Meet Us

Vanessa Phillips has been the Director at Kino since 2021. Vanessa graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.F.A. in Art Education in 2006. After completing her student teaching at Kino, she worked as a Kino homeroom teacher, teaching high school English and ceramics. In 2012, she left Tucson to attend Montclair State University in New Jersey to earn her M.A. in English, with a dual focus in Writing Studies and American Literature. She was a public school English teacher in New Jersey and then a full-time Writing Lecturer at the New Jersey Institute of Technology before returning to Kino as the Director. In her free time, Vanessa likes to make pottery, play board games, climb, and run. She has three cats and one daughter, who is a Kino student.

Caroline is a Tucson native, dog enthusiast, and former Kino student. Before transitioning into the world of education, she worked with children and families at child advocacy and behavioral health non-profits. Caroline holds degrees in Psychology, Linguistics, and Educational Leadership and is certified in K-12 Special Education. She also teaches Language Arts and Humanities classes for Mid Level, Junior High, and High School students.

In her spare time, Caroline enjoys hiking with her dogs and conducting research on education and social justice at the University of Arizona.

Lisa Rakestraw has been teaching at Kino over a decade. She specializes in K-8, and has taught all subjects, but currently teaches math fundamentals to students of all ages. She also teaches students how to train the livestock and poultry. She believes that Kino’s connections to the wider community are essential for students to develop citizenship. In her younger days she traveled alone to the Solomon Islands for a couple months and lived at a wolf sanctuary for almost a year. Her dream vacation would be a world wide adventure through Borneo, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Ireland.

Charlie Duncan assists with the Plant Science class and oversees the greenhouse, gardens, and outdoor learning area. Charlie has extensive experience in caring for and using native plants, rainwater harvesting, landscape management, sustainable design, and working with concrete, brick, and rock. With knowledge of computer technology, he would like to teach a class in computer programming in the future.

This is Scott’s eighth year at Kino. He is a geologist, musician, and large format photographer specializing in the Colorado Plateau and Gulf of California. His clients have included non-profit organizations, universities, government agencies, publishers, and museums worldwide. Before coming to Kino, Scott spent several seasons as geoscientist and park ranger talking about rocks and stars on Grand Canyon’s North Rim. Visit him online at cherba.com.

“Coach Skid,” as his twenty-plus years of students and athletes call him, spent his early years in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, where he developed his lifelong love affair with the outdoors. He has worked with young people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds for over two decades. First in athletics, coaching numerous levels from peewee to high school varsity, and numerous sports from girl’s softball (state champs!) to wrestling to football and many more. Coaching led to a desire to work with young people full-time, culminating with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at 48. Coach says this was the best decision of his life!

Mike recently moved back to Tucson after more than thirty years away. His niece and nephew attended Kino, prompting a strong desire to teach here, and he is extremely excited to finally get the chance to work with the amazing Kino family of staff and students!

Cézanne has been a teacher at Kino for over five years. She is currently working part time as the school librarian while pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Science. She’s passionate about student engagement with our marvelous book collection, and is in the midst of several exciting projects to revamp the space with the help of her student librarians!

Jennifer was born in New York and grew up in the woods of northern Maine. She relocated to Arizona in 2015 as a military spouse. Her background is in social work. She taught preschool for thirteen years before moving to High School E.L.A. and Middle School Science. She places a strong emphasis on nurturing social/emotional skills.
She has five children and two dogs. She also coaches competitive cheerleading.

Bobby has a BS in history and an MA in English from NAU. He’s worked extensively with people of all ages with disabilities since 2008, and last year worked as an office administrator and teacher of reading and writing to grades three through five at a small elementary school. He is a musician and occasional visual artist.

Larissa brings a diverse portfolio of musical experiences to the K-12 music curriculum at Kino. She is excited to explore experiences of music and movement with primary students through a Kodaly inspired lesson sequence. Larissa is also excited to offer instruction on a variety of musical instruments, to create new musical ensembles, and to encourage composition. She hopes to have a part in integrating a rich musical culture into the daily life of the Kino school. Larissa holds a Master of Music degree in viola performance from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. During the course of her education she also studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University. She has been a music teacher in various roles from elementary to university during the course of her career, and she has also worked as a musician and music teacher in many different countries. Some notable ensembles that Larissa has played viola/violin with include the Sinfonica Sinaloa de Las Artes, National Symphony of Colombia, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, Santa Fe ProMusica, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Norwalk Symphony, Arizona Opera, and the Tucson Symphony. Before the worldwide pandemic, Larissa and her husband, Jason, were music teachers at the Woodstock International School in India. Since arriving in Tucson three years ago, Larissa has taught orchestra classes, performed many concerts, and hiked many trails in the beautiful Sonoran landscapes with her husband and two children.

Pat Fisher was raised in northern Arizona but fell in love with the Sonoran Desert after moving to Tucson nearly two decades ago. A lifelong learner, Pat has a BS in Gender & Women’s Studies from the University of Arizona and loves drawing connections between the tactile and the theoretical, the personal and the societal. Their approach to the industrial arts draws on their academic background as well as over a dozen years of experience working in a variety of trades including welding, woodworking, landscaping, home remodeling and bicycle mechanics. In their free time Pat enjoys freestyle bicycling, metal fabrication, and reading in the company of their three cats.

Dean has a passion for teaching about history, particularly ancient societies. His educational background is in anthropology and social studies.  Beginning in 2004 he has gained several years of experience in conducting archaeological work throughout the southwest, learning much from excavating Hohokam settlements and other archaeological sites.

For several years he has also been an Educator, having taught world history, US history, government, economics, biology, Earth science, and physics.  Additionally, he has years of experience in special education, having served as an in-class Aide and Special Education Coordinator.

Dean loves to inspire students to learn about ancient people, in hopes that it may encourage them to be good people in modern times. By learning from history and prehistory, we can wonder in amazement about our beautiful legacy as human beings and hopefully make wise decisions about our relationship to one another, our resources, and the Earth. 

Outside of work Dean loves to create music, playing guitar and singing. He also loves to explore ancient home building techniques, permaculture, and sustainability.

Jade works with Primary as the Teacher’s Assistant and also helps out with After School as needed. They have three years of experience working in a school setting and 20 years of experience with children in various roles. Jade is currently studying at Pima and is passionate about supporting students as they learn, grow, and develop a love for learning. In their free time, they enjoy making art and spending time with friends (and their dogs!). 

Amber, who holds a B.S. in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Literacy, Learning, and Leadership, is transitioning to a new role as a part-time science teacher. She will be co-teaching Mid-Level Science and leading a Junior High science class.