Jennifer Lew
Position: Principal
Certifications
Professional Certificate
Endorsements: Elementary Ed; Jr. Academy English, General Science, History, Music, Religion
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Liberal Studies
College Where Earned: La Sierra University
Biography
Mrs. Jennifer Lew lives in Newbury Park with her husband, Brendon, their two children, Nathan and Eliza, and their dog Howard. Mrs. Lew was raised in Lodi, CA, and graduated high school from Lodi Academy. After high school, she continued her education at Pacific Union College in Angwin, CA, where she graduated with a BS in Liberal Studies and a minor in Music. During her college experience, she traveled to Japan where she lived in Hiroshima for one year. In 1994, she moved to Newbury Park where she joined the staff at Conejo Adventist Elementary School. Mrs. Lew enjoys participating in a book club, reading, baking, teaching Cradle Roll at The Place, singing, and learning new things.
Lisseth Ponce de Leon
Position: Kindergarten Teacher
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Arts, Education, with option Educational Psychologist and instructional designer
College Where Earned: CSUN
Biography
Mrs. Ponce de Leon was born in a quaint little town located in the middle of the jungle in Peru, called Puerto Inca. A missionary couple from the United States established a small clinic and an elementary school down in that part of Peru. Mrs. Ponce de Leon’s family, the Heidingers were positively impacted by this couple and by the Adventist education they provided. Sadly, due to threats by local guerrillas, after serving for six years in the jungle, the missionaries had to leave Puerto Inca. But the candle they lit up in the Heidinger’s family kept burning. An Adventist church was established, which served as a center of hope for Mrs. Ponce de Leon and her family members. And, when the children reached the age to go to college, the parents decided to send them to The Adventist Peruvian University (UPeU) located in the capital. There, Mrs. Ponce de Leon obtained her degree in Psychology. After graduating she worked as a psychologist at an Adventist Elementary School. After that, she married her husband Manuel and immigrated to the United States. While she was a stay home mom dedicating her time to raise her children, Juan Manuel and Vanessa, Mrs. Ponce de Leon studied her master’s degree in Educational Psychology at California State University (CSUN). During the summer of 2022, God called Mrs. Ponce de Leon to work as a kindergarten teacher at CAES. Inspired by the job of the missionaries who shared with Mrs. Ponce de Leon’s family the love of God and the value of Adventist Education, her desire is to share the love of Jesus and the love for Adventist education to the precious kids in her class.
Molly Moore
Position: 1st Grade Teacher
Certifications
Elementary Education
Minor in Special Education
Education
Major Field: Education
College Where Earned: Walla Walla University
Year Earned: 2023
Biography
Molly Moore is a new teacher who graduated from Walla Walla University in 2023 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education. She student-taught in first grade and is excited to continue the first-grade journey at Conejo! In her free time, she loves to read and hang out with friends. She is a huge animal lover and hopes to have several dogs someday. Molly is very passionate about education and is so excited that God blessed her with the opportunity to join this community. She cannot wait to see what this year brings!
Michelle Mayer
Position: 2nd Grade Teacher, Chicken Club Director
Certifications
Professional Certificate
Endorsement: Elementary Education
Education
Highest Degree: Bachelors
College Where Earned: Pacific Union College
Biography
Mrs. Michelle Mayer lives in Camarillo with her husband, Steve, and three children, Zack, Megan, and Madison. Michelle is a graduate of Pacific Union College. She enjoys reading, hiking with her family, and traveling. Mrs. Mayer has been teaching full-time at CAES since 2014. Prior to that, she was a stay-at-home-mom and then taught for several years in the Moorpark Unified School District as a Kindergarten teacher and a substitute. She joined our Conejo staff in order to provide spiritual mentoring to her students. Her passion is getting students excited about learning and growing their relationship with Jesus. She enjoys learning new teaching methods and growing as a professional educator.
Leila Dali
Position: 3rd Grade Teacher
Certifications
Professional Certificate
Endorsements: Elementary Education, Jr. Academy Bible
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Religion, Cross-Cultural Studies, Education
College Where Earned: La Sierra University, Fuller Theological Seminary
Biography
Ms. Dali was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Orange County. She graduated from La Sierra University with a B.A. in Religious Studies, a Masters of Arts in Cross-Cultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, and recently graduated with her Masters of Arts in Teaching from La Sierra University. Ms. Dali has been in the classroom setting for 12 years; 8 of those teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade at Simi Valley Adventist School. She moved to Simi Valley in 2015 specifically for that teaching job as she felt God's strong pull and calling to this school and occupation. This will be her first year teaching at Conejo Adventist Elementary School. Ms. Dali loves her two cats Bubba and Chacha (she calls them her pandemic kittens since that's when she adopted them), finds her serenity and prayer time most powerful at the beach, and is a creative at heart, always finding a new hobby to learn about. Since Ms. Dali was young, she has always been a tutor to her peers, the class teacher's assistant, hired as a note taker at her university, and as a little girl used to line up her teddy bears and teach them math. Teaching has always been a passion of hers and she is at home in a classroom setting, growing and challenging the young minds of her students. Ms. Dali loves people despite being an introvert, which people don't believe!
Joseph Fralick
Position: 4th Grade Teacher, Drama Club
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Reading
Biography
Mr. Joe Fralick has been involved with the education of children for over 30 years. As a child, he grew up on an alfalfa farm in rural Ohio. After completing his second year of college he took two years off to spend as a student missionary, where he taught elementary students in the Marshall Islands. God used this experience to help Joe discover his calling. Mr. Fralick has his master’s degree in Reading. In addition to teaching, Mr. Fralick has had many years of administrative experience. His previous position was at Pine Hills
Adventist Academy, in Auburn CA, where he served as principal for it’s TK-
12 program. Joe is married to Julie, who is also the new 6-8 math teacher
at Conejo. The Fralicks have four adult children.
Ruth McConnehey
Position: 5th Grade Teacher
Certifications
California Professional Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential
California Professional Clear Supplemental Authorization in English
Professional Teaching Certificate North American Division of SDA Endorsements: Kindergarten; Elementary Education; Jr. Academy Art, English, General Science, History, Religion
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Curriculum and Instruction
College Where Earned: La Sierra University
Biography
Mrs. McConnehey was born and raised in Loma Linda, California. After graduating from academy, she continued her education at Pacific Union College where she received a degree in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in elementary education. Summers during college were spent at Pine Springs Ranch as a counselor, and then the girls' director. Her education continued at La Sierra University where she earned a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. During this time, she taught at Loma Linda Academy. Following graduation from La Sierra, Mrs. McConnehey moved to Bakersfield where she taught at Bakersfield Adventist Academy for eight years. She moved to Newbury Park when she married Ryan and taught at CAES before taking a few years off to raise their daughter, Caitlin. She has taught a few different classes, including kindergarten. This is her second year teaching 5th grade. Mrs. McConnehey enjoys reading, traveling, baking, playing with the family dog, and spending time with family. She is always on the lookout for new things to incorporate into her teaching.
Mary Lemasters Tahir
Position: 6th Grade Teacher
Certifications
Conditional Elementary Education
Education
Highest Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Major Field: Religious Studies
College Where Earned: La Sierra University
Biography
Mrs. Lemasters has been homeschooling children through Springs Charter School, her own four, and others as needed for 16 years. Mrs. Lemasters has been a part of the Parent Certification Program at Springs since its pilot program about 15 years ago. Mrs. Lemasters is a professional math tutor, with 30 years of experience, and eight years of experience as a co-op teacher. She loves children and learning, and has committed her time to CAES as the sixth grade teacher.
Julie Fralick
Position: 7th Grade Teacher, Drama Club
Certifications
Standard Certificate
Endorsements: Elementary Education, Mathematics
Junior Academy Endorsements: Fine Arts, General Science, History, and Religion
Education
Highest Degree: Bachelor of Science
College Where Earned: Union College
Biography
Mrs. Julie Fralick was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, as the youngest in a family of six kids. Julie’s parents influenced her to value Christian education and to cherish people. At around ten years old, she first imagined becoming a teacher, and cemented her plans during college when she taught sixth grade in the Marshall Islands. After graduating, she and her husband Joe returned to the Marshalls to serve for three years, where their first child was born. For the next decade, Julie was privileged to have three more children and be able to care for them at home, before returning to full-time teaching. She recalls, “Our family was spoiled to have every vacation day together since Joe and I always worked at our children’s schools. We’ve been embraced by each of these communities, and Conejo is no exception. We have met such beautiful families at school and church.” Now that Julie’s children are all in their 20s, some of her attention has shifted to the challenge of training Marley, their nearly 100-pound dog. Julie is thrilled to be a part of the educational team at CAES where it’s her joy to teach her favorite age group, pre-teens and teenagers, and share her own love for learning, and discovery of our immense value in Christ.
Nellie Tassy
Position: 8th Grade Teacher, Yearbook Facilitator
Education
Highest Degree: Bachelors
College Where Earned: California State University, East Bay
Biography
Mrs. Nellie Tassy lives in Newbury Park with her husband, Errol, and their two children, Alessio and Nadia, and their two dogs, Niko and Kaleo. Mrs. Tassy was raised in Hayward, CA, and graduated high school from Mountain View Academy. After high school, she continued her education at Cal State, East Bay, where she graduated with a BA in Liberal Studies and a minor in Childhood Education and received her teaching credential at La Sierra University in Riverside. In 2005, she moved to Miami where she met her husband. In 2016 she moved to back to California, and joined the staff at Conejo Adventist Elementary School in 2019. Mrs. Tassy has been teaching since 2001. She enjoys learning fun and new teaching methods, travelling, and spending time in nature with her family.
Paulette Park
Position: Algebra Teacher
Certifications
Professional Certificate
Endorsement: Mathematics
Education
Highest Degree: Masters
Major Field: Education and Biostatistics
College Where Earned: UCLA
Biography
Mrs. Paulette Park was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. She attended college at UC Irvine, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Mathematics with a specialization in Statistics. She then attended graduate school at UCLA where she earned her Masters of Education and M.S. in Biostatistics. After graduate school, she worked in the actuarial field for about 10 years before deciding to stay home to raise her children. Mrs. Park taught Pre-Algebra and Algebra at CAES from 2010-2020. She now teaches at NPAA, where the eighth graders who are ready for Algebra attend her math class. She enjoys teaching in the warm, family-like setting of our school and is thankful that God has led her here. Mrs. Park and her husband Elvin, have two children, Elliott and Amanda.
Jason Coffey
Position: Band Teacher
Cheryl Dickerson
Position: Office Manager
Joanna Cabrera
Position: Classroom Aide, After School Care Supervisor
Jeison Escalante
Position: Classroom Aide, After School Care Supervisor