"Where STEM Begins with Math" 

AMARE EL JAMII

Consultant

Hometown: Waterbury, Conn

Associate Degree: Mathematics & Computer Information Systems - Graphic Design

Bachelor Degree: Statistics & Applied Mathematics

After working for a number of years in multiple industries, Amare El Jamii enrolled in community college with the intent on pursuing a more fulfilling career. He obtained his associate degrees in both Mathematics and Computer Information Systems and his bachelor degrees in Statistics and Applied Mathematics from Norco College and UCLA respectfully.

Since graduating in 2013 he has worked in education, specifically with students from underrepresented communities. His work experience includes Non-profit organizations, Norco Community College, CSULB and UCLA. He is currently a partner in an educational consulting company named Cultivating Hope and also holds a position at Bridges Academic Center of Excellence as a Program Director where he oversees a number of college-bound based programs for local students in the Carson, Long Beach, South LA, Compton and the Watts communities.

BARAK BOMANI

Consultant

Barak has over 20 years of experience in public and private education. He has served as a tutor, teacher, vice principal and principal for grades 6 through 12 with a 100% four-year college acceptance rate for his graduating classes of black and brown students.  Barak consults in education with school districts throughout California in Oakland, Compton, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Riverside to improve educational outcomes for students of color. Numerous organizations have invited him to speak including the internationally acclaimed House of Blues Foundation.  Barak was awarded a commendation by the Mayor of Inglewood for his service to the city’s youth and also recognized with proclamations by California Senator Don Perata and former Mayor Jerry Brown for his educational leadership in his hometown East Oakland. 

Barak co-founded Unearth and Empower Communities, a 501 c3 non profit organization dedicated to mentoring and teaching literacy, entrepreneurship and arts education to K-12 students in Compton.  He is the visionary behind Cultivating Hope, an educational consulting company that coaches educators to build the whole village through Math Proficiency, Equity, Diversity & Race and Social Emotional Learning. Barak earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Dartmouth College and his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University, where he graduated with highest honors.  Barak is currently working on his Doctorate in Ministry to provide affordable resources to communities interested in building the whole person through education. Barak is married and is the father of two sons.

CAROL DUDEN

Consultant

Carol has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and is K-12 Math, 

K-8 Science certified. She as four years middle school and high school teaching experience, and over 30 years process engineering, quality engineering expertise in  Project Management/Team Leadership. Carol’s passion has always been to teach, and whether she’s working, supporting her family or involved in community service, her mantra has been “to help students see math and explain the basics involved and that will build the foundation for them to succeed!!!

JUSTIN BOND

Consultant

My passion for physics and math has allowed me to complete a B.S. in Physics at UC Santa Cruz and a M.S. in Physics at UC San Diego. My educational background therefore was highly math intensive and has given me wide knowledge and experience with advanced math subjects including Statistics, Calculus, Algebra, Complex Analysis, and many others.

During my four years at UC San Diego, I served as a teaching assistant, running the physics lab and giving lectures. That experience developed my ability to communicate complicated subject matter to students who felt uncomfortable with physics and math.

I also worked at the Cambridge Learning Center, JEI Learning Center and Sylvan Learning Center, helping K-12 students with all subjects. In these positions I helped students understand and conceptualize SAT/ACT/ISEE math, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Physics, and all other standard math curricula including the Integrated Math 1, 2, and 3. 

ZEUS CUBIAS

Consultant

My journey towards seeking educational fairness for underrepresented people started when I was a student at Alain Leroy Locke High School, one of the lowest performing schools in the country in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the state. I got accepted to every college and university I applied to and it was during that decision-making period that I made the realization that would not only affect my next steps but my career path as well.  I decided to become a teacher and return to Locke to serve my brothers and sisters. I also decided I would attend UC Santa Barbara because of the excellent reputation of their educational program. 

After graduation, I kept my word and returned to Locke High School to teach mathematics. To improve my practice and increase my impact, I attended job fairs which led to becoming a master teacher for the UCLA Graduate School of Education. This had a snowball effect across other departments, and by 2007, nearly 60% of Locke’s staff was not only fully credentialed, but had reached senior status within the teacher’s union.

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I was eventually offered an assistant principal position at Locke under Green Dot, followed by a move to Dean of Culture at Esperanza High School.  Through these various experiences I’ve come to realize that the key to improving education for underrepresented students lies in the preparation and retention of the staff that’s there to serve them. This is why I joined the STEMulate Learning team. I fully believe the organization is providing a service to teachers and students needs it most, and I also believe I have much to contribute to help achieve the organization's goals.

Ken “Coach” Collins

Consultant

Ken Collins was born in the Kenilworth Projects of Washington, DC, raised in Louisiana, and attended high school in New York City. He moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics/Sociology, and later a Masters of Education from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information, where my undergraduate and graduate course work included courses in Mathematics, Sociology, Naval Science, Russian Literature and Language, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Secondary Education. Prior to his teaching career, Mr. Collins served as a Naval Cryptologist (CTI), working throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. His classroom teaching career includes 30 years of service with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), Green Dot Charter Schools, and the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese where he served as Department Chair, Director of Curriculum, and Instructional Coach.

Mr. Collins’ respect and passion for mathematics, including the beauty and power imbedded in it, led him to create a tutorial company, Intense Algebra, LLC, which provides math, language, science and life-skills to underserved students and their families. Since its inception in 2013, his vision resulted in over 500 students being mentored and led to acceptances at colleges and universities to include: Columbia, Georgetown, George Washington University, Harvard, Indiana, John Hopkins, Loyola (Chicago), MIT, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tulane, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, University of Pennsylvania, US Naval Academy, USC, Yale, and a host of others. At the middle school level, Mr. Collins, personally, implemented and monitored common core curriculum for public, parochial, and private school systems and prepared students for the Mathematics portion of the Los Angeles Archdiocese's annual Academic Decathlon (ACADECA) competition. My students almost always received their first choices for high school to include: Archer, Bishop Montgomery, CAMS, Chadwick, Crossroads, Harvard-Westlake, Immaculate Heart, Loyola, Mayfield, Notre Dame, Orange Lutheran, Providence, Ribet, Rolling Hills Prep, Saint John Bosco, and countless more. In all the above, I set high standards for my students with a casual but focused (intense) attitude, regardless of their starting point!

Taquan S. Stewart, Ed.D.

Consultant

Dr. Stewart obtained his undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of Delaware. From there he worked with the United States Army, in the area of Interior Ballistics. After a short time in Interior Ballistics, he turned his attention to teaching. He began teaching secondary school science in the Christina School District (Delaware). He then brought his passion to Los Angeles, where he taught physics, science and math. While teaching Taquan earned his Master’s in Education and Administrative Policy Studies, and his Doctorate in Educational Leadership. From 2007 through 2012 Dr. Stewart served as a secondary principal in South Los Angeles. He currently serves as Faculty Advisor for the CalStateTEACH and Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency (LAUTR) programs. In addition, he serves as Program Director for Project Youth California– a non-profit organization designed to provide additional educational services to underserved youth of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Dr. Stewart has also held seats on several boards, and consistently mentor’s youth.

An educator for 29 years, Dr. Stewart’s interests lay in the opportunity gap in science, math, urban education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and the preschool to prison pipeline. In 2017 Dr. Stewart released Thoughts of a Ghetto Scatterbrain: The EP – a text using the intersection of science fiction and critical race to jump start the minds of educators (teachers, administrators, parents, family and community members) to dream of possibilities not always considered. In the same year he released a book of poetry, Penumbra: Me, My Shadow, and the Artificial Light Source.

As a teacher educator, Dr. Stewart stresses a humanizing pedagogy.