INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM
Middle School Team
Jander Cline, Lead Teacher
Mr. Cline from Vancouver, Washington, is thrilled to embark on his journey with the Catalyst team as a Lead Teacher this year! His path led him to Walla Walla, Washington, where he spent the last five years, initially as a college basketball player at Walla Walla Community College. Later, in 2022, he transitioned to Whitman College to continue his basketball career at the NCAA Division 3 level while completing his studies. Recently, he proudly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and is eager to transition into a career in education.
From a young age, Mr. Cline has harbored a passion for teaching and is dedicated to guiding students towards realizing their aspirations and uncovering their boundless potential. Joining the Catalyst community aligns perfectly with his mission to contribute to an equitable and enriching educational environment for all Catalyst students.
When he's not in the classroom, Mr. Cline can be found on the basketball court, indulging in pickup games with friends and fellow enthusiasts. He finds immense joy in coaching and helping others discover the pleasures of recreational sports. Despite the weather, he carves out time to immerse himself in Washington's natural beauty through walks, hikes, and camping trips. While he has tales of his own adventures, Mr. Cline is always eager to lend an ear and listen to the stories of others.
Priya Esperanto, Teaching Fellow
Ms. Esperanto, originally from Los Angeles, moved to Washington specifically to join the Catalyst team; she was drawn to the school’s values of diversity and equity, since she herself is a woman of color and is affected daily by overlapping systems of identity.
Having earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education from California State University of Long Beach, Ms. Esperanto always suspected she would go on to teach single-subject education, but recently her career has led her to be mostly involved in the lives of primary-aged scholars. Before working at Catalyst, she taught Enrichment across various schools for 2 years. For 3 years before that she worked at her Alma Mater CSULB as the Lead Student Ambassador to assist and coach incoming transfers from community colleges. Altogether Ms. Esperanto has over 8 years of experience engaging with scholars in primary, secondary, and higher education.
Outside of her passion for teaching, Ms. Esperanto loves community service, reading YA novels, and using her AMC A-List membership.
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Dan Gerrity, Small Group Instructor
Mr. Gerrity brings an uncommon journey to the Catalyst community. After thirty years building technology companies — most notably as co-founder of Coinstar and founder of Naverus, an aviation safety company later acquired by GE Aviation — he walked away from a senior leadership role at Oracle to become a math teacher through Teach For America. The decision was deliberate: he wanted to work where the stakes are highest and the need is greatest.
This past summer, Mr. Gerrity completed his student teaching practicum at Evergreen Middle School in Federal Way, co-teaching two sections of rising 7th-grade mathematics. He is enrolled in the University of Washington’s teacher certification program, pursuing his Middle Level Mathematics endorsement.
Mr. Gerrity believes that mathematical confidence is one of the most powerful things a young person can develop before high school, and that strong relationships are what make learning possible in the first place. He is drawn to Catalyst because of its commitment to knowing every scholar — and holding every scholar to high expectations.
Outside of school, Mr. Gerrity lives in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood with his wife. He speaks German and Portuguese in addition to English, and still finds time to follow aviation news — a habit that never quite went away.
He is honored to join the Catalyst family and looks forward to getting to know scholars, families, and colleagues as the year unfolds.
Renee Hammel, Teaching Fellow
Born and raised in Iowa, Ms. Hammel's association with the Navy community brought her to Bremerton in 2005. This affiliation has taken her and her family around the world including Guam, Virginia, and Japan before returning to the Bremerton area in 2020.
After completing her Culinary Arts degree she held the position of Catering Coordinator at Olympic College. While in this position, Ms. Hammel successfully applied for and was awarded multiple grants allowing the program to maximize the efficiency of services provided by the catering staff. While not working Ms. Hammel enjoys spending time with her two children and husband performing outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and kayaking.
Ms. Hammel is excited to begin her teaching journey as a member of the Catalyst community. Here she is looking forward to instilling a sense of belonging and empowerment to its scholars. She is motivated to share her culinary knowledge to lead these scholars into making wise food-based decisions as well as teaching the skills they need to know to become independent in their own kitchens.
Kristiin Kerby, Lead Teacher
Ms. Kerby is excited to join the Catalyst community! With three years of experience in the local school district, Ms. Kerby is passionate about creating a supportive and trusting environment where every student feels heard and valued.
Originally from California, she moved to Washington during her freshman year of high school and graduated from Olympic High School in Bremerton. She holds a degree in Education with endorsements in Special Education from Western Washington University, as well as a degree in Learning Experience Design and Educational Technology from Western Governors University.
Outside the classroom, Ms. Kerby enjoys crocheting—she has an impressive yarn stash and more patterns than she can count in a feasible amount of time! She also loves relaxing with a good book and her two dogs. Ms. Kerby is looking forward to building strong connections with students, families, and fellow staff throughout the year.
Jessica Klein, Lead Teacher
Mrs. Klein is a Washington native and grew up in Everett. She received her BA in Interdisciplinary Studies: Culture, Literature, and the Arts from the University of Washington and received her Masters in Teaching from City University. She is excited to start her 10th year of teaching and is looking forward to her first year at Catalyst! She lives in Bremerton with her husband (Nick), daughter (Liesel), and dog (Ozzie). When not teaching, Mrs. Klein loves reading, crafting, and traveling.
April Lindvold, Lead Teacher
Originally from North Carolina, she now proudly calls Washington home. After graduating high school, she joined the United States Navy, where she had the opportunity to travel the world, explore history, and experience different cultures. She graduated from Old Dominion University with her Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Elementary Education Pre K–6. She has taught elementary and middle school for the last 6 years.
Outside of school, she enjoys supporting her three kiddos in their activities, including cross country, track and field, and swim lessons. At home, she has a lively “small zoo” with 2 dogs, 5 cats, a bearded dragon, and a guinea pig. Her favorite hobbies include spending time with family, traveling, and snuggling up with a great book.
Sara O’Neill, Lead Teacher
Ms O'Neill is from Colorado and is someone who is making her dream of living in the Pacific Northwest come true by joining the Catalyst team. She studied English at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and has taught elementary and middle school for the last 6 years.
Ms O'Neill enjoys cooking, music, baking (pies and anything loaf related are my favorites), hiking, painting and hanging out with my two cats Roman and Pollo.
Ashli Payne, Teaching Fellow
Ms. Payne, a proud Bremerton native, is deeply passionate about giving back to her community. She finds purpose in empowering women through health and wellness and mentoring young female athletes with aspirations of excelling in sports.
A standout scholar-athlete at Olympic High School, Ms. Payne's skill and dedication on the basketball court earned her a full-ride athletic scholarship to a Division I university, followed by a successful professional basketball career that spanned across Europe and Australia. In 2023, after retiring from professional sports, Ashli launched the RAWW Hoops Girls Development Club, an organization devoted to teaching young women invaluable lessons of life through the game of basketball. Her mission is to grow the program, develop creative ways to showcase young women from Kitsap, and empower girls to be leaders in their communities.
Ms. Payne is excited to contribute to the Catalyst team, where she can expand her impact on Bremerton youth and continue to serve her community. In her downtime, she enjoys expressing her creativity through art, spending time with her family, exploring nature with her dog King, and discovering local restaurants, art galleries and shops.
Catherine Sebastian, Lead Teacher
Ms. Sebastian is from Bremerton, WA and graduated from Western Washington University. She studied English Literature and Film Studies then got her Masters in Teaching with support from the Martinez Teaching Fellowship. Ms. Sebastian grew up on Oahu, Hawaii then moved to Bremerton in 2005, spending her summers in Japan with her sister and grandparents. She spent much of her childhood outdoors on the beach, hiking, and helping her grandparents with their vineyard.
Ms. Sebastian previously taught 10th and 11th grade English language arts at North Kitsap High School and has worked with elementary and middle schoolers. She started at Catalyst as a 3rd grade SGI, then moved to 6th grade math where she discovered her passion for math instruction. As a new math lead this school year, Ms. Sebastian still believes that literacy has an important place in the math classroom. She looks forward to supporting scholars to solve more than just math problems and find their way to explain their thinking, make meaningful connections, and build confidence as human beings.
As a teacher she believes that the environment heavily influences a scholar’s growth and mindset, therefore it is important to integrate in their learning. She loves to spend her time watching anime with her boyfriend, cooking, and playing the NY Times Crossword.
Joren Smith, Lead Teacher
Born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington, Mr. Smith has spent much of his life exploring different parts of the state, but the west side has always felt most like home. With a deep appreciation for both the mountains and the ocean, the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest has strongly shaped who he is. Mr. Smith attended Central Washington University with the goal of becoming a teacher and began his career there, gaining valuable experience before realizing it was time to return closer to home. While his family is now spread across the region, many of his lifelong friends remain in Port Angeles, making the in-between spaces of Washington the perfect place to land.
Mr. Smith brings nine years of teaching experience across three school districts and is now entering his fourth as a Small Group Instructor at Catalyst. He is excited to join a community rooted in connection, growth, and opportunity, and to be part of a school that is focused on serving scholars in meaningful and intentional ways. Outside of the classroom, Mr. Smith enjoys health and fitness, snowboarding, hiking, coding, cooking and baking, gardening, reading novels, writing stories, working on and driving cars, and spending time with his wife and cats. He values curiosity, creativity, and growth, and brings those values into the way he supports scholars each day.
Kyerra Timm, Small Group Instructor
Born in Utah but raised across more than four different states, Kyerra has learned that the most meaningful part of any new place is the communities within it. She is excited to join the Catalyst Community and continue building those connections.
Kyerra moved to the Kitsap area two years ago and is currently completing her master’s in English Education at WGU. She has experience working with a range of age groups, from supporting early literacy and development in pre-K classrooms to guiding high school students through literature, writing, and discussions that help them make sense of the world around them. She is especially excited to join the middle school team and support students as they grow into confident thinkers and communicators.
Outside of work, Kyerra can often be found curled up with her daughter and cats reading a good book, or exploring local forests in search of interesting plants. She is an avid reader, aspiring writer, and dedicated mom who enjoys cooking, exploring, and learning about the unique details that make each place and community distinct.
Keith Viridian, Small Group Instructor
Mr. Viridian has taught elementary and middle school for the last 6 years, 5 of which have been at Catalyst. He also has experience teaching through leadership positions in Boy Scouts of America (Eagle Scout), Coaching Cross Country and Track and Field, and working at a middle school prior to receiving his Master’s of Arts in Teaching.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he moved to Bremerton with his wife in 2022. He loves spending time with his wife and toddler and participates in outdoor activities. His hobbies include watching shows/movies, playing video games, sports, listening to music and audiobooks.
He believes in kindness, finding your passion, educating yourself, creating lifelong learners, and becoming a well rounded person.
Jesse Williams, Lead Teacher
Mr. Williams is a Washington native and lived in Tacoma most of his life. He recieved his BA in Educational Studies from Western Governors University and received his MA in Secondary Math Education from City University of Seattle. This is his first year teaching, and he is super excited to be spending his year with the phenomenal scholars of Catalyst Schools! During his free time, Mr. Williams enjoys playing with his son, playing his Nintendo Switch, or volunteering at his church.
Note: Some staff are not listed on the website based upon what they have told us they prefer.