Meet New Members of our Faculty & Staff

Zheyi Chen joins the Science Department at Overlake most recently from Texas where she worked as a petrophysicist with Shell. Prior to Texas, Chen lived in California and China working as an engineer for Intel. 

Chen has a Ph.D. in Applied Physics/Chemistry from Rice University.

Patricia Cushing joins us from Chicago, Illinois where she has spent the past several years teaching Computer Science and developing K-12 CS curriculum for schools in both Illinois and Indiana. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Loyola University Chicago. Cushing has also worked as a technology coordinator at the Latin School of Chicago and a computer science teacher in Chicago Public Schools.

Cushing has presented at various educational conferences, including the South Shore eLearning Conference and CS Education Week, Nextech Conference.

Krishna Davda most recently hails from eastern Pennsylvania where he worked as Head of Middle School at Perkiomen School. Prior to his work at Perkiomen, Davda worked at Franklin Academy in Connecticut where he served as Dean of Students among other responsibilities.

Davda serves as a torchbearer for his alma mater, New York University, where he helps the Admission office recruit undergraduates.

Maggie Davidson joins Overlake after working as an Assistant Controller for Olympic Foundry in Seattle. Prior to her time at Olympic Foundry, Davidson worked in Kansas City, Missouri as a recruiter and account executive.

Davidson volunteers as a bible study fellowship leader at her church.

Toni Rose Deanon hails from the "other" Washington - Washington D.C. where she has worked as an English teacher at DCI International School as well as a Fellow with the Modern Classrooms Project. Prior to working at DCI, Deanon was a computer assisted language learning teacher at a public charter school in D.C., as well as a teacher development coach for The New Teacher Project.

Deanon has led several professional development sessions for educators in DC.

Jennifer Friend joins the Student Support department bringing with her a career of teaching and assisting students. Most recently Friend worked at the Bertschi School as a Learning Specialist. Prior to working in Seattle, Friend worked in California at Marin Country Day School, also as a Learning Specialist. Throughout her career, Friend has also worked in the classroom in a variety of different settings teaching elementary aged students.

Friend is an Owl parent, having all four of her children graduate from Overlake in recent years.

Allison Gilman comes to Overlake after spending time teaching Spanish in California at The Waverly School. Gilman is not a stranger to the Pacific Northwest as she has taught at the Northwest Yeshiva High School on Mercer Island and at Shoreline High School.

Gilman lived in Ecuador for two years teaching English to students at Universidad De Las Americas.

Raheleh Hassanisadi joins the Mathematics & Computer Science Department after working at several schools in the area, including Forest Ridge and Lakeside. She also has experience developing curriculum for camps focused on technology, science and engineering for Chestnut Hill Academy. 

Hassanisadi has also taught abroad as a mathematic teacher at Parvin Upper School in Kerman, Iran.

The saying "once and Owl, always an Owl" applies to Katie Hill ('14) an alum from Overlake Class of 2014. Hill will be joining the Mathematics & Computer Science Department this year. Hill most recently worked as a STEM teacher at Lead Academy High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Hill was also a member of Teach for America, helping students in under-resourced public schools. 

Hill also enjoys the outdoors and has led students on outdoor trips through California, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

Another Overlaker, Dr. Samantha Hillyer ('01) returns to Overlake as the school's first Health Professional. Hillyer, a naturopathic physician by training has owned her own medical clinic for ten years. Hillyer joins the school administration to oversee the health and safety practices and policies amid a global pandemic. 

Hillyer also has a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the Keck School of Medicine.

Alisa Lennox joins the sixth-grade teaching team as a social studies teacher. Lennox most recently taught social studies to high school students at Shelton School District. Prior to her time in Shelton, Lennox worked in Alaska overseeing Head Start and Early Head Start programs in rural Native Alaska Kuskokwim region villages, as well as taught Russian and English in Anchorage.

Lennox created the Shelton High School Community Closet, a free clothing closet for students supported by community donations.

Connor Middleton joins Overlake to support faculty as a permanent substitute and classroom support. Middleton most recently worked at the Unity Concord International School in Thailand teaching United States History, World History, and Geography to high school students. 

Middleton has also worked as a science teacher at Ambassador Bilingual School in Thailand.

Noelle Morrison joins Overlake working with both the seventh-grade and sixth-grade teams teaching English. Prior to working at Overlake, Morrison served as an Academic Assistant at Kumon in Bellevue grading classwork and homework sheets.

Morrison serves as a Career and College Readiness Intern with the University of Washington's UW Dream Project, assisting students on their college application process.

Regina Quiban joins the College Counseling team at Overlake after working as a program manager for the Bureau of Education and Research, a provider of professional development training and resources for educators. Prior to her work at the Bureau, Quiban also served as a student conference assistant at her alma mater, the University of Washington, with the UW Continuing Medical Education conferences. 

Quiban has worked as an assistant coach for the Northwest Juniors Volleyball Club in Redmond.

 

Vrinda Tewari comes to Overlake after various teaching stints in the state, as well as abroad. Tewari most recently worked as a language arts teacher at The Olympia Waldorf School in Olympia, Washington. Tewari has also taught in schools in China and Ecuador. 

Tewari has lived in six different countries and is fluent in four languages.