Our Team

Nicole Yen is a STEAM educator and scientist trained in molecular genetics and research-informed educational theories.

She has practical teaching experience at Title I Middle and High School classrooms in Oahu and San Diego and brings the ability to address complex pedagogy and project-based-learning in formal and informal educational settings.

Since 2016, she has designed and taught over 20 competitive college-prep courses and developed UCSD's Marine Science, Research Scholars Program. As a first generation Taiwanese American, she is proud to be part of a growing network of women entrepreneurs and scientists from immigrant families.

Sonya Timko is a current PhD Student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her research focuses on the thermal ecology of crustaceans and their microhabitats.

She specializes in developing coursework for under-represented youth and has taught students from JROTC STEAM Camps, Federal TRIO Programs, Viejas Tribal Education Center, and Promises2Kids Guardian Scholars.

Growing up from an under-resourced background herself and a first-generation college graduate of Native American and Slovakian descent, she is passionate about serving her community through science and education.

Haydee Smith is an educator and community advocate specializing in critical literacies and intersectional communities.

She has designed and taught numerous college-prep workshops and university courses for high-school and undergraduate students since 2008. Her research focuses on how literary and multimedia narratives reflect and refract issues and institutions of interlocking oppressions.

As a first-generation college student, raised by a single mother who immigrated from the Philippines, Haydee is devoted to creating curricula that enables learners to honor their complex identities while achieving their academic, personal, and community-minded goals.

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