Introducing Galileo’s New Teachers 2023-2024

Heading into the 2023-2024 school year, Galileo is welcoming many new staff and teachers to the our community.

• Alumni returns to teach
  Galileo graduate, science teacher, Mr. Chen wants to inspire and motivate his students in the same way he was inspired by his former teachers. Although when he was in high school he saw it as a strict teaching style, as a teacher, he now believes this style to be very effective.
• Lover of Movies and Storytelling
  Watching a movie every other day, ELD/English teacher Ms. Hurtado-Lopez loves movies, whether it’s going to watch one at a theater or streaming one at home. Ms. Hurtado-Lopez’s love of movies started when she was growing up, when her parents would always take her to the movie theater as their Sunday activity, and continued as ...
• Traveling with Cats
  As a traveling enthusiast, Spanish teacher Mr.Gomez often brings his two cats, Mr.Willoughby (6 years old) a tonkinese cat, and Paquita (15-16 years) a long haired gray cat, traveling to places, especially in England and in France. Mr. Gomez has a particular fondness for these 2 countries as he has lived in each country for ...
• A heart for San Francisco
  Having grown-up with a family that liked to move around a lot, World History teacher Mr. Major has always had a heart for being in San Francisco.
• Librarian’s love of literature
  Growing up in San Francisco, new librarian, Mr Chan’s fondest memories were of exploring the old San Francisco public library where the Asian art museum currently stands. The San Francisco public library was like a playground to him, where he’d run up the stairs and read any book or magazine he wanted to. Mr Chan ...
• Rugby Stanford star
  Although only starting playing rugby for the first time during her freshman year, math teacher Nicole Edsall ended with an illustrious rugby career at Stanford which included a top 4 finish in the nation during her freshman year and an undefeated regular season her senior year. While Ms. Edsall spent a lot of her time ...
• Chemistry teacher peddles past anxiety
  Following a severe accident in the middle of a competitive biking event, Chemistry Teacher Ray Lee, found himself hesitating to return to the sport he loved. Although it has taken him years to overcome his fear after the accident, he now has a new perspective on biking.
• Career in the digital world
  Pursuing her passion in digital media, digital communications and photography teacher Ms. Anderson gained her experience as a production assistant at Fox TV, working on the popular series “Family Guy” before getting a role at Prometheus Entertainment’s History Channel.
• School project inspires counseling career
  Although she had plans to be a writer, after doing a project in college where she compared 2 schools and the difference in resources they received, new counselor Ashley Saephan felt compelled to make a difference through education.
• Life on a boat; Ms. Hyatt’s Florida travels
  As part of her sabbatical for the SFUSD district over the last 5 years, librarian Ms. Hyatt traveled around Florida and lived on a sailboat with her husband for 2 years, enjoying the experience despite the obstacles she faced.
• Join the League with Mr. Lin
  After an astounding career in ‘League of Legends’ in college, history teacher Mr. Lin steps up as the club sponsor for the ‘League of Legends’ club in hopes of transferring his passion to the younger generation.
• Symphony of talents
  With a variety of outside interests, including being a professional musician, earning an advanced belt in karate, and being fluent in several languages, returning Chemistry & Physics teacher Mr. Barrios is a unique and energetic individual both inside and outside the classroom. 
• Lowell alum, now Gal counselor
  aving been around the sport of dragon boat for the last 16 years, 13 of those years as a coach, as well as helping to start a team while at UC Santa Cruz, new counselor Mr.Chu, has had a strong passion for the sport for over a decade because he believes in the teamwork that ...
• Math teacher returns to Galileo
  After being hired as a temporary Algebra 1 and 2 teacher at Galileo for the 2021-2022 school year, Mr. Crockett was forced to seek another job elsewhere due to the lack of open math positions for the following year.
• Sol(is) always focused on education
  After interviewing school counselors & hearing what a fulfilling job it is, new counselor, Jessica Solis, decided on a career in education during her undergraduate years at CSU San Marcos. After gaining experience working in education, & then graduating from SFSU with a master’s in counseling, Ms. Solis is now the newcomer counselor at Galileo.