Weston Willard, Program Coordinator (Honolulu, HI)

Weston has spent the past year running the Special Education department for a K-12 Hawaiian Emersion school in Honolulu. Prior to that, he spent a year teaching at the Booker T. Washington Public Charter School for Technical Arts in Washington DC. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at Booker T, Weston organized, obtained funding for and directed a 2-week service trip with students to a Reservation in South Dakota. He has also been a camp counselor. Weston graduated from Wake Forest with a BS in Business and a minor in Russian.

Weston is a gifted teacher who really connects with his students (although his ability to dunk a basketball apparently helps).

As Program Coordinator, Weston is in charge of WiredWoods 2002 at Crossroads for Kids. Specifically, he is responsible for:

1. WiredWoods teaching team (lesson plan for the curriculum implementation, fostering a team teaching environment, leveraging the tremendous skills of the team, personnel, etc.)
2. Camp liaison (all communications, meetings, coordination of WiredWoods with camp calendar, etc.)
3. WiredWoods program issues (procurement, liaison to network consultant, liaison to WiredWoods executive director, etc.)
   

John Therkelsen, Program Specialist (New York, NY)

John is a very enthusiastic, gifted developer with a deepening interest in teaching kids. Most recently, John has been doing web development for Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, GA. Prior to that, John led a small NYC advertising agency in creating a web department. There he educated senior management, clients, and staff in using the web to achieve business goals. In some of his other positions, he was integral to building PetPlace.com and computershopper.com. With previous youth experience, John aspires to teach technology within the NYC public school system. John majored in History at Drew University in Madison, NJ.

John has extensive experience with the software required for web production (and therefore WiredWoods) including HTML code editors, DreamWeaver, PhotoShop and Fireworks. His technical expertise is invaluable to implementing the WiredWoods curriculum.

As a 2002 Program Specialist at Crossroads for Kids, John is responsible for working with the Program Coordinator to deliver the WiredWoods curriculum, running the nightly counselor lab when the camp staff has access to a range of Internet privileges, and providing vital WiredWoods/camp integration.

Heather Williams, Program Specialist (Phoenix, AZ)

Heather joins us from Phoenix, AZ. Her web site (www.shewhopaints.com) gives you an indication of her qualifications. Armed with a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Arizona State and an AAS in Multimedia and Web Design from the Art Institute of Phoenix, Heather brings a diverse skill set to our campers. She has developed several commercial sites while continuing her own artistic pursuits. A multi-year camper in her youth, Heather is excited about the impact WiredWoods can have on underserved youth at camp.

In addition to her artistic capabilities, Heather has extensive experience with the software required for web production (and therefore WiredWoods) including HTML code editors, DreamWeaver, PhotoShop and Fireworks. Her technical expertise is invaluable to implementing the WiredWoods curriculum.

As a 2002 Program Specialist at Crossroads for Kids, Heather is responsible for working with the Program Coordinator to deliver the WiredWoods curriculum, running the nightly counselor lab when the camp staff has access to a range of Internet privileges and providing vital WiredWoods/camp integration.

Damion Martin, Counselor (Morrisville, NC)

Damion is an Industrial Engineering major at North Carolina State University. Hailing originally from Bronx, New York, Damion has mentored young students in the Raleigh area, as well as coached junior soccer (where he has used his negotiating skills to manage both youth and their parents). Damion has built, assembled, and configured computers for IBM and acted as a Community Assistant in his University environment. An active student, Damion also holds positions with The National Society of Black Engineers, the Student Government and the University Entrepreneurs Network.

As a 2002 Counselor, Damion is a critical liaison between WiredWoods and our host camp, Crossroads for Kids. Damion is both a counselor with full cabin responsibilities as well as a teacher in the WiredWoods studio. His combination of technical skill and experience with children enables him to succeed in both roles.

Nguyen Truong, Counselor (North Andover, MA)

Nguyen joins WiredWoods from the Boston area where he has just finished his first year in Computer Science at UMass-Boston as a Xintra Scholar. A graduate of John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (part of the Boston Public School system), Nguyen participated in many of the technology courses offered by TechBoston - one of the premier technology program providers in Boston. He has taken WebMaster, Cisco Networking, C++ and MOUS classes. Beyond his studies, Nguyen has held a variety of jobs including roles with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Associate Day Care Center where he was a computer technician

As a 2002 Counselor, Nguyen is a critical liaison between WiredWoods and our host camp, Crossroads for Kids. Nguyen is both a counselor with full cabin responsibilities as well as a teacher in the WiredWoods studio. His combination of technical skill and desire to work with children enables him to succeed in both roles.