Inspire the Hopeless, Empower the Dreamers

Dr. Phil Campbell, known to his students and staff as PC, is a 16-year educator with a passion for loving kids and motivating educators. His goal is to assist schools in becoming the best learning environment they can possibly be for students to learn and for teachers to teach. His philosophy to accomplish this is simple: put relationships first, genuinely love and protect one another, and create a sense of family within your school setting. With educational experience as a teacher, coach, athletic director, and principal, PC understands how to overcome obstacles to win for today’s youth and educators

Monique Walton, Principal of Cesar Chavez Middle School in Hayward has enjoyed teaching, coaching, and leading school communities in the East Bay for 20 years. A native of SanFrancisco, California, Monique attended Catholic schools for her K-12 experience and grew up studying various types of dance including tap, jazz and ballet. A standout basketball athlete, she was awarded a full scholarship to play basketball at Delaware State University and is a proud graduate of this HBCU with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education. Her teaching career started in Dover, DE before returning home to the Bay Area and landed in Hayward Unified, where she has taught PE, Leadership, and Health. As Director of Student Activities, Monique found her calling nurturing positive school climates through equitable and inclusive student leadership programs. After 15 years of teaching, Monique transitioned to administration where she continues to lead through a lens of equity, inclusion, and engagement with an intentional focus on improving educational experiences for Black and Brown communities. In her spare time, Monique is a member of the California Association of Director of Activities (CADA) where she has coordinated student leadership conferences and has facilitated workshops for students, teachers, and administrators about race, equity and creating humanizing learning environments

Mark and Paul speak with guest Melanie Lindsey.

Marshall Cho is currently in his 6th season as the Head Boys Basketball at Lake OswegoHigh School in Oregon. Prior to serving in this role, Cho was the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Portland, and spent time as an assistant coach at the renowned DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.Cho began his career as an educator through the Teach For America program, teaching and coaching in the South Bronx and Harlem for six years. From 2006-09, he taught and coached in Mozambique. During his time in Africa, Cho served as a coach for the NBA-sponsored Basketball Without Borders Africa.Cho has served as clinician/speaker for USA Basketball Youth Division and worked as a court coach and support staff member for the junior national team program. He has worked with USA Basketball for the Nike Hoop Summit game since 2012, as well as working the junior national team’s U16/U17 trials.In addition to his responsibilities at Lake Oswego as the head basketball coach, Cho is apart of the board at the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association (6A Representative) and theOregon Basketball Coaches Association (communications/Mentorship). Cho has also served as the camp lead instructions director for the Yao Foundation Camp in China for four out of the past five summers.Cho graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s Degree in BusinessAdministration in 2000. He also received a Master’s Degree in Secondary MathematicsEducation from Columbia University in 2003. Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Springfield, Ore.Cho and his wife, Connie, have a son, Nathaniel, and a daughter, Emma.

Kelty Pierce, a graduate of Puyallup High School where she served in various leadership roles, was the Jostens Renaissance National Student of the Year in 2016. Following that recognition, she traveled on behalf of Jostens to speak about its leadership program to high school students and educators across the country. She is a 2020 graduate of the University of Washington and after three years of various leadership and service roles, she served as the student body president her senior year, representing 50,000 undergrads.

Currently, she serves as the Public Relations Manager and Growth Strategist for Character Strong, a social emotional learning and character development curriculum provider. Kelty previously worked for Washington Lt. Governor and former United States Congressman Denny Heck in his D.C. office, and managed his successful statewide run for Lt. Governor.Additionally, Kelty has spent eight years serving as a middle school leadership camp counselor, fundraises for Seattle Children Hospital as a guild member, and serves on boards for UWAthletics and The Daffodil Festival in Pierce County,Washington.In her free time she loves to cook new recipes for her family, eat her way through travels abroad, and laugh the loudest at her own jokes.

Marcus Gabriel is a native of Monrovia California. He graduated from high school in 2002 with honors and attended Hampton University where he received his B.S. in Sports Management. During his time at Hampton University he interned at NBA Summer Pro League, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Disney World and the New South Wales Sports Federation. After graduation Marcus migrated to Houston, TX and for an outside sales job. Shortly after he arrived he realized corporate America was not his calling. He pursued education and wanted to work with underprivileged youth. Marcus Gabriel has been a teacher and coach in Houston for twelve years. Marcus attributes his success to God, his family and awesome mentors around the world that have helped him grow as a man and educator

Dr. Farah Ortega-Choate (Meadows) is the Activities Director and AVID Coordinator at La Quinta Middle School STEM Academy in Desert Sands USD, which is located in the Coachella Valley (Southern California). She holds four degrees, including her doctorate from USC in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Multicultural Education.

She is in her twentieth year of teaching and has taught at the middle school and high school levels. She is an ASB/Renaissance leadership teacher, AVID Elective/Excel Teacher, WEB Coordinator, and dance advisor. She is the proud mother of two sons, John (Forever 22) and Brandon (20). She teaches her students as though they are her own children.

She has always believed that, "There are two types of teachers in the world:Those who teach to because it is a job and those who teach to make a difference." She teaches to make a DIFFERENCE! Dr. Farah’s goal is to educate, inspire, and empower students and educators to become change agents and make a difference in their school, community, and world! #LetsChangeTheWorldTogether.

Episode 1 of THE STORY OF YOU podcast is an introduction to the two hosts fo the show Mark and Paul. Listen as they introduce themselves and break down the concept of their show and what you can expect from them in future episodes.