2022-23 Equity Fellows – Teacher Cohort

Meet the 2022-23 CSTA Equity Fellows – Teacher Cohort! 

Darlene Bowman

Darlene has taught CS to hundreds of students with disabilities – and their teachers – before and during the pandemic. Now retired, Darlene serves as the current President of CSTA Staten Island Chapter. She also volunteers her time teaching Computer Science to students of all ages through her organization AusomeTech, focusing specifically on her graduates – “Techies With Autism” who no longer have access to meaningful CS education.

Maria Camarena 

Maria Camarena is a computer science teacher at Maywood Center for Enriched Studies. Her mission is to advocate for computer science opportunities in her community. In five years, she has established a computer science pathway offering CS to all 7th graders and multiple high school CS classes, including APCSP, APCSA and Data Science. Maria is a strong advocate for girls in STEM. She significantly increased the enrollment of girls in CS courses through the founding of the MaCES Girls Who Code Club and the Computer Science Honor Society, the only one in her local district. Maria also believes in connecting students with professionals of Hispanic/Latinx descent through her partnership with Nuevo Foundation because she understands that “you can’t be what you can’t see.” Her accolades include the 2020 CSTA/Infosys Teaching Excellence award and the 2022 NCWIT National Educator award. You can see a glimpse of her students’ awesomeness and the pursuit to bring computer science to her community on Twitter @csiseverywhere and Instagram @maces.cs, @maces.gwc and @maces_cshs.

Angela Chavez

Angela Chavez is a teacher at LAUSD’s Computer Science Virtual Academy – the first of its kind in her district! She is a student advocate who believes that quality education begins with a strong understanding of how children learn and application of student-centered practices. This also means being transformative in the classroom and responsive to student needs. Hence her journey into computer science education and the need to bridge the divide for underrepresented populations within her community. Code.org was her beginning, with continued professional development through the Infosys Pathfinders Institute and currently LAUSD’s inaugural CS Cadre. She serves as a Girls Who Code Club facilitator, instilling a love of CS and empowering her students to become the next CS leaders as they continue on their educational pathway. She was a 2020 California finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and 2021 LAUSD Teacher of the Year.

Tonya Coats

Tonya Coats has been a K-6th educator in Southern California for over 20 years. She holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and a M.A in Instructional Technology from California State University, San Bernardino. She has a strong passion for computer science and maker-based learning. Her students have participated in numerous educational conferences and student showcases to show educators and their peers what is possible with computer science. Tonya believes exposing her students to computer science at a young age will give them the exposure to build interest and learn how to apply these skills to solving real-world problems. She is a 2022 micro:bit champion, a 2022 CSTA Honorable Mention, and also recently elected to serve as an IACUE Board Member, a regional affiliate of CUE.

Toni Dunlap

Toni Dunlap currently serves as a computer science (CS) educator and the Middle School Service-Learning Representative at Princeton Day School in New Jersey. She teaches CS at the 6th – 12th grade level. Toni – a native of Atlanta, GA – moved to Colorado pursue an undergraduate degree in CS from the University of Denver. During her time in college, Toni recognized she had a passion for working in roles that involve mentorship, lesson planning, community organizing, and exposing others (especially underrepresented communities) to CS/STEAM fields. This ultimately led her to pursue a teaching career, which has proven to be a perfect fit – a position that allows her to explore both her love of CS and people. In partnership with Princeton Day School, Toni got her start in education via the Day School Teaching Residency (DSTR) program at the University of Pennsylvania. The 2022-23 school year marks her 4th year of teaching.

Elizabeth Kimball

Beth Kimball is in her tenth year teaching at Indiana School for the Deaf. She currently teaches middle school science and high school dual-credit science courses. Previously she led a webinar for teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, hosted by AccessCSforAll on how to make CS curriculum accessible for their students. Always a learner, Beth is constantly acquiring new skills. (Current) hobbies include: reading, fixing bicycles, Rubik’s Cubes, and True Crime books/TV shows.

Kathleen Mazurek

Since 2008, Kathleen Mazurek’s design work has focused on how technology exploration bridges multi-modal communication. Baltimore-based, she holds a dual certification in art/special education and a Masters in Leadership in Teaching. Her current role as a special education art teacher at the William S. Baer School has allowed her room to explore adapted computer science as an expressive medium. She has developed and facilitated curricula, workshops, and PD through the MSDE, Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Museum of Art, 21st Century Schools, Enoch Pratt Public Library, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Digital Harbor Foundation. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Slate, Bmore Art, and Technical.ly Baltimore. After her team’s first app, createAchimera, won the 2015 Baltimore Hackathon, she examines how tech nurtures metacognition with her grant-funded workshop Decode Me Space. Through the CSTA Equity fellowship, she wants to grow as an instructional designer to build gamified assessments and learning platforms to highlight latent skills for learners with special needs.

Timothy Clifford Swick

Dr. Tim Swick is the lead teacher of the Computer Science Immersion School at Sandlapper Elementary in Columbia, South Carolina. He has been teaching elementary school for 22 years. In 2019, Tim became the lead teacher of the newly formed Computer Science Immersion School at Sandlapper Elementary with the mission of bringing CS to ALL students at the school. Over the past four years, he coordinated the development of a school-wide integrated computer science curriculum that blends the use of robotics, block-based coding, and Minecraft Education with different grade-level content and subject areas. As a result of his work, Sandlapper was recognized by the Magnet Schools of America Association as the 2022 Top New and Emerging Magnet School in America. He is a National Board Certified Teacher and holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina with a focus on Educational Technology and Innovative Learning Design. His dissertation studied the impact of Computational Thinking in a school Makerspace. He was selected as a winner of the 2022 CSTA/Infosys Foundation USA CS Teaching Excellence Awards and has been selected to the 2022 class of SC ASCD Emerging Leaders. In his role, he strives to motivate student participation in CS at an early age. He feels that early engagement in CS is vital for under-represented students to get involved with CS careers.

Zuo Bin Tang

Zuobin Tang currently teaches computer science and mathematics at Sunset Park High School in Brooklyn, NY. He also serves as the school’s CS4All computer science lead, spearheading efforts and collaborating with fellow teachers to promote and sustain an equitable computer science culture at the school. He is also passionate about college access and success as well as educational technology tools. In addition, he is a proud member of NYC Men Teach, where he currently coaches fellow Asian-American male teachers. He is a first-generation college graduate in his immigrant family and holds a B.B.A. in Finance from CUNY Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College, an M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, and an M.S. in Secondary Mathematics Education from St. John’s University.

Delmar Wilson

Delmar Wilson has been a public school educator for seventeen years, where he has taught mathematics, AP Computer Science Principles, and Cambridge Thinking Skills at Miami Springs Senior High. Aside from being a teacher, Delmar is also the Mathematics Department Chair, ESSAC Chairperson, Union Steward, and Head Boys Varsity Basketball Coach. As he began working on his doctorate degree in 2013, he came to the realization that there weren’t enough minorities in computer science. He created a course called AP Computer Science Principles and initially recruited his ninth graders; none had ever dreamed of taking an AP course or even computer science. Over the years, this course has become a student favorite and last school year he started the Computer Science National Honor Society. One of Delmar’s all time favorite quotes is “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” by John Dewey. Delmar believes as teachers of the 21st century, we have a commitment to ensure that we are effectively teaching our students to prepare them to be future leaders. As a veteran teacher, Delmar continues to push CS forward by utilizing his CS Honor Society to expose students to Computer Science during Computer Science Week.

Julie York

Julie York has been teaching computer science and media electives at South Portland High School in South Portland, Maine since she was hired in 2002. Hired to teach Video Production, she has gone on to develop and maintain many new classes for the school community that include Animation & Game Design, Digital Graphics, Advanced Technology, and Introduction to Computer Science. Community and joy are two main focuses in her life and teaching: with representation, inclusion, involvement, creating, passion, empathy, and diversity at the forefront of her planning and development. She is married with two children and has two businesses she founded and continues to run for fans of anime and gaming in Maine: Weekend Anime & Games and PortConMaine.