Our Teachers
Gillian Debruno
Gillian is a Holistic Mental Health and Wellness Practitioner. She has partnered with NCS to provide mental health and wellness support for students, parents and teachers. While she has the training to be a traditional therapist, she incorporates a variety of approaches into her work. She is here to offer support to students who are struggling with depression, anxiety, isolation, quarantine fatigue, home life dynamics, friendship drama, school performance, and any other issues students have. The sessions she offers can be done on Zoom or at NCS main site.
Gillian is Network’s mental health specialist.
"I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?" ~ Ernest Hemingway
Contact: gillian@networkcharterschool.net
Denise Velasco, Nearby Nature
Committed to bringing out the best in all of her students, Denise uses both personal experience and accumulated knowledge to bring her classes to life. Regardless of where they begin, students always walk away from their time with Denise with a fresh perspective on life. In addition to teaching, Denise assists students with credit counseling and ringleads most of the school’s annual special events. Ask Denise how many National Parks she has visited in her life and you’ll be amazed!
Denise teaches Health, Math, National Parks, Events Planning, and Independent Living.
Contact: denise@networkcharterschool.net
Brie Huling, Heartwise
Brie is passionate about teaching because she loves humans! “It’s an honor to support people in their self-discovery, in finding a gentle and meaningful pathway into themselves and community. Encouraging a brave space, one that offers permission to explore what it feels like to be fully embodied is one of the best parts about hosting at Heartwise. To submerge in the joy of community while supporting a practice of radical self-acceptance, carried by the collective breath and curiosity is awesome! (and important, scary, and beautiful!) I love that my calling is to offer that point of reflection back to people’s own strength and capacity, especially with our teenage sparklers!
Brie is a certified 500hr RYT in yoga therapy along with other specialized certificates including an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MSW from Portland State, and a BA in Gender Studies & Sociology from CSULB.. She has been teaching with Heartwise for 10 years and additionally supports teens in holistic mental health at Network Charter School’s main campus. Brie seeks out adventure around the globe to grow, play, and engage with humans from different cultures and backgrounds. Joy is the medicine that Brie delights in daily!
Contact: brie@networkcharterschool.net
Caitlyn Vermillion, Evergreen development network
Caitlyn teaches with the hope of getting her students truly interested in the content of her classes. In all of her work, she tries hard to be engaging as well as informative. Caitlyn reaches beyond providing classroom content and works to prepare students for life beyond high-school (college, traveling, the work-force, etc.). Caitlyn promotes a learning environment that is open, safe, and respectful for everyone in the classroom.
Caitlyn teaches Social Studies and Language Arts.
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.” – Abraham Lincoln
Contact: caitlyn@networkcharterschool.net
Heather Hickcox
Heather believes all students can learn if they get the appropriate supports. Teaching should always meet students where they stand. When she’s not serving students, Heather can be found outside kayaking, hiking, camping in her family’s RV, or reading happily inside.
Heather support students with Special Education needs.
Contact: hickcox_h@4j.lane.edu
Isaac Paris, Mecca
Isaac teaches art. He is a gamer, an artist and a musician. He is excited to share his passions with students and get them making cool and amazing art.
Isaac has been in Eugene 8 years after moving here from Fairbanks, Alaska. You may recognize him from his efforts organizing events at Spectrum downtown.
Contact: isaac@networkcharterschool.net
Chase Clark, HeartWise
Chase was born and raised in Eugene, OR and began teaching music lessons in May of 2010 at
Lesson Factory while attending LCC. After graduating from Bushnell University with a BA in Music Business (2013) he continued to teach music and started working as an Educational Assistant in west Eugene’s Bethel School District. As his love for teaching grew, he decided to go back to school and get his Master’s in Teaching at Bushnell University (2016). The Fall of that same year, he began teaching Music at Fairfield Elementary School. His teaching journey brought him to Network Charter School in the Fall of 2021 where he finally found his home in the great community of staff, students, and families that is Network. When not teaching, you can find Chase playing music with his band, at a fishing hole, or around the poker table.
Chase currently teaches Music, Event Planning, and Storytelling.
“Serenity now!” – Frank Costanza
Contact: chase@networkcharterschool.net
Carly Rodgers, Evergreen Development Network
I went to culinary school to gain mad skills,
Once graduated I realized I hated paying bills.
So I ran away to an intentional community in the Virginia hills.
I wanted to feed my community here in Eugene,
So I went back to where I was when I was sixteen.
Now I run a kitchen with amazing teens,
and even though they fight it, they eat a lot of greens!
Carly teaches Culinary Arts.
Please, and thank you.
Contact: carly@networkcharterschool.net
Wendy McKenzie, Nearby Nature
In Wendy’s classes, students develop a keen appreciation of the natural world as well as a clear understanding of the many threats that currently face it. Hands-on work in nature is a common project for students in her classes, who spend lots of time in NCS’s gardens as well as Nearby Nature’s Learnscape Outdoor Classroom. Wendy is “amazing” according to the students who take her classes and the colleagues who get a chance to see her in action.
Wendy teaches Biology, Natural History, Environmental and Earth Science, Literature and Garden Crew.
Contact: wendy@networkcharterschool.net
Billy Hughes, Nearby Nature
Nature is literally the “classroom” for all of Billy's courses. Through his unique approach to PE, students enjoy fishing, playing ultimate frisbee, going on urban hikes, and gardening Community service is also part of Billy’s recipe for a complete classroom experience, and his students often spend time helping out Walama Restoration and at Food for Lane County gardens.
Billy teaches PE and various other outdoor courses.
Walk the walk, talk the talk.
Contact: billy@networkcharterschool.net
Jami Teran, Heartwise
Jami offers students an opportunity to learn in an environment that promotes thoughtful awareness. By incorporating philosophy, yoga, and performance into many of her classes, she encourages communication and personal growth. Always calm and collected, her unique teaching method effectively helps students learn how to express themselves creatively through writing.
Jami teaches Language Arts and PE.
The school mom.
Contact: jami@networkcharterschool.net
Ethan Krueger, evergreen development network
Ethan is a Network Charter School graduate and current mathematics major at the University of Oregon. He hopes to instill in his students the desire to learn that he discovered at NCS, and in doing so, help inspire students to consider math less of a chore and more of a hobby.
Contact: ethank@networkcharterschool.net
Matthew Palotti, Nearby Nature
Matthew (he/they) started his journey at Network Charter School in 2022. He teaches math, coding, and physical science. After earning his PhD in physics, Matthew spent seven years teaching physics and physical science at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Tennessee. He brings the same student-centered, equity-minded approach to education that he used in his college level classes to his work at Network Charter School. Matthew looks forward to incorporating the natural world into all of his classes. When not teaching, Matthew enjoys exploring the wonders of Oregon with his wife, twin daughters, and two dogs.
Contact: matthew@networkcharterschool.net