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| Faculty Biographies |
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Below is a list of the faculty in the West High IB program. Click on a specific name to see a biography and photo, or just scroll down the page to view them all.
- Andrews, Mark
- Carr, Carolina
- Clifton, Nancy
- Easley, Bettyrae
- Goldstein, Richard
- Goudreau, Brian
- Kimball, Jenny Naylor
- Kimball, Will
- Knock, Jodette
- Larsen, Amy
- Lynch, Kevin
- Moore, Dave
- Olito, Carmen
- Ruhlin, John
- Turner, Katie
- Vano, David
- Voris, Rebecca J.
- Whaley, Michele
- Williamson, C. David
- Zartmann, Andrew
Andrews, Mark
Mark Andrews was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1984 with a BA in Geology, and received an MS from Indiana University in 1987. Between 1980 and 1987 he spent summers in Arizona, Maine, Montana, and Connecticut. The two summers searching for gold in the woods and swamps of Maine are the most memorable, though the summer at the Grand Canyon is a close second. After graduate school, Mr. Andrews worked as a geologist for an environmental consulting firm in Princeton, New Jersey. On his 30th birthday, he sold all of his possessions and joined Peace Corps, spending the next 2.5 years in a small village in Niger, West Africa. He arrived in Alaska in the Spring of 1994 and earned an MAT from UAA in 1996. He completed his student teaching at West High School and has taught here for the past 6 years.
Mr. Andrews enjoys hiking, biking, canoeing, rock climbing, spending time with his wife Sandy, and playing with his pet rabbit Abbey.
Carr, Carolina
Carolina C. Carr was born and raised in México City, México. She attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and continued her education in Wyoming. She obtained her Bachelor Associate degree for teaching at the University of Alaska in 1992. Her first position was as an Anchorage School District teacher at Wendler Middle School, where she taught and developed curriculum for the Spanish Immersion Program.
In 1998 she accepted the challenge to begin another Spanish Immersion Program at Mirror Lake Middle School, teaching Social Studies, Science and Language Arts in Spanish. In 2000 she transferred to West High School as a full time Spanish teacher, developing a sequential, articulated Spanish program there. Currently she is teaching AP Spanish, Spanish for Spanish Speakers, Spanish IV and Spanish I.
In her spare time Sra. Carr enjoys spending time with her husband and three boys, playing racquet ball, cross country skiing, traveling and shopping.
Clifton, Nancy
Nancy Clifton moved to Anchorage from Ohio in 1991. She has an undergraduate degree in education with a major in French from Ohio State University and a Masters in Education from the University of Southern California. Mrs. Clifton has studied French at the Alliance Française in Bangkok, Thailand, and at summer programs at the University of Paris, in Paris, and at Tufts University in Boston. Mrs. Clifton began her teaching career in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching English as a second language. She taught French, German and English in Cleveland before coming to Alaska. Mrs. Clifton likes to read, travel, and spend time with friends and family.
Easley, Bettyrae
Goldstein, Richard
Richard Goldstein was born in New York City, raised in Los Angeles, traveled extensively in the 60s-70s in Europe and the Middle East, received an MA in Russian Literature from UCLA and a credential in gifted education from Cal. State Northridge. He moved to Bethel, Alaska in 1977 where he created the G/T program for the Lower Kuskokwim School District, was the editor of the Tundra Drums newspaper, wrote and produced video documentaries for public station KYUK, wrote grants for Kuskokwim Community College, ran the K-300 three times, caught lots of salmon, got married to Penny and became father to Amira and Simon. The family moved to Anchorage in 1989 and now lives in Rogers Park. Penny is a graphic artist, Amira a UAA student, Simon goes to West and Richie teaches a variety of mostly social studies classes at West and also coordinates his school's International Baccalaureate Program.
Goudreau, Brian
Kimball, Jenny Naylor
Jenny Naylor Kimball grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. She cross-country skied her way to a BA in history and teacher certification at Middlebury College (VT) and earned a Master's in Library and Information Science from University of California, Berkeley. After a year living alone at mile 100 of the Parks Highway while teaching at Susitna Valley High School, near Talkeetna, AK, Mrs. Kimball moved back to Anchorage to teach social studies at West High. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Kimball has coached the xc running, skiing and track teams at West High. After teaching and coaching at West High for five years she took a leave of absence in 2001-02 to compete in the Utah Winter Olympic Biathlon Trials, her fourth Olympic Trials appearance. Upon her return the library position at West High was available so Mrs. Kimball decided to pull her Master's degree out of the closet, dust it off, and put it to work. Although retired from national level competition, Mrs. Kimball still trains and competes in local events for fun. She completed her first Half-Ironman triathlon in July 2003 and will attempt her first full Ironman triathlon in June 2004. Mrs. Kimball is currently the National Honor Society advisor at West High. She loves gardens, flowers, peanut M&M's and golden retrievers. She is married to a man crazed by fly fishing and in her spare time she is a certified massage therapist.
Kimball, Will
Will Kimball was born April 15th 1964 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington and has been a Nor'wester all of his life. Will grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where he attended the University of Oregon and received a BA in German Language and Literature with a minor in Biology in 1987. Will received an MA in German Language and Literature from Oregon in 1990. Will has lived in Russia, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, England, Japan, Norway and Finland. Will has visited the rest of Scandinavia, Italy, France, Austria, Mexico and Canada. Will's father is a professor of Russian History at the University of Oregon and his mother is a painter. Will's sister sings in the Eugene Opera and his brother-in-law is the principal bassist in the Eugene Symphony, but also sits in jazz combos. Will's wife, Jenny, is the librarian at West High. Jenny is also an endurance athlete and outdoor enthusiast. Will has competed twice in the US Olympic Trials marathon in 1996 and 2000 and has run a 2:16:53 marathon at the California International Marathon in Sacramento in 1993. Will enjoys all outdoor pursuits, especially fishing, running, skiing, snow shoeing, horses, hiking and biking. Will is especially proud of the fact that he has caught all 5 species of Pacific Salmon on the fly, but hasn't yet done that on the same day. Will also coaches Anchorage area runners. Will teaches German Language and Biology at West High.
Knock, Jodette
Jodette Knock was raised on a ranch with her four brothers on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Northeastern Montana. She received her BS in petroleum engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in the spring of 1987. She began her career in the petroleum industry in Gillette, Wyoming. She moved to Alaska in 1988 with a job offer from ARCO. She retired from the oil industry in 1994 with the arrival of her second child.
Jodette earned a MAT in education from UAA in the spring of 1999. She began teaching math at West High that fall. She now teaches Algebra II and Pre-Calculus on a part-time basis. She enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and keeping up with her children's activities.
Favorite quote: "He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." - Ancient Chinese Proverb
Larsen, Amy
Amy Larsen graduated from the University of Utah in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She later received a teaching certificate from the College of Notre Dame in Balitmore, Maryland, and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University. After teaching for four years at Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, she moved to a small island in South East Alaska where she taught for one year. In 1999 Amy moved to Anchorage in join the West High staff where she enjoys teaching AP Literature and Composition, and 10 Honors English. Her other job assignments include working as an assistant in the West High computer lab. Outside of teaching Amy is an avid telemark skier, biker, runner, and gardener and, of course, reader.
Lynch, Kevin
I grew up about 20 minutes north of New York City in the suburban setting of Yonkers. I graduated high school in 1970 and feel privileged to have grown up during the dynamic 60's. I had heroes like John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and John Glenn. I can honestly say I went to Woodstock and remember it.
I left N. Y. in 1973 and vowed to hitchhike around the world. I never quite made it, although I saw each state in the United States, Canada, Central America, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Russia, Japan, Spain and finally Alaska. I moved here in 1977 and fulfilled my sourdough status by living in the wilderness for three years running a NOAA weather station, being an assistant guide, and being a caretaker. I learned to build log cabins, smoke salmon, lived through a brown bear attack, and learned a lot about living without TV, hauling my own water, and growing a garden.
Throughout the 1980's I was a General Contractor and owned my own business. I did residential construction and built many vacation cabins and lodges in "bush Alaska". During those years, I kept up my interest in adventures, such as climbing Denali (Mt. McKinley), learning to scuba dive, and white water rafting. My wife's first teaching job brought us to the Yukon River village of Galena for one year, and it was substituting in the school that raised my interest in pursuing a teaching career. I went through the Education and Science program at the University of Alaska Anchorage and began teaching at West High in 1997.
I appreciate the diversity of the student body at West and the dedication of the staff to education. My goal as an educator is to teach students to think for themselves and find some relevancy of the knowledge taught here to their everyday lives. Hopefully, this will lead to putting something positive back into their community. "Act locally, think globally" is a saying that I can relate to.
My personal interests include raising two feisty young boys, playing the guitar, telemark skiing, and cooking and eating good food with good company. I always thought that life is an "adventure" in the spirit of Frodo and Bilbo Bagggins.
Moore, Dave
Olito, Carmen
After spending her youth in Canada and the high Sierras of California, Carmen Olito graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz. It was here that she discovered the exotic world beyond the surf zone which led her into the realms of biology and chemistry. She then attended graduate school at Northern Arizona University followed by a short stint as a ski bum in Aspen, Colorado, before adventures in Alaska beckoned. Soon Carmen was working for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Statewide Genetics Laboratory. After 22 years of research in fisheries genetics and brood stock development, Carmen retired to get her teaching credentials at University of Alaska Anchorage. You can now find her teaching chemistry and biology at West Anchorage High School. When she is not in school she is probably out somewhere skiing, hiking, or biking with her dog; or maybe snorkeling or lounging on a beach somewhere exotic.
Favorite quote: "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." —Buddha
Ruhlin, John
John Ruhlin graduated from The University of Notre Dame in 1989 with a BA in The Program of Liberal Studies (Classics/Philosophy) and a minor in Spanish. After volunteering at a community youth center in a small barrio outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1991, he moved to Washington, DC, where he worked at a national children's literacy organization. A work-related trip to Alaska led to his move to Anchorage in 1994. John earned a MAT from UAA in the spring of 1999 and began teaching English at West that fall. He enjoys any adventure that takes him outside or expands his culinary tastes. But his biggest, most enjoyable adventure to date has been raising two preschool-aged daughters, which means his current interests include building with blocks, fingerpainting, and re-discovering the many joys of the world through the eyes of his children.
Turner, Katie
Vano, David
David Vano graduated from Harlingen High School (South Texas) in 1991. He received a BA in History and English along with a teaching certification from Southwest Texas State University. Subsequent to undergraduate work, he acquired a MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the same university. He is a poet, a painter (has had two one-man shows in Anchorage) and a nature enthusiast. His teaching career started at West High School in the Fall of 2002, where he teaches pre-IB world history, creative writing, writing composition, and poetry. He enjoys all kinds of music with the exception of country music (Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash are fine, but then again that's not country). Artists most inspiring to Vano: (painters) Cezanne, early Mondrian, J. W. Turner, Vermeer; (poets) Wallace Stevens, Yannis Ritsos, Ranier Maria Rilke; (novelists) Salman Rushdie, John Steinbeck, Victor Hugo.
Voris, Rebecca J.
How it started: I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. My mother still has one of my first grade written assignments stating that I wanted to go to college and take art...so I guess that’s where it began. I have always loved and excelled in the arts and crafts part of any sort of education, whether it was vacation bible school, girl scouts or public school. My mother taught me to embroider. I embroidered a tablecloth at age 10 and was unable to get it into the KY State Fair because it was a commercial design.
How it progressed: I took every art class I could while in high school and several that were closely related to the arts in and out of school. I attended Murray State University in western KY because it had a great art program and because of one word in the course catalogue – ‘or’. I could take math OR science, not math AND science to graduate. It was a match made in heaven. Murray was also as far as I could get away from home and still pay in-state tuition. I took three art classes and a PE course every semester – it was wonderful. I graduated with honors and headed to AK.
After the fact: I came to AK for a six week visit and stayed. I had expected to get a teaching job in Indiana but it fell through. I was having a great time getting out to see AK and learning to ski. I had a job so decide to stay for a while. One thing led to another. I was eventually hired to teach art and here I am – still!
Whaley, Michele
Michele Whaley is an East High graduate. She earned BA's in Slavic Languages and Literature and Eastern European Area Studies from the University of Washington. After working to resettle refugees in New York, she came back to get a teaching certificate at UAA. She started teaching at East High in 1985 and came to West in 1998. She enjoys hearing of the diverse ways former students use their Russian--from working with intelligence organizations to managing Russian artistic groups on tour in the United States. Outside school, she likes to hike, camp, skijor, bike, read, play music, and dance. If there were more time in life, she would take piano and painting lessons.
Williamson, C. David
C. David Williamson is a graduate of Durham High School in Durham, North Carolina. In 1978 he earned an Associate in Fine Arts from Brevard College in both Percussion Performance and Music Education. David earned his Bachelor's Degree is from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. His professional teaching career began in 1980 at Brevard High School in North Carolina and has since included Doughtery Junior High School (Albany, Georgia) where his band was awarded First Place at the Six Flags National Invitational Festival in 1984, and McEachern High School (Powder Springs, Georgia) where his bands performed at numerous national invitational conventions. David is currently the Director of Bands at West Anchorage High School in Anchorage, Alaska and has held this position since 1997. He also has the unique position of being Athletic Director for West High School. "Balancing the musical preparation for one of Alaska's finest bands and coordinating the athletic program is a daunting task but provides a balance in life that few people have the opportunity to enjoy". As a member of the percussion section of the Anchorage Symphony, David stays very active as a performer. Factor in some wilderness guiding and hiking throughout Alaska in the summer and it is easy to see how full one's life can be.
The West High band program is very involved with musical productions in the fall and spring including a stunning performance of Les Miserables last year. Each student in the West High Band program is afforded many musical growth opportunities including Jazz Band, a football Marching Band, Solo and Ensemble performance, All-State Band participation, and trips to Atlanta, Honolulu, and Orlando in the last six years. Simply put, the West High Band is one of the "in" places to be for a student who loves music and loves the family atmosphere that exists in the day to day classroom.
Zartmann, Andrew
Andrew Zartmann is a 1977 Bartlett High graduate. He completed an AB in mathematics at Indiana University in 1983 and earned his teaching credentials from UAA in 1986. After teaching in Shageluk and Long Island, AK for three years, he came to West High in 1990 where he proudly taught ESL history for nine years. He now teaches AP calculus and remedial math. Mr. Zartmann may have the most complete collection of bagpipe stamps anywhere. His collection of bagpipes is regrettably less complete. Beekeeping, gardening, brewing, singing in a Russian choir, and playing bassoon in the Anchorage Symphony round out his days. According to his two cats, "the food is good, but dinner is often late. Tell him he could be more generous with the portions, too." (The picture's a little out of date...)
Favorite quote: "I may not have answered all of your questions, and, indeed, I may have raised many more questions, but I do believe we are now confused at a much higher level and about more important things." - Rik Hall, U. of New Brunswick