Academy of Thought and Industry Austin

Julia earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Brown University. After several years working in literacy education, she discovered Montessori and completed her AMI Elementary and Adolescent Certification. She created an adolescent program where she discovered the joy of working with teens. She has organized Montessori teacher trainings at the adolescent level, including the AMI/NAMTA Orientation to Adolescent Studies. She initially joined Higher Ground as a Programs Coach and Manager, working to support all ATI campuses, but she missed being in a school community- and in November 2020 joined ATI Austin. She could not be happier to be back working directly with students. Outside of work, Julia is a yoga instructor, enjoys singing and spending time with loved ones, and has a cat called Boo.

Matt entered the field of education over a decade ago when he moved across the country to begin teaching and writing history curriculum. Since then, he has earned a Montessori certification from the Association Montessori Internationale, taught humanities-related courses to ages from elementary through high school, and worked on the Higher Ground Education programs team developing curriculum and training & mentoring guides at our adolescent schools across the country. His mission is to help create learning environments that enable students to live a fully human life, now and in the future: one of knowledge, action, and self-determination.

Audie Alcorn is a 7th-generation Texan who earned his teaching diploma through the Association Montessori Internationale in 2009. Since then he has taught at both Montessori and traditional schools, in both public and private schools, and at the elementary and middle-school levels. In 2017, he founded ATX Tutoring & Academic Services here in Austin and has been tutoring full-time for the past couple of years. Though he has enjoyed working one-on-one with his tutoring students and their families, he has missed being part of a learning community and so is looking forward to returning to the classroom. Prior to his career in education, Audie worked as an accountant for Price Waterhouse, as a ranger at Zion National Park, as a buyer for Whole Foods Market, and as a wear-all-the-hats type at a small publishing company in Arizona. He has three college degrees -- one in Accounting and two in Philosophy -- and was a member of a weekly-performing improv troupe for four years while attending the University of Arizona. His other creative/spiritual pursuits include running, chess, writing, poetry, storytelling, quilting, and music. He lives in South Austin with his wife Colette, stepson Noah, cat Mixi, and guinea pig Albert Einstein.

Sebastian Gamboa graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with bachelor's degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics. At CMU, Sebastian tutored incoming Freshman and Sophomores in calculus based physics I and II for two years. After graduation, Sebastian continued his work as a physics research assistant in Carnegie Mellon's cosmology department, while also helping the curriculum development team at Higher Ground develop middle school math curriculum material.

Randie Piscitello is a born and raised Austin native that graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. While all of her career choices have centered around education, the sciences, and health, her hobbies lie deep in the creative expressions. Randie is a talented photographer and jewelry and epoxy artist, and enjoys pursuing new creative ventures with her students. Randie comes to the Academy of Thought and Industry with a deep background in Montessori platforms, both as a previous primary and adolescent guide. She is transitioning to us from a vibrant adolescent STEM community and looks forward to the in-depth and hands-on projects that she will be tackling with the high school science community and the entire ATI creative learning student community.

After graduating from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, Catherine began her career working as a Marketing Content Specialist for two years. Her life mission to contribute to a more equitable society caused her to pursue a Master's degree in Education at Eastern Connecticut State University, believing that access to a quality education is the most important factor in improving social and economic equity. Catherine has spent the past three years working as an educator in public schools, focusing on how student autonomy, culturally relevant pedagogy, and an emphasis on social emotional learning lead to better outcomes for students. Outside of her passion for educational equity, Catherine enjoys hiking, rock climbing, reading, and watching true crime documentaries with her cat, Phoebe.

For the past decade, Beth Sharkey has worked with students in grades 6–12 in both private and public school settings. She is excited to have been a part of developing the ATI adolescent experience from multiple angles—as a program manager, coach, curriculum developer, and now guide. Beth holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from UC Irvine and a CA state credential in secondary English. As you might guess, Beth is passionate about reading and writing! She loves being immersed in the worlds of novels with students and dissecting big ideas together. In addition to teaching, Beth has also written and edited educational content for national organizations such as Sesame Street, ParentPowered, and Mystery Science. She strives to help students envision real-world possibilities in writing. In her spare time, Beth enjoys playing the violin and spending time with her husband and young son and daughter.