Meet The Leaders

Rosemary Riggs, M.A.
Ms. Riggs is responsible for being the main liaison between participating school districts and UT Health San Antonio. Ms. Riggs develops and conducts in-services and trainings for teachers. She works one-on-one with teachers on curriculum development, lesson planning, and adaptations of the materials. Ms.Riggs assists with the analysis and interpretation of the evaluation materials and coordinates with the teacher writing teams to revise the materials.

Shaunna Garner, M.Ed.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I started my career in education in Northeast ISD (NEISD), teaching 8th grade Science over a span of 9 years. I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in December of 2000. After graduation, I was a Project Leader with an AmeriCorps group called City Year. During this year, I worked with students at West Avenue Elementary to help them improve TAKS scores, and performed various community service projects around the San Antonio area. AmeriCorps then awarded me with an education grant to help pay for graduate school. In May of 2004 I graduated with my Master’s degree in Health Education from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The TELA is not my first rodeo with the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health SA), as I was involved with the Teacher Enrichment Initiative’s Positively Aging grant in the summer of 2006. I also helped facilitate collaboration between NEISD and the UT Health SA with my Scrubs Club initiative at the NEISD middle school I taught at for six and a half years. The Scrubs Club was for 8th grade students interested in the medical/health professions.

What inspired you to become a science teacher?
I was inspired to become a science teacher by my high school biology and anatomy/physiology teacher at Churchill. Mrs. Kimble explained concepts in a way I could understand, and was always very complimentary of my performance in class – gave me great confidence in the field of science.

What is your favorite part of teaching?
Hands down, my favorite part of teaching is building relationships with the kids. I try to make most of the extracurricular events to see them outside of the classroom setting, and sing their praises to the parents.

What's your worst pet peeve?
My worst pet peeve is people who speed past me in school zone. I’m thinking of making a brightly colored sign that says ‘SCHOOL ZONE,’ and hold it up to my window when the opportunity presents itself.

Ramon Gleason, B.S.

I started out as a substitute teacher at South San ISD. It was a self-contain class for special needs. I must have shown ability, because the next year, I was offered a job with the same teacher (that was the year that schools had to have students in age appreciate campuses). I found out that I had a knack for working with the special needs population.

I enjoyed three years there. I moved into group home work that specialized in young adults who were on the Autism Spectrum. I got to see how these young adults move from an educational setting into a vocational life as adults in the community. 

After a few years there, I started working in the hospital setting as a nurse’s aid in a mental health unit. I learned  a lot about medial and mental health issues. 

I then returned to being a teaching assistant in North East ISD. Again working with students with special needs.  It would seem that that was where I needed to be.

So, I finished my degree in Organizational Development and went on to get my teaching certification through Region 20.

I landed where I need to be, working with students with special needs. I get to teach them all about science and math. I try to bring as much as I can to this population and expose them to all the fun and exciting aspects of science.    

What inspired you to become a science teacher?
I was inspired to become a teacher by a few people. My mother was in education for almost 40 year and I got to see her work in many areas. Kindergarten, computer labs, and Physical education. My 5^th grade teacher Mr. Monroy, who exposed us to so many things that were outside of 5^th, like music, literature, and mythology. Mrs. Matul and Mrs. Swatner for letting me flex my teacher skills and encouraging to return to school and become a teacher.

What is your favorite part of teaching?
Being with my students. It is fun engaging them, watching them grow, and how they keep asking questions about science. It inspires me to keep learning so that I can continue to pass on all I know to our future generation.

What’s your favorite book?
I am more of a movies guy. Movies like Star Trek and Star Wars that peak my interest in science and the possibilities for the future. Futurama, which surprisingly, use science to entertain, but there is a lot of science content embedded in that show. Any sci-fi show that high lights topics of science and how they could be.

Jennifer Lee, B.S.
Jennifer Lee began teaching 27 year ago. She was inspired to become a teacher as a child by her grandmother; an elementary teacher for over 40 years. As a child, Mrs. Lee loved to help her grandmother set up her classroom and listen to stories about the funny things her kids did.

Mrs. Lee’s greatest goal is to instill a sense of wonder and curiosity in her students.  She wants them to ask BIG questions about their wonderful world. She does this through innovative and creative activities, such as using lemons to strengthen student observation skills and magnified parts of random objects to inspire students with their creative writing. Mrs. Lee’s favorite part about being a teacher is watching the faces of her students light up when they discover something new. The TELA has seen that same expression on the faces of teachers who attend her workshops, as they engage with the same wonderful hands-on activities as her young students.

When Mrs. Lee is not teaching, she loves to explore new places and spend as much time in nature as possible.  She is a devoted mother to her two daughters and enjoys spending time with her family. She also happens to be a musical theater enthusiast! Congratulations, Jennifer Lee!

Diana Natividad, B.S.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a native San Antonian. I graduated from St.Mary's University with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. I received my teaching certification through their education program. I have a young daughter who is my world. Currently I teach in the San Antonio Independent School District at Longfellow Middle School.

What inspired you to become a science teacher?
Science has always been a passion for me. I am an avid animal lover, so naturally I wanted to be a veterinarian. Then I worked as an intern with a local vet and found maybe this is not for me. I did some volunteer work as a girl scout leader and learned that I am pretty good with kids. So my natural step was to sync my love of science to my kid magnet personality and ta-da a middle school science teacher is born. I have been at this for over 16 years and I still love it! I know the impact I have with my students is a vital part of our global society. I am well aware that it is my responsibility to help shape them into the positive productive empathetic global citizens that can sustain our planet.

What is your favorite part of teaching?
My favorite part of teaching is seeing the LMN moment. That's what I call it when my students go “OOOOOH, now I get it!”, I thrive on those moments. I joined the TELA leadership team, because I was very inspired by their mission. I definitely see the need for an organization that is led by teachers and reaches across district boundaries. Establishing a local network of science teachers that serve as a vital resource for one another has been a very rewarding experience. It has allowed me to grow both as an individual and within my class.

What’s your favorite book?
Hands down favorite book is the Harry Potter Series. I owe many of my heartbreaks and true loves to those characters. Always.

Christine Ziese, B.S.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I love animals, enjoy photography and traveling. I speak 4 languages, and love to learn. I have lived in many places (because my dad was military), and was a national student exchange participant in college to Bowling Green State University (in Bowling Green, Ohio), and was a participant in the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) at Northwestern University, my senior year, in Chicago, IL.

What inspired you to become a science teacher?
People had told me for years I would be a good teacher, so when the opportunity arose for me to change careers, I went and became alternately certified. My degree is in Science, and science has always been my love (next to learning languages).

What is your favorite part of teaching?
I love getting others excited about science. I love it when the kids come in and tell me about a real world connection they have made with something we have learned in class.

Can you tell us an interesting fact about yourself that most people don’t know?
I am of Japanese Descent; (I am first born in this country on my mother's side), and I am actually very shy (working at bath and body works in college helped me be able to speak to people I don't know)