Santa Barbara, CA  MetLife Fellows Bios

Kristin Anderson is currently a teacher at Maple High School, an alternative high school in the Lompoc Unified School District. Kristin teaches a variety of subjects including, California requirements, leadership, parenting, social studies and social science. Kristin is also the career teacher and coordinator at Maple High.

Kristin has a single subject teaching credential in Social Science, CLAD, and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been a speaker at the California Continuation Education Association for her work with her Leadership class, which was awarded the title of “Exemplary Program.” This title assisted Maple High School in the designation of being a “Model School.”

Kristen Burke teaches a self contained, third grade, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Class. This year will be Kristen’s13th year as a teacher. Kristen became an Early Childhood Generalist, National Board Certified Teacher in 2002. She holds a California State Reading Specialist’s Credential, and a master’s degree in Education in Reading. Kristen has been awarded multiple Impact II recognitions for her excellence in teaching including Team Coaching Grants, Technology Grants, Care & Share, and Service Learning Projects.

Linda Edwards teaches fourth grade at Cold Spring School in Santa Barbara, California. She has been a teacher for 11 years now. Linda is a fellow of the South Coast Writing Project and the California History-Social Science Project. She administers the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program at Cold Spring School and works as the service-learning liaison as well. Linda has been working towards, and has recently received her preliminary administrative services credential.

Emily Kang, Research Advisor – University of California, Santa Barbara
This is Emily's first year as a university-based consultant to the Santa Barbara TNLI Affiliate. She assists in teaching the ongoing seminars, and specializes in research design, methodology, analysis, technological tools, and academic writing. She believes that her role is that of facilitator, rather than model or leader. Emily is an advocate for teacher action research as it is a true representative of the kinds of beliefs and practices needed in strong K-12 education.

Emily taught second grade for three years and health/earth science for five years at Vandenberg Middle School in Lompoc, CA. She has taught in UCSB’s Teacher Education Program for three years, supervising secondary science teacher candidates and teaching such courses as Elementary Science Methods for Teachers, Science Professional Issues, Practicum in Classroom Management, and a course for the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT). She has been involved in the masters of education process as a facilitator to teacher candidates. She is also currently teaching and writing a grant for the Science and Mathematics Initiative (SMI) at UCSB, which focuses on recruiting exemplary Science and Mathematics undergraduates to the teaching profession. Emily brings an extensive background in teaching, teacher preparation, and guiding action research to TNLI.

Emily is in her final year of the PhD program at UC Santa Barbara pursuing a degree in Science Education, with a specialization in Teacher Education and Professional Development.  Her research interests include: bridging the gap between high-stakes testing and inquiry-based instruction in science classrooms, ways to incorporate differentiation and literacy strategies into the curriculum, teacher professional development, and teacher pedagogical content knowledge.

Luke Laurie is an eighth grade science teacher at El Camino Jr. High in Santa Maria, California. He teaches a Robotics Science Class, coordinates UCSB's RoboChallenge program, and is a MESA advisor. Mr. Laurie won the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence in 2005, and the Venoco Crystal Apple Award in 2000. Mr. Laurie is the 2009 Santa Barbara County’s Teacher of the Year.

Petti M. Pfau, the new Director of Teacher Programs at the Santa Barbara County (CA) Education Office, has just come aboard as one of Teachers Network’s newest affiliate director for TNLI in Santa Barbara California. Petti has a background of 37 years and has taught every grade level from kindergarten through college. During the last 12 years, Petti has also taught teacher technology classes through CTAP (California Technology Assistance Project) and BTSA (Beginning Teachers Support and Assessment).

Mary Post is a Special Education Teacher At Foothill School in Goleta, California. She teaches 4th-6th grade students with mild learning disabilities. Mary has been a teacher since 1990. She has two Master’s Degrees, one in Special Education and the other in Educational Leadership. She currently holds Administrative Level I certification, and is actively seeking principalship.