The OSA Team – One Spark Academy

Meet the OSA Team

Lori Peters, Executive Director & Educator

English, History, Geography, Government

Lori Peters is the founder of One Spark Academy. She wholeheartedly believes in the principles of teaching the whole child– meeting students’ academic, social, and emotional needs– and inspiring students to be healthy, balanced, and globally aware. In July 2011, after 16 years in public alternative education, Lori decided to put her energy into helping students find their spark and enjoy the process of learning with like-minded peers in a truly unique learning environment.

Her professional experience includes 15 years committed to the CVUSD’s Open Classroom Program, serving as the lead petitioner and charter author of BRIDGES K-8 Charter School in Thousand Oaks, and teaching English Language Arts to 7th/8th graders at Ventura Charter School– a wonderful “one year” opportunity only possible due to the flexible nature of One Spark Academy. At OSA, Lori enjoys teaching language arts, geography, and history courses, and appreciates the opportunity to build this new model in education with a close-knit team of dedicated educators. When not working, she and her husband/business partner, tech expert Todd Geist, enjoy travel, reading, gatherings with friends and family, walking their two rescue dogs, and the pursuit of innovative, sensible, and sustainable ideas to improve education. Lori holds a multiple subject teaching credential, a BA in Art (with a minor in English), an MA in Educational Leadership, and a preliminary Administrative Services Credential. lori@onesparkacademy.com

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Laura Erlig, Lead Educator

Math, Food Fascination, Science

Beyond inspiring her students to love math and science, Laura Erlig is the mastermind behind our Food Fascination classes and our lunch program at One Spark Academy. A firm believer in whole child education, Laura’s experience includes 16 years in public education. Working with varied learners and in progressive programs helped Laura forge her educational philosophy, whereby students must have choices and experience in order to comprehend the whole meaning of what they are taught– this connection keeps them engaged in their learning process.

To motivate students down the path of increasing maturity, that path must be enjoyable and knowledge must be presented in a multifaceted fashion. She knows that a student who participates in defining this path will be most successful. Laura is also a parent (with husband Hernan) of twin daughters, Katie and Ashley. Although identical, her daughters demonstrate the important lesson that not all children are the same or learn the same. Laura’s hobbies include walking, gardening, making jam, cooking, and organizing family and friend gatherings. She also loves helping students ignite their creative and academic passions in a proactive way while balancing the health, learning, and social engagements. Prior to OSA, Laura was a team member at CVUSD’s Open Classroom Leadership Magnet, then a lead founder and Education Coordinator at BRIDGES Charter School in Thousand Oaks. Laura holds a BA in Liberal Studies and a supplement in Mathematics. laura@onesparkacademy.com

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Melanie Ware, Lead Educator

https://www.onesparkacademy.org/about/our-educators/

English, Creative Writing, Book Club, Viewpoint, Tutoring

Way back in the day, when the birds sang a little sweeter and there was still a chance for your Hogwarts letter to come in the mail, Lori Peters had a student named Melanie Ware. She ran wild, a barefoot child roaming the woods and the beach like some kind of fairy. She kept growing up, sprouting dreams, spanning miles until finally, she ended up at UC Santa Cruz. There, she spent four years studying Shakespeare, Kerouac, and Woolf, exploring Iceland and New Zealand and everywhere in between.

With a creative writing degree under her belt and a self-published book under her arm, she moved back home, continued climbing mountains, surfing waves and backpacking secluded trails. And then, as fate would have it, she showed up on Lori’s metaphorical doorstep and this is where our story truly begins. After chaperoning the 2014 outdoor school trip to Santa Cruz Island, she came to love all the One Spark hooligans and knew she just had to join the team. So a little under a year later, she found herself walking through the doors as a teacher’s assistant, an English tutor and an overall supporter of the OSA mission. Now, Melanie is a well-trained educator, with plenty of creative classes percolating. Melanie holds a BA in Creative Writing from UC Santa Cruz. melanie@onesparkacademy.com

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Tim Handley, Educator

Math, Environmental Science, Engineering, Game Design, Math and Science Tutoring

Tim Handley believes that knowledge, beauty, and life are intertwined– that an understanding of the natural world is a key ingredient for creating new technologies, making good life choices, and appreciating the beauty in everything from apples to rainbows to zebras. He has a BS in physics and an MS in Ecology, has worked as a technician at JPL and as a scientist at the National Park Service, and now works as a combination educator and agent of educational change.

When not at One Spark, he is the Founder and Chief Everything Officer at Mindful Mammoth, where he designs board games, mobile apps, and outreach programs to promote the understanding of science, nature, and life through play. tim@onesparkacademy.com

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Lyra Porcasi, Educator

Pre-Algebra, MS Algebra, Math & Science Electives

Lyra Porcasi is a scientist and mathematician who has always loved thinking outside the box. With twenty years of classroom teaching experience, a passion for films and books, and a never-ending thirst for knowledge, she loves to pass those questioning and critical thinking skills on to her students. Lyra is a new addition to OSA in 2019, teaching math and elective courses. She has two daughters (one of whom has graduated from One Spark and is a fantastic artist) and is also a published author in her “spare time”. She enjoys science fiction, music, and travel, and has written many class curricula completely from scratch

Lyra’s approach to teaching is that every single student can learn, and it is the teacher’s responsibility to adapt their techniques to fit the learning styles of each individual pupil. Using games, videos, hands-on manipulatives, puzzles, projects, group work, songs, and real-life modeling, Lyra makes more connections with her students than by just using written practice and lectures. She has a great rapport with children of all ages and levels of proficiency and is an effective communicator. By collaborating with other teachers, parents, and the students themselves, she tailors each class period for maximum success and retention. Students are encouraged to participate, and confidence is built through utilizing the strengths of each class-member to their full potential. In the past, she has worked with several special needs students and English-language learners and follows all modification requirements and parent requests in her interactions with each child. Lyra holds a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Mathematics, as well as an MA in Education. Lyra@onesparkacademy.com

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Helle Rasmussen, Educator

Fine Art

Helle Rasmussen is a local self-taught artist and educator. She is originally from Denmark but has lived in Ventura Country for more than 18 years. She has three kids of her own and has taught art to students of all ages over the past 10 years. She has worked with Art Trek and Art Masters programs teaching K-6th grade and has since developed many of her own lessons while teaching home school students K-9th grade. She has a great passion for hands-on teaching, exploring new ideas and connecting with her students.

Helle likes to expose the students to a variety of different materials and introduce them to the artwork of artists from all around the world and throughout history. She enjoys teaching art as she feels it helps the students discover and nurture their imagination as well as develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills while having lots of fun.

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Robin Lindsey, Educator

Body Talk, Crochet, Embroidery

Robin Lindsey loves to talk about anything dealing with how kids grow up, and appreciates the chance to present clear, factual, and honest information to teens. She has taught Our Whole Lives Comprehensive Sexuality Education for more than 14 years to students in grades 6th-12th privately and grades 4th-7th in public school. Besides Body Talk, Robin enjoys teaching kids to enjoy the art of crochet as much as she does.

Jerri Baker, Sous Chef

Sous Chef, Food Fascination

Jerri Baker collaborates with master planner Laura Erlig, Sue Eaton and fellow OSA student chefs-in-training in our daily version of the following recipe: the main ingredient is the celebration of relationships, with healthy dashes of autonomy, joy, integrity, even in the midst of conflict. Viola! Life and food are served and enjoyed. Jerri loves being part of the OSA team.

Sue Eaton, Sous Chef

Sous Chef, Food Fascination, Fitness Club

Sue Eaton was a part-time volunteer while her son attended OSA in 2015. She happily joined the Food Fascination family full time in 2016 and works with Laura and Jerri in the kitchen. She has a Culinary Arts degree from South Seattle Community College and is also a proud graduate of Washington State University. Sue thoroughly enjoys her time in the kitchen with the kids and loves interacting with the entire staff – the kitchen is where all the action is! In her free time, you can find her out on the many trails running and/or mountain biking, or at the gym taking a spin class or two.

Deneen Cienfuegos, Education Assistant

Study Sessions, Supervision, and everything in between!

Deneen Cienfuegos dove headfirst into alternative education when her boys first went to preschool. At Conejo Elementary’s Open Classroom is where she originally met Lori and Laura. As her philosophy of education continued to develop, this naturally progressed to homeschooling her boys for the last five years. Through teaching her sons, she caught a glimpse into the future of possibilities of authentic education. Learning by doing, teaching multiple subjects within a single lesson, encouraging discussion, and elongating lessons for true mastery are a few examples.

Within that time, Deneen taught several co-op homeschool classes including geography, Spanish, and English. She also co-directed a homeschool co-op. Joining One Spark is the perfect next step to support this passionate endeavor of what education can truly look like.

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Steve Yoshinaga, CRPD Educator

CRPD classes: Chemistry, Physical Science

Dr. Steve is an example of a scientist turned educator. He has taught science classes for the past ten years in the Conejo Valley, but he began his career in science as a researcher. Dr. Steve received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from UCLA and worked as a research fellow at UCSF. He then moved to the Conejo Valley to work at an eminent biotechnology company where he discovered novel genes and led a drug candidate into clinical trials.

He has contributed to the basic understanding of essential processes in our cells and has published his research in several of the best scientific journals. During his life, he regularly visualized the cellular processes he studied. This visual inclination inspired him to help youngsters understand the building blocks of nature, so that they too can visualize the molecular wonders in our world and within us. Dr. Steve is offering his science classes via the CRPD. For more on Dr. Steve, visit his website: http://www.magdna.com

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