Shani grew up in Northampton, a college town in Western, Massachusetts. Throughout her life, Shani aspired to find a career where she could be creative and work with kids. Shani loves traveling and learning from other cultures. She studied abroad at The University of Legon in Accra, Ghana during her junior year in college. In 2001, she earned her B.A. in Child Development and Studio Art from Tufts University in Medford, MA. Her love of art and children was perfectly integrated and she went on to get her Master’s degree in Art Education from Tufts and The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston. Needing to get away from the New England cold, Shani moved to San Diego in 2003. She was a founding teacher at the original High Tech Middle that same year and continued teaching there for three years. Teaching middle school was an amazing experience which showed her that she had a natural ability to inspire young artists. Shani taught Art at High Tech High Media Arts during the 2006-2007 school year and was continuously amazed by the work her high school students created. Knowing that high school students could be so creative when given the opportunity, she jumped at the chance to open another High Tech High in North County San Diego. In opening the north county campus, Shani has had the opportunity to take on various leadership roles by being the Community Connections Coordinator, PBL Coach, Dean of Students and Director. In 2020, Shani received her second Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at our very own High Tech High Graduate School. In addition to being an educator, she loves surfing, yoga, painting, traveling, and being around wonderful people.
