ALI AKBARI
Ali Akbari is a filmmaker and educator from Iran. He received his dual degrees in Cinema Studies (B.A.) and Radio-TV Production (B.A.) from the University of Central Florida, where he made several experimental films along with producing content in both single-cam and multi-cam-studio environment, including United Colors of Orlando (2018), a short documentary about the Orlando community coming together through art following the 2016 Pulse tragedy, which went on to win the Grand Prize from 2018 Tribeca Campus Docs. He got his M.F.A. degree in Film and Media Arts from the University of Utah, during which he received the University Teaching Assistantship (UTA) award to create and teach the Experimental Media Production course in spring 2020. His current works explore reconciliation between his Iranian upbringing and queer identity.
"[Ali] was awesome, taught very well, covered excellent basics."-Nicholas K.
"Ali Akabari was passionate about video editing and he showed it by being generous with his time to make sure students understood the capabilities of Premiere Pro before moving on to other features. He gave one on one help with our projects. He made it less intimidating to work with such a sophisticated program."-Susan S.
DAVID COTTLE
Dr. Cottle received his D.M.A in Composition at the University of Illinois with a focus on electro-acoustic and computer assisted composition. Since the 90s his compositional work has been exclusively algorithmic, generative, computer assisted systems that are, often by design, too complex for human performance. Publications include Beyond MIDI, MIT Press, 1997; SuperCollider, The Book, MIT Press, 2011; and Computer Music with Examples in SuperCollider and Logic Pro, 2012. Each year he records over 300 art music concerts, sessions and recitals including season contracts with The Utah Symphony, the University of Utah School of Music, Utah Chamber Artists, Cathedral of the Madeleine concert series, Utah Choral Artists, The Gifted School, Naxos, Centaur, SEAMUS (2008), and Performance Today. He is an active researcher working with Technology Venture Commercialization and the Lassonde Institute at the University of Utah. He is now Lecturer/Associate Professor and director of the experimental music studios at the University of Utah, where he teaches music technology, audio engineering, and computer assisted composition.
JEANETTE PACK
Jeanette Pack is enthusiastic about teaching math to students of all ages. She completed her undergraduate degree in math education and then received a Master’s degree in statistics and econometrics from the University of Utah. Over the last 20 years, Jeanette has taught math at the Jr. High and High School levels, tutored veterans at SLCC, and worked with students at Mathnasium. Her teaching career with Continuing Education began in 2003, teaching Math 1030 as an independent study course. More recently, over the last 8 years, Jeanette has taught several courses in the Test Prep department- including the Math Refresher class, ACT Review, and Praxis Test for Educators course at the University of Utah. Jeanette has also designed and developed exciting summer math camps for kids and taught them as part of Youth Ed at the U. In her spare time, Jeanette enjoys being outside growing a garden, exploring the mountains, and travelling the world. She is an avid reader and can’t imagine life without a book in progress. Most of all, Jeanette loves to hang out with her family.
TENA PATE
Hello! My name is Tena Pate and most of my friends call me Tenarita. I am a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and have been teaching for 8 years. I teach Foods and Nutrition 1, Culinary Arts 1, Baking and Pastry, and Prostart at a high school in northern Utah. My educational background includes a Bachelor's Degree in Family and Consumer Science Education from Utah State University & a Masters of Arts in English Language Learning from Western Governors University as well as A Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Degree from Park City Culinary Institute. Some of my hobbies include paddle boarding, going to the beach, hiking, camping, traveling, reading, cooking, and baking. I love to stay busy, be surrounded by good people and stay active. I am very passionate and enthusiastic about teaching and helping others find a love for cooking and baking. I strive everyday to create a positive, fun and safe learning environment for my students.
PAUL RICKETTS
Paul received his bachelors degree in Physics and Astronomy with a minor in Astronomy at the U of U. He has worked in the Dept. of Physics since 2005 doing public outreach. He also runs the U's observatory, and helped with the building of a new observatory in southern Utah. Paul has a huge interest in photography and astrophotography and helps teach classes for students interested in astronomy and/or physics.
DAVID SIMON
A local concept artist and illustrator, Dave loves to tell stories and create worlds through visual artwork. Dave received his BFA in Entertainment Design at Utah Valley University but got his start in art at the Youth Education program over 10 years ago, and has been teaching for the last 7 years. He loves to share his techniques, knowledge and experiences in the creative and art industry every chance he gets. He is also experienced in many mediums of art and design from drawing & painting to urban art & digital sculpting. Dave is currently a freelance concept artist for the entertainment and attraction industry, designing and creating artwork for aquariums and theme parks.
Dave is very eager to begin improving his students' art skills to the next level this summer!
ADIA WALDBURGER
Adia Waldburger has built her life around sports. With a great aunt in the University of Utah Crimson Club athletic Hall of Fame and a family that started bringing her to Utes game since she was a month old, immersing herself in the sports world seemed like the only logical career path. She is a former local sports journalist, covering everything from prep sports to Olympic-level competitions. She has also worked for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Committee and Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation. Waldburger is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Sports Management and conducts research in the area of sport communication and marketing.
RUSSELL WILSON
Rus graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's Degree in Italian (1997) and an M.A. in TESOL (2001). After teaching ESL at BYU in Provo for a number of years, he gained more experience in the field teaching for three years at BYU-Hawaii. He has also taught ESL and Italian in other locations. Some of his areas of interest in the field of ESL include content-based courses, specifically science and drama, as well as technology in the classroom.
Outside the realm of ESL, Rus has worked at two zoos and a children's museum. Having viewed the living world with endless fascination since early childhood, Rus has bred, raised, and trained a variety of animals from fish to frogs to sugar gliders. He has published a number of articles on the aquarium hobby. He and his wife Kelly, hosts a weekly aquarium podcast, and he also has a YouTube channel about keeping pets. On a completely different note, he is a founding and current member of Maxed-Out Puppetry. He enjoys finding ways of bringing elements from his hobbies into his work in pedagogically sound ways. Two of his favorite activities at home are playing games and reading aloud, complete with character voices, with his wife and four children.