Our faculty.
A dynamic, kind team of gifted educators who help our kids thrive.
Nichole Bond
“Being at GATE is so much fun! The kids are inquisitive and interested — with freedom to explore deeply, nothing ever gets boring or repetitive. Our faculty is dynamic, kind, and a great team helping our kids thrive!”
Nichole holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics from UNLV and completed five years of postdoctoral work at the NIH and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. A lifelong teacher, she uses her scientific background to inspire GATE’s next generation of thinkers, scientists and leaders. In her spare time, Nichole enjoys hiking with her dogs on Mt. Tam. She also volunteers as a Marriage and Family Therapist in training at the First Responder Support Network and the Marin Foster Care Association.
Kristen Huang
“I thrive balancing excellent plans and teachable moments in inquiry and project-based environments.”
Kristen's background spans a wide variety of locations and experiences, from directing the Children's Discovery Center Preschool in Texas, to teaching in The Navajo Nation (Arizona), Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Novato, to being a Marin Master Gardener, to parenting two gifted children. Kristen attended University of Texas, Austin and gained her bachelor's degree in Educational Psychology. She obtained her master's degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education. At every step of her career, Kristen has been involved with children and education, as a student, as a professional, and as a volunteer.
Roland Johnson
“Daily PE gives our GATE kids tools for life — sportsmanship is self-management, connection, responsibility, resilience and adaptability.”
Coach Johnson has over 25 years of experience with physical education in public and private schools, and in afterschool programs as well. He has an extensive background in hip hop dance form, teaching master classes and popular summer camps. Coach Johnson helps children understand that physical activity is important to lifelong health and happiness, as well as being a great way to stretch out their bodies after a morning exercising their minds. He mixes up his classes between the national physical education standards activity recommendations, dance performance, and outdoor exploration on the GATE campus. Coach Johnson is also well versed in mindfulness and believes that treating others with respect is one of the first steps to success in life. Coach Johnson is a respected leader for the GATE kids and exceptionally suited to serving as Dean of Students.
Tracy Mardigian-Kiles
“It’s a tremendous pleasure to nurture students’ enthusiasm and help them reach their very high potential!”
Tracy Mardigian-Kiles obtained her BA in International Relations/Economics from Tufts University and her MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Study. Her career included positions at the United Nations Development Programme, the U.S. State Department and the World Bank before moving to California with her husband to raise their children near family. An avid writer, Tracy is at work on a re-draft of a novel and loves to teach language arts and creative writing. She has extensive tutoring and curriculum development experience and created the content for several training programs as part of her duties at the United Nations. She began her involvement at GATE as a temporary math teacher and is delighted to have an even bigger role as classroom teacher.
Bee Schlotz
“I love teaching at GATE because it’s an environment where kids with unique social and educational needs can flourish.”
Bee Schlotz obtained her BA in Linguistics and MA in Education from University of California, Santa Cruz, with postgraduate work in Educational Therapy through UCLA, UCSCx and the Making Math Real Institute. She's been teaching in the Bay Area for 15 years, working primarily with gifted and 2e populations. A Bay Area native, she lives in Oakland with her two kids.
Theo Knox
“GATE is a wonderful place for hands-on experimentation, lots of questions, and excitement about our world.”
Theo holds a BFA from Alfred University, has taught for over fifteen years in Marin, and has been a teaching artist in Vallejo Public Schools for five years. Over this time, Theo has worked on developing and refining project-based curriculum that combines art & science as a starting point for observing and understanding the world.
Cherstin Nash
“I love to learn, and here at GATE I can learn along with my students!”
Cherstin holds a B.A in Early Childhood and Adolescent Development from San Francisco State. She believes everyone should be able to learn at their own pace. Here at GATE she enjoys that the children are working to their full potential. She has two adult children who live in Southern California, but most of her family is still on the East Coast, where she likes to spend her vacations. Cherstin enjoys reading, swimming and living in Mill Valley which gives her easy access to all the museums that she loves while living 30 minutes from the beach and Mt Tam.
Sandy Jacklin
“GATE’s students, teachers and parents create the most wonderful community of learners — the students are engaged, and most of all, happy.”
Sandy graduated from San Francisco State in Early Childhood Education and taught preschool for many years. A former President of the Marin Association for the Education of Young Children and appointed commissioner on the Marin Childcare Commission, Sandy has guest lectured on early childhood education at venues around California. With years of experience running a large pre-K classroom at Marin Day Schools/Bright Horizons, Sandy knows how organization and communications can help make everything run smoothly at a small school. We are so grateful to have her to support the students and teachers!
Julia Amber Adams
Julia Adams trained with Marin Dance Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company’s BLUEPRINT program. She taught ballet for five years at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and contributed to its Adaptive Dance and Education programs. Julia currently develops curriculum and courses for the PBT–Chatham University dance program and serves as adjunct faculty at Chatham University.
Dawn Madole-Nkomonde
Dawn Madole-Nkomonde (Ms. Dawn) is an accomplished violinist, performer and teacher. She teaches our lower and upper school music enrichment classes on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to teaching at GATE, Dawn performs with the Marin and Vallejo Symphonies, teaches 20+ private violin students throughout Marin County (including at GATE), as well as at the Crowden Music Center. Dawn was awarded the Private Music Instructor Teacher of the Year award from the Marin Symphony in 2019. She holds a BA in Music from UC Berkeley.
Virginie Biolay
Virginie studied languages at Rennes University in Brittany France and she graduated and majored at the St. Germain university of languages of Paris. While living for three years in Bora Bora French Polynesia, Virginie taught students from all over the world. Now living in Marin for the last thirty years, Virginie has had the pleasure of teaching private students of all ages.
Chris Alexander
Chris holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University, U.K. Chris delights in exploring literature of all types, including short stories, song lyrics, and novels. Chris has been teaching English language arts and ethics for many years at the high school level, and is also an accomplished French and German teacher. In his minimal spare time, Chris is part of a rock music band, and he is an intrepid dog walker, too!
Sita Venkataramani
Sita has over four decades of experience as a Software Engineer working in various sectors of the industry. He graduated from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India from where he received his two degrees, a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Management & Systems. He and his wife are longtime residents of Marin, and during his free time he loves to read, go on long hikes, and travel the world. He is also learning to play the guitar and is absolutely loving it.
Mark Gerhard
Mark Gerhard loves teaching art to GATE students more than just about anything. He has years of teaching experience from professional and college level all the way up to kindergarten. He has been a professional artist, illustrator, graphic designer and animator since 1972, and has taught worldwide for over 25 years. He holds a BA in Practice of Art from UC Berkeley. He is also a writer and musician, performing classical Hindustani music on tabla. Mr. Gerhard’s goal is to spark the imagination and connect children with their creative spirit, so they can enjoy the fun and freedom that comes from artistic expression.