Meet Our Faculty

Adam was born and raised in Olympia, WA. He attended the University of Washington where he received a double major in Communications & Political Science. He spent three years in Chicago where he got his master's degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Adam teaches our upper level students at Morningside Academy, including content classes in history and civics. Adam has presented the ABAI conference seven times.He cherishes his time with his beautiful wife April, and his sons AJ and Avery. Adam is an avid sports fan (Go Huskies! Seahawks! Mariners! Sounders! Storm! Avalanche! and Cubs!) and spent several seasons coaching Babe Ruth Baseball. Currently, he is coaching both his sons' baseball teams. Adam also enjoys traveling (he's been to over 20 different countries, and 30 U.S. States), reading (especially political, historical fiction and nonfiction, and fantasy/science fiction), playing sports and games with his sons, swing dancing, Star Wars collecting, and fly-fishing any chance he gets.

Amy was born in South Korea and moved to Dallas, TX when she was 16. Amy attended the University of North Texas where she received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science and a Master of Science in Behavior Analysis. Before joining Morningside Academy in the fall of 2023, Amy did a semester of virtual internship at Morningside in the fall of 2020 and attended the Morningside Summer Institute in the summer of 2023. Besides teaching, Amy enjoys singing, drawing, wood-burning, taking pictures, editing videos, doing CrossFit, playing tennis, and skiing.

Bailee is a long-time Seattle resident, having moved here during high school. She has always been professionally focused on education and the role community plays in that domain, working as the Education Director at the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club, a paraprofessional in an elementary school, and a behavior technician working with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. She minored in Education, Learning and Society at UW and is currently in a Master’s of Teaching program at Seattle Pacific University. Bailee received her first master’s degree in Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and has been thrilled by the opportunity to take an applied behavioral approach to education since joining the Morningside family in 2019. She serves on the board of directors of Seattle-based youth/arts organization Coyote Central and is a member of the Association of Behavior Analysis International. When not thinking about teaching, Bailee enjoys attending Sounders FC games with her husband and son, doing yoga, reading, and eating. Mostly eating.

Daniel graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. He attended the Morningside Summer Institute after his graduation and moved from Georgia to work at Morningside the following school year. Prior to Morningside, he worked in the Atlanta Public Schools system and completed a research fellowship at the Marcus Autism Center. When he’s not at work, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend and their two cats, Princess and Little Man. He loves playing video games and is always down to talk about Stars Wars and the Legend of Zelda.

Emma was born and raised in San Diego, California. She attended the University of California, San Diego, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and a minor in Chinese Studies. She continued her education at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she earned her doctoral degree in Special Education. Emma taught middle school special education and English Language Arts classes in the Bay Area of California for five years, before moving to Seattle in 2024 with her family. When she's not at work, Emma loves to spend time with her husband and two young children. She loves to cook for others, read science fiction and fantasy novels, be outside in nature (gardening, walking, hiking), and sleep.

Geoffrey Martin, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, participated in Morningside Academy's Summer School Institute (SSI) in 2000 while in Graduate School in Auburn, Alabama. He attended SSI the following year, assisting with testing and progress monitoring of summer school students. Returning in Summer 2004, he served as a classroom teacher of younger learners in Morningside's Summer School Program. In January 2005, Geoff moved to Seattle to join the faculty at Morningside Academy, teaching full-time in the Foundations Program with a focus on beginning and corrective reading, math, and writing instruction. After teaching in the classroom his first several years, he moved into the role of Lead Substitute Teacher of Morningside Academy, working with the range of curricula and students within both the Foundations and Middle School Programs at Morningside. In addition to his teaching roles, Geoff also assists with the design and production of instructional and supplementary practice materials. Geoff earned his B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Florida and his M.S. degree from Auburn University. Originally from Northern Virginia, Geoff relocated to South Florida after middle school. He enjoys writing simple computer programs to automate common tasks, renovation projects with friends, reading, and seeing all Seattle has to offer.

Jacob was born and raised in Tea, South Dakota. After graduating from Augustana University in 2024 with a Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education and minors in French and Special Education, he moved out to the Seattle area to work at Morningside. Before coming to Morningside, Jacob worked as a director of an organization whose goal was to provide an environment that would foster relationships for adults with differing abilities. Besides working with people of all ages and abilities, Jacob enjoys spending time with friends and being in nature. Jacob is always on the hunt for new clothes and the best thrifting locations.

Jilian grew up on the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington. She attended Washington State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a concentration in rhetoric and professional writing, and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. After graduating, Jilian joined Teach for America, which placed her in Phoenix, Arizona. Jilian spent 2 years as a TFA Phoenix corps member, while completing her Masters of Secondary Education degree at Arizona State University and working as a middle school English Language Arts teacher at a Title I school in the Phoenix Metro area. Jilian moved back to Washington in summer 2024 and attended the Morningside Summer Institute. When she isn't teaching, Jilian spends her time playing with her cat, Goose, and her rat, Dr. Rat. Jilian also enjoys skiing, hiking, reading, and searching for the best slice of pizza in Seattle.

Joanne was born in California and raised in Taiwan, where she attended a private international school with an American based curriculum. Joanne then moved to Los Angeles for college and received her Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Southern California. Joanne taught at an afterschool program in Los Angeles. She also worked as an Academic Interventionist for one year and taught as a Kindergarten teacher for two years in Chicago. Joanne moved to Seattle in the summer of 2024 and attended the Morningside Summer Institute. Outside of teaching, Joanne enjoys running, yoga, hiking, traveling, and eating.

Morningside Academy's art teacher Paul Conrad has provided a rich array of art skills and experiences to Morningside students for over ten years. Paul received his B.F.A from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. Trained in the fine arts and theater arts with teaching and craft skills, Paul provides students the opportunity to learn hands-on, promoting independence alongside a rich imagination-based arts program. Class themes include basics in drawing and painting, ceramics, sculpture, drafting, art tools, product and toy design. Paul gives students the chance to be creative and achieve completion of an idea - always a surprise with unexpected fun! What can be more fun than starting the day listening to music and sitting with a friend creating art?

Restita DeJesus is the Instructor of our PE/Fitness Class, which is a hybrid of standardized PE activities and Wushu (Chinese Martial Arts Sports). "Coach Rusty" as she is known at Morningside, has 40 years of experience in teaching Fitness and martial arts. Her extensive experience includes Karate, Kung Fu, Kajukenbo, Eskrima, Kyudo, Tai Chi, Qigong, and Wushu. When not teaching at Morningside, she teaches at her martial arts school, "Seattle Wushu Center" in West Seattle. In 2019, Restita's martial arts school attained the "Seattle Martial Arts School Of The Year" award by the Seattle Company Awards Association. In her spare time she enjoys meditation, motorcycling, target slingshot shooting, target blowgunning, bullwhip trick cracking, and paracord crafting. She is a Reiki master practitioner and ordained interfaith minister. Through her PE classes, Restita hopes that kids can enhance their sense of confidence, empowerment, mental sharpness and physical fitness.

Shiloh grew up in the Seattle area and is a Morningside veteran. They have worked with both special education and general education populations since 2006. They present their research at conferences, including the annual Association for Behavior Analysis conference, with executive functioning and gamification being their major academic interest areas. They have degrees in both Elementary Education and Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on Precision Teaching and Instructional Design. Their master’s thesis was on developing systems of assessment to measure progress toward writing benchmarks. They enjoy developing curricula for use at Morningside and elsewhere. In their free time they play Dungeons and Dragons, go running, and write fiction and poetry. They live in Seattle with their spouse and their dog Yoshi.