Personal Message

I am excited to be a part of the Lincoln High School community. I studied physics and mathematics at the University of Washington, receiving a B.S. and M.S. in physics. As a graduate student I did research with the Physics Education Group, focused on inquiry based learning and iterative instructional improvement. I then taught for 12 years, covering physics, calculus-based physics, and math topics ranging from pre-algebra to AP Calculus and college level applied math. Along the way I completed a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, spending 8 years in administration serving as an education director, elementary principal, and middle school associate principal.

While my family lived in the Seattle area for about 14 years, we had moved to my wife’s hometown in Montana for about 11 years. As careers progressed, we decided to return to Seattle in 2021. Although I have enjoyed all the positions I have held in education, the move presented an opportunity to reflect and focus on what I love most, teaching students. My goal is to help all students become scientifically and mathematically literate, able to use a wide assortment of skills to solve hard problems in ways that are sensitive to our cultural diversity and are ecologically sustainable.

I have a hobby of collecting hobbies, so I have been known to bounce from one thing to another. Some days I may be inside playing video or board games, other days I am camping or cycling. Both of my children are in college, so I have filled their space at home with two English bulldogs, Walter and Henry.

Personal Message

Zachariah earned his bachelor's in music education from the University of Washington. His first teaching position was teaching elementary school music in Singapore from 2012-2014. He is currently the band director at Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School where he has been since 2015.

Zachariah grew up mostly in Fife, Washington, where he attended middle school and high school. Other than music, he is very passionate about health and fitness and spends much of his time cooking and training for powerlifting with his fiancé, Janet. He has an adorable French Bulldog named Arban (Yes; named after the trumpet pedagogue) and they both enjoy going on walks and hanging out at Dogwood Play Park. He continues to play trumpet in several ensembles for enjoyment, including local Seattle rock band, Seacastle.

I grew up in the small town of Douglas, Georgia, the youngest in a big family with four brothers and one sister.  After high school, I moved to New York City to attend New York University.  I majored in Metropolitan Studies, in the department of social and cultural analysis where I learned about how communities and societal institutions shape each other.  After college, I moved to England, living in Bristol for one year and Oxford for six years.  Math had always been my favorite subject in school, and during my time as an instructional assistant I realized I wanted to be a math teacher.  I completed my teacher training program at Oxford Brookes University in 2014.

I started my teaching career in Oxford, teaching all grades 6-12 for two years.  I moved to Seattle in 2016 and have spent the past seven years working as the 6th grade math teacher at Salmon Bay K-8.  I completed a Masters in Instructional Leadership from the University of Washington from 2019-2021.  I am very excited to start my 10th year teaching math at Lincoln High School, and I’m especially excited to see some of my former students here!

I love building and sharing my expertise as a teacher leader.  I was on Seattle Public School’s Teacher Leadership Cadre for four years, mentoring new math teachers and leading professional development and curriculum implementation in math.  I also served as the chair of the Building and Leadership Team at Salmon Bay, served on the Racial Equity Team, been the faculty advisor for Gender and Sexuality Alliance, and created LGBTQ+ curriculum for advisory classes at Salmon Bay.  My proudest achievement as a teacher is creating a curriculum called Humans Doing Math, designed to challenge harmful stereotypes about math and help students of all races, genders, and sexualities identify with mathematics.  Seattle Public Schools adopted this curriculum as part of Empowerment Math, a districtwide math support class for middle schoolers.

Outside of teaching, I have been an active member of the Seattle Men’s Chorus since 2018, often performing in featured roles as a soloist and dancer.  I currently serve on the Chorus’s Membership Council, helping to create positive experiences for chorus members.  I am also very involved in screening films for the Seattle Queer Film Festival held every October.  My other hobbies and interests include drag, hiking, cycling, yoga, lifting weights, swimming, board games, DND, and soaking up the sun whenever it decides to come out.  I hope to connect with students, staff, and families around my interests, so don’t be shy to ask me questions!

I was born and raised in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where I studied Media and Mass Communication and later earned my MBA in Marketing at Tecnológico de Monterrey. I worked my way through school, and my early career included roles with global companies like Xerox and Flextronics, as well as national radio and public‑information projects.

After moving to Washington 18 years ago, I focused on community service and immigrant support, working as an immigration paralegal and coordinating multilingual tax‑assistance programs. I also worked in legal contract management at AWS — Amazon Web Services, the cloud‑computing division of Amazon.

I also earned a second Master’s degree in Teaching from Western Washington University, which deepened my commitment to multilingual education and world languages. I love learning about cultures and languages, and I’ve taught Spanish both in Mexico—helping students strengthen communication skills—and for the past two years at Ballard High School.

I’m a proud mom of three daughters: one graduated from Columbia University in 2025 and now works at Microsoft, one is a senior, and one is in 8th grade. My family has always believed deeply in education as a path to growth and opportunity.

I also love traveling—this summer I visited Turkey, Portugal, Gibraltar, Spain, Germany, Honduras, and Mexico, as well as several cities in the United States. I was especially excited to visit the first home of Michael Jackson in Gary, Indiana 🙂

I’m excited to join Lincoln High School and bring my passion for communication, cultures, and languages!

Biography

• B.M. Music Education;
• M.M. Music Composition;
• Ph.D. Candidate, Music History;
• Smithsonian World Music Pedagogy Certificate;

She/her

Personal Message

Choral conductor Aimee Mell has a passion for connecting people, cultures, and ideas through music. Since 2019 she has led the relaunch of choirs at Lincoln High School. In 2013 she started the McClure MS choral program which has grown exponentially. A director of middle and high school choirs for over fifteen years in both public and private schools, she has also worked with select youth and adult community choirs. Her choirs have performed on NW Focus Live at 98.1 Classical King FM, and headlined regional festivals.

In 2019, Ms. Mell was selected as one of five American conducting fellows to travel to South Africa through the American Choral Directors Association International Conductors Exchange Program. As a part of the exchanges she worked with college, high school, and community choirs throughout Pretoria and Johannesburg.

Community involvement includes serving on boards for: Washington State ACDA (American Choral Directors Association), the Elliott Bay Music Educators Association, and the Tacoma Arts Commission. In 2020, Ms. Mell was appointed to the Seattle Opera Board of Trustees.

She enjoys spending time with her husband and Airedale Terrier Khaleesi, exploring the great Northwest, and travelling internationally.

Hey Lynx,

I'm excited to teach science at Lincoln!  I grew up in North Carolina, went to Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, and fell in love with the PNW.  I got my masters in teaching at UW and have taught in Seattle, Salt Lake City, UT, and Charlottesville, VA.  When not teaching, I can be found mountain climbing, gardening, or experimenting with recipes.  I love a good experiment!