Administrative Staff
Gail Ewell is the founder and Executive Director of HTS. She graduated from Northeastern University in 1983 with a degree in Education and an emphasis in Human Services. In 1998, she created an Exceptional Children’s Program worldwide, a non-profit project which empowers families through specialized classes and inclusion services for children with special needs. She has also helped start and run parent support groups, community conferences, and inclusive sports programs. In 2001, she founded Hope Technology School.
Tracey Howell has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Princeton University. After graduation she taught math, biology, chemistry and general science to secondary school students. She was given a fellowship to Columbia University for their Master’s Program in Curriculum. She worked for Teach for America, a non-profit group that matched Ivy-League graduates with inner-city schools for a two-year commitment to teach.
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from Cal State Monterey Bay. She completed her teaching credential and Master’s Degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Mild to Moderate Disabilities at San Francisco State University. She has worked in education since 2002 and has worked at Hope Technology School since 2006 as both a paraeducator and teacher.
Sharon has her BA in Psychology from Radford University. She began working at HTS when it began in 2001. She has worked in various roles at HTS in administration and in the classroom. The last several years she has served as a preschool teacher. She is a mother of 3 children, all of whom have attended the HTS program.
Kirsten has been working with children for over a decade. She has worked in home-based, clinical, and educational settings. She also has spent many hours volunteering in an inclusive soccer program as a lead coach. Kirsten worked as a para-educator for several years and is currently the 4th and 5th co-teacher at our school. Kirsten received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Cal State University East Bay in Human Development, with an emphasis in Childhood Development. In 2013, she also attained her Master’s Degree in teaching credential in Mild to Moderate Special Education from San Francisco State University.
Mary Wilson graduated from the University of the Pacific, Stockton in 1983 with a B.S. in Business Administration and a concentration in Accounting. She has been a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California since 1985. She specialized in Auditing for-profit, governmental, and non-profit organizations. In addition she consulted with small businesses to develop computer accounting systems. Of note, Mary worked with the ownership group of the Sacramento Kings during the construction of ARCO Arena. She is involved in several business and community service organizations including Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement, Active 20/30 and Soroptimist International. Mary is a member of American Institute of CPA’s and California Society of CPA’s.
Michelle has a Masters Degree in Counseling with a specialization in School Counseling and a Pupil Personnel Services Credential from Saint Mary’s College of California. She has experience in running groups for children with ADD/ADHD to help support students with executive functioning skills and motivation. She also facilitated groups for behavior management to help students social and academic performances.
Nina is the Special Events and Development Coordinator. She is part of the administrative team and has been at Hope Technology School since 2014. She also has had a child graduate from HTS and was one of the first families to attend in 2002.
Preschool Teachers
Taylor received an Early Childhood Development Certificate from Merritt College. She has eight years of experience working with school-age children. For the past four years, she taught in a Montessori preschool working in an inclusive environment.This is her first year at HTS and she is excited to help teach the preschool.
K-8 Teachers
Tiffany received her BA Degree in Behavioral Science and teaching credential at San Jose State University. This is Tiffany’s fourth year working at Hope Technology School and has volunteered at various inclusion programs serving both neuro typical children and children with disabilities.
Sheree received her B.A. in Communicative Disorders from San Jose State University. She has 9+ years of working in inclusive volunteer & home settings with adults & children with special needs. She also has worked for 2 Years as Life Skills Pathways Teacher at HTS.
Alyssa received her BA Degree in Psychology from Cal State East Bay. She also has a Master’s Degree and credential in special education with a focus on mild to moderate disabilities from San Francisco State University. She has over 7 years of experience working with children with special needs in inclusive environments. She is very passionate and eager to learn and apply various tools in order to help students to thrive both academically and socially.
Olivia received her Bachelor’s Degree and teaching credential from Saint Mary’s College and has experience in education for 7 years, teaching for 3 years. She’s accumulated 150+ hours of professional development and coaching and has two early education certifications.
Kevin received his Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from San Jose State University with Academic Honors. He has also received his Masters in Education from National University with a teaching credential. He has over 8 years of work experience with children with special needs in inclusive environments, volunteer programs, and in-home settings. He loves football and basketball bay area teams.
Kim has been teaching at HTS since 2005. She received her B.A. Degree in 1995 at the University of Hawaii and went on to earn her Elementary Teaching Certificate in Regular Education. After completing the program, she began teaching Visually Impaired students at a middle school while simultaneously enrolled in a program training teachers in the area of Mild-to-Moderate Disabilities in Special Education. As a result, the State of Hawaii awarded her a Special Education Endorsement for her Teaching Certificate. Kim is comfortable working with a range of students’ needs and abilities.
Howard has taught at HTS since its inception in 2001. Since then, he has been nominated to the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” for three consecutive years. He has a Master’s Degree in Mild-to-Moderate Special Education and a teaching credential in Mild-to-Moderate Special Education from San Francisco State University. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, with a minor in Music, from California State University, Sacramento. During his 13 years of working in Early Childhood Education, he has worked as a Head Teacher, Site Supervisor, and as a case manager for various county agencies.
Matthew graduated with a Bachelors in Applied Mathematics with a teaching option at CSUEB. He has worked with children over the last 6 years, which has included working with kids with special and typical needs. He currently coaches kids in soccer, which he has been part of for 6 years and has tutored children in mathematics for 3 years.
Melissa graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology and Teaching Credential from Saint Mary’s College of California. This will be her second year teaching at HTS and being with the class of 2021.
Adelaide is the 8th grade homeroom teacher and the math and science teacher for the 7th and 8th grades. She joined the staff at Hope Technology School in 2009. Adelaide graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with bachelor degrees in molecular and cellular biology and rhetoric. She has a master’s degree and teaching credential in special education from San Francisco State University.
Chris received his Bachelor’s in Business at San Jose State University. He is currently pursuing a teaching credential in hopes of working with kids with special needs. Chris has worked with children with special needs in a housing and school settings for over six years.
High School and Life Skills
Stephanie is in her fourth year at Hope Technology School. She is a seasoned teacher with experience in inclusive education teaching all subjects from elementary through high school. Stephanie has taught Literature, Civics & World Civilizations in California High Schools as well as earth science, life science and physical science at the secondary school level. She has a M.S. degree in Education with an Emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Scranton and a B.S. degree in Political Science & Psychology from Hawaii Pacific University.
Courtney Peterson graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and minor in Humanities. She received her Single Subject teaching credential in English from SJSU. She has taught World Civilizations and Expository Reading and Writing at her previous high school in Sunnyvale, CA. Courtney also coaches our cross country and 5K running program for the middle school and high school students.
Joli Dumlao graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California with a BA Degree in Justice, Community & Leadership and a minor in Dance. Over the past 8 years, she has worked with students throughout the Bay Area in summer day camps, the classroom, and the dance studio. This year, she will be teaching High School Math, along with directing a Leadership class for the Middle School and Learning Curve students. Joli aims to create a fun, creative and inclusive learning environment for all students.
Christian received his B.A. degree in Psychology and his M.A.Ed with an emphasis in Special Education and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) from San Jose State University. He also received his teaching credential with a focus in mild to moderate disabilities. Over the past 9 years he has worked with children within various inclusive settings. He loves the outdoors and being physically active and enjoys helping students participate in a healthy lifestyle.
Paraeducators
Chris attended San Jose State University and has volunteered in multiple programs working with kids of all abilities. Some of those programs include working as a coach for E-Soccer and providing childcare for a family with two kids both of whom have special needs.
Phoenix is a former HTS student with experience helping students with learning disabilities and special needs. Having been a part of HTS herself, she understands the school’s philosophy of inclusion and individual attention at a personal level. She loves all animals and is especially fond of their class pet, Sasha.
Christian recently graduated from Saint Mary’s College with a degree in Kinesiology Health & Human Performance. He started the program E-Hoops at Saint Mary’s which is an inclusive basketball program for typical children and children with special needs. Previously he worked for the City of Lafayette as a Recreational Leader and helped run camps for the kids in the city.
Therapists
Sandra Burke has been working with children and adults with communication difficulties for 15 years. She has worked in several settings, such as home health care, assisted living facilities, special day classes, public and private schools, and university clinics. She received her Master of Science Degree in Communicative Disorders with an emphasis in Speech and Language Pathology from San Francisco State University in 2005. She finished her clinical fellowship year in September 2006 at Hope Technology School. Sandra is a licensed speech-language pathologist, has her national certification through the America Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and obtained a California Credential in Clinical Rehabilitative Services. Prior to graduate school, Sandra studied Special Education and Linguistics at San Francisco State University. She has been trained in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis), Integrated Play Group Therapy, Links to Language, Tomatis Auditory Re-Education Therapy, Feeding Therapy, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
Kokeb has her B.S. in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University and Masters of Science in Health Care Administration Management and Change in Health Care Option at Cal State East Bay. She strongly believes in the value of providing family education and training to help achieve optimal results. Kokeb is very enthusiastic about learning new treatment approaches, and expanding her current therapy box of tools. Kokeb has additional training and certification in Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI), Integrated Listening System (iLs), Advanced Therapeutic Listening, Interactive Metronome (IM), and Handwriting Without Tears.
Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Physical Education from San Francisco State University. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology and teaching credential to become an equipped Adapted Physical Education instructor. Jeff has experience working with collegiate athletes, but his passion remains embedded in creating dynamic inclusive physical activity programs for his students.