2017 Cohort
11 Teachers * 8 Companies * 5 Weeks
WYNCODE
Wyncode provides a 10 week full-time development boot camp immersing ambitious individuals in a demanding and inspiring learning environment engineered to develop successful coders with business acumen. Wyncode promotes programming literacy using a disruptive education model and feel that a boot camp environment is the best way to learn practical and relevant coding skills quickly.
CLASSWALLET
ClassWallet revolutionizes the way teachers get and spend money for their classrooms. Instead of dealing with cash, checks and paper, teachers establish an online account: the ClassWallet. With it, they can collect and manage money, shop for education products and keep track of spending—all on one integrated platform.
A Miami native, Bria Gay-Mitchell is a 2015 TFA Alum who is continuing her third year at North County K8 Center, where she teaches middle school math. Before her graduation from Howard University, Bria was accepted into the Walton Education Reform Program and interned with Teach For America at their national office in NYC. This experience drove her to apply for TFA in her hometown. This summer she is interning with Wyncode and is excited to learn useful skills that she can apply in this upcoming school year!
Sukhman Sandhu is a 2016 Teach for America corp member in Miami-Dade County. Originally from Livermore, CA she graduated from the University of the Pacific, where she studied English and Ethnic Studies. She now teaches 9th and 10th grade English at Miami Norland Sr. High School. As an intern of ClassWallet she hopes to expand on her understanding of how new programs can innovate and benefit educators, parents and students outside of the classroom.
CODE FEVER
CodeFever is a nonprofit that empowers underprivileged communities by increasing the number of students between the ages of 13 and 21 who code, create technology and become entrepreneurs within their communities.
Michelle Cunningham is a 2012 Miami-Dade Teach For America (TFA) corps member. Michelle started her career at Miami Norland Senior high school teaching Reading. She now teaches English at Western high school. Michelle participated in TFA summer startup for the past two years. During this time, she gained a lot of experience in entrepreneurship from interning at Redbird and Venture Hive. This year, Michelle wants to deepen her knowledge of entrepreneurship and how she can use it to have an impact on education.
Priscilla J. Harris is a witty, creative, intellectual originally from Chicago, IL. She came to Miami as a 2016 TFA Corps member eager to teach and continue her education. She currently teaches 5th grade Language Arts in Little Haiti. As an intern for Code Fever she looks to expand her knowledge and learn ways to teach and create jobs for low-income families.
​
​
VENTURE HIVE
Venture Hive exists to energize, educate, and cultivate entrepreneurs at three levels of engagement. Venture Hive Accelerator and Incubator programs focus on connectivity and guidance for entrepreneurs and startups to maximize regional economic development impact. Venture Hive Prep™ and Venture Hive U™ student programs foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at the high school and university levels.
Elliott Brandsma is a 2016 TFA--Miami Dade corps member, who currently teaches 10th Grade Writing at Miami Edison Senior High School in Little Haiti. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he completed his B.A. in English Education and Art at Texas State University--San Marcos in 2013. After finishing his undergraduate studies, he studied Icelandic language and literature at the University of Iceland as a Fulbright scholar for one year and later completed his M.A. in English at the same university in June 2016. He joined the Start Up Summer program to learn more about how education and entrepreneurship can motivate positive social change.
Andrew Mendosa, or Drew, is a former educator/mentor turned food entrepreneur. As a Teach for America Corp Member, Drew taught History and coached boys soccer at Miami Norland Senior High School. He recently traded in the chalkboard for the cutting board and joined forces with his talented wife Chef Nardia. Together the couple own and operate Lovely Roots Gourmet, a personal chef and catering business with an emphasis on organic, plant-based foods. Drew is the proud father of two beautiful boys. He enjoys music, reading, soccer, Qi Gong, and spending time in nature.
Hero is cloud-based student behavior management software for schools and districts. School-wide behavior data captured in real-time fuels PBIS & RTI efforts.
HERO K12
Experienced educator seeking to apply data-driven methodologies and management skills to solve complex problems.
Born in Miami, but raised in Atlanta, GA., Denzel is a Teach for America alumnus. Denzel taught at both Miami Northwestern SHS as well as Norland SHS as an English teacher for 9th and 10th grade. He brings a wealth of experience to the "preverbal" table from having served as an SUS intern in 2014 as well as 2015. His favorite quote is, "Trust the process."
WYNWOOD MAKER CAMP (01)
CARIBU
Caribu integrates children’s books into a child-friendly video calling app, providing a truly engaging communication experience for kids and their families.
01 is a Miami based education and research facility for teaching students coding, design, development, and virtual reality technology.
Born in Panama, Central America, Andy Caesar is entering his 3rd year teaching upper division mathematics at Miami Northwestern Senior High School. An International Business Major whose studies spanned 3 continents, Andy brings a global perspective to the Miami start-up landscape. When not at the whiteboard, he is also the Boys & Girls soccer coach at Northwestern, working diligently to develop the soccer community in Liberty City. Early on in his educational career, Andy realized that many students find their ‘comparative advantage’ lies in technology based fields. The sector’s relative infancy has temporarily protected it from widespread systemic inequity. However, all trends lead to an opportunity gap similar to that seen in more traditional careers, leading Andy to advocate for tech/programming initiatives in our underserved schools before it’s too late.
Born and raised in the vibrant city of Miami, Jessenia Guerra is the proud daughter of immigrants hailing from Nicaragua and Cuba. She became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning her B.S. in psychology from the University of Florida and her M.S. in educational studies from Johns Hopkins University. After completing her undergraduate degree, Jessenia returned home to become a Teach for America corps member and elementary school teacher for three years. Since then she has served as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Graduate Fellow at National Council of la Raza (NCLR) and the office of U.S. Representative Marcia Fudge (OH-11).
STARTUP SUMMER INTERN
TFA to Startup is a six week internship program that places Teach For America Corps Members and Alumni in area startups to learn more about innovation, gain new skills, and positively contribute to the broader community.
Jessica Peralta is a 2012 Miami-Dade TFA Alumnus who has experience teaching ELA, reading, and ESOL to grades K-12. She is a recent mother to her first born Ethan and is planning to teach once again in the fall. Jessica has been part of TFA's Start Up Summer Program since its inception and is eager to work as the managing intern again this summer!