Your Academic Committee Representatives 2018-19

by BITE staff

A new school year means new teacher representatives for the Academic Committee! This year we have expanded the number of teacher representatives on the Committee, aiming for a more balanced representation of teacher perspectives. CTE and ESL positions were specifically recruited to add to the academic in-custody and community programs that were represented last year. 

Read on to meet your reps! 

southern california:

Burcu Harbert, In-Custody

​BG is an educational facilitator (teacher) in LA County jail system. Her educational background and work experience are in languages, English teaching, film, media and creative writing. She taught stage movement, creative writing and a history of world cinema courses. Her passion and mission is to inspire her students to become lifelong learners.

ms. q, CTE

​ A Life Skills Instructor in SoCal who has a passion for bringing out the best in her students, she is motivated to bring education and provide second chances to the under-served communities. Her background is includes American Sign Language, Anger Management class, Parenting class, Transitional Life Skills and Substance Abuse class. She also has experience working with developmentally disabled students. Her motto is "keep on keepin' on" because she believes that although life can be a struggle, there is always a way to persevere so that you can achieve your goals

clarence Rudy Brown, cte

​Clarence Rudy Brown teaches life skills to the students at Men Central Jail Downtown Los Angeles. He has been teaching life skills for seven years within LASD and prior to teaching he was a Job Development Specialist for a local WorkSource Center, and Fatherhood instructor for a local continuation school. He is a certified parenting and fatherhood instructor, certified motivational career coach and a gang prevention/interventionist. He brings his passion and expertise to the classroom as a contributor to the Five Keys mission and vision. Rudy desires to reach one person at a time with hope of sharing knowledge how to develop a pre-release preparation philosophy through education and life skills. 

Shelly Gutensohn, Community

​I have been an Education Specialist with Five Keys for the past four years.  I teach at Pitchess Detention Center and the Pacoima community sites, and provide mental health services to students in San Bernardino County and in the Boyle Heights region.  Prior to Five Keys, I worked with teenagers in a psychiatric hospital setting and then taught 8th grade at a school for students with emotional disturbances and behavior disorders.  My goals at Five Keys include bringing a greater awareness to mental health issues that affect our students and increasing social emotional learning opportunities in the classrooms.

northern california:

John beisner, Community

Timothy Blasquez, CTE

I currently teach on the Self Determination Project -- also known as "the Bus" -- and at OMI/E Beacon. I've been a Five Keys Teacher for 3 years -- both in jail and in the community. Before that I worked as an ESL teacher for 3 years in Chicago, Chile, and the Bay Area and for the National Park Service in Colorado for 3 years. I'm excited to be on the Academic Committee to represent the perspective of my peers, especially regarding the student experience. I hope to embody a strong voice for student advocacy. ​

Hi, my name is Timothy A. Blasquez, the A. can stand for many things, depending on how we know each other. I am a CTE teacher at Five Keys covering Substance Abuse through Computer classes for the last couple years. Before that, I worked for 25+ years in the adult beverage business industry. That career finally and indirectly lead me to becoming a Chemical Dependency counselor for 6 years in a rehab facility before joining the Five Keys team.

On a personal note, I’ve played drums in hundreds of live shows around the bay area and road raced motorcycles all over the states and in the UK. Now, if I had any idea I was going to live this long, I would have taken much better care of myself. Thanks for your time.

Sherri Duncan White, in custody

​Born and raised in sunny Southern California, Los Angeles, in an extremely culturally diverse community where the arts, politics, and education were highly encouraged and supported.  After years of working in corporate environments, I decided to return to college and obtain my Bachelor’s Degree with the emphasis on teaching.  I attend California State University Dominguez Hills, where I graduated with honors, then attended Mills College for a fifth year credentialing program as well as obtained a Master’s Degree in Education.  Though the majority of my college experience was in mathematics, I credentialed in Social Studies my lifelong passion.  My initial teaching experience was as a mathematics teacher at a high school in Oakland. I have been with Five Keys for almost three years as a classroom teacher where I have had the opportunity to teach my passion, Social Sciences.  The rewards I experience working with our student population have been tremendous.  Here’s hoping the rewards will continue.