Hello! I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii before attending Occidental College. After receiving my BA in Physics, I obtained a MA in Teaching Secondary Mathematics. I was a high school math teacher in Los Angeles and a middle school environmental sustainability teacher before moving to Seattle to pursue a PhD in Math Education. As I completed my doctoral studies, I worked in various roles in teacher education at the University of Washington. Now I’m back in the classroom excited to support future educators!

Originally from West Texas, I have lived in Seattle off and on since 2008. In 2010, I received my Masters of Social Work from the University of Washington, met my partner, and moved back to Texas to work at various non-profits. During that time, our 1996 Ford Ranger started breaking down and we couldn’t afford repairs. As a kid, I was never interested in learning how to work on cars. Out of necessity, I started working on my own. Mistakes were made, lessons were learned, but the biggest takeaway was that I loved working on cars.

I received my Associates in Automotive Technology from Austin Community College in 2015 and moved back to Seattle. In Seattle, I started my automotive career working at an independent shop that looks at the automotive industry through an anti-racist and feminist lens. There, I teach community workshops, train new techs and service advisors, and am helping to build a non-profit. In November 2023, I started working part-time with Seattle Public Schools in the automotive program and loved it so much that I decided to go full-time for the 2025-2026 school year! I look forward to continuing to teach my students and learn from my students!

In my spare time, I love doing house projects with my partner, training our sweet Heeler/Pit mix named Harlan Pepper to be the best pup she can be, chilling with our 16-year-old cat named T.K., learning different musical instruments, supporting various local artists, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, scuba diving, and watching TV. Here are a few of my current favorite things:

Current favorite podcast: My Favorite Murder

Current favorite TV show: The Gilded Age

Current favorite movie: Sinners

Current favorite musical artist: Excited for the new Florence + The Machine album!

Current favorite fiction: Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert

Current favorite non-fiction: Cher: The Memoir, Part I

I was raised in the middle of WA State, near Snoqualmie Pass but I’ve lived in Seattle for the past 30 years. I graduated college with a degree in Spanish and went on to build a career as a graphic designer. I am dad to a terrific, creative, energetic eleven year old kid. I started teaching eight years ago, and I have really enjoyed developing my teaching muscles and getting to know a bunch of amazing students.

Let me introduce myself, My name is Mr. Hayes and I was born and raised in Memphis, Tn. My family and I moved here from Houston, Tx. I love football, basketball, photography and family time. I'm most passionate with is Art of all kinds, from still life to interactive graphics. I am very happy to be a part of Seattle Skills Community and look forward in teaching and learning from the next future Artist of America.