FACULTY
Alessandra Pantano is a Professor of Teaching in the Mathematics Department at UC Irvine. Her research interests are in representation theory and in math education. She enjoys teaching and doing community outreach. She is also very committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in education.
Sandra Simpkins, Ph.D. in developmental psychology, is a Professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Education. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Prof. Simpkins is the Director for the UCI Center for Afterschool and Summer Excellence.
Kenny Ascher is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at UC Irvine. He obtained his PhD from Brown University in 2017 and was a postdoc at MIT and Princeton University. His research interests are algebraic and arithmetic geometry.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Daniel Morrison is a 6th Year Graduate Student in the Math Department at UC Irvine researching cohomology of symplectic manifolds. They are also interested in math education and curriculum design as ways to spread interest in math and make inclusive and effective learning environments.
Karl Zieber acquired their BS and MS in Mathematics from Cal Poly SLO before becoming a PhD student at UCI. Their research interests include probability, graph theory, and dynamics, particularly symbolic dynamics. In addition to being passionate about encouraging underrepresented groups in math and STEM, Karl enjoys cooking, weightlifting, and reading.
SPECIAL ADVISORS
Amylene (Amy) Cabrera is a Mathematics teacher at Fallbrook High School in San Diego. She got her Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and a Secondary Teaching Credential with the UCI Calteach program. She worked with Math CEO as a mentor and a room leader from 2017-2019. She also is former president of the UCI Swing club and loves to swing dance.
Shavonne Donoghue is a Math Teacher at Fallbrook High School, in North County San Diego. She received her Bachelors of Science in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis in Education from UC Riverside. She loves to share the beauty of math with her students.
Randie Levine-Williams is a retired math teacher. She received her BA in Mathematics from UCLA and her MA in Education from University of Redlands. She also spent twelve years in computer sales and marketing. Her goal as a teacher has always been to create a fun, cooperative-learning environment utilizing hands-on activities.
Viên Nguyen most recently worked in Technology at Morgan Stanley and previously taught at MIT and Columbia. She received her AB in Applied Math from Harvard and PhD in Operations Research from Stanford. Viên takes great joy in working with students and sharing their sense of discovery as they progress along their mathematical journeys.
TEACHER PARTNERS
Fernando Gutierrez is a Math teacher at Lathrop Intermediate. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and attended SAUSD as a student and graduated from Saddleback High School in 2000. He majored in Mathematics at UCR has been teaching for 15 years and loves it!!!
Edward is a teacher and helps with UCI CEO Math Club at Carr Intermediate School in Santa Ana. He has been teaching math in Santa Ana for ten years. He holds his bachelor’s degree in Math Education from CSULB and master’s degree in Math Education from CSUF.
UNDERGRAD LEARNING ASSISTANTS
Aimy is a third year student at UC Irvine majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Accounting. In her free time, she loves exploring the nature around us by going out on runs or walks and also finding new food spots around OC.
Alyssa is a second year Education Sciences and English double major who hopes to become a teacher in the future. As an avid reader and writer, Alyssa can often be found reading books and writing poetry! When she’s not doing that, Alyssa loves hiking and traveling to new places.
Bryan is a second year education sciences major at UCI. He has worked with Math CEO as a mentor and learning assistant since 2022. He is interested in pursuing teaching and hopes to become a college professor in the near future.
Zach is a second year student at UC Irvine majoring in Mathematics with a concentration in Mathematical Finance. He has always had a passion for teaching and loves mathematics as a whole.
Angie is a second-year Education major with a minor in Bilingual Education. She loves working with others and making friendships along the way. She loves Disney and her favorite movie is Tangled.
PREVIOUS COLLABORATORS
Jasmina Matasovic is a Math Teacher at MacArthur Intermediate. She was part of the Math CEO leadership team from Fall 2014 to Spring 2023. Prior to moving to MacArthur Intermediate, she was Teacher Liaison and Coordinator of the UCI STEMath Club at Carr Intermediate. She holds a graduate degree from UCLA and Teaching Credentials from UCI.
Jinseok Sung graduated from UC Irvine in 2020 with his BA in Education Sciences. He is now a Mathematics Teacher at Rise Kohyang Middle School. In his free time, he likes to cook and bake, and he also loves to watch dog and cat videos.
Shoo Seto is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at California State University, Fullerton. He obtained his PhD in Mathematics at UC Irvine in 2015. His research interests lie in differential geometry and geometric analysis. He is also the Co-Coordinator of the Fullerton Math Circle.
Weihan Shao obtained his mathematics bachelor degree in University of California, Irvine in 2023. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics from Rutgers University. Weihan has done research in Topological Data Analysis, and currently has interest in Graph Theory, Partial Differential Equations, Geometry, and Topology.