Our Story

As a high school chemistry teacher, Melissa noticed many of her students were coming to her class with the idea that chemistry was going to be terrible and boring. She also noticed that the science budget at most high schools could use some help and personally knew many teachers who were purchasing things out of their own pockets. She decided to start a chemistry summer camp for middle school students called “Chemistry is a Blast!” where she would have a challenging academic curriculum while also lighting every camper’s hands on fire, doing color-changing reactions to music, tie-dying t-shirts to learn about the chemistry of bonding, etc.! Melissa donated proceeds to local high school science departments and hoped these campers would now look forward to high school chemistry vs. dreading it. Years later, some of her campers ended up in her high school classroom and they were VERY excited! Each year, her chemistry camps grew more popular and both parents and campers were asking for MORE of this style of summer learning and engagement. She asked Jake Nonis, a rock star math teacher and theater director she enjoyed working with, to partner with her to start expanding summer camps with a new name: Wise Camps. Each year the camps have grown in popularity and the staff of talented and passionate teachers and volunteers have become a family. There are many stories of campers who eventually became Wise volunteers and are even now Wise teachers! There are also many stories of Wise campers who cite Wise as their inspiration to go into the field they are currently studying.

While Jake and Melissa each have young children of their own and have found themselves working harder than ever for Wise Camps to continue to provide a safe and fun learning experience during the pandemic, they are inspired by the difference this work makes in so many lives. It is the excited voices of the campers and the rave reviews from parents that keeps driving them to offer the best summer camp experience possible–the kind of experience they want for their own children!

About the Instructors/Curriculum Developers

Melissa Baker

Executive Director & Wise Instructor

Melissa Baker has taught high school science (chemistry, physics, biology, nanotechnology, and neuroscience!) for almost 20 years! She now runs the Teaching Academy Program at her high school where she works with students who are considering a career in education! She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Minnesota with a major in biochemistry and she also has a Master’s Degree in Science Education. Melissa has a passion for inspiring a love and appreciation for science in all of her students. She has been teaching summer science camps and courses for over a decade. One of her favorite things to do is design curriculum to both educate and excite campers! Melissa was recognized as “Teacher of the Year” at her high school in 2012 and was selected as the 2015 “Educator of the Year” by the SHINE program (Seattle’s Hub for Industry-Driven Nanotechnology Education). She is well-known for (safely) lighting all of her students’ hands on fire. ☺ She also has 6 year old twins, Ted & Brooke. Their first birthday party had a chemistry theme of course! (and yes, they both already have their own lab coats!!!)

Jake Nonis

Executive Director

Jake Nonis has taught math for 20 years. He graduated at the top of his class from the Honors College at Washington State University with a double major in General Science and Mathematics and a minor in theater; this rare combination of course work earned him the Stanford Award, given to the most well rounded graduate of the Honors College and is what has developed him into the educator that he is today. He is known for his use of technology and engaging teaching style that has earned him such compliments as “I still hate math, but I loved your class”. In 2010 he was awarded the “Teacher of the Year” for his great communication, success with advanced students and his ability to get students to understand math. He has devoted 8 years of his teaching career to coaching a very successful math club that consistently placed in the top 10 at regional and national competitions. He keeps busy with his 2 sons (Ethan enjoying 5th grade and Emerson learning in a dual language program in kindergarten!).

Mandy Sin

Wise Instructor

Mandy Sin teaches 1st grade in Bellevue, WA and was also a Newport High product herself. She graduated from University of Washington with a Masters in Teaching after studying Education as an undergraduate. GO DAWGS! Moving to the US at age 9 from Hong Kong with no prior English skills, she is passionate in ensuring all students (especially immigrant students) feel noticed, heard, and seen. Mandy’s mission is for every student to feel celebrated for their hard work and success in camp. Outside of teaching, Mandy also performs with three dance companies ranging in style from hop hop to heels.

Laurelle Graves

Wise Instructor

Laurelle Graves is a mixed media artist who has a passion for teaching kids. She runs the art program at a local issaquah elementary school, ensuring that all 700+ students receive an arts education. She is also the Arts in the Schools Liason for the Issaquah PTSA Council where she helps guide and educate other schools in the district on arts integration and education. She writes art curriculum that is used in the Issaquah School District elementary schools, with a current focus on social emotional learning and cultural awareness. She also teaches adult classes and mentors adults on how to teach art to children. Laurelle has won 2 Golden Acorn awards and an Outstanding Advocate award for her work in the schools and advocating for the betterment of children’s lives. She is also a Girl Scout Troop Leader and is the proud leader of both of her daughters troops. She is the Art Director for the Girl Scout Issaquah Youth Day Camp where she loves getting to plan outdoor art projects for over 250 scouts each summer. Laurelle grew up in this area, and is a graduate of Newport High School and the University of Washington.

Karla Nyquist

Wise Instructor

Karla Nyquist has taught high school science for 12 years, and still loves the thrill of learning new things. After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Spanish, she also earned her Master’s of Education in Life Science at the University of Minnesota. She taught Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in Minneapolis, MN for 7 years and has been teaching Biology and Sports Science in Seattle for the last 4 years. Outside of the classroom, she has spent summers working with chemists at 3M, with teachers in a Guatemalan elementary school, with ecologists in Maryland, and most recently with infectious disease researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Like these diseases, her passion for science is contagious!

Macy Nolan

Wise Instructor

Macy Nolan is a first grade teacher in Bellevue. She graduated from Eastern Washington University majoring in Early Childhood & Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education. In addition, she earned her masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Western Governors University. Macy has a passion for teaching and helping children learn and grow. She strives to inspire, encourage, and motivate her students, and believes that all students deserve a caring, compassionate teacher who is considerate of their diverse needs. Outside of teaching Macy has a love for traveling, sports, poetry, and music. She’s excited to be incorporating a wide range of STEAM activities in every camp day!

Matthew Bohannan

Wise Instructor

A lifelong Alaskan, I taught math for six years before moving to Washington in the summer of 2015 to continue my teaching career. Over that time, I have truly enjoyed providing enrichment for Advanced Academic Placement students, it has been my sincere goal to help all students in seeing that math has a meaningful place in their lives. My work has been primarily as a middle school teacher – focusing on Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. In addition to math, I have taught courses in Robotics, Multimedia, and Technology over the years. I also believe firmly in raising thoughtfully grounded and well-rounded students. Actively involved with skating for 22 years – first as a National competitor, and then as a skating instructor for the last 17 – I sincerely believe that a healthy mind is nothing without a healthy body. My other love is tennis – both as a player, and also as coach of our boys and girls junior high teams. Sport and healthy competition provide many lessons to our students, and this active philosophy has come to shape class instruction over the years – working to better incorporate numerous games and competitions that get students out of their seats, talking with one another, working towards a common goal, and having fun. As a student, I competed in numerous academic competitions, and vividly remember the positive impact they had on my life. As an adult, I now coach and mentor many of the competitive opportunities at our school as STEM Club coordinator. Through the club, students are given opportunities to compete in math events throughout the year, including Mathcounts – where our team recently qualified to compete at the State championships. Students also participate in the National Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, VEX Robotics, and Future Problem Solving programs. I eagerly look forward to bringing some of our classroom strategies, mixed with the excitement and structure of academic competition, to this summer’s program.

Amanda Lee

Wise Instructor

Amanda began her career at WSU studying Hospitality Business management where she fell in love with cooking and soon became the head chef at multiple establishments! After accomplishing what she wanted to do in the hospitality field, she decided to go back to school- but wasn’t sure what she wanted to study. She became an EMT and fell in love with studying biology! This led her to pursue teaching- and pass that excitement on to her students! She is excited to join Wise Camps this year and to share her enthusiasm for engineering, another area of interest of hers!

Brandon Purcell

Wise Instructor

Brandon Purcell, a Newport product, currently teaches Chemistry and Physics at Sammamish high school. He attended Central Washington University where he played soccer and majored in Physics and General Science. After graduating, Brandon spent the first part of his career teaching in Hermiston, Oregon where he taught 10th grade science to mono-lingual Spanish speaking students and no he doesn’t speak Spanish fluently, but he says it make him a lot better of a teacher. Brandon is known for his rapport he builds with students and dedication to constant collective teacher efficacy and improvement through discourse and research backed data. Having grown up in the Bellevue area, you would find him spending his summers working at numerous local YMCAs camps in the Seattle area and now he is excited to have found something that will combine two of his joys, summer camps and science.

Kimi Oshima

Wise Instructor

Kimi Oshima is a senior in the Public Health-Global Health major at the University of Washington graduating in June 2021. She has a passion for the sciences and for learning and cannot wait to spend another summer sharing her passions with students. She has been teaching chemistry and forensics with WISE Camps for the past 4 years and has loved every minute of it. Kimi also has experience working with kids as a ski instructor, student choreographer, Link Crew Leader, and drama camp director. She is so excited to be a part of the fun, one of a kind experience at WISE camps.

How We Got Started

A couple years ago, Melissa thought it would be fun to have the chance to teach chemistry to some younger kids over her summer break. She thought it’d be refreshing to work with a different age group, but that it would also give her the chance to try out some new demos and lab experiences on a forgiving audience. To her surprise, her camp was very popular without much marketing to help spread the word. Between word of mouth and more marketing the following summer, her camp completely sold out within a couple weeks of opening registration. Students were loving their experience and parents were loving how much their kids were learning! Due to popular demand, Melissa decided to offer more classes and asked Jake, a very popular and engaging math teacher, to join forces with her to create even more options for motivated students to expand their minds! As a result, WISE was born and they are both so excited to get to spend part of their summer teaching such amazing kids!