Originally from Dallas, I am a longtime Austinite (with stops along the way in Paris and NYC). Loved living in New York where I worked for TIME and Rolling Stone before returning to Austin as photography editor at Texas Monthly for 15 years. This is my third-year teaching - my first at LASA. Excited to teach E-Zine and look forward to sharing my experiences with a new generation of creative kids who have something to say to this beautiful and complicated world of ours. Outside of work, I love a home-cooked meal (thanks to my husband!) and being introduced to new music by my teenage daughter. We live in central Austin with our adorable dog, Lucy, and her feline sidekick Scooter.

I come to LASA after over 25 years of engineering experience and having had 3 kids attend LASA. I was a very fortunate person who managed to get his first engineering job at Raytheon straight out of high school working on the Argentinian national ID card and visa/passport program. The experience was successful enough that I continued there while receiving my degree in computer engineering from Texas A&M. I've worked on many diverse projects, including leading a QA team on the very first iteration of Bluetooth ever, faking the US visa and passport as a sponsored activity, guidance systems for exoatmospheric missile defense systems, and many other things. After Raytheon, I worked for Schlumberger in a capacity that saw the introduction of the first smartcards (aka "chip cards") that form the foundation of every smart phone and new credit cards for commerce. My unique experience with smartcards, biometric technology, and fusion of multiple technologies led to the opportunity to consult with corporations and governments everywhere. In 2006, I left Schlumberger and founded my own cybersecurity company called 2FA, Inc. Throughout 2FA's lifespan (I sold it in 2016), our products had been installed in all 50 states and across 53 total countries, spanning all 7 continents. I have worked on many "firsts" all my life - making things thought impossible become a reality. I retired in 2018, and eventually continued to do engineering consulting for many startups and organizations, including as an IT Director position at ACC and helping a company launch the world's first commercially-viable solid state battery.

In my spare time, I enjoy scuba diving, playing drums and piano, singing karaoke, and playing TTRPGs. I have always had a passion around working with teenagers and teaching/mentoring, and I am excited to be blessed to work at LASA.

Hi, I'm Julian DeBerry! I teach Ezine and Graphic Design at LASA. My academic trajectory zig-zags all over the place. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are in film studies. I dabbled in graphic design, writing, drawing, and photography on the side, most of which, at some point in my post-college life, steadied itself into the professional realm. My experience at LASA began when I was student teaching with Ms. Hewitt in Art I/Ceramics. I was fortunate enough to be under her guidance and see inquisitive, creative students in this amazing school. I pounced on the opportunity to be apart of the school with Graphic Design and Ezine soon after I finished the program, and I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity! Whether it be writing or illustration, I love noting and guiding sensibilities through expression, to see how it can be furthered and explored for one's own respective enjoyment. During my spare time, I'm usually with my handsome pup Sarge (pictured above), on the grounds of Zilker or a leash-free hike. I'm an avid runner, always training out on the pavement in the wee hours of the week. When the sun is setting, I'm usually resting up with Turner Classic Movies, furthering my knowledge in world cinema and useless trivia. 

Kevin Garcia has been writing professionally 20 years and teaching high school for 14 years, and boy are his arms tired. His work has appeared in the Associated Press and Marvel Comics, and when not teaching, he's often speaking at various comic conventions and events (back when events were a thing). In Ezine and newspaper class, students are welcome to ask him about his past work, even if it really tells them what not to do.

Vanessa Mokry has been teaching Audio Video Production at LASA since 2007. Before teaching, she worked on film crews around Austin and various AV jobs including a wedding video business. Like most filmmakers, Ms. Mokry taught herself much of her skill, beginning in middle school with the family's first camcorder and rigging two VCRs together- a far cry from her later years splicing film on a six-plate Steenbeck as a student at the New York Film Academy, and further still from the non-linear editing software she offers to students in class today. Mokry believes her formal education at Texas State University where she earned a BFA in Theatre Directing gives her a unique foundation to balance art and technology in her teaching. She has a wealth of knowledge of movies and TV which she cites as her most valuable education, and therefore when pitching a new movie idea to her she is likely to assign you an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to watch for reference. "When I began teaching at LASA, I wondered how I should focus the Audio Video Production program. Should I help the kids supplement their academic work by having them design instructional Science animations, historical re-enactments, literature adaptations, etc? While all of those are worthy projects (and could still end up on a screen one day if they choose), I realized that these kids are storytellers. And they have a specific brand of LASA story to tell. Chinese folklore love connections, prom-posals gone wrong, musical westerns, hyper-colored crime-fighting trios, LASA Bachelor realities, Jesus stealing Christmas presents: I get to talk story every day with these students, figure out the puzzle, and I love it.

I have been teaching at LASA since 2013 after a 22 year career as a digital chip designer here in Austin. I have a MS from UT in Electrical Engineering and BSEE & minor in CS from Missouri S&T. I have worked on CISC & RISC microprocessors as well as networking ASICs. I teach Fundamentals of CS, AP CS, and Digital Electronics. I really enjoy teaching at LASA as it has enabled me to share my passion for engineering & CS with my students - who are basically younger versions of the fascinating folks I used to work with. My wife (MS in Chemical Engineering), daughter (BS in Aerospace Engineering), and son (BS in Electrical Engineering & BS in Computer Science) are all working engineers.

I have been teaching Computer Science at LASA since 2015. I teach AP Computer Science, Advanced Computer Programming, and Web & Mobile Applications. Prior to teaching at LASA, I was in the tech industry for 20+ years developing software with a period of time in marketing. I have a Bachelors in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. And, I have an M.S. Computer Science from Texas State University. I keep my finger on the pulse of the industry with a step son who is a software developer developing web apps and a step daughter in UX/UI design. I enjoy programming, reading, history, and travel.

I am from Santa Cruz, CA - but went to high school in San Antonio. I graduated from Grinnell College (in Grinnell, Iowa) in 2016 with a B.A. in Psychology. 

Since then I have been a College Counselor, Financial Analyst, and a Veterinary Technician. I am an avid DIYer, gardener, and cat father to two boys, Big Cat and Small Cat.

I am the Animation and Ezine teacher at LASA. I started at LASA in 2022 but I started teaching in 2014. I have always taught art but Animation has been especially fun to teach! I graduated with a BFA in Media Arts & Animation and I love film, animations and graphic novels. I am originally from San Juan, a city in south Texas but I have been in Austin for 15 years now. I spend most of my free time with my daughter, watching Films, running or doing something active.