Our Team

Winnie Wong, Ph.D.

Head of Academy & Director of Content – Mathematics

Dr. Wong received her B.A. degree in Math from UC Berkeley and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Math from UCLA. After she obtained her Ph.D., Dr. Wong spent 2 years as a fixed-income quantitative analyst for American Century Investment. Though she enjoyed analyzing the market, her true passion lies in education. She ran a successful advanced-math preparation school in San Diego, CA for 7 years. Upon moving back to the Bay Area in 2007, she switched gears and opted to teach at university level. She was a Math lecturer at Foothill & De Anza College since 2008. In 2015, Dr. Wong accepted a tenure-track professorship in Mathematics at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU) in Belmont, CA. During the school year, she teaches at NDNU, Foothill, and De Anza College. In summer, she enjoys venturing out for new teaching experiences. In summer 2013, she was a Math lecturer at UC Berkeley. In summer 2015, she was a Math lecturer at Stanford University for their EPGY (Education Program for Gifted Youth) middle school Math immerse program. 

Besides teaching, Dr. Wong is also involved in curricula development in higher education. She participated in the initiative and piloted the STATWAY pathway, set forth by the Carnegie foundation, at Foothill College. She is involved in the undergraduate curriculum committee, the Student Success Center task force and the Assessment Council at NDNU.

Currently, Dr. Wong is involved in developing Project-Based Learning curricula for middle and high schools in US, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. She is an active advocate of Human Centered Design Thinking and the Maker Movement. Not only is EDNova Academy an official affiliate of the Maker Camp created by the Make Media – the founding organization of the Makers Faire, she also co-organized an international conference with the National Library of China, the Shenzhen Library of Technology and Sciences, the Guangzhou Public Library, and the Wuhan University Library to promote Makerspaces in Libraries to administrators, teachers, students, and the general public in China. Furthermore, she is the organizer and developer of the ITIE 2016 International Makerspace: Design & Create Contest.

Apart from contributing to the STEM+Maker curricula development, Dr. Wong also actively involves in research. She recently teamed up with NIDA (Network for Information and Digital Access), a UK based organization which promotes effective utilization of information and knowledge dissemination, to conduct Impact Assessment on Science Literacy delivery mechanisms.

Dr. Wong resides in Belmont, CA. She firmly believes in giving back to her alma maters, the community, and paying forward globally. She is a volunteer scholarship reader and interviewer for UC Berkeley and UCLA’s freshman and transfer classes. She is also a reviewer for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). On top of her active involvement with her alma maters and the Mathematics communities, Dr. Wong also heavily involves in non-profit work. She is currently the President at Evergreen Education Foundation, a non-profit organization (NGO) aims to enhance educational opportunities for middle and high school children in rural China.

 

Wilson Chan, M.S.E.

Director of Content – Engineering, Technology, & Computer Science

Mr. Chan is a veteran in high-tech industry with more than 25+ years of experience in both hardware and software design.  He received both of his B.S.E. and M.S.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  His Masters degree focused on VLSI design and artificial intelligence (AI). Upon graduation, Mr. Chan took on a teaching position at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the City University of Hong Kong.  During his time at CUHK, he taught a very diverse set of classes including digital and analog circuit design, micro-processor and computer design, power electronics, electro-mechanical engineering, and automated testing.  Besides teaching full time, he also worked on multiple research projects and published numerous technical papers in international conferences and journals.  His research interests included manufacturing yield, neural network, machine vision, and applied mathematics.  After 2 years of teaching and academic research, Mr. Chan came back to the US for his Ph.D. studies at the University of California, San Diego.  His Ph.D. research topics were on simulation of quantum device and fault tolerance computing.  Two years into his Ph.D. track, Mr. Chan decided to join a prominent company in the high tech industry working on ASIC design and design automation. His industrial experience includes the entire ASIC design process, from circuit design to manufacturing process; from embedded operating system to enterprise automation framework. Mr. Chan’s technical knowledge spans from quantum physics, circuit design, digital design, ASIC design, OS, compiler, artificial intelligence, algorithms, numerous programming languages, and SW development frameworks. Mr. Chan holds a US patent through his work at his company.

 

Anne Mayroal, M.S.

Director of Content – Design Thinking & Project-Based Learning

Ms. Anne Mayoral is a designer, engineer, and educator, who uses her technical background, design expertise, and maker mindset to create innovative learning-through-play experiences. Anne became passionate about hands-on, project-based STEAM learning when she experienced first hand the struggle of learning science and math (and building intuition) from textbooks.  A strong proponent of experiential learning, she develops curriculum that blends science, art and design as a hook to inspire students to ask questions and seek solutions through open-ended exploration (aka play).  Her hope is to demystify STEM through learner-led inquiry-based opportunities, to create an environment where fantastic failures are gateways for breakthroughs, and to cultivate curiosity and empowered making in all.  She has worked with K-8 students and educators at notable schools and museums across the Bay Area, including AltSchool, imagination lab school, East Bay Innovation Academy, The Tech Museum of Innovation and the Exploratorium.

Anne holds a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a BA in Industrial Design from The Academy of Art University.  Before switching to industrial design, Anne was an Engineering Scientist at Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin.  While there, she co-invented an Autonomous Surface Watercraft designed to station-keep and score ballistic missile impacts for the US Navy, work for which a patent was granted.  As a practicing designer, she has designed toys, sustainable products, packaging, interactive spaces, and movie props.  Her clients include Mattel Hot Wheels, Make: Magazine, Urban Putt, Tenka Labs, Concord Consortium, and NEXMAP. Along with her co-founder, Anne has developed a series of drawing robotic kits which are now produced by their company, ArtBot Toys. When not creating, you can find Anne and her family on their cargo bikes toting some crazy contraption from here to there.

 

Marianne Delaporte, ph.D.

Director of Content – Language art, debate, critical writing, & ethics

Dr. Marianne Delaporte received her B.A. from the University of Chicago and her Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. She served as chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department at Notre Dame de Namur University for over ten years and continues to teach there, offering such courses as Philosophy of Love and Social Justice in the World Religions.  Her passion for ethics and social justice has led her to working in community engagement courses with college students, supporting union movements in the Bay Area and fighting against gun violence. She lives in Mill Valley with her husband, a philosopher, and has two children, one at USC, and one in second grade, and enjoys swimming and hiking.