Amy Besida, English Instructional Coach and Teacher

I attended Bradley University in Peoria, IL (Go Braves!), where I majored in secondary education and English.  In college I volunteered for a peer and community tutoring program that brought college students into Peoria Public Schools for on-site tutoring.  I began my career as an educator in 2004 in the Peoria Public School system where I was honored with the title of Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2006.  I also spent time after school coaching the speech team and led two outstanding young ladies to the IL state speech tournament.  For the last four years I have been working in the Chicago Public Schools system where I implemented the Hopkins curriculum at Phillips Achievement Academy.   In addition to my work with the achievement academies, I was the co-department chair for English at Phillips High School and successfully bridged the college and test preparatory Kaplan curriculum through the High School Transformation initiative.  During the summer of 2009 I began attending rigorous teaching workshops at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater where I later graduated from their nationally acclaimed Bard Core teacher program.  As a part of this program I was able to take my students on a free field trip to the theater to watch a play and participate in a round-table discussion with professional actors.  In my free time I enjoy reading great books, attempting to cook, exploring the great city of Chicago, and taking my dog Oscar on long walks.  I will use my TALENTS to help uncover the hidden talents of the students and my fellow teachers at Chicago Talent so that we can all strive together towards our common goals!

Stacy Sniegowski, Math Instructional Coach and Teacher

Bonjour!  My name is Stacy Sniegowski and I am the Math Coach at Chicago Talent.  I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education and a minor in French from Purdue University.  Since then, I’ve studied the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Principals of Engineering (POE) course and Science Education, with a focus in Physics.  After 4 years of teaching a variety of subjects (Earth Science, Geometry, French, and POE) and 1 year as Mathematics/Foreign Language Department Lead at A.C.E. Technical Charter High School, I decided to work with other teachers in a more direct way and joined the Chicago New Teacher Center as an induction coach for first and second year teachers across the city.   In addition to teaching during the regular school year, I coached girls soccer for four years,  taught at the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute’s Summer Accelerated Math Camp (SAM-C), led A.C.E. Tech’s FIRST Robotics team to a Midwest Regional Championship and a trip to the National Championship  in Atlanta, GA, co-organized and chaperoned a student trip to Paris, France, and am the founder of and a mentor for the Wholesome High School Radio Project.  I will use my TALENTS to support my teachers and students in setting and achieving their goals through obstacles that we will overcome together.

Frank Pesce, Ninth Grade Counselor

Mr. Pesce holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and an MA in School Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University. Prior to joining the counseling department at Chicago Talent, Mr. Pesce completed a 2,000-hour internship at Prosser Career Academy. While at Prosser, he specialized in grief and loss as well as drug and alcohol awareness. He also focused extensively on helping students apply for college, financial aid, and scholarships. Mr. Pesce played two years of college baseball and is co-head coach of the Chicago Talent Cardinals’ baseball team. In his free time, he enjoys writing fiction stories, playing basketball, and reading. Mr. Pesce is a member of the American School Counselor Association and the Illinois Association of College Admission Counselors.

Paul Fagen, Communities in Schools of Chicago Site Coordinator

Paul Fagen, LCSW, received his Masters degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago in 1998. Since then, he has worked primarily with youth in a variety of settings, including high schools, elementary schools, and hospitals. Most recently, he worked directly for Chicago Public Schools, helping high schools around the city better address the social & emotional needs of their students by coordinating the behavioral supports in their buildings. Paul has additional training in both trauma and its impact on the behavior of young people, and the role of social emotional learning to improve school culture. Paul is also a professional actor here in Chicago.

Abidemi Adeboje, Special Education Instructor

From 2007-2009, Abidemi worked at Consuela B. York Alternative High School, teaching mathematics, computers, and science. Before becoming a teacher, Abidemi performed medical research in diabetes at the University of Chicago. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lauren Altieri, Art Teacher

Lauren graduated from Kent State University in Ohio, with a BA in Art Education. Before coming to Chicago, she taught for three years in Charlotte, North Carolina. Art is her passion, and obviously one of her major hobbies. She specializes in large-scale oil paintings on canvas and has experience with just about every art media.

Eli Argamaso, English Language Arts Instructor

Eli is a proud lifelong resident of Chicago. He grew up in Ravenswood on the north side of the city and attended Amundsen High School. Following high school he owned and operated a coffee shop in the city, while attending Northeastern Illinois University, where he received a BA in English. Currently, Mr. Argamaso is working towards a Master of Arts in Teaching at National-Louis University. Mr. Argamaso is also interested in drama and looks forward to starting a drama club and producing plays throughout the school year.

Aoko Hope, Biology Instructor

Ms. Hope earned her BFA in Textiles from Parsons School of Design, New York and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a concentration in Fiber. She completed a teaching certification program in Biological Science from National-Louis University and is a 2009 Project STELL (Secondary Teachers of English Language Learners) grant recipient at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has been teaching for twelve years in both the private sector and with Chicago Public Schools. As an artist and science educator, Ms. Hope plans to illustrate a book on botanical art and human anatomy to inspire high school students.

Filberto (Fil) Torres, Physical Education Instructor

Filberto Torres graduated from the University of Arizona, where he walked onto the men's basketball team, and played during the 2001-2004 seasons. Since graduating, Fil has held a variety of positions within the academic arena. He spent a year at East Aurora High School employed as the Career Center Director, where he was responsible for helping students with their post secondary plans, as well as helping them find part-time jobs, and planning for college visits and career fairs. He also served as the assistant boys’ varsity basketball coach and head JV coach. Fil has worked at Lindbloom Math and Science Academy, Von Steuben High School, and Mercyhurst North East Junior College (Erie, PA).

Andrew Lindo, Physical Education / Health Teacher

I am excited to teach physical education and health education at Chicago Talent.  I graduated from Aurora University in 2007, where I majored in physical education with a minor in health education.  While at Aurora University, I learned a great deal about becoming a teacher and innovative ways to reach each and every student.  In my spare time, I was a student-coach for the Men’s Basketball team and was a three-year letter winner on the Men’s Golf team.  For the past three school years, I taught physical education at Minooka Community High School in Minooka, IL.  At MCHS, I taught at both the freshmen and sophomore level, spending a majority of the time in the weight room.  I also coached both football and basketball all three years.  I will use my TALENTS to give each and everyone of my students the very best opportunity to learn and achieve at their highest level.  As well as teach them the life skills, necessary to succeed in college, career and civic life.

Amy Ellifritz, English Teacher

My name is Amy Ellifritz (a.k.a. Ms. E) and I am an English teacher here at Chicago Talent.  I graduated from Ohio University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and I am currently pursuing a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix in special education. I have been teaching English for the past three years at Orr High School and Little Village Lawndale High School, and now I’m excited to be a Chicago Talent Cardinal!  In the past I have initiated a competitive poetry slam team, a reading buddies program, and I’ve always wanted to help out with a marching band or pep band.  I will use my TALENTS to make myself obsolete to my students; if I do my job well enough, eventually my students won’t need me anymore—and that’ when I’ll know they’ve achieved their highest potential.

Theodore Hampton, Technology Teacher

Rachel Halpin, Social Studies Teacher

Shentil Mann, Math Teacher

Adam Taylor, Math Teacher