Faculty & Staff |

Founding Director

Tami Johnson As an educator, Mrs. Tami Johnson has been fortunate enough to work with many of the school districts in Riverside County, Los Angeles County, San Diego County as a consultant, trainer, teacher, school counselor and employee. She currently works as the Head School Counselor and Elementary Project Director for Cajon Valley Union School District.
She also serves as an adjunct instructor at Point Loma Nazarene University to teach graduate level courses. Formally, she worked as an Elementary and Middle School Counselor, Academic Advisor for Point Loma Nazarene University.

On a more personal note, Mrs. Johnson has three children and has been married to her husband, Craig Johnson (Associate Professor of Music at Point Loma Nazarene University), for 25 years. She enjoys kayaking, going to the beach, and hiking. When she is not out doors with her family and their two dogs, Holly and Duncan, she is an avid reader of fiction and enjoys going to the theater. She is very excited about joining the inGenius faculty this summer.

inGenius Campus Director@ Canyon Crest Academy
Maria Nesvig has been an Extended Day Program site lead, for the Cajon Valley Union School District since 2018. In her role as an after school program leader she has learned how to ensure student safety and well being, develop and implement engaging activities, and maintain positive relationships with students, families and staff.

She has enjoyed working the last 3 summers at InGenius starting in 2021. In her first summer she taught the cooking class, and had so much fun being creative with cooking in a classroom. During summers 2022 and 2023 she assisted with administrative work, to help provide organization and smooth daily operations. Outside of work Maria enjoys cooking, arts, staying active, and spending time with her family.

inGenius Campus Counselor @ Canyon Crest Academy
Phoua Xiong is an elementary school counselor for the Cajon Valley Union School District. As a native of Merced, she received her B.A. from UC Merced and her M.S. in Counseling from Fresno State University. After graduating, she accepted a position with the Cajon Valley Union School District as a Trauma-Informed Counselor.

It was there that she was able to be in the classrooms to provide lessons for students by helping them develop an emotional vocabulary and intelligence, and teaching students coping skills and strategies. In 2017, she transitioned to one site and has been able to work with students more closely and building relationships with them. Her passion in working with students has carried over into the summer months when she is out of school and teaching students at inGenius. She loves sparking students’ imagination with what is possible and combining this with their interests by giving every child the opportunity to learn and experience joy. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, creating new recipes in the Instant Pot, going to the beach, spending quality time with her partner and friends, and visiting her family in Merced. She loves and looks forward to spending time with her 21 nieces and nephews!

inGenius Campus Counsoler @ Canyon Crest Academy
Alexander Drozda is a San Diego native and has been working in education since 2010. He graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Sociology-Organizational Studies and is in the final stage of his M.Ed. at Point Loma Nazarene University.

Most recently, he has held positions as a visiting teacher within Cajon Valley Union School District and School Counselor within San Diego Unified School District. His educational interests lie in student capacity building, special education, socio-emotional education, restorative practices, ESL development, STEAM, and A-G high school and college preparation. When he is not working with students, he enjoys surfing, backpacking, and traveling.