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Amalia Baker
College Counseling & Academic Planning Coordinator
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Amalia Baker is incredibly excited to start working with Milken's College Counseling and Academic Planning Office as the new Office Coordinator! She comes from a strong background in front-facing administrative roles and college admissions advising. She holds a BFA in Dramaturgy from Carnegie Mellon University (yes, a theater kid through and through) but has been passionate about working with students transitioning from their secondary school to higher education since her time as an undergrad. Most recently, she's been an Admissions Advisor for Gnomon, a small 3D, VFX, and games college in central Hollywood. In her free time, she takes adult figure skating classes and writes in a largescale supernatural-bent server. She loves to chat about early 2000s nostalgic websites and MMOs, her two fluffy black cats, and all things urban or low fantasy.
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Kenneth Bruinsslot
Robotics Coach
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Kenny Bruinsslot is excited to join the Milken community as the Assistant Robotics Coach. Kenny recently graduated from UCLA as a physics major and has been doing FIRST Robotics in some form or another for over a decade. He even competed against our very own MilkenKnights! Now he'll be working alongside them in the Guerin as coach and teacher. Kenny was born and raised in Los Angeles and he loves to spend time in the outdoors. If you have a DIY project in mind or something just needs fixin', Kenny can help you out! You can find him in the Guerin starting August 14th.
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Tara Carter
English Teacher
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Tara Ann Carter is delighted to join Milken as an English Teacher. Originally from Philadelphia, Tara holds a Bachelor's degree in English from Millersville University and a Master's from Villanova University. Beginning as a non-traditional educator with the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows, Tara spent the first seven years of her career working as a dual certified English/Social Studies teacher in the School District of Philadelphia. She later transitioned to independent education, spending some time in St. Petersburg, Florida before moving to California. Tara’s true passion is the integration of unique global cultures into her lessons as a result of her continual professional development as a study fellow and researcher. To date, she has participated in 14 international programs - most recently traveling this summer through two unique and very different experiences: first, arriving in Brussels and Luxembourg to research AI policy in the European Union via the University of Pittsburgh's European Center, Tara then trekked on to Central Asia to complete a four week study tour with fifteen educators spanning Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, funded via the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. These experiences will be incorporated into the her classroom instruction in the next semesters. In the coming school year, Tara has been selected to participate in the Echoes & Reflections Teacher Leader Program and in the Davis Center’s Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellowship. Beyond professional development and international exploration, Tara lives in Los Feliz, where she enjoys reading memoirs, long distance running and experiencing contemporary art throughout the city of Los Angeles.
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Bruce Dominguez
Fab Lab Manager & Robotics Coach
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Bruce Dominguez is excited to be joining Milken's community as the Guerin Fab Lab Manager & Robotics Coach. After growing up in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia and attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn New York for computer animation and graphic design, Bruce moved to and has been living in LA for the last 20 years. His career has been in education for fabrication, prototype design, and engineering for scholastic and academic institutions such as Art Center College of Design, working for 10 years managing their rapid prototyping lab, and at the Jim Hall design lab within Caltech's Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department. Oddly enough, Bruce loves the commute in LA because it gives him the opportunity to use his LA City Library card and listen to its expansive audio book collection.
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Daniel Gordon
Social Studies Teacher
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Daniel Gordon is excited to join the Milken community as a Social Science Teacher. He has a Bachelor's Degree from Pomona College in History with a minor in Classics, and two Master's Degrees. The first is from the University of Cambridge in Classics, and the second, after three years of teaching in Scottsdale, is from Vanderbilt University's Peabody School in Secondary Education. Daniel is not only highly invested in history, but also the arts, as he has played the trumpet since he was nine years old, and is currently taking acting classes! Daniel is looking forward to meeting everyone at Milken.
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Carl Haber
English Teacher
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Carl Haber is excited to join the team at Milken as an English teacher. Originally from Miami, Florida, he recently relocated from New York to Los Angeles and is enjoying the sunshine once again. Carl spent the last 7 years teaching Social Studies at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in Manhattan, New York. He holds a Masters' Degree from Columbia University's Teachers College in Social Studies Education. He is passionate about using narratives and stories to educate about diverse identities and perspectives. When Carl isn't at school, you can find him singing on stage or on the tennis court!
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Emily Harrell
Learning Specialist, Division 9-10
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Emily has been working in education for 10+ years and is excited to begin her role as the 9-10 Learning Specialist. Before becoming a Learning Specialist, Emily taught English, Art, Music, Theater, PE, and 7th/8th grade math, and likes to go by the name, "Coach!" After graduating from UCLA with her English degree, Emily moved to Madrid, Spain, where she taught English in the corporate setting. Upon her return to the states, Emily received her Multiple Subject Credential and her Math Credential and taught for several happy years in South LA. Now working out of the classroom as a Learning Specialist, Emily is an advocate for neurodiversity and differentiated learning practices. She steps into her role here at Milken while pursuing her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Curriculum Design. When she's not working, Emily loves yoga, boxing, reading, Lego, baking, and all things Harry Potter. She lives with her fiancé and two Dobermans, Dobby and Siobhan.
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Alice Kiureghian
Associate Director of College Counseling & Academic Planning
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Alice Kiureghian is excited to join Milken as an Associate Director of College Counseling and Academic Planning. Alice earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University and her Juris Doctor with a concentration in Criminal Justice from Loyola Law School. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 2013. After practicing civil litigation and family law, she entered the field of education in 2017, focusing primarily on college counseling and school administration. She has also served as a college application reader for the University of California, Santa Barbara. As a College Counselor, she is devoted to supporting, guiding, and preparing high school students as they continue their academic journey to higher education.
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Camryn Kruger
Director of Service Learning
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Camryn Kruger is excited to be taking on the role of Director of Service Learning at Milken Community School. With a BS in Journalism from The University of Oregon, and over a decade in Sales and Marketing throughout the Music and Entertainment Industries, a volunteering stint with BBYO inspired Camryn to change careers solely focusing on youth engagement and programming. Since 2010, Camryn has ran several youth-based programs, both Judaic and Secular, specializing in camp and leadership. From 2016-2024, Camryn led informal education, fundraisers, programs and events for K-12 as the Director of Youth Engagement at Valley Beth Shalom. In 2021, Camryn launched Camp ViBeS, a mobile teen camp highlighting Jewish values that foster an environment of critical reflection through outdoor adventures amongst LA's natural habitats, volunteering at diverse, local nonprofit organizations, and building life affirming social emotional skills through challenging and creative activities. Camryn is also a certified Youth Development Coach from CTI and is a Graduate of the Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning. In her spare time, Camryn enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew, hiking LA's best trails and trying all sorts of exercising classes, singing karaoke (and winning competitions), and taming her wild furry beast (pup) better known as Shuggie (Meshugenah) Kruger.
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Arjun Ramesh
Administrative Assistant, Curriculum and Integration
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Arjun is a musician, photographer, and a long-time vegan, with a love for animals, health, fitness and the martial arts. He is excited to join Milken Community School as an Administrative Assistant. His most recent professional experience includes three years at Stephen Wise Temple as the Advancement Coordinator with the Development team. He is also a formally trained audio engineer, ran his own commercial fashion and portrait photography LLC, was a former paralegal, and even taught English abroad. He is looking forward to meeting everyone at Milken.
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Stephen Scholz
Mathematics Teacher
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Stephen Scholz graduated from Texas State University in 2015 with a bachelor's degree in Business Marketing. After working in software sales in Austin for a few years, Stephen decided to pursue a career in Education. He began his teaching journey at an all-girls public school in Austin, Texas. In 2022, Stephen and his girlfriend moved to Los Angeles, where he started teaching at a middle school in the Valley. In his spare time, Stephen enjoys playing basketball, skateboarding, and attending concerts and music festivals of all genres. He is incredibly excited to continue his educational journey at Milken and to contribute to the close-knit community that has been built over the years.
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Sammy Skinner
Head of Athletics
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Sammy Skinner, Jr. is thrilled to join Milken as the first Head of Athletics. He brings more than thirty-five years of experience to the role.
Sammy is an NIAAA Certified Athletic Administrator with a degree in kinesiology from the University of Montevallo. In addition to his time in athletics, he has held instructional positions in many areas of biological sciences. Sammy credits his classroom experience with instilling a belief in the value of both athletic and academic success. He is known for creating athletic environments that reflect the importance of excellence in all areas of life and strives to bring parents, students, and faculty together to positively impact the community as a whole.
Prior to becoming an athletic director, Sammy had the privilege of coaching middle school, high school, and collegiate level sports. During his time coaching, his various teams achieved five state championships, and as an administrator, he was awarded several Athletic Director of the Year awards. His teams have won district, regional, state, and national championships.
Sammy has always seen the importance of being able to pay it forward in helping students achieve their dreams of earning college scholarships, playing professional sports, and even competing in the Olympics. He looks forward to having a positive impact on the Milken Community and being a part of its success for many years to come.
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Jenn Spellman
Division Academic Support Director, Grades 11-12
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Jennifer Spellman has two Master’s degrees in Education, one in Secondary Education and the other in Educational Therapy, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, all from Marist College. Jennifer has served as Upper School Director at Wildwood School, Lower & Middle School Director at Westmark School, and previously as Academic Support Services Coordinator at Milken. Jennifer has a wide range of skills including implementation of special learning plans and accommodations for students with learning differences, parent and teacher training, professional development delivery with a focus on differentiation and neurodevelopmental constructs, coordination of support services, and design of remedial reading, literacy, and language arts curriculum. Jennifer recently completed training in Special Education Law and Advocacy and serves as the Director of Academic Support at the Center for Achievement and Learning, as well as a private educational therapist and executive functioning coach. She is trained in reading and writing interventions including LindaMood Bell, Wilson Reading Systems, Step Up to Writing, Jane Schaffer Method, University of Kansas writing methods.
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Deborah Stokol
English Teacher
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Deborah Stokol is looking forward to her new role here as an upper school English, Spanish and Journalism Teacher, and newspaper advisor. She grew up in Los Angeles in an Argentinean- and South African-Jewish family and double-majored in English and Music at UC Berkeley before earning a Master’s degree in journalism at USC Annenberg. She worked as a reporter for several years, including at the Los Angeles Times, then as a teacher — at Harvard-Westlake, The Bishop’s School, and Brentwood — for 12 years. After lockdown, she stepped away from teaching to focus on her music composition / production and independent writing, tutoring, and editing. She recently released her eighth album of original songs. She is excited to be back in the classroom and to join the Milken community!
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Rabbi Suzy Stone
Jewish Studies Teacher
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Hailing from the great state of Minnesota, Rabbi Suzy Stone received her B.A. from Brandeis University followed by rabbinic ordination from HUC-JIR in Los Angeles in 2012. After ordination, she served as the Associate Rabbi at Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara. She was then selected by the Jewish Emergent Network to serve as a Rabbinic Fellow at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington D.C. After five years serving as the Campus Rabbi at Arizona State University Hillel, she is excited to join the Jewish Studies faculty at Milken. When she isn’t busy unpacking Jewish texts or reinventing Jewish tradition, she enjoys photography, comedy, and sports. Having lived in Boston, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Washington D.C. and Phoenix, she is excited to return to the LA Jewish community.
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Caroline Tomasetta
Spanish Teacher
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Caroline Tomasetta is excited to teach Spanish at Milken this year. Originally from the Boston area, she earned her bachelor’s degree with a double major in Spanish and Women’s Studies from UMass Amherst and her master’s degree in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University. Caroline immersed herself in the Spanish language and culture by studying abroad in Spain and then teaching there after her undergraduate studies. In her free time, she can be found practicing yoga or traveling with her fiancé, Sean. Caroline hopes to instill this love of travel in her students through teaching language and culture.
