2020 - 2021 Scholastic Fellows and Mentors

The NASEF Scholastic Fellow Program provides a professional learning community, mentorship, tools, resources and instructional coaching for educators interested in connecting esports and learning in schools and out-of-school time / community-based organizations across the globe.

Learn about the 2020 - 2021 class below!

Meet the Scholastic Mentors - click on a name to learn more about them!

Meet the 2020 - 2021 Scholastic Mentors

​Chris Aviles is a teacher at Knollwood middle school in Fair Haven, New Jersey. There he runs the renowned FH Innovates program he created in 2015. Part of his FH Innovates program includes the FH Knights, the first middle school esports team in the country. As coach of the FH Knights, Aviles and his players take on all comers from around the country including other middle schools, high schools, and even colleges. Chris has been involved in esports since 1998 and he is passionate about growing the esportsedu movement. He has authored The Esports In Education Playbook and runs the NASEF affiliated nonprofit, Garden State Esports, to help other educators start esports teams in their New Jersey school.

"My favorite games are anything post-apocalyptic."

​I am an 8th Grade ELA teacher in Las Vegas, NV. I have been teaching for 21 years! I am currently the advisor for the BailyJay-gods eSports team. I am a streamer on Facebook and I absolutely love being a part of NASEF!

"My favorite game is Madden, I am infatuated with Football!!"

My name is Ryan Friederich and I'm the Technology Director at Spirit Lake CSD in Spirit Lake, Iowa. I am in my ninth year as a professional educator and I am passionate about technology integration in schools. I am fortunate to work in a progressive district that supports risk-taking and lifelong learning. I live in Spirit Lake with my wife and three children. I've always enjoyed video games but I am rediscovering my love for them through my 5 and 4-year-old and our many adventures on the Nintendo Switch!

"My favorite game is Celeste because it combines an amazing story with ridiculously challenging gameplay!"

Angelique Gianas is an English Teacher at Helix Charter High School in San Diego, California. Her passion lies in creating meaningful relationships with her students and teaching engaging lessons with their interests in mind. Angelique received her BA in English in 2014 and her MA in Teaching in 2019, both from San Diego State University. She was SDSU College of Education's Outstanding Graduate of 2019 for her work at Helix and in the master's program. Angelique founded Helix's competitive esports and casual gaming clubs, which host 60+ students each week. Her dream is to create and teach a Gaming As Literature course to encourage students to explore the literary depth of some of the best video games.

"My favorite game is a tie between Halo: Reach and Zelda: Ocarina of Time!"

My name is Ivet Gonzalez and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a mentor and collaborate with other NASEF scholastic fellows. I began my professional journey at Cal State Fullerton and graduated with a Bachelors in Liberal Studies and a minor in Computer Science. I then continued my teaching credential and Masters in Teaching at Chapman University. Immediately completing my student teaching, I began my teaching career at El Sol Academy. I have been an educator at El Sol for a total of 17 years and currently I am a TOSA as a STEAM Coordinator. I am an innovative and energetic teacher who is always looking for opportunities to support student's interest and learning.

"My favorite game is Super Mario Kart."

Tyler Hahn is the Director of the Cherokee Public Library in northwestern Iowa. He is a former NASEF scholastic fellow and has been recognized as one of Iowa’s STEM Gems. Hahn focuses his outreach on developing connected learning and college career awareness services for middle school youth through esports and community engagement.

"My favorite game is World of Warcraft. That was the first game where I read extensively on strategy and specs to become a better player. I learned how to really research and work together with others playing that game and made many great memories!"

J.D. Williams is a Technology Instructional Coach in the Laveen Elementary School District. Last year he started a middle school esports team that competed against other middle schools throughout the country. He is also looking to expand esports for elementary and middle school students within Arizona.

"My favorite game right now is Rocket League, but I also play Tetris and recently started playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater (again)."

I am a mathematics teacher who has a passion for all things gaming. I have an amazing family that I love to play games with, and my weekends will often find me playing board games with them. I have started gaming clubs, Esports teams, board game clubs, and hosted a middle school Esports invitational tournament. I enjoy woodworking and playing Magic the Gathering in my spare time.

"My favorite game is Magic the Gathering, because it has been the only game to keep me constantly excited for over a decade."

Maths teacher at Carmel College, Darlington, UK. I started our esports club in 2017 and met with real enthusiasm from our students. I coordinate and supervise matches and our esports club at lunch and after school.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because the programme provides a superb community of like-minded teachers, determined to provide opportunities for our students."

"My favorite game is Guild Wars 2."

A veteran of Broward County Public Schools, Randall Deich, is a Computer Science teacher at Lauderhill 6-12 STEM-MED and Founder/Chief Networking Officer at Regenerate Tech. Randall has a proven track record of bringing together schools, Industry partners, and community organizations that prepared high-need students for the current workforce. To address the minority gap in STEM careers, he partnered with a local software architect and together they designed and provided an authentic learning experience that empowered students with an in-depth knowledge of Computer Science. This partnership led to the formation of ReGenerate Tech, a not for profit foundation. Through this endeavor, Randall and his industry partners taught Computer Science solutions that addressed community needs. This after-school program allowed students to hone workforce skills leading them to real-world work experiences including student-led workshop facilitation, conference presentations, employment opportunities, paid internships, and national recognition in Computer Science.

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because the value NASEF brings to the post-secondary futures of my students. There is a need to address the high rate of minority student disconnection after high school. NASEF’s ecosystem provides the guidance necessary to start establishing career paths in high interest areas."

"My favorite game is Space Invaders. As an early entry in the arcade domain, SI provides an incredible level of intensity from it’s music to the random mystery saucer bonus. The game play elements of SI provide the foundation of game development for my students."

Experienced and national award-winning teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the education management industry. Skilled in team leadership and man-management, coaching, organisational development and strategy. Strong educational professional who believes in growth mindset approaches and hard work. Proud to have helped create the first-ever BTEC in esports.

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because this fantastic programme will open up so unique opportunities for my students and college that it would be mad not to apply!"

"My favorite game is The Last of Us 2!"

I start in programming at 9 years old, i shell my first develop when i was 14 years old now, i'm developer for VR and Indie Games

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because I want bring the esports world to mexican students and show they can use they skills in esports."

"My favorite game is Legend of Zelda and Overwatch."

I am an educator with the School District of the City of York. I have been teaching in urban education for 14 years, and have been teaching Geometry, AP CS-A and AP CSP and now Exploration in Game Design. I have a love of #EdTech and #GamingToLearn! My second job is as an Adjunct Physical Science Professor and York College of Pennsylvania.

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because I wanted to impact the learning of my students with gaming."

"My favorite game right now is DC Universe Online, a fun MMORPG!"

I am a Technology teacher at South Dade Senior High School in Homestead Florida. I teach Digital Information, AP Computer Science Principles, and Gaming Foundation and Programming courses. This is my third-year teaching computer science related courses. When I started teaching computer science, I became very involved in the computer science community. I am currently the Miami CSTA Secretary, the 2019 and 2020 NCWIT South Florida Affiliate Educator Award Winner, and proud to help my school earn the 2019 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award. I believe in service learning for my students and together we teach computer science in the community. We started a NASEF Scholastic Esports program last year in our school. My student ran a successful Smash Brothers tournament for the community at the local library last school year. I am excited incorporating Scholastic Esports into my courses and after-school club.

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because it provides me a professional learning community to learn more about curriculum, resources, and help shape the Scholastic Esports program for my school and community. To provide more opportunities for all students."

"My favorite game is Zelda. I remember spending countless hours playing when I was younger and feeling excited every time I made it to a new level. I remember getting so intrigued with the music and story."

I graduated from The University of California State Fullerton with a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences. I have a teaching credential in both science and Career Technical education. I have been teaching for the last 15 years at Marco Forster Middle School located in San Juan Capistrano. I began my career teaching physical science and then segued into a leadership position fostering the implementation of technology into both our curriculum and classroom. I currently teach Robotics and Coding, Oceanography, and Career Tech. I saw a need for a place for students to share their passion for technology and robotics, which led to the creation of an after school robotics team, which grew into a year-long elective course. I also discovered a common thread amongst many of these students, which was a passion for gaming, resulting in the expansion of my after school club to now feature Esports.

"I chose to become a NASEF Fellow because one of my strengths is that I have taught a wide range of subject matters and strive to pave the way for innovation in the classroom. I want to be the teacher that pioneers Scholastic Esports into my educational program."

"Today I really enjoy relating to my students through video games and at the same time appreciate the value of this burgeoning artform/industry. The games I currently play with the kids are Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite, and League of Legends."

Bradford Harris' role as Coordinator of Digital Innovation for Aldine ISD has been able to help empower school leaders with different digital initiatives in his district. He is very passionate about education and learning on a consistent basis. His passion for game-based learning and gamification for students, teachers, and administrators have developed into esports in schools. His primary focus in scholastic esports is aligning curriculum or learning strategies from the esports industry to his current state standards such as music, theater, and health. He also wants to promote exposure, equity, and diversity to all students especially students of color to the esports ecosystem. He serves as the Chief Learning Officer for TEXSEF (Texas Scholastic Esports Federation) where they will be launching their pilot season in the 2020-2021 school year.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because not only am I passionate about games but I am passionate about the learning, pedagogy, and strategy behind gaming as well. I also love learning and collaborating with other educators from around the world."

"My favorite game is if I have to be honest anything in the survial horror genera because of the story lines and creating thinking that is applied with characters. I also like role playing adventure games such as God of War, Batman, & Assassin's Creed."

Dr. Miles Harvey is a scholar gamer, middle school esports coach, streamer, and teacher educator from the University of New Mexico researching media literacy and digital game-based learning. He is a K-12 Language Arts and Media Literacy educator in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also instructs classes at the Central New Mexico Community College. Miles’ research interests focus on how students make sense of their learning through multimodal experiences afforded by mixed reality, video games, and research-based instructional strategies. He coaches New Mexico’s first-ever middle school esports team and competed in the North America’s first international middle school esports competition against Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2020.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because it would give me the opportunity to connect and work alongside some of the greatest educators from around the world."

"My favorite game of all time is Nier Automata because it has made me question everything I know about life got me back into thinking about philosophy. I now echo the thoughts of Jean Paul Sartre, "Existence precedes essence."

Steve Isaacs has been teaching since 1992. In 1998 began teaching in Bernards Township, NJ where he developed an internationally recognized middle and high school game development program. Steve is a pioneer in using VR and AR in the classroom. He is a champion for student choice and student, providing a choice based environment to help students find and nurture their passion for learning. Steve is an edtech influencer, community builder, and leader in game-based learning. He has brought commercial video games including Minecraft and Fortnite into his classroom to support students as content creators. Steve is actively involved in building the K12 to College Esports pipeline and co-founded the #EsportsEDU community as well as Garden State Esports. Steve was honored as the 2016 ISTE Outstanding Teacher and the PBS Digital Innovator representing the state of New Jersey.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because I am passionate about helping to build the K-12 to College (and beyond) esports pipeline. As a middle school teacher, I want to broaden opportunities for elementary and middle schoolers in esports."

"My favorite game is Minecraft but I find it very cruel to ask someone to pick a favorite game :) As a sandbox game with such a low floor / high ceiling I am continually inspired and blown away by what's possible and what kids can create and engineer."

I am an education of Automotive Grade 10,11 and 12 ,Physical Sciences Grade 10 and Technology Grade 8 at General Smuts High School in South. In addition to that, I am a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and Post Graduate Certificate in Education Specialising in Technical Subjects and Mathematics. Equally important is the fact that I am a strong believer of the fact that as educators we must be life long learners and we should always learn throughout the journey of life. As we embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are called upon to also embrace the Internet of Things and the Internet of Everything. In view of that esports offers a unique opportunity of preparing our learners for the future job market .In the same vein esports empowers our learners with intrinsic skills needed to navigate the challenges of life.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because I believe once learners engage in esports they will be ready for the future job market, will have improvement in critical skills in life such as teamwork, communication, leadership and strategic thinking. Moreover I am of the view that humanity is in a constant state of change."

"My favorite game is card games. This is because I have been exposed to the game in the physical environment."

Hey there, my name is Alex Jean Keeler. I'm a 26 year old ex-pro gamer, an MBA graduate at 21 years old, a half- decade experienced business consultant and ecommerce expert, and I come from a family of educators with nearly 2 centuries of teaching under their belts. Through my unique experiences I've been blessed to be able to travel the country and see first hand how gaming can be a powerful community-uniting and learning tool. It was this first hand experience that has propelled me to pivot in a young corporate career and dedicate my resources to serving this goal shared by NASEF. I believe that through the utilization of emerging technology in combination with dedicated educators and the implementation of the worlds fastest growing industry, we have a bright future for our students ahead of us.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because I knew that this community of esports-minded educators and technology experts will be the cornerstone of propelling my goal into fruition. I believe it will be this community that breaks through years worth of barriers and will be responsible for finally delivering on our shared vision to cultivate a scholastic esports environment."

"My favorite game is World of Warcraft, the worlds greatest MMORPG to ever exist. The mix of community and sociability within the game, to its multi-dimensioned esports leagues, and its deep sea level depths of lore and gameplay options. I've been a fan and player since its inception when I was in 5th grade."

Clint has worked with K-12 schools, universities, and private and nonprofit companies both in the US and internationally, focusing on integrating innovative technology to improve learning, teaching, and business. He has designed and implemented a “soft skills” curriculum at multiple high schools in southeastern Connecticut which further cultivated his interests in educational technology integration, esports management, and support of mastery-based learning.

"I chose to become a NASEF Scholastic Fellow because I wanted to be part of a grassroots and international community providing education + esports opportuities for students."

"My favorite game is Overwatch....actually that is not true. Heroes of the Storm is my favorite game but my 19 year old son says it is the "old man" MOBA and I shouldn't tell people."