Our Facilitators

David Chrzanowski

David Chrzanowski has been involved with education for two decades.  For several years, he was a senior instructor with Lindamood Bell where he built unique one-to-one learning experiences for students needing remedial intervention, and for those who just needed an academic boost. While at Lindamood-Bell, he administered national and in-house service tests and assessments. David was a professor for several years at Oklahoma City University and has taught at many colleges around the country. His initial foray into teaching came through drama-in-education and story-telling in Chicago where he received his M.F.A. at The Conservatory at Roosevelt University. For many years he served as the educational associate at Silk Road Rising in Chicago where he helped to create the successful ‘Myths to Drama’ educational outreach program. This program used world mythology to showcase the similarities of world cultures through the lens of storytelling and served hundreds of students annually throughout the city.

A big fan of the Detroit Tigers and EE Cummings his favorite quote is: “Always the beautiful answer/ who asks the more beautiful question.” -EE Cummings

• B.A. Eastern Michigan University
• M.F.A.  The Conservatory at Roosevelt University

Mardi Norman

Mardi is the founder of The LOFT, a non-profit organization dedicated to modernizing education and recognizing customization, not standardization, is the path to learning success.  In her professional career, Mardi is the President and CEO of a mid-sized IT company headquartered in El Segundo, CA.  She has over 20 years of experience as a business leader in the Information Technology industry.  Mardi has sat on Advisory Councils for three Fortune 200 companies, as well as the Board of a small non-profit nursery school.  She received the nationally recognized Human Corps Award for community service in 1991.  Mardi completed the ECHO Parent communication series in 2012.  She and her husband, Dave, live in Manhattan Beach with their two lovely daughters.  Both girls attend Da Vinci charter school two days per week and engage in independent-study the balance of the week.

In September 2015 Mardi Norman was ranked #35 on INC. Magazine’s Impact 50 list.  The article was titled: TOP 50 WOMAN ENTREPRENEURS IN AMERICA. 

In April 2019, Mardi was inducted into Loyola Marymount University’s “Wall of Honor” for lifetime achievement and making significant contributions to the field of entrepreneurship.  Two alumni are chosen annually by the School of Business, Entrepreneurship to receive this honor.

Education:

• Masters: Mardi graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University’s Executive Masters in Business Administration (MBA) Program.
• Bachelors: Mardi was awarded a BA degree from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. She also studied at London University in England through an exchange program with Cal Poly, SLO.

Favorite Quote: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” –Yeats

Rick Sharp

Rick brings 35 years of experience as a master of leading constructivist style learning, social-emotional development, and problem solving skills.  Rick’s approach combines a child and teacher lead project based learning (PBL) experience for kids to develop into joyful learners.

My initiation into education began as a young child who always wanted know, “Why?” Unfortunately, in my family, the answer was, “Because I said so,” or the answers didn’t quite seem to make sense. With the exception of one or two teachers, things didn’t get much better until I went to college, where I chose a general education philosophy course, because I had never heard of it before. There I found the people I had been searching for all my life, people who were actually interested in “why” questions. It was then, after almost two years as a Biology major,  that it dawned on me that philosophy should be my major. After completing a BA at Cal State Dominguez, I went on to work on a doctorate in Philosophy at Claremont Graduate School. But, after two years, life interrupted. During this time, my wife and I were looking for a high quality educational experience for the first of our three children. Unable to find exactly what we wanted, she said, “We should start a school.” I said, “You can’t just start a school.” She did anyway. And for the next 35 years I helped lead and taught at del Sol School in Manhattan Beach. There, I have had the rare privilege of being able to live in my passion of wondering, questioning, theorizing, investigating, experimenting, testing, and philosophizing with the students who have taught me more than I ever taught them.

Along the way I have continued my studies. Among others, I have trained with Matthew Lipman who founded the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children, with Marshall Rosenberg inNonviolent Communication (NVC), in Thomas Gordon’s Parent Effectiveness Training model, with Stephen Covey in Seven Habits of Effective Families, Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt’s Giving the Love that Heals, as well as several Dan Seigel workshops. Most recently, I have studied the writings of Ross Greene, (The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Raising Human Beings). These, combined with my Del Sol teaching experience, have led to a deep interest in helping parents develop a “Conscious Parenting” style — one which replaces “What is the ‘right’ way?” with, “What do I think and feel about my last interaction with my child?”

I look forward to working with your children as, together, we develop a “Culture of Thinking” and hopefully with you as well, as we attempt to become more “Conscious Parents.”

Favorite Quote: “There are no mothers or fathers for grown-ups, only sisters and brothers.”

Veronica Tran

Educator, Facilitator, and Community Builder

Veronica Tran is a dynamic and dedicated educator passionate about fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving in learners of all ages. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University, Long Beach, pairing academic expertise with a love for hands-on, student-centered education.

Veronica’s diverse career spans elementary and middle school classrooms, tutoring, summer camps, and youth leadership. As an Elementary Teacher, she spearheaded an innovative remote learning program during the pandemic, creating an engaging and adaptable curriculum that supported students’ academic and emotional growth in a virtual setting. In her work as a Middle School Math and Science Teacher, Veronica developed student-centered lessons informed by data, emphasizing collaboration, differentiation, and critical thinking. Her restorative discipline techniques and strong relationship-building skills fostered positive, inclusive classroom communities where students thrived.

Beyond the classroom, Veronica has facilitated creative writing camps, such as Adventures in Writing Camp, where she guided students through crafting and illustrating eBooks, blending technology with storytelling. She has also mentored future educators as a university-level mathematics tutor, equipping them with the tools and confidence to teach foundational math concepts effectively.

Veronica’s teaching philosophy centers on the belief that education should be interactive, inclusive, and empowering. As a youth group leader, she further honed her skills in community building, designing activities that supported young people’s academic, social, and emotional growth while fostering a sense of belonging and teamwork.

With experience across elementary and middle school levels, as well as in personalized tutoring and creative workshops, Veronica is committed to creating learning experiences that are engaging, adaptive, and inspiring. She thrives on collaboration, creativity, and empowering students to take ownership of their learning while cultivating skills that last a lifetime.

Favorite quote: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” – William Shakespeare.

Carlos Angeles

Carlos is a native Spanish speaker born in Mexico City. He has taught Spanish as a second language for 25 years to adults and children. When he started homeschooling his son four years ago he became a better teacher by understanding that the best way a child learns is by playing in a physical and emotionally safe environment. Given those conditions, a child can flourish to her full potential. He has taken two ECHO parenting courses in the last three years and received training as a parent from Dr. Reggie Melrose on how to work with children with trauma.

Carlos is the founder of letspanish, a Facebook community and business that offers classes and free advice and sources to complement the Spanish acquisition journey. He is also a co-founder of “La Manada, Multicultural Homeschooling” group, a primarily Spanish-English bilingual community located in Long Beach, CA. He currently teaches at GEE (Great Educational Experiences), Viva Homeschool Co-op and has his own Spanish programs in the South Bay as well as a tutoring business. Due to his successful programs he also has been invited to teach Science and Spanish for the next fall by The Lab Learning Space, Valiant Charter School, Lakewood campus, and South Bay LA Learning Center in Gardena.

Education

BA Mexican Law by the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, México.