About Us
Homeroom Education is a nonprofit Makerspace and Learning Studio dedicated to inspiring a love of learning in all students! Located in San Jose (near Willow Glen) we provide hands-on educational enrichment experiences for school aged children and their families. Our programs are designed to boost critical 21st-century skills while combining fun and learning!
We do this by providing classes, workshops, and community events that take a project-based approach to teaching and learning. Through collaborative discussions, demonstrative building projects, student led experiments, and group activities our students actually do the things they are learning. By encouraging students to experience the subjects faculty increase their level of retention and understanding significantly; their love of learning blossoms.
Our emphasis on experiential education has lead us to not only find new interactive ways of teaching academic subjects but to develop and expand our Makerspace. In the Makerspace we provide opportunities for the community to explore their curiosities, try new things, and learn something new with our project-based approach.
Tell me and I forget.
Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn.
-Benjamin Franklin
Dedicated to Affordability
At Homeroom Education we work with families to keep our classes, Makerspace, workshops, and activities affordable. This is why in addition to partnering with local charter schools Homeroom Education also offers a wide variety of discounts including membership discounts, sibling discounts, Fall-Spring discounts, full-day discounts, sliding-scale pricing and referral bonuses. We believe that quality educational enrichment should be available to everyone. For more information about discounts, please contact us.
The Homeroom Education Team
Our team is made up of wonderfully creative and energetic faculty who are passionate about sharing their love of learning with others. Each one is an expert in their chosen field of study with years of professional and academic experience. In all our team holds over 12 degrees and certificates, have taught for over 125 years, and have work experience from industry leaders such as Apple, AARP, iD Tech Camps, The Tech museum, San Jose State University, and Hewlett-Packard just to name a few.
Jodie Fillhardt - CEO and Founder
Jodie founded Homeroom Education in July 2014 out of a passion for teaching and promoting a love of learning! Her educational background is in European Medieval & Renaissance History and U.S. History. She loves designing curriculum that addresses large and sometimes abstract academic topics through fun, accessible, interactive games. As CEO and a Founding Board of Directors member of Homeroom Education Jodie is working diligently to increase awareness of the need to meet 21st century problems with to 21st century skills, promote academic communication and engagement, help make HrE a loud and trusted voice in education.
Susan Miller - Office Manager, Lead Instructor
Susan Miller is a writer, avid reader, learner, parent, and mentor of many years with many types of learners, of many ages and environments. Her professional credentials include a B.A. in English from San Jose State University, a Masters in Education from Stanford University, and an active Secondary Ed. California Teaching Credential. Susan's mission is to create awesome learning experiences so students will develop confidence in writing clearly and reading deeply, connect the act of writing and reading to their lives, and find and use their voice. As part of her creative process, Susan wants students to build on strengths toward skill mastery and step onto a path of greater self-awareness and educational responsibility.
Adam DeSantes - Marketing
Raised in Madison, Wisconsin and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Adam DeSantes is a filmmaker, producer, and content creator with a passion for telling stories and bringing people together. He has a BA in Film Studies and Psychology from Wesleyan University, has produced two feature films, and close to a dozen shorts. Outside of film, he has also worked as a tutor for the ASCEND program and campaigned door-to-door for environmental issues. He is fascinated by science, technology, and the Maker movement, and in his free time loves playing tennis, hiking, and cooking.
Dr. Lynne Adler - Lead Instructor, Master Maker
Dr. Lynne grew up in Southern California and holds a PhD in Applied Physics from Cornell. She's taught and tutored in multiple capacities in the Bay Area over the years, started and led robotics teams, mentored summer programs for gifted students, and currently runs a tutoring business, Coastside Academic Coaching and Tutoring, helping elementary, middle and high school students become confident, independent learners. She's very excited to lead students in learning in the Makerspace at Homeroom Education!
Phoenix Snedeker - Lead Instructor
Phoenix Snedeker has been teaching hands on science and maker classes for over 20 years. They have been focusing on working with the homeschool community for the last 7 years. Places they have taught for in the past includes Youth Science Institute, Marine Science Institute and County Parks. They graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS in Communications.
Navanita Mukhopadhyay - Lead Instructor, Master Maker
Growing up, Navanita was always interested in science and math which led her to choosing a career in Engineering. While pursuing her Bachelors in Electrical Engineering at California State University, Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to act as a teaching assistant and tutor for many of her peers and juniors. This experience led her to discover her true passion and joy in teaching, especially topics in STEM. After college, Navanita worked as a Software/Hardware Quality Analyst at AARP. She also worked for a couple of start-ups like Clean Power Finance & AiLive Inc. Navanita cares deeply about her students and to make learning fun and hands-on as she believes the best way to learn things is to experience it!
Stephany Chancellor - Instructor, Master Maker
Stephany was born in Colombia and has been a proud Bay Area resident since age 3. Her interest in teaching began in college when she realized she enjoyed helping her little sister with pre-algebra homework. Steph’s career includes 6 years as a Packaging Engineer at Genentech and Apple. This experience taught her the impact of our nation's brightest STEM-minded people and confirmed her desire to play a part in creating future generations of intellectuals. In the fall of 2017, Steph left engineering determined to combine two of her passions - academia and education. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Education along with a bilingual K-8 teaching credential at San Jose State University. In her free time she enjoys doing yoga, playing with and training her dog DJ, reading, and watching Bay Area sports.
Karen Mathews-Radau
President/Chairwoman
Jodie Fillhardt
Secretary/Treasurer
Molly Kaster
Secretary