The Skirball Teacher Advisory Council (STAC) is an exciting, collaborative group of active classroom teachers who partner closely with the Skirball’s Education department. As champions for LA County’s diverse student populations, STAC members share our mission to inspire empathy, collaboration, and community. This vibrant group of educators and leaders meets regularly to co-create and implement innovative programming and lesson plans that benefit students and fellow teachers alike.
Please note: Applications for the 2024–2025 school year are now closed.
Questions? Email education@skirball.org.
We want to connect with passionate educators who:
- Are active classroom teachers eager to explore and develop new opportunities for students
- Emphasize social and emotional learning in their teaching
- Are committed to advancing both new and ongoing Skirball educational initiatives
- Have experience with arts integration and/or community-based projects
Funding provided by Specified General Fund for the Museum Grant Program under the California Cultural and Historical Endowment.
2024–2025 Teacher Advisory Council—Active Members
Cynthia White Anderson, Grades 9-12 Teacher at East Valley Senior High
A teaching philosophy of change agent Cynthia White Anderson is, “Art classrooms are optimum learning environments when the students are the artists.” She uses the Skirball Cultural Center’s rich educational materials and primary resources to empower the artist in each student. Anderson promotes social justice, curiosity, and equitable and inclusive educational opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. Her Advanced Placement 2D Art course was selected for Skirball Cultural Center’s In-School Residency Program in Spring 2024. She received the National Art Education Association 2021 Northwest Region Pre-Service Educator of the Year and California State University Northridge 2022 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. She has taught art in Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Haiti, Thailand, and English in Japan through the JET Program. She currently serves as her school's Electives’ Department Chairperson and is the sponsor of the Environmental Club and volunteers with art and behavioral services non-profit, 2BHappy.
Maria Guerrero, Grades 6–8 Dual Language Arts Teacher at Lennox Middle School
For the past twenty-six years, Maria Guerrero has been a middle school educator in the Lennox community. A proud member of the Lennox Middle School faculty, she has taught multiple subjects in both English and Spanish to first-generation students, and newcomers to the country. Maria is passionate about introducing her students to the importance of knowing and becoming more of themselves and pursuing higher education. A first-generation student herself, she hopes to inspire her students to continue their education and create the lives of their dreams.
Maria Mendez, Teacher at Lennox Middle School
Maria Mendez is in her fifteenth year of teaching. She started teaching in New York City, and for the last nine years has been teaching at Lennox Middle School. Maria has her master's degree in teaching English Language Arts, is a Reading Specialist, and is pursuing an additional certification in Social Studies. Over the last seven years, Maria has attended the Reading and Writing Project of Columbia University professional development multiple times. During her career, she has strived to create engaging activities to motivate students in their study of literature and writing. Many were struggling learners, and she was sensitive to their varied academic needs and interests. Maria’s passion is to help struggling readers and writers develop and improve their voices, be successful, and feel confident.
Christina Muraczewski, High School Teacher at Loyola High School
Christina Muraczewski has been a practicing visual artist since childhood and has worked in arts education for over twenty years. She holds a CA Single Subject Teaching Credential in Art and a certificate in Design Thinking and Creativity from Stanford d.school in addition to a Masters in Fine Arts. Christina is in her second year of teaching visual arts at Loyola High School and the Fine Arts Department Chair this year. Christina previously taught at St. Mary’s Academy for thirteen years where she served as the Arts Careers Program Director and was awarded California Art Education Association’s Outstanding Visual Arts Administrator and CAEA’s Exemplary Visual Arts Program in 2023. Christina shares her passion for creating with her students and exposing them to the art world that exists around them. Christina believes that the arts are an essential component of education no matter the discipline and that it offers unique opportunities for students to develop their creativity, critical thinking, and twenty-first century communication skills. She strives to create an environment where students feel empowered to find their creative voice and become effective storytellers to have their voices heard.
2024–2025 Teacher Advisory Council—Alumni Members
Martha Cervantes, Grade 2 Teacher at Suva Elementary School
Martha Cervantes has been a teacher for over twenty years. She holds a multiple-subject teaching credential with a bilingual Spanish certification and a Master's in Educational Technology. Martha has a passion for teaching English-language learners and mentoring new teachers. She is a member of the Montebello Teacher Induction Program Advisory Board. Martha believes that Skirball Cultural Center is a special place and is excited to introduce it to her students and her friends. In her free time, she enjoys walks in nature and gardening.
Gina Debuque, Reading Intervention Teacher at Sendak Elementary School and ACT Magnet
Gina Debuque taught second graders at Vena Gifted Magnet for more than twenty years. She is loving her new challenge as an intervention teacher—helping young readers break the code. To engage her students, she incorporates the arts and multimedia into her daily lessons. Gina used to be a professional ballerina and enjoys playing the ukulele. She was named Teacher of the Year for LAUSD in 2016–2017. Her core belief is that children come to school not just to learn subjects, but to become the best version of the wonderful human beings they are.
Claudia Felix, Grade 8 Teacher at Bell Gardens Intermediate
Claudia Felix spent half of her twenty plus years teaching in kindergarten and grade 1 classrooms. The other half of her teaching career has been in middle school, where she tries to support students as they transition into their teen years. Teaching is her passion, and she tries to guide her students as she instills skills that help them to become lifelong learners. Another great interest of Claudia’s is learning about various cultures, which has led her to do a little travelling and learn first-hand about the commonalities that unite us and the differences that make us so unique. She looks forward to forming part of the Skirball community and contributing to its growth.
Jane Ching Fung, Retired Educator
Jane Fung is a part-time Math Coach for the UCLA Math Project and a retired elementary school teacher, with thirty-six years of experience teaching early childhood education in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She is National Board Certified, a Milken Educator, and was named LAUSD Teacher of the Year in 2021. Jane is a proud mother of two sons, a senior dog, and a seventy-five-pound puppy. Her passions include early childhood education, taiko drumming, Zumba, and exploring art. One of Jane’s greatest joys has been providing her students with enriching field trip experiences. For the past nineteen years, she has taken classes at the Skirball Cultural Center and looks forward to continuing her work with museums, students, and educators in retirement.
Shannon Garrison, Grade 5 Teacher at Stonehurst STEAM Magnet School
Shannon Garrison is a National Board-Certified educator with twenty-seven years of classroom experience. In 2008, she received the Milken National Educator Award. Shannon served two terms on the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress. She was named a Teacher of the Year for LAUSD and Los Angeles County in 2016–2017 and was a semifinalist for California Teacher of the Year. A highlight of her career was being selected to carry the Olympic torch in Scotland for the 2012 London Olympics. Shannon currently teaches 5th grade at Stonehurst STEAM Magnet in Los Angeles, California.
Loribeth Mau, Grade 6 Teacher at Robert Hill Lane Elementary School
Loribeth Mau is a passionate sixth grade educator at Robert Hill Lane Elementary School. As a National Board-Certified Teacher with twenty years of experience and a Science and Engineering teacher leader within the Division of Instruction in LAUSD, she has a great love of working with both students and teachers! Her favorite activity outside of school is exploring national parks with her husband, three kids, and their dog, Gummy.
Polina Protensko, Upper School Art Teacher at Landon School in Bethesda, MD
Polina Protsenko is an educator and artist herself! She previously taught elementary school and now has moved onto her third year at Loyola High School in Los Angeles as a visual art teacher and chair of the fine and performing arts department. Prior to teaching, she divided her time amongst nonprofit work at Open Doors Art (Massachusetts); which increases access, participation, and representation of people with disabilities in the arts to develop an art-integrated learning experience that promotes inclusion and supports academic, social, and emotional growth, and Dramatic Results (California); which engages students through hands-on in-class and out-of-school art programs, as well as provides professional development for classroom teachers. Polina believes that the mastery of craft comes in service of developing conceptual thinking through experimentation of various approaches. Students, teachers, staff, and faculty all have something to offer, and building upon those skills leads to open-mindedness and civic responsibility within our culture.
Dolly Sanders, Grade 3 Teacher at Grant Elementary School
Dolly Sanders has more than twenty-seven years of teaching experience at the elementary school level. A big believer in constructivist teaching, Dolly supports the theory that learning occurs best when students are actively involved in constructing their knowledge as opposed to passively receiving information. Second only to teaching is her great love of travel. She’s traveled extensively throughout six of the seven continents. Dolly has been fortunate to have the opportunity to combine her two passions—education and travel—by teaching in Nepal as well as Korea. Dolly has Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Language, and Academic Development (BCLAD) authorization in both Spanish and Russian.
Nadine Shindel, Grade Kindergarten Teacher at Lake Balboa College Preparatory School
Nadine Shindel is in her twenty-sixth year of teaching with LAUSD. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Deaf Studies from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), with focuses on teaching; speech and language, audiometry, and linguistics. She holds a Child Development Certificate, a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, and a Mild/Moderate Disabilities Credential for K through Grade 12. She has taught students at every grade level TK-5 with Gifted and Talented Abilities, Mild Disabilities, English Language Learners, and/or “Typical” abilities. She spent a year as a school Coordinator to learn the behind-the-scenes collaboration with administration, staff, parents, and students. Nadine teaches her students to value and grow with their mistakes because, as actress Helen Hayes poignantly shared, “Every expert was once a beginner.”
Susie Shiver, Grades 3–5 Teacher at Lassen Elementary School
Susie Shiver is a National Board-Certified Education Specialist. She has been teaching students with special needs for the past thirty-plus years. As an advocate of inclusive education, Susie believes all children learn better when provided opportunities to work and play alongside their same-aged peers. When she is not teaching, she spends time with her family and various pets. Susie has a passion for social studies, art, and traveling to historically rich destinations.