Dave Wolczyk
David Wolczyk is the Director of the University of Washington Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) Program. He started in TRIO 20+ years ago as a Tutor and Instructor at Columbia College in Chicago and since then has been an Instructor for the University of Washington Upward Bound (UB) Program and the Science and Technology Coordinator for UW UB and TRIO Training grants. He has taught courses on a wide variety of Science, Technology, and test-prep topics and pioneered the first Computer Assembly and Design course for TRIO students in 2001.
A TRIO Trainer since 1998, he has trained TRIO Staff from around the country on new techniques and best practices for using technology. He was a principal architect of the highly regarded UW TRIO Training online training, and has been a member of the TRIO Quest Advisory Committee since 2000. He studied Biology as an undergraduate, Evolutionary Genetics in graduate school, and spent a year abroad as a Watson Fellow in Europe conducting independent research on Acid Rain. Published works include articles in the Journal of Educational Opportunity, Genetics, and Science.
Dave loves spending his free time with his family or escaping to the mountains for skiing, hiking, cycling, or climbing.
Helen Chyz
Helen Chyz is the Academic Advisor for UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub). It is her goal that every STEMsub student will graduate high school ready to attend the best fit college for them. This includes not just being accepted to college, but understanding more about the systems of higher education that exist. Helen has experience working in college admissions, where she evaluated student applications, attended college fairs, and even visited some of the STEMsub high schools! She earned a Master’s degree from the University of Washington in Leadership in Higher Education, where she primarily focused on college access and higher education pathways. Helen brings these perspectives to the college prep course which she teaches during Summer Academy. During the school year, she advises students on getting ready for college, applying to colleges, writing skills, and other academic needs.
Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Zoe!
Jana Chieu
Jana Chieu is the Counseling Services Coordinator with UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) and has been involved with the program since it started, in 2013. As the Counseling Services Coordinator, Jana helps with the day to day operations of the UW STEMsub program. She is an alumna of the first cohort of the UW STEMsub program and graduated from the University of Washington – Bothell campus with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Studies and minors in Health Education & Promotion and Consciousness, Creativity & Science. Jana also has a Master’s degree in Nutrition from The National University of Natural Medicine.
When Jana is not working with UW STEMsub, she enjoys a very active lifestyle partaking in activities such as tennis, hiking, and swimming.
Jonathon Brown
Jonathon Brown is the Curriculum Coordinator with UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub). In this role, Jonathon provides tutoring in math and science and advising to STEMsub students at their high schools. He also teaches classes at the Summer Academy. Jonathon has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville in addition to a Master’s degree in Teaching from Columbia University. He is enthusiastic about making all students feel successful in math and science, and he has had the opportunity to teach all grades from 6-12 across the globe in places like Alaska, New York City, Seattle, and Mozambique.
When not working at UW STEMsub, Jonathon enjoys pickleball, cryptic crosswords, and travel.
Emmy Ngo
Emmy Ngo is a Student Office Assistant for UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) and has been involved with the program since 2018. Emmy is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Washington studying Computer Science with a minor in Education, Learning, & Society. As an Office Assistance, she supports the UW MSUB staff on program activities/projects with her background as an alumna of the program.
Emmy enjoys her free time with her golden retriever puppy, having creative photoshoots, or trying new food recipes.
Azeneth Flores 
Azeneth (Aze) Flores is a Student Office Assistant for UW STEMsub and has been involved with the program since 2020. Azeneth is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Washington intending on double majoring in Law, Societies, and Justice and Social Work. As an Office Assistant, Azeneth provides support for the UW STEMsub staff as a previous alumna of the program.
In her free time, Azeneth enjoys playing with her dog, watching her favorite shows, and crocheting.
Summer Instructors 2024
Aaron Banh
Aaron Banh (he/him) is a Photography/Section Instructor and STEM Tutor with UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) and has started with the program this year. Aaron is a recent graduate from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.
Aaron loves spending his free time taking and printing photos, going on walks, and reading.
Alec Fisher
Alec is an English professor pursuing tenure at Seattle Central College, located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. As well, he is currently completing his PhD in English at the University of Washington. Alec has spent three years at UW STEMsub and looks forward future years with students! Outside of teaching, he is passionate about traveling, community organizing, and learning new languages.
Alex Banh
Alex Banh is the Summer 2024 Programming instructor for UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) and has previously taught with the program in 2019 and 2020. He studied computer science at UW and was involved with the department’s educational outreach program. As an instructor, he hopes to emphasize a strong general foundation in programming concepts through p5js, a programming language that is visual and encourages creativity and artistic expression.
Outside of teaching, Alex is a student himself currently learning to fly. He hopes to be a pilot with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) one day. Otherwise, he enjoys musical theater, film photography (like his brother), and gaming with friends.
Amanda Worthy
Amanda Worthy is the 2024 Machine Learning elective instructor for the UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) program. She is passionate about STEM education and has been a TA/ tutor for statistics, data visualization, and machine learning courses for the better half of the last 5 years. Currently, Amanda is a Civil Engineering PhD student at the UW, where her research leverages earth observational data to promote sustainability within the built environment. She received her B.S in Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder and completed her M.S. degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle.
In her free time, Amanda enjoys Nordic skiing, backcountry skiing, and swimming.
Andrea Figueroa Retamal
Andrea is a Research Assistant and PhD Student in Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) and a member of the Human-Centered Data Science Lab at University of Washington, Seattle. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Informatics Engineering from Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (UTFSM) in Chile.
Her research interests are focused on Human Centered Data Science and Data Visualization. She’s interested in building tools to help researchers with qualitative and automated analysis of large datasets, supporting discussions to improve inter-rater agreement by creating powerful data visualizations, inter-rater reliability metrics, and algorithms to uncover important information in the process.
Outside of school, she enjoys photography and baking!
Casey Johnson
Casey is a math instructor and has been working with STEMsub since summer 2020!
Dana Aguirre
Dana is a section instructor and has been working with STEMsub since summer 2023!
Erin Jedlicka
Erin received her undergraduate degree was in Chemistry through the United States Naval Academy. After graduation she was stationed at Naval Station Everett and moved out to the beautiful Pacific Northwest! After her time in the Navy, Erin returned to graduate school and studied materials for solar cells and LEDs. Erin completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Washington in 2021 and transitioned into teaching science 7th grade science. She recently completed her Master’s in Teaching through the University of Washington.
Heshan Aravinda
Heshan Aravinda is a Mathematics Instructor for UW STEMsub Summer Academy 2024 and is excited to be teaching statistics and Linear Algebra courses. Heshan completed his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Florida in 2023, and he is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Willamette University, Oregon.
Outside of work, Heshan enjoys playing basketball.
K. C. Smith
K. C. Smith is a College Prep Instructor with UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub). This is her first summer with the program. She is a graduate student and instructor at UW studying for her MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on prose. She teaches English Composition & Exposition for undergrads at the university. As a writer and a teacher her goal is to leave every student with the understanding and appreciation for their own writing while empowering them to find their voices within their craft.
She enjoys sunny days at the beach, reading or listening to audiobooks, and spending time with her daughter and their two dogs, Gigi & Otis.
Lila Levinson
Lila Levinson is a neuroscience teacher for STEMsub Summer Academy. She recently completed her PhD in neuroscience at UW. She enjoys audiobooks, walks, and hanging out with her cat (Fibonacci).
Riki Omokawa
Riki Omokawa is a math instructor for the UW Math Science Upward Bound (UW STEMsub) program’s summer academy. He has taught STEMsub summer courses that involve a variety of topics related to Algebra 2, precalculus, and calculus. During the school year, he works as a math teacher at a public high school in Everett, WA.
In his free time, Riki enjoys working on computer programming, video game development, and drawing.
Shabab Ahmed
Shabab Ahmed is a Section Instructor with UW STEMsub for Summer 2024. Shabab studies Economics as a PhD student and has a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics from UW.
When Shabab is not busy trying to complete his PhD, he enjoys watching and playing a variety of sports like soccer, tennis and squash.
Zinnia Hansen
Zinnia Hansen teaches Latin for MSUB’s Summer Academy. She is a fourth-year Classics undergraduate at the University of Washington with a special research interest in Platonism and the Gnostic tradition. She works part-time as a student assistant at the University of Washington Libraries. She is also a poet whose debut collection, Spikenard, was published by Poetry NW Editions in June 2022. She served at the 2021- 2022 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, and she mentors young writers for the teen writing websites Write the World and Youth Writers Project.