This year, Lakeside is thrilled to welcome eight new educators to the Upper School. Bringing fresh ideas, diverse experiences, and a shared passion for teaching, they’ll be joining the community from all across the country — and some of our new faculty may already be familiar!
Sam Weiman
Stepping into a full-time role in the history department will be Sam Weiman, who, in addition to teaching Lakeside summer school and being a substitute, filled the shoes of the late Mr. Salter last school year, teaching history classes and leading an advisory. Born in Minnesota, Sam initially began teaching in Rhode Island after receiving her master’s in social studies education from Brown University. She moved to Washington five years ago to pursue a Ph.D. in the same subject at the University of Washington, and she is currently finishing the degree. Sam recalls that growing up, history had always been her favorite subject, partly due to her dad being a social studies teacher. She believes that it’s helpful to understand where we’ve come from in order to understand the world around us. In her free time, Sam loves dancing, something she’s been doing since childhood; cooking; trying new recipes; and traveling. Fun fact: her very first job was as a costumed character at the Mall of America in Minnesota, debuting the first ever Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume.
Lianne Pang
Lianne Pang will be joining the Lakeside community as a new librarian. Born and raised in Hawaii, Ms. Pang moved to Seattle to pursue a master’s degree in library science from the University of Washington. After gaining experience working in both university and pre-college libraries, she moved back to Hawaii with her family in 2019, where she spent five years working as the library director for ‘Iolani School in Honolulu, a private, co-educational K-12 school serving over 2,200 students. She just moved back to Seattle last year and worked as a librarian at Eastside Catholic School. She first found her love for libraries studying English in college. Library science would suit her passions of research, finding information for other people, reading, and connecting people with books. Outside of the library, Ms. Pang enjoys spending time with her family and two cats, playing pickleball, trying new foods and, of course, reading. Fun fact: Ms. Pang received a black belt in taekwondo in high school.
McKenzie Lancaster
Joining the student support team as a mental health counselor will be McKenzie Lancaster. Born in Spokane, Ms. Lancaster moved to Seattle to study English and psychology at the University of Washington. Chasing her love for psychology, she then went on to pursue a master’s degree in social work in Colorado. She first began her career as a resident advisor, supporting new college students. She explained that “it’s so rewarding to see someone through challenges, and that’s something that has stuck with me.” Ms. Lancaster also emphasized that she truly loves her job and feels lucky to be able to “come to work every day and get to help people.” She recalled that one of Lakeside’s characteristics that appealed to her was the prioritization of mental health, and the desire to support students fully, as complete people. Ms. Lancaster spent the last four years working in the Bellevue School District as a counselor focusing on mental health support. In her free time, she enjoys pottery, specifically wheel throwing and hand building. A fun fact about Ms. Lancaster is that she’s an avid NBA fan, having fostered an interest in watching basketball during the pandemic. Her favorite team is the Denver Nuggets.
Lea Savard
Joining the Math Department will be Lea Savard. Dr. Savard grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, going on to study engineering mechanics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After a short stint working as a structural engineer at Boeing in Seattle, she pivoted to pursue her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Savard coached gymnastics during her time at UC Boulder, which fostered her passion for coaching and teaching, leading her to realize she loved helping other people reach their goals. Why math? Well, Dr. Savard shared that she loves the routine of working through a problem, and enjoys the feeling of satisfaction derived from understanding one. In her free time, Dr. Savard loves reading, watching reality TV, and the outdoors, whether hiking, biking, running, swimming, or backpacking — in fact, she hopes to be leading trips with the Lakeside outdoor program. A fun fact about Dr. Savard is that she has triple US, Canadian, and French citizenship due to her dad being French Canadian and her mom being from France.
Sue-jin Green
Sue-jin Green will be teaching English at Lakeside. Hailing from Southern California, Ms. Green completed her undergraduate studies at Texas Christian University, majoring in English and Spanish, before spending two years working as a high school college counselor. She would go on to receive her master’s in English at Syracuse University, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate there. Ms. Green knew that she wanted to teach after working as a college counselor, when she fell in love with working with students. At Lakeside, she hopes to “cultivate a diversity of perspectives that allow for more nuanced and critical engagement with the world outside the classroom.” Additionally, she’s excited to “be deeply involved in the campus community”, and to “see her students both inside and outside the classroom.” In her free time, Ms. Green loves to bake pies, which is a skill that she hopes to perfect one day. She also loves visiting museums, rock climbing, weightlifting, and playing Stardew Valley. A fun fact about Ms. Green is that she has a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Zachary Williams
Joining the history department will be Zachary Williams. Mr. Williams grew up in Pierce County, and majored in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Pomona College, while minoring in Africana Studies. He then went on to receive his Master of Science in Educational Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Williams credits his career in education to the various leaders that he had in his life. His brother and father, both educators, inspired him to fall in love with critical thinking. Growing up, he considered either a career in law or education, but ultimately concluded that the “art of teaching” is far more valuable, and that “there’s something beautiful in helping young people.” Mr. Williams spoke fondly of a training program called Teach for America, which he did in Hawaii while working towards his master’s, and led him to fall in love with teaching. While teaching on Oahu, he met his wife, a teacher at the same school. He hopes to bring his wealth of experience teaching African American studies to Lakeside, as well as catalyze critical consciousness and incorporate discussions of the current political climate. In his free time, Mr. Williams loves playing golf, football, and basketball, snowboarding, watching movies and TV shows, and hanging out with his nephews. Some fun facts about Mr. Williams are that he has a twin sister and that he’s hiked the New Zealand mountain which represented Mount Doom in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films.
Spencer Stiglets
Spencer Stiglets will be joining the math department. A Seattle native, Mr. Stiglets completed his undergraduate studies at Whitworth University in Spokane, majoring in Physics, while also running track. He first aspired to become a teacher while in university, when several experiences of tutoring and working at summer camps unveiled his passion for teaching. Therefore, he ditched his original physics pathway. His favorite aspect of teaching is minimizing the intimidation factor by breaking down complex math concepts for students so they can learn hard things. Mr. Stiglets joins Lakeside with 21 years of experience, having taught since 2004 at institutions including Mountlake Terrace High School, Kings High School, and Northwest University. In his free time, Mr. Stiglets enjoys spending time outside with his six-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, snowboarding, watching the Seahawks and the Mariners, hiking, and mountain biking. A fun fact about Mr. Stiglets is that he can make an accurate cat meow sound.
Juan Arroyave
Last but not least, Juan Arroyave will be teaching Spanish at Lakeside. Profe Arroyave was born in Colombia, and received both his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Hispanic Studies from the University of Washington. After spending time in Colombia, Spain, and a year in Japan, he returned to Seattle to earn a master’s in Japanese Literature, also from UW. In the summers, he brings students from the U.S. to Tokyo, where he teaches both Japanese and Spanish Literature and Culture courses. Profe Arroyave recalls that, when he previously judged the Spanish writing contest, Escribo en Español, hosted by UW, Lakeside students would always dominate, which allowed him to observe the robustness of Lakeside’s language programs. Profe Arroyave started teaching in his early 20s at a college in Colombia, and decided that this would be his career after finding that he had a knack for it and education was “in his element.” He explained that something cool about teaching languages is that “you get to know a lot about the personal life of your students,” which is something that doesn’t always happen in other classes. “In Spanish class, the topic is yourself,” he said. Outside of the classroom, Profe Arroyave is an avid movie watcher, typically watching a movie a week. He also enjoys reading literature and manga, anime, and sports such as basketball and soccer. Fun fact: Profe Arroyave’s family grows coffee in the Andes mountains in Colombia, but he does not enjoy drinking coffee, and actually prefers tea!