STAR
Welcome to the STAR Page!
STAR Staff Biographies
STAR Program Director Valerie Neumark
comes to STAR Education and Meadows Elementary with her Master‘s Degree in
Education from Pepperdine University as well as her Teaching Credential in Art.
She has organized as well as taught within a variety of K-12 programs throughout
Los Angeles, San Diego, and Boston. Valerie is very excited to join the Meadows
Community and hopes to help the STAR Program reach its full potential.
Mixed Media Susan Hungness holds a B.A. in Art Eduation from Southern
Illinois University, and is credentialed in both California and Illinois. For
eight years, Susan was a public school elementary art teacher in Waukegan,
Illinois. She has also worked for several art enrichment companies and has
taught numerous art classes through several park and recreation departments. For
the past two years, Susan has worked for STAR Education, where she creates art
curriculum and teaches at six different campuses within the Los Angeles area.
STAR Chess Timothy Taylor is the current Santa Monica Chess Club Champion
and has won not only the US Open but state tournaments in New York,
Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee as well. He is a STAR
veteran and is happy to join us at Meadows.
STAR Science Tanya Silva is a current UCLA graduate student in Biology.
She holds her B.A. in Organismic, Biology, Ecology and Evolution. She has done
field research in Nicaragua and has led forest clean-ups throughout California.
Though new to STAR, Tanya comes to Meadows with four years teaching experience.
STAR Eco Station Kaley Copeland joins STAR with a conviction to teach
children to respect animals and the environment. After receiving her BFA in
Dance from the California Institute of the Arts, she took employment as a
veterinary technician in a clinic in the South Bay where she has found true
enjoyment working with animal wildlife.