Youth Education Instructors
Current Instructors
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DANA ALLETTO
Dana Alletto has a passion for pastry. She completed the Wilton’s Master Cake course prior to heading to culinary school. During her four years at Johnson and Wales University she completed two internships abroad; the first at the ENSP in France and the second at the DCT in Switzerland, receiving certificates from both. After graduating with a bachelor’s of science in baking and pastry; Dana went on to work as a pastry chef for Aramark in Colorado. Once the summer season ended she moved to Utah and worked as a baker for Deer Valley. After working there for three years she took a pastry chef job at the Canyons, where she still currently works. When not in the kitchen, Dana enjoys being outdoors, skiing, hiking, recreational sports, and hanging out with friends. -
TANNIA BOWERS
I am the Child Care Director of East High Child Care and Preschool. I have been working with children for 30 years. I have my Child Development Associate and I have taken many extra classes on elementary age children. I have taught for Club U for 4 summers and I really enjoy helping your children to learn. -
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SAMUEL DUNN
Sam Dunn holds BAs in History and Scandinavian Studies from UCLA and an M.F.A. in Theater-Film from the University of Utah. He was a law student. He is a filmmaker and he works for the Sundance Film Festival. He has taught courses for the University of Utah's Department of Film and Media Arts since 1992 and he has taught courses for the University of Utah's Honors College since 2010. He speaks Swedish fluently and he reads all of the Germanic languages, including Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon. Sam enjoys gardening, hiking, reading, and movies. -
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KEN GRAY
Chef K.C. Gray is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University with a A.S. in Culinary Arts and a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Utah. He has been working in the food industry for about ten years. His experience ranges from fine dining to most predominantly catering. Chef Gray is used to preparing food for events ranging from 100-1000 people. His goal as a teacher is to teach students not only the proper cooking techniques but more importantly where food comes from. Our modern day society is disconnected from food production and as such students do not know how food gets onto their plate. Chef Gray’s philosophy in his classroom is to make everything from scratch so that students get a hands-on experience of food production. -
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AMANDA HATTON
As the daughter of two scientists Amanda spent her childhood building scale models of her room, catching frogs, and analyzing the physics of riding a bicycle. She deeply believes that science is fun and has used this belief to engage her students for the last 7 years as a teacher. When she isn't convincing junior high students that science is fun she loves hiking in the mountains with her dog, watching crime shows, and reading fantasy novels. She is very excited to help even more students fall in love with science this summer. -
WILLIAM HURLBUT
I graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors degree in Geology and currently work as a Geologist for the state of Utah. I love all aspects of earth sciences and learning about the processes that formed planet Earth, as well as sharing this information with anyone who is curious about the environments around them. -
CORY JENSEN
Cory Jensen recently received his Masters Degree in Science Education with an emphasis on Physics. He has grown up being immersed in the physical sciences and has always found ways to make science interesting and fun. His original passion was for the theoretical sciences, but he has recently been studying ways of finding diversified and renewable energy sources and thinks that the world is close to solving this puzzle. He is also an avid percussionist and is a graduate of the music education program at Weber State University. He resides with his wife and 4 daughters in Syracuse, Utah.
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GWYNNETH KOVACS
Gwynneth became a teacher in order to share her love of reading and writing. She graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in English from Weber State University, and currently teaches eighth and ninth grade in Davis School District. Gwynneth is a teacher, mother, and bibliophile who fills her spare time with words and stories. She also enjoys watching movies, spending time with her family, and painting. -
JANE MYERS
Jane has her Master's degree from Grand Canyon University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. She attended Mills College in California, also. She has been teaching with Youth Education since 1987 and works with children of all ages. Jane received the middle school art educator of the year award from the Utah Art Educators Association. Jane was honored as one of the sixty juried artists accepted into Utah Art 2002 during the Olympics, and is represented in the Salt Lake County Art Collection and many national corporate art collections. -
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JEANETTE PACK
Jeanette Pack graduated from the University of Utah with her Bachelors degree in Mathematics. She is passionate about teaching math to students of all ages and enjoys her work at Olympus Jr. High as well as the U. Jeanette loves reading, hiking, leisure bike rides, and dark chocolate in any form. -
TENA PATE
Tena Pate is a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher in northern Utah. She holds a B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences from Utah State University and a M.A. in English Language Learning from Western Governors University. She is a licensed secondary education teacher with the Utah State Office of Education. Some of her hobbies include hiking, camping, sports, paddle boarding, cooking, baking and music. Her favorite food is pizza, sweet potato fries, and sushi. She loves to stay busy, be surrounded by good people and be very active. She is very passionate and enthusiastic about teaching. She strives every day to create a positive, fun and safe learning environment for her students. -
OLIVIA SOEHNER
My name is Olivia Soehner and I am currently a third year student pursuing a dual degree in
English and English Education at the University of Georgia. After graduating college I hope to
be a middle or high school English teacher in the Athens, Georgia area. This is my first year
teaching through Youth Academy of Excellence and I am incredibly excited to work with you and
your children!
For the past three years, I have student taught and worked in traditional and non-traditional
classroom environments with students ranging from kindergarten through high school. I would
describe my teaching style as a fast paced mixture of collaborative and individual student work.
I dislike lecturing and strongly believe in a “learning through doing†classroom model. -
KAREN SOUTHAM
I am a Multi Media Artist residing in Salt Lake City. In 2018 I completed a BFA from the University of Utah College Fine Art in Art Teaching with an emphasis in Ceramics and a minor in Sculpture. My area of focus has been researching the Artistic Process and I have written curriculum incorporating the formal Principles and Elements of Art that also honor student’s unique process of making art. It is most important to me to empower all levels of makers and show them that artistic dormancy within is worthy of discovery and further development no matter the age or skill set. It is my goal to teach every student that Visual Art can be encouraged as a way to explore and process complex ideas, emotions, experiences in a way unlike any form of self assessment. So that even if they are just making their art for themselves they will find value in doing so and understand themselves on a deeper level. With this added form of communication, I believe students will impress a positive change on the world.
As an art maker I draw inspiration from our western landscape. I start with a photograph and work my way towards a finished mixed media sculpture, or installation often placed in the landscape where my process began. In a deliberate and constant mining and refining of my own personal truth I cultivate concepts we can all relate to, and usually to do with the process of contention leading us into states of metamorphosis. -
SHAUNDA TRIMMER
Ms. Trimmer is an AP/IB Calculus teacher at Skyline High School. She has a Bachelor's degree in Math and Chemistry as well as a Master's degree in Education Administration. Ms. Trimmer has 18 years of teaching experience and loves teaching students who want to learn. -
ANITA TSUCHIYA
Anita has been teaching University of Utah Youth Education and ESL classes since 2012. She is also the PA announcer/emcee for Utes Women's Soccer home games. Away from the U, she works as a freelance writer and artist in a variety of media. Her favorite project right now involves writing and illustrating short stories for a social media phone app. Anita has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the University of California, Davis. She also has studied traditional Japanese language, history and culture. Some of her favorite activities include watching Salt Lake Bees baseball (any sports, really), hanging with her dog and announcing live sports events. -
KAREN WALDBURGER
Karen earned her B. A., M.Ed. and licensure in secondary education from the U of U. She has taught tenth and eleventh grade English at Hunter High School in Granite School District since fall of 2004. She has served as an advisor to the junior class, Anime Club, Book Club, Hockey Club, Martial Arts Club, Writing Club, and Urban Dance Club. Karen brings a wealth of experience to Youth Education as she continues to work with youth in a variety of settings, including in camps, community service, counseling, education, recreation, religious setting, and sports for more than three decades.
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JASON WILD
Originally from the southern tip of Illinois, Jason has made Salt Lake his home since 2006, when he moved here to continue pursuing degrees in English and Theatre. After spending years studying acting, Jason stumbled into improvisation at the University of Utah and found a deep passion for it. Since then, Jason has become operations manager for Quick Wits, Utah's oldest name in improv. He's a founding member of the Wasatch Improv Festival, which was developed with a commitment to bringing quality performance and improv education to the Salt Lake Valley. He has coached improv in high schools, colleges, and businesses nationwide. In addition to his passion for teaching improvisation, Jason has an M.Ed. in education and has worked in Utah public schools as both a teacher and an administrator since 2008.
