Eric Allatta‘s educational philosophy is largely shaped by two major experiences: his studies at St. John’s College and his time as an apprentice to a master luthier. At St. John’s Eric studied classics of the Western philosophic tradition, including four years of mathematics, working through the texts of great mathematicians from Euclid to Minkowski. Eric has long had an interest in how instruments are tuned and with that interest began an apprenticeship in the art and craft of fine guitar making and repair. The culmination of this four year apprenticeship was designing and building a commissioned parlor guitar. He began his teaching career as an Algebra II/Trigonometry teacher at the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics. Eric earned his M.A. in Urban Adolescent Mathematics Education from Hunter College, and currently teaches mathematics and Computer Science at the Academy for Software Engineering in NYC.
Mayra Bachrach teaches Computer Science and Robotics and coaches the First Tech Challenge Robotics team at Glen Ridge High School in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. She is president of the Northern NJ Chapter of CSTA and one of the NJ representatives to the CSTA Computer Science Advocacy Leadership Team (CSALT).
Adrienne Decker earned a PhD in Computer Science & Engineering from the University at Buffalo, SUNY and is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Interactive Games and Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology. IGM is ranked in the Princeton Review’s Top 10 game degree porgrams for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Adrienne’s work has been in the area of computing education with a particular focus on using games as motivating examples for learning to program as well as creating tools and techniques for the improvement of teaching of programming at the introductory level. She has been involved in the ACM SIGCSE community for some time and is the symposium co-chair of SIGCSE 2015.
Daryl Detrick is a computer science teacher at Warren Hills Regional High School, president of the Computer Science Teachers Association of Central NJ (CSTACNJ), co-chair CSNJ advocacy committee, and the New Jersey Representative to the Computer Science Teachers Association Advocacy Leadership Team (CSALT). Daryl graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Brian Fuschetto has taught in the New Jersey Public Schools as a Business and Technology instructor for over 10 years. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Education and a Masters in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. Brian is a national award winning instructor having received Who’s Who in America’s Teachers distinction 5 times, recipient of the American Medal of Honor in Education, Outstanding Professional award in the field of Business Education, just to name a few. Currently, Brian teaches at Lyndhurst High School and has joined the ranks at Bergen Community College as an Adjunct Professor in the Information Technology department. Brian was a member the Standards Writing Task Force who authored the CSTA National CS Standards.
Brandon Horn teaches computer science at West Winsor-Plainsboro High School South in Princeton Junction, NJ. He was selected as an instructor for Google CAPE NYC in 2011 & 2012. Brian teaches AP CS A and Graphic Computer Applications and is also an avid SCUBA diver.
Tammy Pirmann is a High School Computer Science teacher and the K-12 Coordinator for Computer Science and Business at the School District of Springfield Township. She has served on the Board of Directors of CSTA since 2012, has eight years of chapter leadership with the Philadelphia area chapter and has been advocating for computer science education in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. She has been incorporating POGIL into her own practice for the past four years and has worked on an NSF grant to bring POGIL to the CS community.
Lars Sorensen is the head of Student Computing for the Laboratory of Computer Science Research at Rutgers University. At LCSR he does research on Computer Science education topics and manages the CAVE, a collaborative lab he built for the Rutgers Computer Science Department in 2010. He is a founding member of CSERG, the Computer Science Education Research Group at Rutgers University, where research and outreach efforts work to improve Computer Science education at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels. He holds degrees in Computer Science and Psychology and is currently working towards his PhD in Educational Psychology with a research focus on Computer Science education and gaming in education.
Fran Trees is Director of Undergraduate Introductory Instruction in the Computer Science Department at Rutgers, co-chair of the CS Principles Development Committee, founding member of the Northern and Central NJ CSTA Chapters, Chapter Liaison on the CSTA Board of Directors, and a member of the Rutgers CS Outreach Group. Fran is actively involved with College Board’s AP ® CS program as a CS consultant and workshop leader.
Chinma Uche is a Mathematics and Computer Science (CS) teacher at the Greater Hartford Academy of Mathematics and Science (GHAMAS – a half-day magnet school) and at the Academy of Aerospace and Engineering. She was a Pilot II and Pilot III Instructor of the new CS Principles course, and a Phase 2 Pilot instructor. Chinma is also the President of the Connecticut Chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association (CTCSTA), and a member of the Computer Science Teacher Association (CSTA) Leadership Cohort. Chinma is committed to the mission of the CSTA which includes bringing Computational Thinking to all K-12 students.