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.