Brooke Merryfield – Principal
Brooke is an LA transplant originally from Ohio. As an English major at Ohio University, she was drawn into heated discussions about the inequities in public education. Before long, she switched majors and completed a BA in Integrated Language Arts Education. Brooke was accepted as a teaching fellow at Federal Hocking High School and taught high school English while completing her masters in Cultural Studies in Education. Inspired by progressive education and the small schools movement, Brooke went on to take a position at Wildwood School in Los Angeles, which is nationally known for its best practices in education. At Wildwood, Brooke served as a teacher leader and chair for the Humanities department. Brooke also coached middle school athletics and was an advisor for both middle and upper school students, until moving into administration to lead the school’s Outreach Program. As Outreach Coordinator, Brooke coached fellow educators and worked with public and charter schools nationwide to assist in the implementation of small, learner centered school programs. After school hours, Brooke enjoys eating green chilies from New Mexico, concert-going, cheering for her favorite NFL football teams, and leading a healthy and active lifestyle in Southern California. She is also planning a wedding to her fiancé, Reggie, slated for next summer. Brooke is inspired by the mission of New LA and looks forward to serving the school as principal and supporting all members of the community.
Adina Ackerman – 6th Grade Humanities
Adina was born and raised in Los Angeles. She studied Human Development at UC San Diego and overseas at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. Adina’s parents are very pleased that she chose to move back to LA upon graduating. Adina received her teaching credential and Master’s in Education through UCLA’s Center X Program. This program introduced her to neighborhoods east of downtown and south of the 10. Before coming to New LA, she taught third grade in South Los Angeles. She is a proud member of Angel City Chorale. Adina loves chocolate and peanut butter, especially when they are combined. Feel free to ask her advice on scrap-booking; she has very strong opinions. Adina directs the Community Engagement program at New LA.
Stephen De Sal – 7th Grade Humanities
Stephen has twenty years experience encompassing all levels of education. Before coming to New LA, he created curriculum for the sixth grade gifted and talented program in the Pasadena Unified School District where he was committed to providing project based learning for students through his teaching of math, science, social studies and literature. A strong advocate for the inclusion of arts in an academic education, he was instrumental in creating a drama program in which his students performed original productions based upon literary texts. He has worked at the university level on historical papers as well as academic journals, managing the grant programs for both the Marcus Garvey Papers and the Journal of Physical Chemistry at The University of California, Los Angeles. Stephen attained his B.A. degree from Indiana University and his M.A. and teaching credential from California State University, Los Angeles.
Patrice Harvey – 7th Grade Math
Patrice Harvey is a graduate of the University of Southern California. “Fight On! Trojans!!” As an undergraduate, she majored in Education with a concentration in Mathematics. She recently completed her Master’s degree from USC in Teaching and will earn her single subject teaching credential in mathematics. Patrice loves athletics, and she has played softball all her life, including three years in college while attending USC. She currently plays in an adult league and coaches girl’s softball in the City of Carson. In her spare time, she loves to take pictures and she then turns them into scrapbooks! Patrice is thrilled to join the New LA team and pass on her enthusiasm for mathematics.
Tanya Kennedy – 7th Grade Science
Tanya was born in South Africa and has spent most of her life in San Diego. She got married and moved to the Los Angeles area in the summer of 2008. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology at UC Santa Barbara. After working as the Coordinator of UC San Diego’s Graduate Program in Neurosciences, she decided to pursue a teaching career. She received her teaching credential and Master’s in Education at UCSD and started teaching in the inner-city of San Diego. Tanya loves spending time with her friends and family. She also enjoys photography, tennis, and cooking. One of her passions is to raise awareness about Adrenoleukodystrophy or ALD. Two of her greatest talents are her caring nature and her sense of direction. Tanya loves experimenting alongside the students of New LA.
Lena Liu – 6th Grade Math
Lena is a native to the Los Angeles area. Although she was born and raised in Orange County, she considers LA her home because she had always dreamed of attending UCLA. Her father, who emigrated from Taiwan as a foreign exchange student and attended UCLA as an MBA student, was her inspiration for attending the college. She fulfilled her dream by receiving her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychobiology. After graduation, she worked, for a short time, as a web developer for an educational start-up company called Interactive Multi-Media Exercises (IMMEX). Her job was to teach teachers how to develop websites for their classes. It was here that she discovered a talent for teaching. She fulfilled her dream of attending UCLA a second time by receiving her Credential and Master’s in Education. Lena has taught in the Los Angeles area in nearly all levels of elementary school. Aside from work, Lena has a passion for the arts. She has played the violin for over 13 years and has played with groups like daKah, Common, Mos Def, Rahzel from the Roots, and the Jonas Brothers. She has been lucky to have played at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, UCLA’s Royce Hall, and at music festivals such as the Grand Avenue Street Festival, and the New Orlean’s Jazzfest. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, knitting, making jewelry, taking hikes, and spending time with her niece and nephew.
Kate O’Brien – 6th Grade Science
Kate O’Brien was born in Los Angeles but grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College, a Masters in Teaching from National University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from UCLA. During her time at Oberlin, Kate developed a passion for environmental education and began to foster that as a founding teacher at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy. Kate has taught 4th grade and bilingual Kindergarten and has done science and ecology instruction at both Camino Nuevo and Brawerman Elementary School for grades K-6. This will be Kate’s 10th year in the classroom and she is excited about New LA’s mission of social justice education and project-based learning.
Stephanie Widmer – 6th & 7th Grade Humanities
Stephanie Widmer has worked at Florence Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park for the last two years as a 6th Grade ELA, ESL, and Social Studies teacher. She has also been a Students Run LA Coach at Nightingale. Stephanie also coaches cross country and track and field at Immaculate Heart High School. She has also had the opportunity to co-lead Professional Learning Communities for Teach for America in her subject area. Next year, she will join New Los Angeles Charter School as a 6th and 7th Grade Humanities teacher. She attended Scripps College for her undergraduate degree in philosophy and recently graduated from Loyola Marymount with a Master’s in Education. In her free time, Stephanie loves to read historical fiction, run, hike all around Los Angeles, travel, speak Spanish, and write “snail mail” to friends all over the world. Her favorite authors are Patricia Highsmith and Donna Tartt, and her favorite artists are Nick Bantock and Shepard Fairey.
