Teachers

Vicki Langer

Teacher

Vicki was once a manager of aircraft maintenance in the US Air Force and has been charming Python for a couple years. She has coded and maintains several open source Twitter bots. Business is her thing and coding is an important part of any business. Vicki loves talking to kids about how they can apply their coding skills to their ideas. Outside of coding, when Vicki isn’t petting her cat, she’s throwing a ball for her dogs.

Aaron Turransky

Teacher

After spending several years working as a pharmaceutical sales representative, Aaron decided to change career paths and return to school to pursue another degree. His intention is to finish his second Masters degree in Cybersecurity in 2021 and in his free time, Aaron likes to play board games, and video games.

Rose Truglio

Teacher

I have a bachelor's degree in Information Systems, a Master's Degree in Secondary Education, and a Post-Masters Certificate in Educational Leadership.  I have been teaching computer science, computer applications, and programming for over 20 years to students at all ages and stages of life: in a public high school, for a teacher's center, and for St. Joseph's College. Courses I've taught include AP CS A , AP CS Principles, Introduction to Programming, Internet Publishing, Web Dev and more!  I love puzzles, solving problems, and helping others understand the joys of programming.

Marco Sampedro

Teacher

Marco graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelors in Computer Information Systems. Throughout college Marco worked as a summer camp counselor and realized how much he enjoys interacting with kids. Marco loves that he can combine his passion for coding and teaching children. Marco is an experienced coder and uses his fresh outlook on coding to inspire and relate to students who express interest in coding careers. Marco’s favorite part of coding is the freedom to be creative and express individuality. He loves to watch students make projects their own.

Martin Batista

Teacher

Aside from teaching at Code Wizards, Martin is a piano teacher as well as an online ESL teacher. He studied coding with Visual Basic, C++, and Java in 1999 and has been hooked on coding ever since. He also freelances from time to time making websites. Martin enjoys coding in Python, JavaScript and is currently studying C#. He is focusing on coding web apps and video games.

Luke Shafer

Teacher

Luke first found a passion for coding on calculators when he was in seventh grade. Since then, he earned his degree in Computer Science and has worked for multiple technology-focused companies including Apple. He has a strong passion for technology and education. In his free time, Luke makes music, embroiders, and takes apart the various computers in his home. He is excited and honored to share what he has learned to help shape the coders of the future.

Alex Greer

Teacher

Alex Geer is a full stack web developer. He received a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science, graduating with honors from University of North Florida. Alex says his favorite part of teaching is getting to see the next generation of problem solvers become empowered through programming. In his time off he enjoys fishing, backpacking, a good book, cooking, and movies.

Shani Forbes

Teacher

Shani cultivated a background in Law before discovering her love for the I.T industry after learning her first programming language. She also has extensive teaching experience, working with children and adults on a wide range of topics.  She loves teaching and is excited to have the opportunity to help kids discover and love the wonderful world of coding.

Melanie Seiberlich

Teacher

I have been programming in SQL, VBA and Python in companies like Solae and Wells Fargo. Some of my hobbies include making jewelry, sewing, and knitting. Hearing kids get excited as they learn is the best feeling in the world because it reminds me of how I felt when I was learning.

James Capps

Teacher

James is a former musician and loves the combination of creativity and logical thinking that coding offers. He has many years of experience teaching and loves seeing his students develop and grow their skills.

Alec Goodner

Teacher

Alec recently graduated with a degree in Software Engineering and is eagerly continuing to grow and learn new skills. Whether it be STEM, arts, or anything in between, he’s always happy to rise to a challenge and help raise up others with him along the way. No matter where life leads him, he always seeks to make a positive impact on others and his community.

Lily Wise

Teacher

Lily is a graduate of Baylor University where she received her bachelors degree in Bioinformatics. While at Baylor, Lily mentored students new to computer science and students who were struggling. Now, she enjoys showing all students the joy of computer science and how coding is possible for anyone who is willing to learn. Lily is not only interested in teaching, but also in data analytics. She has worked with hospitals, where she developed apps for storing and managing medical data as well as designed websites for viewing patient data.

Ife Blount

Teacher

As someone who is part engineer and part creative, coding combines the best of both worlds for Ife. Nothing brings her more joy than watching her students grow confident with their coding skills and seeing them apply what they’ve learned in their projects. She believes coding teaches more than syntax, it helps students develop important life skills like problem-solving. In her spare time, Ife enjoys traveling, playing soccer, and gardening.

Jordan Bailey

Teacher

Jordan enjoys graphics programming, game development. He learned how to program 8 years ago and has loved it ever since. His parents instilled in him at a young age the importance of education and now, he is more excited than ever to be able to teach what he's learned from his experiences.

Jey Iyempandi

CEO & Head Teacher

Jey is founder and CEO of CodeWizardsHQ. He is a former Director of Marketing at Dell. He is the father of two children who are learning to code. He is inspired by the possibilities code creates in our children’s lives.

Daniel Schroeder

Curriculum Developer

I started coding in my late 20s and have been in love with programming ever since. I love learning about programming languages and generally learn a new language each year to better my coding and software engineering skills. Over the past six years, I've enjoyed working with Java, C, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python. Working at CodeWizardsHQ is a dream job, as I get to share my love of programming and programming languages with eager students and help inspire the next generation of programmers.

Alex Van Winkel

Senior Teacher

Alex comes from a family of teachers. His father was a teacher, and many of his uncles are either teachers or scientists. He studied Education at the Fontys Hogeschool in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and has been a teacher since 2000. He always has had an interest in computers and technology in general and created his first code when he was 12.

Andrew Morgan

Teacher

Andrew is a lover of design, philosophy, and art. He had been making websites for clients across the country for 8 years. He believes education is the cornerstone of our society and is honored to be teaching tomorrow’s greatest coders.

Ivann Grande

Senior Teacher

Ivann’s interest in programming started when he was 9 years old. He received his BS in Computer Science in 2017 and has always had a passion for teaching. He constantly strives to make education an interactive, fun, and engaging experience for the youth to help prepare them for future success.

Larry Cherry

Senior Teacher

Larry is a former system administrator who started coding to improve and build better software for his clients. He also participates and mentors at hackathons across Texas and he is excited to share his passion for coding with all of his students.

Lynn Schirmer

Senior Teacher

Web design and development are what artist Lynn Schirmer does every day. For the past 12 years she has been developing original sites for a range of clients, from individuals to major corporations. She is excited to share the creative power of code with young people.

Sabreena Osborne

Senior Teacher & Parent Liaison

Sabreena’s love for coding began while building her first website many years ago. Although she has worked extensively as a corporate trainer, her passion for working with kids and interest in coding has brought her to CodeWizardsHQ, where she enthusiastically prepares kids for a successful future.

Samuel Hoffman

Senior Teacher

Sam is literally the best. He could beat Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in a coding contest. Also he’s excited to teach your young students about the wonders of The Python Programming Language.

Tyler Crocker

Senior Teacher

As a video game technical animator, nothing brings Tyler more gratification than watching others enjoy his creations. With a passion for youth development brought on through years serving in Americorps, he hopes to pass on his passion to the developers of the future.

Kyle Askew

Teacher

Kyle is a long time software engineer focusing on video game and web app development with a passion for programming, teaching, and community. He believes that programming is the most exciting video game you will ever play and strives to show just how limitless programming and computer science can be.

Margaret Choi

Teacher

Margaret has 10 years of digital marketing and front-end web development experience. She is passionate about technology and first started coding to develop her own non-profit website helping animal rescues. Her goal is to make coding a fun challenge for kids.

Nicholas Falcone

Teacher

Nick recently graduated with a dual degree in Computer Science and Criminology and is currently pursuing an MS in Digital Forensic Investigations. Nick enjoys helping new students enjoy the powerful world of programming.

Thomas Kellough

Teacher

Thomas got into coding in college while obtaining his B.S. in Biology. He is a full-time high school teacher (Biology and AP Environmental Science) who enjoys coding in his free time. His favorite languages are Python and Swift as he enjoys iOS development. His latest fascination is world travel and he aims to visit as many countries as he can.

Mike Ferrara

Teacher

Mike is Freelance Web and Application Developer and Teacher of High School and Middle School Computer Programming. Ever since getting his first computer back in 1992, he has been a lifelong computer enthusiast. This, mixed with a desire to learn just how his favorite video games worked, led him to start learning how to program at the age of 11. Within the year, he had written and published his first website. He knew right then and there that this was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life and is proud to still be doing it to this day.

Ashley Hart

Teacher

Ashley fell in love with coding when going through a career transition. Once she wrote her first program, she knew she found her passion. She works as a freelance front-end developer for a media company and her love of teaching extends to any setting. She welcomes the challenge in showing kids how coding can be fun and rewarding for whatever they choose to do in life.

Ashley fell in love with coding when going through a career transition. Once she wrote her first program, she knew she found her passion. She works as a freelance front-end developer for a media company and her love of teaching extends to any setting. She welcomes the challenge in showing kids how coding can be fun and rewarding for whatever they choose to do in life.

Andy Whitehead

Teacher

Andy is a web developer with experience coding, building websites, and teaching. He has a deep understanding of a wide variety of coding languages and specializes in front end languages, such as JavaScript. As a freelance web developer, Andy has created websites designed to drive growth for companies from many different industries. Additionally, Andy enjoys playing guitar and has extensive teaching experience. He has taught music lessons

Lauren Dove

Teacher

Lauren has had a knack for computers and technology since an early age. From being a part of NASA science space program to building and fixing electronics around the house. She also worked at Apple as a tech expert and co-led summer camps where she fell in love with coding. Lauren currently attends school to become a full stack software engineer and is set to graduate this year. She is fluent in Ruby/rails, HTML, SQL, JavaScript. Lauren especially has a passion to see the next generation take hold of this skill set and open the door to endless possibilities for them. When she’s not working or doing homework she loves to roller skate.

Joe Terry

Teacher

Joe has been a Software Engineer for 30 years. He has written games for the Apple ][, Atari 400/800, the TRS("trash")80 from Radio Shack and the TI 994a Home Computer.

In mid-2016, he began to engage with clients on various cryptocurrency based projects. While consulting with clients on traditional forms of cryptocurrency Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining, he found Masternodes which are based on Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus. The future is about Equality, Autonomy and Sustainability of access to the internet and the information economy. We must teach the children.