience, determination, and creativity she sees in each and every learner she encounters, and is passionate about empowering students to know themselves, advocate for what they need, and feel a sense of confidence, joy, and belonging in their learning space. Bethany has a particular passion for youth impacted by trauma, and for supporting families as they navigate raising and educating neurodiverse youth. Being a parent of 2 incredible humans who experience both gives her a unique insight into this experience and fuels her dedication to making this a world they feel they can belong to, a place where they can know themselves fully, and see themselves reflected and celebrated in the world around them. Bethany sees it as a true gift to be joining this community of curious and compassionate collaborators, students, and families.
Bethany lives in San Rafael with her husband, 2 kids (ages 10 and 12), our giant fluffy Bernese Mountain dog, and a desert tortoise named Susie. :) She loves being outdoors in this incredible corner of the world we call home, hiking, practicing yoga, biking, reading, and most recently painting by number!
HAILEY NICOLE-WARNER - After Care Collaborator
As a new assistant collaborator, Hailey is thrilled to begin this journey with such a special group of kids, artists, creators, and educators that is the Brightworks community. The sense of kinship, driven by a dedication to kid-centric learning, is something Hailey is excited to experience and cultivate this upcoming year. Hailey graduated from San Francisco State University with dual emphasis in English and creative writing. She believes that creativity is made possible through genuine curiosity. Because of their curious relationship to language, kids have the ability to render the ordinary in beautiful and unexpected ways. They are natural poets. When she's not writing, Hailey enjoys cooking comfort food for her friends, reading her book club’s pick of the month, caring for her plants, or simply walking around San Francisco and observing the movements of the city.
Jo Johnson- Support Collaborator
