Our Staff

FSS employee since: September 2016

Title: Office Assistant & Instructor

Courtney learned to swim the old-fashioned way—in rivers and lakes as she was growing up in Gresham! She started working with kids as a teen when she coached hockey for younger children. She loves establishing that trust and bond with her students, and the joy of watching them achieve their goals and grow in confidence. In the office, Courtney loves getting to know the kids, listening to their stories and questions and making them laugh. Likewise, Courtney always wants to bring laughter into her lessons. Swimming is an important skill for everyone to learn, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun, too!

In her downtime, Courtney's favorite thing to do is spend quality family time with her partner and her 5-year-old son. Together they enjoy hiking and camping, especially in Courtney's favorite travel destination, Sisters OR.

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 3–18

Title: Instructor

Dana grew up in Northern California and started competitive swimming at age 7, when her parents realized her desire to always “be first” needed to be channeled in a more positive direction. Swimming took her through school, national and international meets, and gave her her first chance to teach children to swim. From the age of 11 she found joy in watching a child’s smiles (and tears) as they recognize their ability to swim.

Following college, Dana’s career in the biotech/biomedical field led her away from the pool (although the smell of chlorine always made her look for one). The next 20+ years were spent working and traveling while still finding time to volunteer with children (and animals). Now, living in Portland, she is excited to have found Farber Swim School. Dana feels honored and blessed to be given an opportunity to, once again, participate in teaching the thing she feels so passionate about: swimming. She is also training again to, hopefully, compete in future open water swims and triathlons.

Specialties: Ages 3–18, Babies, Littles, Adults

Title: Instructor

Doug, 58, is a life-long swimmer who began competing at age 6 (along with his four swimmer siblings) in various pools of New Jersey and Missouri, where he was raised. Doug attended the University of Missouri as an Athlete Scholar, which took him to the 1980 Pan American games in Mexico City! A shoulder injury ended his competitive career and opened the door for his move to Oregon State University, where he graduated in 1981 with a BS in Psychology. Douglas rejoined the competitive field, joining the U.S. Masters Swimming association to swim for the Multnomah Athletic Club, where he swims daily.

Retired from his career as an occupational safety officer for the Oregonian Publishing Co., Doug became certified through USMS as an Adult Learn-to-Swim instructor. Doug lives in Raleigh Hills with his wife, Bridget. Doug also enjoys kayaking, golf, skiing, and traveling, which often takes him to Long Beach, CA to visit his daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons. 

Specialties: Ages 3–18, Adults, Team-level 

FSS employee since: April 2016

Title: Instructor 

Jessica was Born in San Francisco and lived all over the West Coast during her childhood. She grew up swimming and exploring the Pacific Ocean. Once moving to Oregon she began competitive swimming for the next six years with the Hillsboro HEAT swim team & the Hillsboro High School team. She spends her free time camping, kayaking & hiking with her Puppy (Penny). She is attending PCC for her Associates of general studies and hopes to go on to study Oceanography & Communications. Jessica has fostered her passion for the ocean into teaching others & looks forward to helping everyone have a safe and fun under the sea experience.

Specialties: Age 3-18, Babies, Littles 

FSS Employee since November 2017

Title: Instructor

Kona moved from Las Vegas to Portland in fall 2018 to attend PSU. She grew up swimming in lessons and for fun, and has worked with kids for over 5 years and in 3 different states! She loves working with kids because their contagious energy keep you on your toes. You never know what they’re going to do next! Seeing her students of all ages progress is what Kona loves most about teaching swim lessons. Even seemingly small breakthroughs, like finally putting the face in the water, mean so much to new swimmers and is cause for great celebration. Every student has strengths to build on and fears to overcome; watching them conquer those fears makes Kona very proud. 

If Kona had to pick a favorite swim stroke it would be the nice relaxing Backstroke. In her free time, Kona enjoys reading and hanging out with friends. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Urban & Public Affairs at PSU. In her travels Kona has gotten as far as India, which immediately became her favorite travel destination as soon as she saw how beautiful and vibrant it is! She hopes to go there again someday!

Specialties: Ages 4–18, Adults

Title: Instructor, Office Assistant, Pee Wee Team Head Coach

Liz competed on her high school swim and dive team, and qualified for state several times. From there it was natural for her to start teaching swim lessons at her local pool. Liz has worked with children since 2011, mainly as a swim instructor. After high school pool Liz worked with the Muckleshoot tribe in WA where she got to do everything from lessons to pool maintenance and much more. Recently Liz moved here to Portland to study English lit and Psychology.

Liz has worked other kinds of jobs but the water keeps calling her back. Sharing her knowledge of swimming with those lovable balls of energy called kids makes her feel great! She says "there's nothing quite like that moment when a child realizes that they can do it and then DOES IT!"

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 3–18, Team-level

Title: Instructor

Sophie was born and raised in the UK and lived most recently in Germany for 9 years. She moved to Oregon a year ago, and is enjoying this new adventure! Sophie first swam as a toddler and has been a passionate swimmer ever since. She completed lifeguard training courses in the UK and in Germany, where she swam competitively for 4 years at a private club. Soon after moving to Oregon, she joined another swim team and is currently competing for Sunset High School.

Working with children is another of Sophie's callings, and she has many years' experience volunteering at a kindergarten, babysitting for multiple other families, and taking care of her 4-year-old sister. Kids are so wonderfully curious and eager to learn—just like Sophie herself, who enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures. She loves helping children progress from stepping-stone to stepping-stone and then seeing their faces light up when they reach their goal. Sophie always wants to get kids laughing, and believes that fun and play are integral to a child's learning process. 

Other than the pool, Sophie's favorite place to be is somewhere comfortable with a book. 

Specialties: ages 3–18

FSS Employee since: May 2018

Additional languages: German (fluent) & Spanish (basic)

Title: Instructor / Office Assistant

Teresa was born and raised in California, and developed an affinity for water at an early age. She earned her B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TESOL, from the University of Nevada, Reno and continued her education by attending the University of San Francisco for graduate school. Teresa enjoys being civically engaged, attending and participating in local neighborhood association committee meetings, Beaverton Diversity Advisory Board meeting, Beaverton Organizational Leadership and Development seminars. Further, this fall she will be a part of Beaverton Citizens Academy. Teresa finds helping people in her community enriching and looks forward to working with the next generation of swimmer(s) learn and build swim/pool safety skills.

Specialties: Ages 3–18, Babies, Littles

Title: Instructor

Thaly ("Taw-LEE") has been involved in swimming from the age of nine. He swam on various clubs throughout his youth, in addition to being part of the Tualatin High School swim team. In the 10 years since then, Thaly has continued learning about fitness and exercise science. He is influenced very much by George Hebert and Ido Portal, two physical educators who developed their own systems of education. The former developed a system known as Natural Method; the latter created a philosophy that emphasizes movements that work the body as a whole. As an instructor, Thaly is excited to help his students become water-safe and learn essential skills, while at the same time fostering an attitude of sheer enjoyment, playfulness, and freedom that comes from being in the water. He is especially excited to coach the FSS Swim Team, the Pee Wee Penguins! GO PEE WEES!

Specialties: Ages 3–18, Adults, Team-level

FSS Instructor since: May 2018

Title: Instructor

Holly is a native Oregonian, born and raised in Portland. She swam for the first time when she was 6 months old and hasn't stopped since! She has competed on Jesuit Swim Team all through high school. For the past 5 years, Holly has spent her summers volunteering to work with children with disabilities. She loves working with children; it always brightens her day to hear all about their opinions, stories, and unique perspectives. It's amazing to see what kids can accomplish when they challenge themselves and work hard. Other sports Holly has competed in include track and lacrosse. Holly also loves languages: she speaks fluent Spanish and is learning Mandarin Chinese. Her hobbies include sailing, kayaking, traveling, and horseriding; one day she hopes to own her very own horse (and a few dogs, too).

Specialties: Age 3–18

Additional languages: Spanish

FSS employee since: May 2017