Middle School
Language Arts
David Fiore
English Department Head
AVID / Computer / 7th Grade English
Email: dfiore@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23268
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David Fiore was 24 when he started his teaching career in the Central Valley in 2008. He thanks his mentor teachers for helping him along the way but quickly points to his students as playing a significant role in molding him into the educator and person he is today. Fiore was born in Berkeley, California, but grew up in Stockton. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from California State University of Fresno in 2007. He went on to earn a Master's degree in Education with an emphasis in Technological Integration from Concordia University Irvine. He has always taught middle-school, and appreciates this age group as students are not only impressionable, but can also appreciate his dry humor and outdated idioms. His “dad jokes” are also on the rise. Outside of the classroom, Fiore enjoys spending time with his family, dabbles in home improvement (much to his wife’s dismay), plays golf and appreciates the beautiful outdoors Sonoma County has to offer.
Kris Ackerman
8th Grade English
Email: kackerman@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23264
Kris Ackerman grew up in the South Bay and started her career in education before coming to Santa Rosa in 2014. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) and her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ackerman stated unequivocally that she wanted to be a teacher in Kindergarten and fell in love with Middle School students after landing a job in a 7th grade classroom. Being able to let your weirdness show as a Middle School teacher is definitely a perk of the job. In her free time Ackerman likes to read, crochet, bake, hang out with family, and play cards with friends.
Fun Fact: Ackerman has 5 cats at home. That's more cats living in her house than humans!
Tanisha Goudie
AVID / 8th Grade English
Email: tgelottegoudie@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23267
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Tanisha Goudie was born and raised in Sonoma County. She attended the Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to Sonoma State, where she earned her Bachelor of Art in English. After college, she joined AmeriCorps working in local elementary schools. There, she realized her passion for Education and returned to Sonoma State for her teaching credential. While student teaching, she was placed at a middle school and fell in love with this wacky age group. Goudie loves reading, sleeping, and spending time with her four younger siblings in that order.
Kiana Herzog
Academic Language Development
Email: kherzog@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23233
Yesenia Perez
Spanish Literacy / Spanish / Spanish for Spanish Speakers
Email: yperezarzola@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23266
Yesenia Perez was born and raised in Sonoma County. She graduated Sonoma State University with a BA in English and a minor in Spanish. She has always loved the idea of teaching and has been involved in teaching in some way throughout her life. While in high school, she volunteered for A Special Place Preschool and later went on to work for California Mini-Corps, and Adelante in college. After graduating, Perez worked for the Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma-Marin as a program coordinator and decided to receive her teaching credential from Sonoma State University soon after. There is nothing more rewarding than working with students for her. This is why she could not imagine working in any other field that was not teaching. Perez looks forward to learning more about her students, and can’t wait to see the collective academic and emotional growth that will be made this year.
Gabriele Sanchez
Newcomer English / Academic Language Development
Email: grsanchez@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23216
Gabriele Sanchez was raised in Peru before moving to California. Her experience as an English learner has been the driving force in wanting to work with newcomers. She graduated from San José State University with degrees in Linguistics and English. She also studied Early Childhood Development and has worked with children of all ages. It is this understanding of developmental stages that gives her a sense of humor when working with middle school students. Although her previous seven years of teaching experience were with high school students, she was drawn to work in a dual immersion school to encourage students to be multilingual. In her free time, she loves to read about history, perfect baking recipes, and play with her two dogs.
History
Kris Ackerman
History Department Head
Email: kackerman@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23264
Kris Ackerman grew up in the South Bay and started her career in education before coming to Santa Rosa in 2014. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) and her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ackerman stated unequivocally that she wanted to be a teacher in Kindergarten and fell in love with Middle School students after landing a job in a 7th grade classroom. Being able to let your weirdness show as a Middle School teacher is definitely a perk of the job. In her free time Ackerman likes to read, crochet, bake, hang out with family, and play cards with friends.
Fun Fact: Ackerman has 5 cats at home. That's more cats living in her house than humans!
Erick Guzmán
Ethnic Studies / History taught in Spanish
Email: eguzman@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23265
Erick Guzmán was born and raised in East LA. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science and history. Guzmán also obtained a teaching credential in social science and masters in history from CSULA. He has a decade of teaching experience and has served as an educator the majority of his life. Guzmán will be a role model at CCLA and offer our youth guidance whenever necessary.
Nick Veveiros
Email: nveveiros@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23263
Nick Veveiros was born and raised in Rohnert Park, California. He attended Rancho Cotate High School before attending Santa Rosa Junior College, a place where his love of education blossomed. After completing undergrad at SRJC, Veveiros transferred to UC Davis and graduated with degrees in History and Philosophy. Shortly after, he completed his teaching credential program at Dominican University of California. Veveiros feels incredibly lucky to be at CCLA. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, playing basketball, traveling, hiking, as well as spending time with friends and family.
Math
John Kennedy
Extension: 23218
Email: jdkennedy@srcs.k12.ca.us
John Kennedy was born and raised in the North Bay, and graduated from San Marin High School in Novato. He earned his BS in Biology at UC San Diego and his MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University. He has been a teacher and an administrator in local schools for more than a decade and is excited to join the team at CCLA. Outside of the classroom, Kennedy enjoys making music with friends and spending time in nature with his family. He loves to empower learners to see connections between math and their daily lives. Kennedy believes all learners have the potential to be successful and become transformative agents of change for their communities.
Deborah Ramos
Co-Math Department Head
Email: dramos@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23222
Deborah Ramos has lived in Sonoma County her entire life, mostly residing in Santa Rosa. She attended Santa Rosa City Schools from elementary school through high school, attended Santa Rosa Junior College, and is a graduate of Sonoma State University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, a Single-Subject Teaching Credential, a Master’s Degree in Education with a Mathematics Emphasis, and a Supplemental Science Teaching Credential, and has been teaching for over 20 years. Outside of the classroom, Ramos enjoys traveling, sailing, kayaking, indoor rock climbing, and camping. She enjoys looking for interesting ways to enrich the mathematics curriculum and finding applications of mathematics in day to day life. One of her favorite movies is Stand and Deliver and she also firmly believes that “math is the great equalizer.”
Andrea Munguia
Co-Math Department Head
Email: amunguia@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23224
Andrea Munguia was born and raised in Dalton, Georgia. She attended Dalton State College and got her bachelors degree in Elementary Education with an ESOL endorsement. Munguia received her Master’s degree in Mathematics from Western Governors University . She taught 1st grade for two years in Dalton before moving to Santa Rosa.
Outside of the classroom, Munguia enjoys being in nature, whether it be hiking or just reading a book. She played soccer and volleyball in high school, so she likes to go out play every once in a while when possible. Her favorite thing to do overall is spend quality time with her family.
Munguia is very excited to form part of the community and looks forward to learning alongside her students.
PE
Natalie Villagomez
Physical Education Department Head
Email: nvillagomezvigil@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23270
Natalie Villagomez Vigil was born and raised in Santa Rosa, California. She attended Sonoma State University and earned a BA degree in Kinesiology with a minor in English. She then graduated from the University of San Francisco with a teaching credential and a Master’s in Teaching. She is a 7th/8th grade PE teacher and also teaches a dance PE class. Natalie played soccer growing up and now coaches the girl’s soccer team at Santa Rosa High School. Natalie is a foodie who enjoys reading, playing and watching sports, the beach, and traveling.
Fun Fact: Ms. Villagomez enjoys cooking.
Fred Duerr
Email: fduerr@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23287
Mr. Duerr was born and raised in Santa Rosa. He received his B.S in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University, M.S in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University, and Teaching Credential from Alliant University. Mr. Duerr participated in football and wrestling in college and is also currently the Head Wrestling Coach / Associate Faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, the outdoors, traveling, and eating.
Fun Fact: Mr. Duerr loves to cook.
Julian Rooney
Elementary & Middle School PE
Email: jrooney@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23234
Julian Rooney has lived in Northern California for the last 25 years. He loves the climate, redwood trees, and all the outdoor activities that Sonoma County has to offer. Rooney attended the Santa Rosa Junior College and then received his BA in Geography from Sonoma State University. He started off as an instructional assistant at Salmon Creek Middle School and at that point decided to pursue a teaching credential. He now holds a multiple subject credential, as well as a single subject credential for Physical Education. He has taught at Pivot Charter School and Technology Middle School and is now very happy to be at CCLA teaching PE. In his free time he spends as much time as possible with his daughter who is turning 3 in November. Rooney is also a lover of sports, who plays, watches and consumes it daily. His favorite sports to play are tennis, soccer and baseball but finds joy in playing them all. Rooney's goal as an educator is empowering students through knowledge and recognizing through experience how exercise and nutrition can contribute to a happy lifestyle.
Fun Fact: Mr. Rooney has gone white water rafting on the Nile River.
Science
Jessica McNiff
8th Grade Science
Science Department Head / Athletic Director
Email: jmcniff@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23226
Jessica McNiff was born and raised in southern California before transplanting to Sonoma County after receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz. She went on to earn her Single Subject Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University. In addition to teaching, she is also our Athletic Director, Volleyball and Track Coach, Science Challenge and Amor Para Todos Club Advisor, and regularly mentors new teacher candidates. McNiff loves teaching and giving every middle schooler the opportunity to succeed in the classroom and school community as a whole.
Special Ed
Melissa Shain
Special Education Department Head
Email: mshain@srcs.k12.ca.us
Extension: 23220
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Melissa Shain was born in Santa Rosa, California, but grew up on an army base in Washington State. She moved back to Sonoma County at 10 years of age and has lived here since. She attended Rincon Valley Middle School and graduated from Santa Rosa High School. Shain attended college for several years at Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to California State University, Chico where she received her degree in Recreation Administration. Before becoming a teacher, Shain worked for 20 years for Sonoma County Regional Parks as a Park Ranger Assistant, as well as Santa Rosa City Schools as a Yard Duty at Brook Hill Elementary. In 2019, she started her journey to become a teacher, first substitute teaching and then finishing her schooling to become a Special Education Teacher. This is her 4th year of teaching here at CCLA. In her free time, Melissa enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her husband and three kids.
