Faculty & Staff
Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.
Faculty & Staff
Meet Our Outstanding Faculty & Staff
St. John the Baptist Catholic’s outstanding educators, administrators and support staff are dedicated to bringing our mission to life every day. These professionals work together to ensure that SJB is a challenging, yet rewarding, environment for our students.
Teachers participate in ongoing faith formation and receive Catechist Certification through the Archdiocese of Portland. This includes a fall retreat, in-service days with other Catholic School teachers, monthly meetings focused on faith formation, and individual and group study on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The faculty and staff pray together daily before school begins and they carry over this practice to their classrooms.
Amber Ploussard, Principal
Mrs. Amber Ploussard became the principal at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in 2019. She has been in education for 12 years as a K-8 teacher in the Archdiocese of Portland, and served as the vice principal at St. John the Baptist for the past three years. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon, a Master of Education degree from Concordia University, and Initial Administrative License from the University of Portland.
Alina Best, Vice Principal, Spanish and Art
Alina Best began her teaching career here at SJB in 2008. She taught 1st grade here until 2014, before moving to another school for 3 years where she taught 1st and 4th grades. She rejoined the team in 2017 in a new role as K-8 instructor in both Spanish and Art, drawing on her lifelong passion and study of both.
Third of five children in a Cuban-American family, Alina was raised to love and value faith, language, music, and the richness found in diversity. She grew up in Northwest Montana, and returns often to visit her siblings, niece and nephews. She went to a small, liberal arts school in Northeast Tennessee, where she sought a BA in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish. She received her MSEd in Elementary Reading and Math in 2013, and continues to pursue opportunities to learn and practice various forms of art, including oil painting, lettering, drawing and sculpture. Among other things, Alina loves singing, animals, sign language, and storytelling.
Lucero Silva, Administrative Assistant
Lucero began working at SJB in 2016. Since a young age she has worked with families and children. She was raised in Hood River, but was born in Michoacan a state in Mexico. She has lived in Milwaukie since 2010. She has three sons her two oldest attend SJB. Lucero enjoys spending time with her family.
Melissa McGowan Preschool Teacher (Acorn Room)
Melissa McGowan graduated Portland State University in 2015 with her Bachelor’s in Psychology. Currently, Melissa is Teacher’s aide in Miss Julie’s room, founder and co-owner of a small business, and works at an elderly care facility on the weekends! Melissa enjoys giving back to the community through hard work and dedication to Milwaukie’s residents. She loves coming home to her family and two kitties. If you would like a laugh, ask her what her cat’s name is!
Jenny Rast, Preschool Teacher (Oak Room)
Jenny Rast is the assistant preschool teacher. She grew up in Milwaukie and attended SJB from first to fifth grade. She graduated from LaSalle High School and Portland State University. Jenny currently lives with her husband and 2 children in Milwaukie, and her children attend SJB. They are 4th generation SJB students. Jenny enjoys spending time with her family, scrapbooking, and listening to audiobooks.
David Quinn, Second Grade
This will be Dave Quinn’s 5th year at SJB. He has been the kindergarten teacher for the previous 4 years and will be teaching second grade this year.
Dave is from Melbourne, Australia and has been living in Portland for 5 years. He got his Masters degree in teaching at the University of Melbourne and taught in Australia for 2 years before moving to the states. Dave still struggles with the weather in Portland and no doubt the other teachers are sick of hearing him mention it.
Tenley Roosevelt, First Grade
Tenley Roosevelt has been teaching first grade at SJB since 2014. She has experience in teaching kindergarten-3rd grade and special education. Tenley graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Educational Foundations and minors in both Special Education and Business Administration. After that, she earned her Masters in teaching from Lewis and Clark.
Bethany Chipps, Kindergarten
This is Mrs. Chipps tenth year teaching at St. John the Baptist Catholic School. Mrs. Chipps started teaching 4th grade, and for the last three years taught 2nd grade. She is so excited to be teaching kindergarten this year. She graduated from Oregon State University with a Bacholar of Science in Housing Studies. After serving the Portland commuinty for seven year, she returned to school to earn her Masters in Teaching from Concordia University.
Sr. Juana Gutierrez, Third Grade
Sister Juana Gutierrez Mares joined the teaching staff at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in 2017 to teach third grade. She graduated from George Fox University where she earned her teaching certificate with endorsements in elementary education and Spanish. Sister Juana is happy to share her journey in life, especially toward joining a religious order and becoming a teacher.
In 2001, she started working at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Forest Grove as a parish minister. She worked there until 2009. While working there, she studied theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkley, CA. In 2010, she started working at Valley Catholic Early Learning School teaching Spanish. It was then, when she fell in love with the little ones, as she had done when she worked at Migrant Head Start, that she decided to go back to college to become a teacher and to eventually find her way to St. John the Baptist.
Jamie Schweigert, Fourth and Fifth Grade Math
This is Mrs. Schweigert’s 5th year teaching at St. John the Baptist Catholic School and 22nd year of teaching. Mrs. Schweigert started teaching 5th grade at SJB. She now teaches 4th grade and 5th grade math. She graduated from Central Washington University with a B.A. in Elementary Education. Later she returned to school to obtain her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Integrating the Arts from Lesley University. Mrs. Schweigert is excited to continue teaching 4th grade and 5th grade math.
Carre Heineck, Fifth Grade
Carre Heineck enters her fifth year at St. John the Baptist Catholic School and her fourteenth year in Catholic education. Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, she moved to Oregon to be part of a Catholic service program. She received her BA in English from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and her MA in Education from the University of Portland. Carre enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and is a competitive runner.
Cheryl Biehl, Middle School Language Arts
Cheryl Biehl has been an educator for 42 years, three of which have been at SJB. She has taught both primary and intermediate grades, as well as middle school language arts, social studies, and religion. She has served as a library/media specialist and has taught middle school music. She has been a principal and a central office administrator as District Librarian. Dr. Biehl holds Bachelor degrees in education and music education from Eastern Washington University and Arizona State University, a Masters from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from University of Washington. She has Standard Certification in Educaion Leadership from Portland State University.
Christopher DeLutz, 7th Grade Homeroom and 5-8 Science
Christopher DeLutz is the science teacher for grades 5-8 and also teaches the middle school LEGO robotics elective and middle school coding course. He has been teaching at St. John the Baptist Catholic School since 2014.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University and his Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Marylhurst University. He is honored to be a part of the St. John the Baptist Catholic School community and have the opportunity to share the wonders of science with the students of SJB.
Outside of the classroom, Mr. DeLutz enjoys spending his time with his wife, daughter, and dogs. He enjoys all things outdoors: camping, backpacking, whitewater rafting, and stand up paddle boarding are a few of his favorite outdoor activities.
Christina Simmons, P.E. and Health
Mrs. Christina Simmons is our physical education and middle school health teacher at SJB. This is her third year teaching physical education, and her second year teaching at SJB.
Christina is a born and raised Oregonian and grew up in the Portland Archdiocesan Catholic schools. She graduated in 2014 from Warner Pacific University and went on to earn her Master’s degree in K-8 education in 2016 at Concordia University.
She is excited to welcome students to PE which will provide opportunities to learn about the many different ways in which our bodies and minds can benefit from fitness and having fun. Physical education teaches students about teamwork, problem solving, inclusion, sportsmanship and a solid foundation for healthy lifestyles.
Bryce Driscoll, Music and Religion
Mr. Driscoll began teaching Music at SJB last winter and will be teaching both Music and 6th-8th Religion this fall. He completed his undergrad with a double B.A. in Music and Psychology in 2013. Upon graduating, he joined Peace Corps and served 27 months in Morocco working within the Youth Development sector. He then gained his MAT degree through the PACE program at UP while teaching Religion at St. Andrew Nativity School.
Reagan Reid, Middle School Social Studies
Miss Reagan Reid is the Middle School Social Studies teacher at St. John the Baptist. She grew up
in the Lake Oswego area, and after high school attended Boise State University where she earned
her Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in English in 2016. A month after completing her
undergraduate she began her graduate program at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
In 2017, she earned her Master of Arts in Teaching with an endorsement in Social Studies.
During her time at Lewis and Clark she student taught eighth grade social studies at Evergreen MiddleSchool in Hillsboro. After finishing graduate school Reagan started her teaching experience as a substitute teacher throughout the Portland Metro area.
Reagan is new to St. John the Baptist School, starting in January of 2018, however, is excited to be a part of the community! When she is not at school teaching or lesson planning, she is working on completing her second masters, a Master of Arts in History, through Arizona State University’s online program. She enjoys spending time with her friends, family and her dog Bella. History is her passion and she cannot wait to tell the stories of
those who came before us!
Christopher Dominguez, Middle School Math
Christopher Dominguez is very excited to be part of the St. John the Baptist family. He graduated from The University of Arizona and dedicated last year to a year of service with the Alumni Service Corps at Brophy College Preparatory, his alma mater.
During his time at Brophy, he served as a Geometry teacher, Speech and Debate coach, and Office of Faith and Justice staff member. After his year of service, he spent a year working at a non-profit in Arizona called Maggie’s Place as a Database Analyst. During his time at Maggie’s Place, he felt the true call to be back in the classroom and to be working with students.
At St. John the Baptist, Mr. Dominguez will be serving as the Math teacher for the middle school. He is excited to be joining the SJB community and beyond excited to be doing what he truly loves, teaching math!
Kerrie Brown, Before & After School Care Director
Kerrie Brown began working at SJB. in 2017 through Vermont Hills Family Life Center as the before & after care teacher. In 2018 she became part of the SJB staff as the Lead BASC. (Before & After School Care) Director. She has worked with preschool as well as school age children for many years for agencies and schools. She has her BA. in fine art with her primary focus in painting. She grew up in of Oregon city, & has always lived in Oregon. Mrs. Brown is married with two adult children, & 7 step grandchildren. She enjoys zumba aerobic work outs, chuckles at the term crazy cat lady because she has 3 indoor cats & 4 outdoor. She loves spending time with her family & seeing the sights of our beautiful state.