Staff and Faculty
Our staff can be contacted through calling the school at 602.268.9900 or sending an email to pca@phxca.org.
Rachel Bennett Yanof
Executive Director
Rachel Yanof serves as the Executive Director for Phoenix Collegiate Academy, spearheading the development and submission of a successful charter school application. In pursuit of an excellent school design, and to ensure the strongest educational opportunity for the middle and high school students of the South Mountain Village area of Phoenix, Ms. Yanof completed a year-long Fellowship with Building Excellent Schools which included a residency at Excel Academy, recognized by The Center of Education Reform as one of the top charter schools of 2007. A graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Ms. Yanof received a B.A. in Economics before she joined Teach For America, a nationally acclaimed and highly selective teaching program. While a member of Teach For America, Ms. Yanof earned her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. She taught 8th grade for four years at C.O. Greenfield Elementary School, where she developed an annual program of travel with students to Washington, D.C. Ms. Yanof has obtained her Certificate in Administration from the University of Phoenix and has assembled a powerful and committed group of professionals from the Phoenix area to serve on the Governing Board supporting the academic and organizational success of the school.
Akshai J. Patel
Managing Director
Akshai J. Patel joined the Phoenix Collegiate Academy founding team, after 5 years as a teacher in the Phoenix area. Mr. Patel graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University, earning both a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Political Science. After graduating, he joined Teach For America to make an impact on students from his hometown and give back to the Phoenix community. While teaching 5th grade at Laveen Elementary School, he earned his Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from ASU and served on the Teach For America Phoenix Regional Board. After teaching pedagogy students at La Universidad de Concepcion in Southern Chile, as part of a Fulbright study, Mr. Patel taught at Valley View Elementary School, where he organized his 1st grade students to lead a voter registration drive before the 2008 elections and taught evening courses to educational assessment students at ASU. Mr. Patel serves as Managing Director.
Carrie Wypiszynski
Mathematics Teacher [Download Resume]
Raquel Ellis
English Language Arts Teacher [Download Resume]
Richard Livoni
Social Studies Teacher [Download Resume]
Tim Eyerman
English Language Arts/Mathematics Teacher [Download Resume]
Rachel Nazarian
Mathematics Teacher [Download Resume]
Kelsey Valentino
Mathematics Teacher [Download Resume]
Jamie Samuels
Science Teacher [Download Resume]
Kathleen Suter
English Language Arts Teacher [Download Resume]
Annie Fallon
English Language Arts Teacher [Download Resume]
Christopher Castro
English Language Arts Teacher [Download Resume]
Chris D'Amato
Special Education Teacher [Download Resume]
Amanda King
Special Education Teacher [Download Resume]
