Dr. Sheila Fennoy- Founder of Lumina Academy and Director of Education. Biology Science and Math

Professor of Biology, has taught and developed preparatory and advanced classes in Science and in Biology. She earned a PhD from U.C. Berkeley. She is passionate about environmental issues and preparing students to create solutions that complement those of natural systems.Concerning Lumina Academy she intends to encourage in our youth a passion for knowledge and a respect for culture. Her idea to start a tutoring program began in Cafe Culture, which she owned and operated for 9 years.

Fatima Mendoza - Founder of Lumina Academy and Director of Dance

Fatima graduated with a Masters in Dance from Albistur Conservatory of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She founded and still ownes Carmine La Sevillana School of Flamenco in Tucuman, Argentina. The studio won numerous awards in Latin American competitions. Fatima teaches our Flamenco and Bellydance classes. Fatima's philosophy is to encourage students to love dance and use it as a way to find happiness and freedom.

Arlene and Francisco - Salsa Dance Program

Since 2003, Arlene Santos and Francisco Bugarin have shared their passion and love for salsa with the community. They are co-directors of the salsAFeroz Dance Company and are skilled teachers, performers and choreographers. Emphasizing lead and follow techniques, and stressing the importance of salsa as a social dance, they will teach you to dance with any partner. Their comedic teaching technique is very down to earth and easy to follow making their classes an enjoyable experience to students of all levels. Arlene and Francisco are longtime friends, dedicated salsa partners and in love with the dance that has brought them so much joy. No matter your experience level, come join the fun with Arlene and Francisco!!

Don Kingfisher Campbell - English and Poetry and Creative Writiing

Listed on Poets & Writers, is the founder of POETRYpeople youth writing workshops, publisher of the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, leader of the Emerging Urban Poets writing and Thursday Evening Critique workshops, host of Monday Night Poetry in Pasadena, and has taught Creative Writing and SAT Prep in the Upward Bound program at Occidental College for 22 years.

Dr. Sanjay Jayachandran - Science and Mathematics Education

BSc. Engineering. Columbia University. PhD. Biology. U.C. Riverside.My passion is teaching. I am currently Vice-President of a small biotechnology company in Pasadena, TransMembrane BioSciences and have been so for the last 6 years. I am also adjunct faculty at Mount San Antonio College and Cal State Los Angeles. I have taught biology courses at all levels at both these institutions. I also have a lot of one on one tutoring experience. I donate my time LAAE as a tutor to support our youth in getting strong scientific training.

Patricia Prata - Brazilian Dance & Bellydance

Patricia Prata is a triple threat American Brazilian actress living in Los Angeles. She has Bachelor of Arts in Acting and has trained in Russian ballet technique since she was 7 years old. Her dance experience includes jazz, modern, contemporary, flamenco, hip hop, tap, belly dance , Brazilian Samba and Latin styles. She has been performing, dancing and teaching all over the world with her ultra modern technique of the ancient art of belly dancing and the modern Brazilian samba dance (Escola de Samba style). She is also the main choreographer and artistic director of sambadancesuperstar.com . Patricia can be seeing on TV shows ( Descontrol, 12 hearts Telemundo, ER, HGTV, etc) , commercials and feature films ( NEXT working with Nicolas Cage ) . Her dance classes are fun , relaxed and with focus on performance improvisation flare. Patricia teaches her classes with focus in develop the artistic and creative side of dancing. She also has a BA in film and more than 20 years of experience dancing internationally.

Niancho Eniyaley ( Nine-choe E-nye-yah-lay ) - West African Dance

specializes in exciting performances with powerful dancers, stunning fire eater, and breathtaking stilt dancer. He also host a number of classes with live drumming to bring a small taste of West Africa to the West Coast of America . It is the mission of Niancho Eniyaley to unlock the transforming power of the arts by providing quality cultural programs open to all people with a focus of educating and communicating the life of Africa's ancestral past and present.

Madeline Puckette - Tribal Bellydance Teacher

Madeline Puckette is an original student of Fatima Mendoza & belly dance guru Mezmera. Madeline's focus is in the increasingly popular style: American Tribal Bellydance. She has been a performer for over 10 years and was trained at the highly regarded California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA. Madeline's classes focus on working the core, isolation techniques, hot tribal combinations, & bellydance in new music. All levels are welcome into her invigourating and fun class.

Tanya Clark - Mathematics

BS in Mathematics, Furman University MAT in mathematics and education, Duke University Experience: Taught 7th thru 12 grades mathematics, including pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, algebra 2, and college algebra. Philosophy: One of the reasons students have difficulty with math, is that they have convinced themselves that they are no good at it. My approach to this attitude is to de-mystify the subject and emphasize the logical structure of mathematics and how various topics relate to one another. I strive to prove to the student that math makes sense. With a more solid understanding of the subject matter, the student can gain an important confidence when dealing with new material. My goal when tutoring is to get this response from the student: "You make it look so simple!"