Faculty & Staff
Meet the Team
Mrs. Vanessa Bedolla, Ed. D.
Principal
Dr. Bedolla is honored to serve as the principal of Griffiths Middle School, bringing her passion for education and experience in both middle and high school settings. A proud UCLA alumna, she enjoys photography, spending time with family and friends, and watching Netflix reruns. Dr. Bedolla is dedicated to making GMS a place to belong, grow, and achieve.
Mr. Jayson Quimby
Vice Principal
Ms. Iris Mata
Dean of Students
Ms. Mata has been a Special Education Teacher since 2002 and recently felt the need to provide support for children on a larger scale. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to serve Griffiths Middle School by becoming its Categorical Teacher. Outside of work, Ms. Mata loves being a mom of three girls and spending as much time outdoors in nature.
Ms. Evelyn Velasco
Office Manager
As a mother of 3 boys, Ms. Velasco is always busy with all of their sports. To relax, she enjoys spending time outdoors, off-roading in her JEEP, and camping. Before joining DUSD in 2016, Ms. Velasco worked under management for the private industry and in 2019 she joined the Griffiths family, where she has felt at home.
Ms. Margarita Velasco
Categorical Resource Teacher
With over 15 years of experience teaching science in DUSD, Ms. Velasco brings a wealth of knowledge and dedication. As a proud Griffiths alumna, Mrs. Velasco is excited to return to her roots and contribute to the success of the Thunderbird family. Outside of the classroom, you’ll find her enjoying weekends at Disneyland with her children, diving into a good thriller novel, or tending to her garden.
Griffiths Directory
Office Staff
Vanessa Bedolla, Ed.D.
Principal
Main Office
vbedolla@dusd.net
Jayson Quimby
Vice Principal
Main Office
jaquimby@dusd.net
Evelyn Velasco
Office Manager
Main Office
evelasco@dusd.net
Davina Fernandez
Attendance Clerk
Main Office
dfernandez@dusd.net
Yolanda Cedillo
Bilingual Intermediate Clerical Assistant
Main Office
ycedillo@dusd.net
Karissa Spindola
Records Clerk
Main Office
kspindola@dusd.net
Lienell Spicer
Media Tech
Main Office
lspicer@dusd.net
Iris Mata
Dean of Students
Main Office
imata@dusd.net
Chendal San-Tong
Psychologist
Main Office
ssantong@dusd.net
Margarita Velasco
Categorical Resource Teacher
Main Office
mvelasco@dusd.net
Counselors
Kelly Padilla
Counselor (Students A–F)
Counseling Office
kpadilla@dusd.net
Gianna Donahue
Counselor (Students G–M)
Counseling Office
gdonahue@dusd.net
Marcela Michea
Counselor (Students N–Z)
Counseling Office
mmichea@dusd.net
English Department
Antonio Arredondo Molina
English
aarredondomolina@dusd.net
Tyson Bohlinger
7th & 8th English
Room 52
tbohlinger@dusd.net
Emily Cassayre
6th English & AVID
Room 31
ecassayre@dusd.net
Charmetra Chatmon
8th Grade English, Journalism
Teacher Website
Room 53
cchatmon@dusd.net
Sarah Stayer-Clarke
6th Grade English
Room 42
sclarke@dusd.net
Doug Elizondo
7th Grade English
Room 87
delizondo@dusd.net
Dulce Franco
7th Grade English, AVID, Spanish
Room 44
jcockrill@dusd.net
Angelica Gonzalez
6th Grade English
Room 24
anggonzalez@dusd.net
Sarah Karout
6th Grade English, ELD
Room 54
skarout@dusd.net
Natalie Oelschlager-Knox
English
noelschlagerknox@dusd.net
Lourdes Madrigal
8th Grade English
Room 41
lmadrigal@dusd.net
Amanda Pace
7th Grade English
Room 43
apace@dusd.net
Julie Romero
AVID, 6th Grade English
Room 32
jromero@dusd.net
Payama Tiffany
6th Grade English
Room 33
ptiffany@dusd.net
Elizabeth Vega
8th Grade English, AVID
Room 51
evega@dusd.net
Monique Vega
8th Grade English, AVID
Room 24
mvega@dusd.net
Carissa Wilken
English, Special Education
cwilken@dusd.net
Arts & Electives
Jennifer Bliss
Librarian
Library
jebliss@dusd.net
Nathan Ksiazek
Music
nksiazek@dusd.net
Ron Legaspi
CTE (Robotics/3D Design)
Room 83
rlegaspi@dusd.net
Jessica McNeil
Drama Teacher
Room 92
jmcneil@dusd.net
Lily Seelig
Art, Social Studies
Room 81
lseelig@dusd.net
Kim Silverman
Culinary, Foods, Life Skills
Room 73
ksilverman@dusd.net
Math
Lauren Barragan
7th Grade Math
Room 87
jbarragan@dusd.net
Eric Berchtold
6th Grade Math
Room 105
eberchtold@dusd.net
Nathan Charlton
7th Grade Math
Room 82
ncharlton@dusd.net
Kristy Gonzalez
6th Grade Math
Room 104
kgonzalez@dusd.net
Leslie Jimenez
Math and Special Education
ljimenez@dusd.net
Christianne Lambert
8th Grade Math
Room 206
clambert@dusd.net
Jennifer Legg
7th Grade Math
Room 202
jlegg@dusd.net
Daniel Martinez
7th Grade Math
Room 200
dmartinz@dusd.net
Sandra Martinez-Espindola
6th Grade Math
Room 201
smartinezespindola@dusd.net
Steven Partnoff
8th Grade Math
Room 208
spartnoff@dusd.net
Cody Pesqueria
8th Grade Math
Room 209
cpesqueria@dusd.net
James Shull
8th Grade Math
Room 207
jshull@dusd.net
Science
Dulce Diazibarra
8th Grade Science
Room 11
ddiazibarra@dusd.net
Heidy Garcia
8th Grade Science
Room 41
hgarcia@dusd.net
Sarah Heredia
7th Grade Science
Room 21
sheredia@dusd.net
Tyler Neill
6th & 7th Grade Science
Room 23
tneill@dusd.net
Matthew Orique
6th Grade Science
Room 22
morique@dusd.net
Kellie Russell
7th & 8th Grade Science
Room 13
krussell@dusd.net
Natalie Soto
8th Grade Science
Room 12
nsoto@dusd.net
Jessenia Vargas-Aguilar
6th Grade Science
Room 71
jaguilar@dusd.net
Social Studies
Jennifer Angulo
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 76
jangulo@dusd.net
Christian Korver
6th Grade Social Studies
Room 77
ckorver@dusd.net
Marlon Espina
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 74
mespina@dusd.net
McKenzie Jackson
7th Grade Social Studies, ASB
Room 86
mcjackson@dusd.net
Ed Lozano
6th & 7th Grade Social Studies
Room 75
elozano@dusd.net
Greg McCurry
7th & 8th Grade Social Studies
Room 85
gmccurry@dusd.net
Karen McDermott
7th & 8th Grade Social Studies
Room 84
kmcdermott@dusd.net
Lily Seelig
8th Grade Social Studies, Art
Room 81
lseelig@dusd.net
Special Education
Efren Barajas
Special Education
Room 102
ebarajas@dusd.net
Shelly Bland-Reisch
Basic Skills
Room 101
sblandreisch@dusd.net
Leslie Jimenez
Math and Special Education
ljimenez@dusd.net
Dana Messore
Special Education
Room 103
dmessore@dusd.net
Margarita Velasco
Categorical Resource Teacher
mvelasco@dusd.net
Carissa Wilken
English, Special Education
cwilken@dusd.net
Physical Education
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
sbenson@dusd.net
Billie Gayer
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
bgayer@dusd.net
Jo Hultquist
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
jhultquist@dusd.net
Steve Mann
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
smann@dusd.net
Sebastian Medina
PE Teacher
Gymnasium
smedina@dusd.net
Additional Staff
Elizabeth Gallardo
Utility
Alex Martinez
Cafeteria Manager
Martha Perez-Castor
School Therapist
Summer Puskas
Speech Therapist
Room 203C