Our Staff

Aria was just a year old when she moved to Portland and made it her home. She has loved working with children ever since she was young and helped out in her mom’s kindergarten classroom. In her free time Aria enjoys concerts, going on walks with Percy, her golden retriever, and chatting with her penpals in Australia. She loves all things music, theatre, film, and books.

Born and raised on the gulf coast of Florida, Stephanie has been swimming since she was two years old and began competing at the age of five. She has competed in triathlons, open water swimming, and championship swim meets. In 2020 she was part of the Oregon state winning relay.

Stephanie has completed a junior life guarding course and assisted with in-water swim lessons before coming to Farber. Swimming is truly one of her life’s passions, and she loves to share the joy of swimming with her students. Stephanie has worked with children of all ages for years, both as a swim instructor and a regular camp counselor. 

Stephanie loves kids and wants them to be the safest swimmers that they can be, while still having a FUN time in the water. Safety is always the first goal, and after that she loves seeing her students progress to true proficiency!

Specialties: Ages 3–18 years

Amanda grew up near the coast of the great Pacific Northwest, which inspired her deep love for the ocean and nature! She began swimming at age four, starting with lessons and progressing to a junior lifeguard certification and the role of a co-teacher at another program. She now swims competitively for the Westview High School team. In her free time Amanda enjoys creating art, playing the piano, and exploring the beautiful Oregon beach with her dog, Ginger. Another of her passions is environmental preservation, with a special emphasis on Earth’s oceans and all the incredible wildlife who live there. Amanda is very excited to share her love for swimming with others, and looks forward to providing a safe and fun experience for all swimmers.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years
Additional languages: Vietnamese

Tyler was born and raised in Vancouver, WA and recently relocated back to the area after residing the past two years in Provo, UT. Tyler has several years experience working with young children with various additional needs as a tutor at Sunnyside Elementary. Tyler believes patience and playfulness are key to helping swimmers overcome new challenges. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn, and Tyler loves continually guiding his students toward their next breakthrough!

Tyler loves to travel, in particular to his family’s farm in Innsbruck, Austria. He plans to attend to University of Portland next year.

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years, Babies, Littles, Additional needs

Megan grew up in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area and had swimming lessons when she was in elementary school. She was part of her high school’s competitive speech and debate team and even graduated a semester early from high school. Megan was a camp counselor at YMCA Camp Orkila this past summer working with kids aged 8-14.

Megan loves helpings kids to challenge themselves and to see how proud they are of themselves when they do something that was scary before. Seeing kids grow and change and use their new knowledge is one of the more rewarding things about working with kids in Megan’s opinion.

Megan is planning a future career in psychological profiling with opportunities to travel the world. She loves reading and music and she tries different creative activities whenever she gets a chance, her favorites so far being writing and makeup. Megan loves traveling and seeing new places and new cultures and hopes to learn tons of new languages.

Specialties: Ages 4–18 years

Taylor was born and raised in Oregon, and has been teaching swimming the past 4 years, for students aged 4 months and up! She swam competively as a teen and now especially enjoys bringing that experience into her teaching, when her students are ready to start working on team-level skills. Taylor’s hobbies include snowboarding and surfing. She loves pushing students to be their best selves in the water!

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years, Babies, Littles

Photo and Bio coming soon!

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years

Salvador grew up in the Beaverton area. He was in swim lessons/ swim team until 15 years old when his interests changed from swimming to the creative arts. Salvador enjoys training his 2 dogs, knitting, playing video games and spending time at home. He regularly knits for himself and his family and constantly has projects in the works, ranging from small pillows to ponchos and blankets. Salvador enjoys storytelling and the adventures it can take you on, especially character driven stories told in video games.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years
Additional languages: Spanish (conversational)

Photo and Bio coming soon!

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years

Photo and Bio coming soon!

Photo and Bio coming soon!

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Babies & Littles (pending)

Christine was born and raised in Southern California and started swimming in baby lessons.   She joined a swim team as soon as she could and continued swimming through high school.  She got her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Masters in Teaching with a focus on Child Development.  She enjoys swimming and is so excited to be back in the water on a regular basis.  Christine loves teaching and looks forward to helping everyone succeed in having a safe and fun experience at FSS.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Littles (age 3), Babies (4-35 months), Additional needs

Jenna is a California transplant whose fondest memories are by or near water. She has no memories of learning to swim, but as early as she remembers, she has been called “Guppy” by her mother: a nickname given to her for regularly swimming past the break of waves in the ocean.  It is an honor to her to feel trusted as a swim instructor and to allow others the joy that she experiences in water. Outside of the pool, she can be found cooking, reading, sewing, or on a bike ride. She is a resource teacher when not a swim instructor.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Littles & Babies 

Alex has been swimming all his life, from baby classes to years of swim team. He’s always been passionate about not only swimming, but child care too. Summer camp counseling has helped shape Alex to be the fun, easy-going, and efficient educator he is today.  At Farber, Alex knows that every swimmer is different and he focuses on each student’s varying needs, adjusting his tone and instruction accordingly.  He works together with the students to set and accomplish their swimming goals.

Specialties: Ages 4–14 years

Bee is a Beaverton, Oregon native and has lived as far away as Texas.  She practically grew up in the water. Bee’s earliest memory involves swim classes, especially the lessons taught by their mom.  She eagerly embraced every opportunity to be in the water and loved aquatic adventures. 

As the oldest of five siblings, Bee gained invaluable experience caring for and nurturing children. As an adult, she channels the passion she has for the water into teaching kids to swim and being a positive mentor. Bee firmly believes that helping others brings a little extra happiness to the world.  

Bee is happily married, is an artist, enjoys nature and long walks, is a friend to horses and animals big or small, and finds solace in any body of water. As a whimsical touch, Bee’s childhood dream of becoming a mermaid still lingers—because sometimes, life needs a dash of magic, and water has always felt like home.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years

Cathleen was born and raised in Southern California. She learned to swim by taking local swim lessons and then transitioned to a swim team when she was older. Cathleen swam with the Glendora Ducks for 10 years, then once she got to high school she swam with the school’s high school team. On the high school team she specialized in the IM and butterfly. 

Cathleen comes from a family of teachers and has always seen herself in an educator role. Before coming to FSS, she was a substitute teacher in California and a tutor. She enjoys teaching because she likes to help others figure things out! Cathleen enjoys knitting and reading in her free time.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Babies (4-35 months), Littles (age 3)

Heather was born in Illinois and moved to Oregon in 1983. She graduated from West Linn High School in 1990. Though not a competitive swimmer in school, Heather became a certified lifeguard in the early 90’s, completed her Water Safety Instructor certification soon after, and taught Red Cross swimming lessons to preschool and school age children. Heather earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Linfield College and works full time in the social work field with children and families. She is working toward a graduate degree at PSU’s College of Social Work. Heather spends her spare time with her family, including two boys ages 26 and 17, often serving as a leader in Boy Scouts of America, which she has done for 10 years, and boating on the water at Sea Scout events, where she has served as a Mate for 3 years. She also loves crafts of all kinds. Heather has maintained her love of water in the scouting program by helping her scouts with swimming and water safety. Overall, she has more than 13 years of experience working with youth of all ages and is thrilled to return to the pool as an instructor.

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Littles

Carolyn is a Pacific Northwest native.  Growing up, she learned to swim in Eugene’s YMCA group lessons and spent summers sailing and swimming in lakes and pools with her family.  She raced on her college crew team and on one-design sailboats.  For Farber lessons, Carolyn likes to have fun, work as a team, celebrate progress and improve student safety and speed through the water.  Outside of swimming, Carolyn can be found at her boy’s soccer games, leading a cub scouts den activity or at the Oregon Coast building sandcastles, paddle boarding, kayaking and watching sunsets with her husband and two boys. 

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Babies (4-35 months), Littles (age 3), Adults (18+)

Masyn was born and raised in Oregon! Masyn started swim lessons as a baby and has always loved being in the water, especially white water paddle boarding! Masyn got her bachelors degree in psychology from Southern Oregon University and is currently in her last year of her masters at George Fox University to become a marriage and family therapist. Masyn’s professional background has been working with neurodivergent children in various roles. In her free time, Masyn loves watching tv, reading, paddle boarding, cooking and painting!

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Babies, Littles
Additional language: ASL

Josiah was born and raised in Woodburn, Oregon.  Josiah was part of the Boy Scouts of America program where he was able to do many different water activities and learned his love for the water. Fast forward a few years, Josiah joined the United States Navy and had no fears of the water at all!  He is very outgoing and loves to see growth in people and help build them up.  Josiah loves to teach children and see their growth- it is so rewarding! Josiah loves to read books, exercise, be a friend to everyone he meets in his daily life and help others. Josiah hopes to help whomever he can become a better version of themselves, be it in the water or on land.  He wants to make sure all his students learn the safety skills necessary to survive in the water.

Specialties: Ages 4–15 years

Cameron is a Beaverton native and started their swim journey right here at Farber Swim School. Cameron developed a passion for swimming and now feels most at peace in the water. They continued their love of the sport by qualifying and competing for a swim team. Currently, Cameron is a senior in high school and has played a very active role in the theater department since. Cameron can be found hiking, playing tennis, practicing martial arts, and reading comic books in their free time. They hope to attend Southern Oregon University to study microbiology with the goal of pursuing their love of teaching as a biology teacher. Cameron adores sharing their love of the water through teaching such a vital and rewarding skill.

Specialties: Ages 5–13 years

Kiya started taking swim lessons as a baby and has always had a love for the water. 

Her love for teaching kids has always been there and she spends most of her time volunteering in the kids classrooms at her church!

If she’s not in a pool or the ocean you can find her reading in a cozy corner or writing on her newest book idea.

Specialties: Ages 4–14 years

Salma was born in Portland and moved to central Washington when she was eight, where she joined a swim team. Her love of the water grew from there.  While back then she was competitive (also racing triathlons in high school and college), now she does it just for fun! Even on her days off you can find her lap swimming or with her friends at the river.  In the rest of her free time, Salma loves to cook and hang out with the plants she grows on her balcony. She’s thrilled to be able to pass on her love of swimming to others!!

Specialties: Ages 4–17 years, Adults (18+), Team-level

Sarah is a Beaverton native. Her swimming experience began as a child in parent-child classes, and she was lucky enough to take weekly lessons through elementary school. Sarah graduated from college with a degree in Education, and she enjoys working with and around kids. Working at Farber allows her to interact with people of all ages as they learn important life skills and create positive memories. In her spare time, Sarah loves to cozy up with her cats and read, lose herself in creative video games, and play board games with her family.

Photo and Bio coming soon!

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years
Additional languages: ASL

Dawn originally hails from the suburbs of Chicago, although she considers Portland her hometown. She started competitively swimming at age 6, being the youngest child of five in a swimming family. By age seventeen Dawn had already attended state swim meets, taught swim lessons, and even coached her summer Park District Team. As an adult Dawn was fortunate enough to serve as Head Coach for Central Catholic High School boys’ and girls’ swim teams, even winning Coach of the Year. Dawn loves to hike and backpack and enjoys fiber arts. She’s thrilled to be sharing her love of swimming with people of all ages and abilities!

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 3–17 years, Adults, Fears, Additional needs

Jesse is from the Adai Caddo tribe in Louisiana and has been swimming since he was two with his community. After moving to Texas, he joined his high school swim team to adventure into more rigorous swimming. He then began working for the City of Austin as a lifeguard & swim instructor. One of Jesse’s favorite sayings is “Our culture teaches us that water is sacred and must be respected.” As a lover of all things adventurous, Jesse enjoys cliff-jumping, hiking, and skateboarding. Jesse is fluent in Spanish.

Specialties: Ages Babies, Littles, 3–18 years
Additional languages: Spanish (fluent)

Kendra’s happy place is the water, whether snorkeling in the ocean, kayaking on the river, or swimming in the pool. Growing up, she swam year round. As an adult, she has come back to swimming regularly, refined her skills, and fell in love with it all over again. Kendra has a master’s degree in social work, and enjoys working with people as they achieve their goals and develop confidence in themselves. After living in many places she is delighted to be settled in Portland. She and her husband have a grown son and 2 cats. Her land-based hobbies include travel, reading, crossword puzzles, and exploring the delicious food and coffee here.

Specialties: Ages 5–18 years, Adults

Emily was born in San Diego and grew up in SoCal, swimming not just in pools with her family but in the wide open ocean! After moving to Beaverton in 2023 with her husband and 2 kids, she is excited to be working at FSS as an Instructor and Office Assistant. She can’t wait to share her passion for the water with new swimmers! In her free time, Emily likes to explore parks with her kids and loves to get creative with arts and crafts.

Specialties: Ages 3–7 years, Babies (pending)

Devin grew up lakeside camping in her home state of California, so she’s always had a love of water. This natural affinity became a true passion when Devin began competing for her high school swim team. Since then, Devin has worked as a swim instructor, lifeguard, and swim team coach at her local community pool before joining the FSS team. Devin specializes in backstroke and endurance events. Outside the water, Devin spends her time in a variety of hobbies: singing, drawing, sculpting, writing, video gaming, and most importantly: spoiling her cat, Oliver. Devin is a very open person with a vivid imagination, always ready to strike up conversation and share her thoughts. Which, usually, mostly involve Oliver.

Specialties: Ages 4–18 years, Team-level, Adults

Meghan Bell is an author, poet, swimmer, camper, hiker, and aspiring educator. She recently graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences and hopes to go on to teach middle school Social Studies and English. Meghan has a lifelong love of swimming since her family took day trips to California’s Lake Siskiyou to swim as a kid. Working with kids brightens Meghan’s days and nothing makes her happier than seeing the kids’ progress as they learn and have fun!

Additional languages: ASL (conversational)

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 4–18 years

Kira was born and raised in Hillsboro where she began taking swim classes as a baby. After years of lessons, when she was six years old she started swimming on her neighborhood team and stayed with them until middle school. For three years, Kira swam for Hillsboro High School – it is safe to say that she loves swimming! 

She has recently moved back to the Portland area after living in New Zealand for three years! Kira spends her free time hiking, cooking, doing yoga, thrift shopping, and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. She believes that everyone should know how to swim, and wants to teach all her students how to feel safe and confident while they’re in the water!

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 3–18 years

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

Megan was born in Ohio and moved to the west coast as a high schooler. She then attended Grand Canyon University in Arizona for a degree in biology. Since returning to Oregon, she has worked in telecommunications climbing up the ladder throughout her career. Megan now lives in Beaverton with her two kids and a dog. Most weekends she can be found attending her daughter’s dance competitions or her son’s taekwondo classes. She loves spending time with family, watching movies, or running her kids around to their activities. Megan is so excited to be a part of the Farber Swim Family because she loves being around people and watching others learn!

Aloha! Shantel was born and raised on the island of Honolulu, Hawaii. She moved up to Oregon in 2013. Growing up in Hawaii, the ocean has been Shantel’s second home since childhood. She was often described by friends and family as a mermaid! Swimming is a source of comfort to Shantel and brings her much joy, which she can’t wait to share with her students!

Shantel currently attends PCC and will be transferring to OSU soon, to pursue her dream of being a marine biologist. She loves animals and currently has 3 dogs. In her spare time, Shantel loves music, making new friends, and outdoor adventures of all kinds. Other hobbies include video games and anime. Shantel can’t wait for your swimmer to make a splash at FSS, so she can share her experience and love of swimming!

Specialties: Ages 3–18 years, Babies & Littles (pending)

Specialties: Babies, Littles, Ages 4–6 years

Holly is a native Oregonian, born and raised in Portland. She swam for the first time when she was 6 months old and has not stopped since! Holly swam for the Jesuit Swim Team all four years of high school. Holly also loves languages: she speaks conversational Spanish and is learning Mandarin Chinese. Holly’s favorite food is her sister’s Indonesian fried rice and her favorite place to travel to is Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Her hobbies include riding horses, volunteering with children with disabilities, reading, as well as sailing, kayaking, and traveling with her family.

Specialties: Littles, Ages 4–18 years
Additional languages: Spanish (conversational)

Specialties: Ages 3–10 years

Ethan is a native Oregonian, who spent much of his life traveling southeast Asia. He learned to swim at an early age, and loves swimming both for recreation and for health. Ethan enjoys working with kids and has experience leading various youth groups. His favorite academic subjects are history and mathematics, and in his free time Ethan enjoys playing strategy games. He aims to combine his love of swimming and his experience with children to share his love of the water.

Allison was born across the river in Vancouver, Washington. She attended Skyview High School and graduated in 2019. While going to school, she worked as a swimming instructor and lifeguard for a pool close to her home. Allison found a love of teaching and learning through her experience. During her free time, Allison enjoys drawing, spending time with her best friend, and cuddling with her little cat named Toast. 

Michelle was born in Orange County and fell in love with the water at a very young age. She took swim lessons as a kid and grew up spending her free time going to beaches along the West Coast. In her early 20s, she taught swim to kids 3mo.-10 years old, where she discovered her love for teaching and kids. She spends her free time exploring trails, doing yoga, eating French pastries, and reading books.

Naomy is a life-long Oregonian. She grew up swimming in lessons and for fun, and she is more than happy to be back in the water and teaching others to enjoy the water as much as she does! Naomy is a high school senior and the captain of  the Speech and Debate team. She stays active in the community, and currently volunteers at a small secondhand bookstore where she loves the opportunity to help and interact with young kids. In the future, she plans to pursue a degree in computer science at a university in the United Kingdom. Her primary goal is to make sure the kids have a great time while learning to stay safe in the water.

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years
Additional languages: Spanish

Billie was born near Chicago and raised in Albuquerque. She started swimming lessons at 3 years old after giving her mom a scare at a local water park. Living in the desert Southwest gave Billie 8 months a year in, on, or around the pool. She began teaching family and friends and, later, her two sons (who are grown and live here in the Portland metro also.)

Billie “visited” Portland for the last time in 2013 and became a resident after falling in love with the Timbers Army. In her spare time since, Billie has volunteered and served on committees for the 107IST and the Red Dress Party Portland. 

Billie was a career corporate trainer in the restaurant industry and combined her love for teaching and swimming four years ago. She is always excited to swim with the kids and says, “We often teach each other something.”

Billie also enjoys painting and paddle boarding.

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years, Babies, Littles

Adam was born in Tennessee but has spent the majority of his life in Oregon. He is a very active person who enjoys the outdoors and lots of exercise. He graduated from U of O and now works as a sports journalist for multiple websites. Adam began lifeguarding in college and went on to teach swim lessons to children from kindergarten to middle school age. He has several years of experience in the aquatics industry. In his free time Adam loves to write and draw, as well as spend time outdoors with his wife and family.

Specialties: Ages 5–18 years, Adults, Team-level

Marisa was born in Salem, Oregon where she grew up taking swimming lessons at the local YMCA and taking trips to the coast with her family. She moved to Nebraska her junior year where she swam on her high school swim team. Years later she suffered multiple injuries due to her time in the U.S. Army, but after months of aqua therapy she gained more mobility and reclaimed her passion for swimming again! She recently moved back to Oregon to pursue her bachelor’s degree at Pacific University. She is currently a senior studying child psychology and will be graduating next spring! She enjoys video games, exploring the outdoors, watching old television series and movies, and cuddling with her cat (Dexter). She has many years of experience working with children of different age groups and is excited to teach them how swimming can be beneficial in multiple ways!

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years (Babies & Littles pending)

Sankarsh is a Portland native. He has been working with kids since high school, first as an Outdoor School Counselor and later as a swim instructor. He swam competitively in high school and comes to FSS with several years of competitive coaching experience, both at the recreational and the university level. While he was earning his degree at Western Oregon University (with a minor in Education Psychology), Sankarsh worked for the Campus Recreation department. Sankarsh has experience teaching all ages and abilities, from babies to adults, novices to competition level.  Sankarsh loves working with people and helping them acquire new skills and find their confidence in the water. Kids are especially fun to teach, due to the cuteness factor and also their incredible senses of humor! His goal is to provide a relaxed and flexible teaching style, with just the right amount of goofiness to keep those kiddos smiling.

In his spare time Sankarsh is an avid baker, currently working on his cake decorating skills. He also loves archery, and hiking in the beautiful PNW wilderness.

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

Hunter has been swimming his whole life! He grew up taking lessons and began competing at a young age. This naturally transitioned him into a teaching role, and he’s been coaching and teaching swim lessons since June of 2015. Out of the pool, Hunter has worked extensively with kids in a variety of roles, from nanny, babysitter, to serving as the Kids’ Activities Director at his church. Hunter loves kids’ energy and enthusiasm, and knows how to harness it to teach them new skills, whether it be how to solve a math problem, how to tie a shoe, or how to do a great racing dive. His experience with literally hundreds of kids has shown him how to create the right balance of fun, laughter, learning, and a little bit of crazy for each child he interacts with!

Specialties: Ages 3–17 years, Babies, Littles, Additional needs