She has presented assemblies to over 200,000 students at over 300 elementary schools across the United States, using her experiences as an author and illustrator to delight, educate and inspire young readers and writers. Jennifer has extensive background in forward-thinking educational ventures. She served as Director of Marketing and Operations at A.S.K. Learning and was Campus Director of InsideTrack Learning, a student recruitment and retention services organization. Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University, from which she holds a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor’s in Sociology.

Hans and Jen are the creators of the GATE class “My Child The Author” and have taught eBook making workshops to teachers and librarians. He has also been an instructor at the Stanford Alumni Association’s “Alumni Creative Camp.” Hans earned an M.B.A from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. While attending Wharton, he served as the president of Wharton Toastmasters. Hans holds a B.A. from Stanford University, where he majored in economics and earned a secondary major in public policy. In addition to his work as an author, Hans spent 10 years in financial services, as a Vice President at an investment bank and a Senior Research Analyst at a San Francisco hedge fund.

She is also involved in interviewing and assessing the prospective camp staff members to ensure that AIW Camp teams continue to be comprised of exceptionally talented, dynamic teachers.

Prior to her work in Adventures in Writing Camp’s “home office,” Caitlin served as a camp director at both the Fullerton and Tustin AIW Camp locations. She has coordinated grants for the Fullerton School District’s non-profit arts education program “All the Arts.” In this role, she has helped develop after-school programs, summer camps, arts education professional development activities, student art shows, and community outreach strategies.

In addition, Caitlin has been a project liaison for several years, taught art lessons to elementary school students, and taught English for three years in rural Japan. She is an award-winning, cum laude graduate from Mount Holyoke College.

Writing has always been a passion for Caitlin, and she enjoys writing book and play reviews for local media organizations, and working on her own collections of short stories. Beyond her talents and experience, Caitlin is an infectiously upbeat and creative person. She can’t wait to nurture that love in elementary students through Adventures in Writing Camp! Caitlin believes that fostering a love for writing in students at an early age is a vital part of their success in academics.

In this role, Jonny blends his classroom experience as a 3rd grade teacher at San Ramon Valley’s Quail Run Elementary School with his passion for writing and playing music. In his early 20’s, he established his own record label and traveled the country performing music. Jonny currently performs regularly with two Bay Area musical groups. His musical teaching experiences include private instruction in guitar, song writing, and “full band” classes with Garage Band Academy. Jonny also developed a course called “Musicianship,” which he taught in the public school sector at West Sacramento Early College Prep charter school in West Sacramento, California. In addition, he has created and recorded entertaining educational songs with “KLABLAB.” Jonny has collaborated with Dr. Nordyke to create music-based writing curriculum for AIW camp.

Zee grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania (home to Larry Holmes, the boxer and Crayola Crayons). She went on to study Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and worked as an actress in film, tv, and theatre. Alongside these creative pursuits, she worked privately with families coaching their children in theatre to build stronger self-esteem. When the number of families she worked with grew larger than she was able to cover, she started finding other people to work for them. She then officially started her own company recruiting other performers to work with children as babysitters, tutors, and full charge nannies. Zee’s love of working with children also led to taking on a Founder and Director role in Esteem Preschool in Los Angeles. Now living in Monterey County, she is taking on another adventure and role with AIW as the Director of Talent Acquisition to find more creative, enthusiastic, and talented staff members to join the team. In her free time, Zee chases after her 8-year old on the Soccer field as a Rec Coach, leads the drama club at her daughter’s elementary school, takes long walks or runs with her husband or dog, and finds time to hop with her bunny.

Cheryl is a retired teacher and principal. She has provided professional development and curriculum for Citizen Schools in California and New Jersey, and served as Coordinator for a nine-district grant with professional development and curriculum writing opportunities for teachers implementing the Common Core State Standards. Cheryl is also a lecturer and supervisor for student teachers at Notre Dame de Namur University. Reaching over two million viewers via the YouTube professional development channel she created is helping teachers around the world. She is an avid reader so is very excited and passionate about the “written word” and the opportunity to give students the path to authorship. Cheryl majored in economics and business in undergraduate work and has a Masters Degree in Educational Administration.

She was born and raised in Monterey, California and attended Santa Clara University from which she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Emily brings 13 years of Human Resources experience to our team.

Emily began her HR career in Los Angeles recruiting talent for large Fortune 500 companies such as Edward Jones & KB Homes, and served as the Staffing Manager for the national healthcare recruiting company, Nursefinders.

After years in the corporate sector, Emily decided to pursue one of her life goals to open up her own bakery. After fulfilling her desired venture, Emily decided to accept an offer as the Pastry Chef and HR Specialist for one of Carmel’s most popular Italian restaurants and it’s sister restaurant.

Emily currently lives in Monterey and in her “spare time” she enjoys being with her three children and husband.

She handles a wide variety of responsibilities to make sure that things run smoothly for all involved with Adventures in Writing Camp. Lindsey has supported Bay Area businesses focused on health, transportation, social services, education, child welfare and the creative arts. She holds associates degrees in Social and Behavioral Sciences and Arts and Humanities. Lindsey has also studied American Sign Language, alternative healing arts, and is a supporter of legislative reform for adoptees and foster youth. In her free time she is a novice gardener, armchair traveler, and enjoys going to local art and music events.

Alison began writing at the age of five and gained recognition from posting her stories on the online writing platform Wattpad. She graduated from Colorado State University – Pueblo in 2017 with a degree in English, and is thrilled to join the Adventures in Writing team as the Parent Support Specialist!

When not keeping busy helping kids fall in love with writing, she plans to keep writing Young Adult fiction, rereading Harry Potter, and enjoying life with her husband and their two cats, Jane and Smoke.

Allegra has served previously as both an E-Book Instructor and Site Administrator at AIW Camp sessions.  Before joining the AIW team, she has served as a Site Director for local after-school programs in the Redwood City and Sequoia School Districts. In that role she developed innovative approaches to Writer’s Workshop curriculum, along with other subject staples, and has lead her staff in coordinating a cohesive enrichment learning environment for students grades 3rd through 8th. 

Allegra holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from California State University, Channel Islands, and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education.

Writing has been the center of her career passions since high school, where she joined her school’s Journalism team and took on the Editor position of both the school newspaper and yearbook. Those experiences encouraged her to explore subjects such as World Literature, Critical and Creative Writing, and Psychology in college before deciding to focus her attention on English Education. 

She has enjoyed all forms of writing, from flash fiction, to critical analysis, blogging and free verse poetry.

Allegra’s passion for English Education is founded largely on her belief that the interdisciplinary nature of humanities studies is fundamental in helping students discover their deeper interests and passions. For her, writing is a way to understand not only the world around us, but how and why it operates the way it does. Through teaching writing, she hopes to bring that same insight and sense of agency, identity, and expression to the students she works with in her professional endeavors. 

Jerris enjoys helping campers edit their stories and bring their ideas to publication! This year he is excited to return to AIW on the recruiting side, and he looks forward to meeting future Adventure Guides.

She now works as Character Performer for Children’s Delight in San Jose, a company that specializes in creating magical memories for children’s birthday parties, holiday parties, and school events. This year she is returning to AIW on the recruiting side, after 3 years of being an Adventure Guide at various camps throughout the Bay Area.