Educators and Professionals

Dr. Traci Korhonen

Founder, Director, and Educator

Dr. Traci Korhonen has pursued her dreams of positively impacting education in a variety of ways through public, private, and non-profit programs. In 2013, she started Dream AcadeME Summer Camp. Since then Traci has expanded Dream AcadeME with Homeschool, Tutoring, Afterschool classes, and consulting services. The next adventure will be opening Charter Schools with a unique structure and Reggio-Inspired curriculum.

Dr. Korhonen received her Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in K-12 Education Leadership at USC in 2015. With over twenty years of teaching experience, her most memorable experiences have been teaching Pre-K at Harvard University and working with parents to open micro-schools. Traci weaves Reggio and Constructivism philosophies to create a curriculum that meets the needs of 21st century learners with personalized Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math project-based experiences. She incorporates the latest research and consistently evolves the curriculum to meet the students’ interests and needs.

Teaching children literacy and math skills is one of the most rewarding experiences for Dr. Korhonen as an educator. She facilitates a blended program of whole language, invented spelling, phonics, social constructivism, and process drama to maintain motivation for reading and writing. In mathematics she derives lessons from cognitively guided instruction (CGI) incorporated with math fluency and manipulatives, as well as real world experiences and projects. By incorporating the child's interests and moving at a pace that maintains the child's confidence, Traci has observed numerous children make leaps and bounds in their academic development. With a strong foundation in reading, writing, and math, students are better able to research, document, and experiment with STEAM learning projects.

Most importantly, Dr. Korhonen respects and highly values the parent-teacher partnership and works closely in regular communication with parents about their children’s experiences. In addition to her credentials in education, Traci is also a certified pilates, yoga, and fitness instructor. Many elements of yoga, movement, dance, meditation, and mindfulness are integrated into daily practices at Dream AcadeME.

To her fullest ability, Dr. Korhonen creates an authentic and honest approach to education to prepare children to navigate today’s challenging world, while evolving her understanding of best practices along the way. Traci hopes you will join her endeavor in education reform and expresses her gratitude for sharing in these dreams.

Nancy Fleming

Assistant Director and Educator

Nancy has a lifelong passion for working with children. After teaching dance and summer camp throughout high school and college, she graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Mathematics. During her program at CSULB, she volunteered over 180 hours at an inner city public school where she gained experience teaching in a Japanese immersion Kindergarten classroom. Nancy worked as a program coordinator for a public school summer camp program in Orange County at SVUSD overseeing nine school sites, hiring staff, coordinating events, and organizing school activities.

When she moved to LA Nancy taught at a private school in Culver City called, Turning Point School. Here she taught preschool through middle-school grades and specialized classes in gardening and the arts for the enrichment program. After giving the better part of a decade to Turning Point, she took on a new role at the Reggio inspired PeaPods Schoolhouse as Associate Director working closely with parents and guiding preschoolers through STEAM and Reggio-inspired explorations. Nancy became a mother in 2019, which influenced her to take extended courses in ECE studying infant, toddler, and preschool child development. Nancy’s education and background give her experience understanding the development of children of all ages.
One of Nancy’s fondest memories of a child was making mud pies with loose materials her mother gave her in the backyard. She enjoyed the creative and open-ended, messy play. Nancy also loved dance classes, performing and competing in all genres as early as five years old, and by high school she was teaching jazz, hip-hop, and ballet to all ages. After moving to LA, Nancy took her dance to the next level appearing and choreographing for numerous music videos. Today she remains active in dance as a way of releasing her creativity. 

With her background, education, and passions, Nancy teaches math, literacy, dance, art, cooking, and gardening to children. Nancy’s personal teaching philosophy is to not tell children the answers, and instead guide them to learn the answers through their experiences, surrounding environments, and interests. Nancy is thrilled to be a part of Dream AcadeME since it’s early days in 2016 and has worked closely with Dr. Korhonen in various roles since 2012. She’s exhilarated to bring her experiences in the garden and with pollinators to Dream AcadeME students. Nancy will be sharing her passion and creativity of dance along with her love for cooking and baking. She’s a firm believer that the memories that children create in their young minds are the ones that mold and shape who they become.

Luz Beatriz Herrera

Educator

Luz Beatriz Herrera was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Beatriz speaks, writes, and reads Spanish fluently. She graduated from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Feliz. She holds a Bachelors from the University of Phoenix in Social Services and earned her Early Childhood Education Certificate from Pasadena City College. Beatriz recently completed her educational therapy certificate from UC Riverside. She is also trained in the Lindamood Bell instruction for reading and comprehension program.

Beatriz recently retired from teaching with over 25 years of experience, in a private, progressive, non secular elementary school. Beatriz’s earlier work experience includes working as an educational companion, camp counselor, and working in the Los Angeles Parks and Recreations. Her current goal is to open up her own educational therapy office in the future.

Beatriz values family, personal growth, and quality education. She keeps up with her professional growth by reading about the newest research in education either through books or articles. Beatriz is a firm believer in teaching her students about adopting a growth mindset when it comes to learning and incorporating mindfulness in her daily classroom routine.

Beatriz is a mother of three girls and has been married to her husband for 23 years. Her oldest just graduated college, her middle daughter is in college, and her third daughter is a sophomore in high school. She and her family enjoy cooking, baking, having family game nights, camping, and watching movies together. Her personal hobbies include reading, trying new foods, hiking, biking, and walking. Beatriz favorite thing to do is enjoy a day at the beach. She is looking forward to working with Dream AcadeME families and contributing her lifelong teaching skills to the organization.

Rusty Kennedy

MUSIC (BASSIST, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST, COMPOSITION/IMPROVISATION) EDUCATOR

Rusty Kennedy acquired a BFA in Jazz Bass from the California Institute of the Arts. He specializes in bass, guitar, brass and winds, improvisation, and has over 10 years of teaching experience. He began his journey as a music educator while completing his degree working for the Community Arts Partnership (CAP) and Plaza de la Raza in East Los Angeles. Upon graduating, he began teaching Concert Band for the Whittier City School District’s after school Reach for the Stars/Jumpstart program, which included nine elementary schools and two middle schools, totaling over 100 students. In 2015, Rusty joined The Laby Harmony Project of The New West Symphony as a brass instructor and youth orchestra conductor. There, he also currently teaches songwriting, jazz, and salsa. In 2017, he joined the Rhodes School of Music in Larchmont as a brass, bass, and CAD instructor. And now, he is thrilled to be joining the Dream AcadeME! 

As a teaching artist, Rusty strives to help students discover and develop their own musical and creative voice. From the very beginning of the instructional process, Rusty introduces improvisation as a core element for developing musicianship through Creative Ability Development (CAD) and other improvisation techniques, while studying a spectrum of diverse genres and music styles. 

Through this teaching method, students practice ear training, interval recognition, melodic phrasing, and develop an ability to interact and enter into musical conversation with other players within a guided, non-competitive, safe and fun space. CAD is a method developed by Alice Kanack that uses “musical improvisation as a tool to develop the creative side of the brain. Its pedagogical purpose is to teach unique self-expression or musicality. Its philosophical purpose is to develop the ethical character of artistry in every student, which is the search for, and expression of, truth and beauty. CAD teaches students how to create together and share ideas, and inspires in each student a non-competitive internal drive for excellence. The CAD method is based on research, which explains how the process of creativity works in the brain to solve problems. Using music as a language and improvisation as a tool, the method of CAD replicates the creative process through group games and solo exercises. Through the disciplined practice of the CAD method, all students can develop their innate creativity to a very high level.”  

As a human and educator, Rusty feels it is critical that he instills in his students that as artists and storytellers we have a responsibility to have a deep understanding of the history, culture and theories of the music and art we practice and perform. Rusty performs regularly throughout Los Angeles as a bass player and recording artist. He has toured extensively around the US and has performed at festivals internationally. Well-versed in a wide array of genres, Rusty is sought after for his extreme versatility and personalized approach to every project.

Jeddin White

MAKER & Art EDUCATOR

Jeddin has been working with others sharing his skills as a maker for over a decade. He branched out his teaching from adults to children a few years ago when he started working for Dream AcadeME. Jeddin is an artist and craftsman who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to share his sense of wonder and beauty with the world. Raised in the meditation hub of Fairfield, Iowa, he is familiar with both rural, small-town America and the introspective spirituality of the Far East. Always enthusiastic about science and technology, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and ran various studies in perception at the University of Iowa for three years. It was around this time he rekindled a passion for art and began a lifelong self-education of craftsmanship techniques old and new.

Jeddin has spent countless hours on film sets building installations for display and honing his craft in the art department. He has worked on fun projects like when he built hanging beds for the Teen Choice Awards and assembled interactive displays for HyperloopTT. Jeddin continues to build and maintain HyperloopTT's showroom, which serves to make their technology palpable for visitors. He is handy behind many large and dangerous tools, such as woodworking machines, welders, and laser cutters. Jeddin is equally capable with finer tools such as sewing, soldering, and creating art with a variety of mediums. He regularly shows his works at art fairs, festivals, and online. As a maker, Jeddin was featured in the DIY book "Handmade" building a lamp of his own design. He also completed an Instructables DIY Infinity Mirror for Dream AcadeME's submission to the Infy Maker Awards in 2018 where Dream AcadeME made it to the top 25 finalists. With such a wide variety of tools under his belt, he is comfortable bringing just about any concept to reality, and showing others how to do it too!

Jeddin aims to nurture his students' creativity, a quality that is increasingly essential in our automation-driven world. His teaching style is centered around the students’ motivation and goals. He gives them space to lead the way while supporting them with the knowledge and tools they need to make their dream a reality. Jeddin enjoys a good philosophical conversation and always has a new and original, clever joke to break the ice and spark the imaginations of his students.

Nathan Kersey Wilson

Music (String, Key, & Wind) and Outdoor EDUCATOR

Nathan holds a BA in Ethnomusicology with a concentration in jazz performance from UCLA. He specializes in piano, saxophone, flute, bass, guitar, and vocals. He aims to teach a technical mastery of the instrument, a deep understanding of harmonic and rhythmic concepts, reading sheet music, the ability to express oneself through improvisation, and how to jam with others.

Nathan aims to achieve these learning objectives by following students’ passions. For example, he practices giving space for a child to choose which song to learn, explore their own songwriting, and follow their curiosity. Nathan is passionate about community building, social justice, and creating a more equitable and sustainable world. These values come across in his lessons, in which he emphasizes patience, self-respect, positive communication, creative expression, and living-in-the-moment, all of which he believes are necessary for a well-rounded life.

Nathan loves working with children, and in addition to tutoring in music, he has been involved with youth summer camps his whole life. Some memorable experiences at camp include sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, rock climbing, and ropes course. He also worked for many years at the UCLA Challenge Course, facilitating high ropes experiential education programs with an emphasis on effective communication, courage, and collaboration.

Nathan has offered his musical talents through directing, composing, performing, and arranging for groups/bands whose styles represent a large musical spectrum - from R&B to big-band to hip-hop to rock to musical theater. Nathan’s career has led him to work with legends such as Kenny Burrell, The Untouchables, Saint Motel, Moses Sumney, KSHMR, and to perform at notable venues such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Montreau Jazz Festival, Royce Hall, Pauley Pavilion, and the Berkeley Greek Theater.

Outside of the professional world, Nathan loves spending time with his wife, Sarah, camping, surfing, hiking, and singing with friends. Music has been his teacher, friend, therapist, and gift to others, and he is grateful to be able to share this passion with the next generation.

Daniel Won

Educator

Daniel is unconventional. As an immigrant from Korea, he was mostly surrounded by Latinos in high school and influenced by Chicano culture in his identity formation. Therefore, he now considers himself a Korean-American with a hint of Chicano sprinkled on top. He majored in Spanish with a Chinese minor at UC Berkeley to expand his diverse international background, and since then, has traveled around the globe as a student, volunteer, intern, and backpacker.

Although he did not fully dedicate himself to education in his earlier career, his interest grew while working at an Ed-Tech startup and volunteering for AmeriCorps. Therefore, he moved on to receive M.S.Ed at the University of Pennsylvania in International Education Development. With this, Daniel experienced working with Nongovernmental Organizations, Intergovernmental Organizations, and international schools where he supported program development, curriculum, and evaluation. Nonetheless, he eventually discovered his passion for directly working with students, and thus, is currently pursuing California secondary math teaching credential while teaching at Dream AcadeMe as well as other private and international schools online.

Daniel defines education as a teaching to be more human. Especially with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, which can perform far better than even the smartest person in the world in terms of memorization and computation, Daniel seeks to focus on exploring and developing what humans can do, such as critical thinking, creativity, and flexibility. Therefore, he is a strong proponent for a student and society centered curriculum, which provides ample space for students to reflect, assess, and initiate a learning process.

Daniel is also a learner. He has loved and loves and will always love to learn new things and accept challenges. Daniel welcomes the idea of becoming a renaissance man who is well-versed over a broad spectrum. Therefore, he enjoys various hobbies, from music and dance to cooking to outdoor activities and many more, which also helps him to relate and build a rapport with students from different backgrounds. Daniel is excited to start an adventure at Dream AcadeMe to help students to be prepared for the future and hopes to learn together with them.

Mara Siegmund

EDUCATOR

Mara grew up in Louisiana, spending summers in southern California with her cousins. She was homeschooled through grade 6, where time was mostly spent outdoors, creating various projects, traveling, and falling in love with the arts.  These positive memories drive her passion for experience-based learning and meeting children where they are. She worked with youth throughout her early life, as a counselor at sports camps, and in community involvement, including Boys and Girls Club of America.

Mara studied Psychology minoring in Studio Art at Delaware State University, an HBCU, where she was also a member of the women’s soccer team as a scholarship athlete. She channeled her creative inclination into the fashion industry upon moving to Los Angeles, where she worked in textile and garment dye development and production. 

In a city of transplants, Mara realized a calling to be more involved with her community. This began to take form when she decided to work with children again, as a facilitator for the messy and marvelous learning process that encompasses childhood development. Her philosophy is heavily influenced by her RIE Foundations training, which is an overview of the Educaring® Approach taught by Magda Gerber, which focuses on the development of the whole child. 

Mara loves finding innovative ways to help young minds tap into their creativity and express themselves. She has a passion for supporting social and emotional learning, and providing observation and thoughtful care, while witnessing confidence and skills blossom.

Mara also studied holistic nutrition and is currently working on becoming an Ayurvedic Doula. She is also studying children’s and trauma-informed yoga via YogaEd.

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