Brooke Delello has been a part of the ArtQuest faculty since she began her teaching career in 2006. Delello graduated with a BA in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography and her teaching credential from Sonoma State University. She is the National Art Honor Society advisor and also teaches AP Studio Art, where her students have achieved a 98% passing rate. She is a member of various arts organizations including the NAEA and CAEA and she works for the National College Board as an Advanced Placement judge. With a love of adolescent psychology, sociology, art and alternative education, teaching the arts and being at ArtQuest has been the perfect combination for Delello.
Lauren Frost holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from The University of Kansas, and a Single Subject Credential in Art from Dominican University. Frost began her teaching career in Sonoma County in 2003 and has experience teaching music, environmental science, cultural geography, ceramics, studio arts, graphic design, AP studio art, and digital photography. She is a member of various arts organizations including the NAEA, CAEA, and Adobe Education Exchange. Frost is a graphic designer, painter and illustrator and enjoys spending time with her husband, a musician, and their two daughters.
Jereme Anglin holds a MFA in Acting and works professionally as an actor, director and teacher. Anglin served as Director of Theatre Arts at one of the top ten private high schools in Connecticut. Anglin's own acting training was accomplished at schools such as the Sorbonne in Paris, The Moscow Art Theatre at Harvard, and the University of Connecticut. He has acted in many theaters on the east and west coasts as a member of Actors; Equity Associations, has served as fight choreographer for several productions, holds a black belt in Aikido, and is a practitioner of physical theater and the Suzuki Method of actor training.
Lea Brown is an alumna of SRHS, and has been a dance instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College since 2006. Brown has danced, choreographed, taught, directed, and coached dance and cheerleading locally since 1998 at SSU, Mendocino College, The Dance Center, The Movement Lab, Dance Innovation Studios, and other K-12 educational institutions. Brown has her BA from CSU Long Beach and a Masters degree from SSU. She was a Warrior Girl for the Golden State Warriors and a Gold Rush Cheerleader for the SF 49’ers.
Dainielle Cain has been a working theatre artist in the North Bay for over 20 years. Cain is on the theatre faculties at Sonoma State University and Napa Valley College. She works regularly as a voice, accent, audition, and Shakespeare coach. As a theatre administrator, she’s been an associate artistic director, casting director and media relations manager. Cain trained at the British American Drama Academy, American Conservatory Theatre and received her BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina School of Arts. Both of her children are proud graduates of ArtQuest Theatre Arts!
Tim Decker is an alumni of Santa Rosa High School, graduating in 1998. After graduation from SRHS he earned a Bachelor's of Music in Music Education degree from Sacramento State University, where he studied Instrumental Conducting with Dr. Robert Halseth. Decker has been honored as the Prudential Education Foundation Outstanding Teacher in 2009, The Rohnert Park Patch Readers’ Choice Best Teacher in 2012, and was twice awarded the SF Giants and Wells Fargo Step up to the Plate for Education Grant.
Jonathan Gregory has a Master of Arts in English Literature from San Francisco State University, his Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, his English teaching credential from SSU, and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University-Bloomington, with a minors in Psychology and Economics. Before becoming an English teacher, he worked for twelve years as a civil litigation attorney. Gregory is a songwriter, singer and guitarist with recording and local performing experience, and enjoys painting, reading and writing about art, and studying art law.
John Sappington is an artist/educator working in photography and digital media. He graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Kansas City Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute, both with a specialization in Photography. Sappington has taught Digital Media, Photography and Graphic Design throughout the Bay Area since 2000 and at the Santa Rosa Junior College since 2003. He freelances as an IT consultant, designer and photographer to non-profit arts organizations, artists and small businesses.
Marla Tusa grew up in rural Canada where she developed a love of choral music. Tusa has a Bachelor of Music degree from Brandon University and a Bachelor of Education from Vancouver Island University. She has over 15 years of classroom experience, 20 years of private piano and voice lesson experience, and has directed youth and adult choirs, musical theater productions, rock bands, and concert bands. She has taught music at many elementary schools, most recently at Proctor Terrace Elementary. Tusa has sung with choirs her whole life and now sings alto with the chamber ensemble Cantiamo Sonoma.
Megan Whyte has been an English and Fine Arts Drama teacher at Santa Rosa High School since 2001. She joined the ArtQuest program in 2011 where she teaches ArtQuest English to mostly 9th and 10th graders. She earned degrees in Social Science, Fine Arts & Humanities, and English at Sonoma State University. She enjoys playing music, mostly guitar and piano, and enjoys performing in occasional community theater productions.
Hollis Fennen began teaching English at SRHS in 1997. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors from Pacific Union College, she earned her English Teaching Credential from Sonoma State University. Her aptitude for helping others learn new skills began as a teenager, teaching harp lessons and martial arts classes. In addition to teaching ArtQuest English and Advanced Placement Language and Composition, Fennen enjoys being an editor for the ArtQuest anthologies.
Janet Fisher graduated from Manchester University in the UK with an emphasis in History of Art and Ceramics. After graduating Fisher worked for arts organizations in London and then in Hong Kong. She moved to the US in the 90’s. She has exhibited in Sebastopol and Sonoma, and has worked for Transitioning Families, an organization that facilitates reconnection to estranged families as an art tutor. Fisher received her MA in Education and her teaching credential from the University of San Francisco in 2016. Her two daughters are graduates of ArtQuest.
Casey Elsa has been teaching English since the dawn of time. She teaches freshmen ArtQuest and Honors English, and is the current English Department Chair. Over the years she's worked with other AQ teachers on the AQ Anthology, short films representing the creative works of her students, and Poetry Out Loud. She graduated from UC Riverside and went on to obtain her teaching credential. Elsa also publishes and advises the student newspaper, The Santa Rosan and the student yearbook, The Echo. Her daughter was a member of AQ for her four years at SRHS and loved her time within this community.
Jason Pedri is a professional videographer who has been operating a local production company for 26 years. His company has garnered more than 20 awards of excellence and recently named Best Video Production Company of Sonoma County. Pedri graduated from Sonoma State University with a degree in Communications in Film and Video production. Jason is also currently coaching for our own Santa Rosa High Panthers football team. Jason has a passion for film and video and enjoys sharing that passion with his students.
