Meet our Faculty and Administration

Dennis Deutsch, Head of School
One of the founding four of Beacon Hill Classical Academy. Mr. Deutsch serves as the Head of School here at BHCA. He graduated from The Master's College and received his BA in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Education. He continued his education at Bahnsen Theological Seminary and Master's Graduate School of Divinity where he studied Counseling, Theology, and Educational Leadership and received his M.C. in Biblical Counseling. This is his 28th year in Education. He is married to his lovely wife Andrea (our Grammar 3 Teacher) and has two children, Ava and Gavyn. He and his family attend Soli Church. When not at work, Mr. Deutsch can usually be found surfing with his family and friends or hunting birdies on the golf course.
​

Jan Allen, Academic Dean/Rhetoric History Teacher
Mrs. Allen graduated from Taylor University with a BS in Social Science with a secondary
education teaching credential. She joined Beacon Hill after being at Oaks Christian for 13 years
and is currently teaching Rhetoric history and serving as a master teacher for the humanities
with 40+ years of teaching experience. Her professional passion is to mold students into
independent learners with the ability to think critically. Mrs. Allen is looking forward to working
with her colleagues as the Logic and Rhetoric curriculum develops into an outstanding program
to create students who have a passion to be life learners. Married since 1974, her husband
Steve currently teaches at Oaks and they have two adult ‘children’ who both are teachers. They
are members of Conejo Valley Community Church.

Joshua Walker, Technology Resource Director
Mr. Walker serves as the Technology Resource Director at BHCA. He graduated from Caltech with a B.A. in Engineering and Applied Science, from UCLA with a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and The Master's Seminary with a M.Div. After working as a Mechanical Engineer for almost 10 years, he transitioned into education as a part of the founding team of Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley, CA. In addition to serving at BHCA, he serves as the Academic Dean at Eternity Bible College. He is passionate about the gospel of Jesus Christ impacting all areas of life, with a particular emphasis on education and vocation / work. He is married to Carla, a Registered Nurse at Los Robles Hospital and has two children, both at BHCA since 2012. They are a part of the church family at Anthem Camarillo.

Ruth Barone, Academic Development Coordinator/Rhetoric Lit Teacher
Ruth became a BHCA parent and volunteer during the 2009-2010 school year and has been involved with the school in many capacities since then.  She is currently serving as BHCA's Academic Development Coordinator and one of the school's Rhetoric literature instructors.  Ruth holds a BS in Business Administration with a Finance concentration from California State University, Northridge.  After graduating, she spent eight years working as an associate at a business valuation firm before leaving to become a home educator and part-time teacher.  Since then, she has taught 3rd and 4th grade language arts at BHCA and the Challenge I level (9th grade) at Classical Conversations in Newbury Park.  She is currently attending a home church is Westlake Village with her husband, Eric, and their two daughters. 

Lindsay Leeds, Office Manager
The Leeds family attends Calvary Community Church Westlake. The Leeds have called Beacon Hill their school home since 2010, and will graduate their last child in 2022! Lindsay came on staff in 2013 and oversees the Lower Campus office, the schedules for the Head of School, and coordinates the Auxilium and volunteers.  She is blessed to serve the families and faculty of BHCA.

Heather Mangimelli, Business Manager/Admissions
Mrs. Mangimelli worked as a Quality Analyst in the Auto Finance industry for 12 years. While she enjoyed working in the field of finance, she embraced the chance to become a full time stay-at-home mom when the opportunity presented itself. While homeschooling her children was never her plan, she fell in love with it. That’s why, when it came time to relocate from San Diego to Moorpark, her children’s education was her utmost priority, and she feels blessed to have found BHCA.
She has been happily married for 20 years to her husband, Jeff, and has two children; Caleb and Abigail. When she is not at work, Heather enjoys cooking, baking, camping and spending time with her family and friends.

Hilary Erickson, Activities Assistant
Mrs. Erickson is married to Chris Erickson, and they have 4 children who attend Beacon Hill. She is thankful to have participated as a family at Beacon Hill, since the school’s first year. Serving as a volunteer for years, she enjoys helping this year as an Auxilium, Activities Assistant and School Trips Coordinator. Her passion for Christian Education in Ventura County began from her youth, as her parents pioneered a distinctly Christian cultured, discipleship school in Camarillo. She was introduced to the Classical view of education at Hillsdale College. Her double majors of Christian Studies and Political Economy, and her internship in Washington, DC at the Heritage Foundation continued her love of history and travel, which fuels her passion for our Logic & Rhetoric Schools’ History and Culture Tours.

Kevin Bailey, Athletic Director
Mr. Bailey serves as the Athletic Director for BHCA. He has oversight of the athletic programs for the Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric Schools. He is responsible for the supervision of all personnel in developing and maintaining a sports program consistent with the principles and goals established by BHCA. He is a retired Fire Captain from the Los Angeles Fire Department. He has coached a variety of sports at the youth level for over 15 years. He is married to his sweet wife Julie, and has four children, Luke, Caleb, Brock, and Rylan. He and his family attend Faith Community Church in Oxnard.

Carolyn Sugimoto, Art Teacher
Mrs. Sugimoto oversees the Art Program at Beacon Hill in addition to teaching 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade art. She received her art training at DePauw University and Grinnell College, working as an Art Director in an advertising agency for 11 years in Minneapolis. She studied SUMI-E, Japanese ink brush painting, in Tokyo, Japan, while also teaching English as a Second Language. Mrs. Sugimoto taught ESL at Cornell University’s Intensive English Program in Ithaca, NY and also at Pierce College in Puyallup, WA. Her husband Mike is a professor at Pepperdine University and has been a board member of Beacon Hill for eight years. Their two sons, Michael and Jack, attend Beacon Hill and they worship together at Christ Church in Santa Clarita. She enjoys doing art, viewing art, and opening up the world of art to her students.

Teresa Deutsch, Kindergarten Teacher
Mrs. Teresa Deutsch has been married to her best friend, Pastor David Deutsch for 30 years.  Their daughter Mrs. Jordan Alstot is married to Jeffrey Alstot. She is a proud “Gramma” to Nolan. Mrs. Deutsch met her husband, David at The Master’s University where she studied Speech Communications. Mrs. Deutsch has taught classical education for nearly 20 years. She was instrumental in helping to create BHCA’s hybrid program. She was Beacon Hill’s first Kindergarten teacher. In addition, she has taught Grammar and Logic Latin at BHCA. She has a passion for Classical Education. She is humbled and grateful to come alongside “in loco parentis” to teach truth, beauty, and goodness to the next generation. Her favorite pastime is walking on the beach with her hubby! She and her husband are members at Soli Deo Gloria Church in Camarillo, California.

Danielle Roberts, K-5 Academic Principal and Literacy Coach
​Mrs. Roberts received her undergraduate education from UCLA and obtained her California teaching credential through UC Irvine.  She also has a Master's degree in reading and literacy. This is her twenty-sixth year in education, with experience as a classroom teacher in both public and private schools. All three of her children were homeschooled and attended Beacon Hill Classical Academy.  She and her husband, Brett, attend Calvary Community Church in Westlake.

Courtney Nicholls, Grammar 2 Teacher
Mrs. Nicholls studied Christian Education at MS Baptist College for three years before moving to California where she received her Associates Degree in Early Education from Ventura College. She began her teaching career as a preschool teacher where she taught for four years before becoming a stay-at-home mom to three beautiful daughters. She homeschooled her daughters for two years and taught classes at a local homeschool co-op. During that time she received a Bachelors of Science in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University. In 2011 Mrs. Nicholls was blessed to join the faculty of Beacon Hill as the 2nd grade teacher. She is married to Aaron, and they attend Gold Coast Christian Church.

Emily Balli, Grammar 2 Teacher, Rhetoric Musical Worship Teacher
Emily Balli loves the adventure of learning and teaching with a Christ centered worldview. She is a wife to Dominic and a mommy to Selah, Solomon, and Kingston. Emily and her family have enjoyed homeschooling and traveling the world, taking music and the gospel to the lost. She taught our KinderCare program for two years and is now teaching second grade. She is passionate about knowing God and making Him known. The Balli fam serves and attends church at Reality Ventura.  

Andrea Deutsch, Grammar 3 Teacher
Mrs. Deutsch studied nursing at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. She served as a Pediatric Oncology nurse in Seattle Children's Hospital before following God's call to Southern California. She has been involved in Classical Education for more than 15 years and feels blessed to serve as our Grammar 3 Instructor. She is married to Denny and has two children, Ava and Gavyn. When she is not taking care of her family, teaching, or grading papers, she can be found in or around the ocean. She attends Soli Deo Gloria Church in Camarillo.

Korene Graham, Grammar 4 Teacher
Mrs. Graham is passionate about making learning a joyful and fun experience for her students. She earned her B.S. degree in Kinesiology at California State University, Northridge in 2002. Since then, she has enjoyed teaching in a wide variety of public, private and homeschool classrooms. In her teaching career, she has taught physical education in public school, 6th grade at Pleasant Valley Christian School and after her kids were born, she enjoyed homeschooling and working as a Classical Conversations Foundations tutor. When she is not in the classroom, Mrs. Graham loves being at the beach with her family, having a cup of tea while reading a good book, teaching cycle classes at the gym, camping and writing. She is married to Dathan, who works as a Director and Cameraman, and together they have 2 children, Ryder and Kambria. The Graham family attends Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks. 

Rebecca Salazar, Grammar 5 Teacher
Mrs. Salazar is currently in her 20th year of teaching in the classroom. She earned her B.A. at UCSB, and her California Multi-subject Teaching Credential is from Cal. State Northridge. She has taught various grade levels at Moorpark Unified and Moorpark Pinecrest, in addition to several years of teaching children’s dance and art. Mrs. Salazar is married to Jorvic, a faculty member at Chatsworth High School and a part-time art teacher at Beacon Hill for the Upper Campus. The Lord has blessed them both with three children; Ionna, Keanan, and Rowan, (all here at Beacon Hill). The Salazars are attending Soli Church. When she's not teaching or preparing lessons, you'll find her in the dance studio! Rebecca feels truly blessed to pour into children’s lives at Beacon Hill.

Leland Brock, Logic 1
​Mrs. Brock began her life in the Pacific Northwest, spending several years in Oregon, Alaska and Washington before moving to California were she studied English Literature. For the next fifteen years, she immersed herself in the tending of her marriage and the rearing and instruction of her children. Along the way, she continued learning many fascinating things about her Creator and His amazing creation. She became increasingly enamored with studying all things Classical while homeschooling her own children and tutoring others. After directing two Challenge levels for Classical Conversations, the opportunity to teach at Beacon Hill presented itself and she humbly submitted herself for a teaching position. Mrs. Brock is married to Joshua, has three fantastic children and attends church at Gold Coast Christian in Oxnard.

Christina Leaman, Logic 2
Mrs. Leaman graduated in 1998 with a B.A. in English and California state teaching credential from The Master's College. She began teaching Jr. High and High school English classes in September of '98 at Hillcrest Christian school in Thousand Oaks. In 2003, she took a break to have kids. Between 2003 & 2007, she was blessed with four daughters in four years! During that transition time, she began a 10 year stint teaching homeschool classes for Trinity Pacific Christian school. As the girls got older, she was able to teach part time for a few years at Pleasant Valley Christian school while homeschooling her own girls for 3 years. In 2015, Mrs. Leaman joined the staff at Beacon Hill.  
She is thankful to have been married 24 years to Daniel Leaman and has been teaching, in some form or another, for 19 of those 21 years. She is equally thankful to have been a part of the church family of Faith Community Oxnard since 1998. 

Bonny Oliver, Grammar 4 Teacher
Ms. Oliver attended Oklahoma Christian University and completed her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2013. She then received her teaching credential from National University in 2017. She had been teaching primarily sciences when she was asked to teach 4th grade at BHCA in 2020-2021. This was the best decision ever because she discovered her love for the passion and energy of elementary school age children. This is now her 3rd year teaching at BHCA. She attends church at Reality Ventura and participates actively in the youth ministry there. Her hobbies include: science, swimming, camping, crocheting/knitting, and worshiping God through music and song. ​

Jordan Alstot, Logic 2 Humanities Teacher, Rhetoric Latin Chair/Teacher
Mrs. Alstot has been involved in teaching classical education for nine years. She has taught Latin and Humanities in two classical schools, was a Director of Classical Conversations, and is in her fourth year teaching at Beacon Hill. She is deeply passionate about classical education, and has a fierce love for the Latin language.  Mrs. Alstot is the Logic and Rhetoric Latin teacher, and the Logic 2 Humanities teacher, and the Chair of the Latin Department here at Beacon Hill. She lives in Camarillo with her husband, Jeffrey. They attend Chapel City Church in Camarillo and enjoy time with their family, and each other.

David Deutsch, Teacher in the Logic & Rhetoric Schools
​Upon graduation from The Master’s University Mr. Deutsch spent 27 years in pastoral ministry and 4 years working with the homeless of Ventura County at the Rescue Mission. He is a lover of books and helped homeschool his daughter classically. Mr. Deutsch was a part of the leadership group that founded Beacon Hill Classical Academy. As a life-long learner he loves to come alongside of students in their pilgrimage with Christ and Classical Education. He is married to our Kindergarten teacher and is the father of our Latin teacher. Mr. Deutsch also has a love for the game of basketball, and he coaches our High School team. 

Katie Burnham, Science Department Chair/Rhetoric Science Teacher
Mrs. Burnham loves science! She graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and then attended Emory University where she received her M.S. in Medical Sciences. She has worked for 13 years as a Physician Assistant in Hematology/Oncology and authored a book for cancer patients called Finding Christ in Cancer. She is married to Shawn and has 4 children. When she is not conducting science experiments at home or in the classroom, Mrs. Burnham enjoys baking sweet treats with her daughter, Aspen or swimming at the pool with Slater, Titus, and Oakley. The Burnham family attends Faith Community Church in Oxnard.

Liz Nichol, Rhetoric Spanish 1, 2, and 3, Introduction to Latin, and Logic 8
​Mrs. Nichol serves as the Rhetoric School Spanish Teacher. She currently teaches Spanish 1 and Spanish 2/Advanced Spanish. She and her husband Jeff have been married for 22 years and have two daughters, Jessica and Grace. Jessica is a sophomore at Cal State Channel Islands, and Grace is a junior in high school. Liz graduated from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, where she earned a BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in English. She went on to receive a BCLAD teaching credential from Cal State Northridge. She taught in the public school system for 6 years before making the important decision to stay home and be with her girls. God has blessed her with being able to homeschool them from elementary school through high school. She loves teaching young adults and hopes to continue in this career for many years to come. 

Randy Swanson, Auxilium

Jessica Hibbard, Auxilium
Mrs. Hibbard is the mother of six kiddos--Thomas, Jackson, Avrie, James, Lilia and baby William. Jessica studied elementary and Christian education at Biola University. She has been blessed to have served in the Church, worked in several schools, homeschooled, and has most enjoyed her calling as a mother. She is overjoyed to be on staff at Beacon Hill where her gifts are being used to serve the school as an auxilium.

Jenn Jenkins, Upper Campus Office Manager
Mrs. Jenkins serves in the school office of Upper Campus. She lives in Camarillo with her husband, Chris, and their two sons, Parker and Silas. She has been an events coordinator, a homeschool mom, a birthing doula, and has been with Beacon Hill staff since 2017. Of all the many hats she wears on campus she is honored most to lead her girls discipleship classes. When she's not at work she enjoys doing nails, snuggling her dog, baking, and hanging out with her friends and family. 

Rrachel Fitzpatrick, College and Career Counselor and Registrar
Rrachel was first a parent volunteer starting in 2010 then moved into an Auxilium position in 2017. She helped our Activities Director plan and chaperone two of our historical east coast trips. In 2019 Rrachel moved into our College Counseling and Registrar position. She received her Bachelor's degree from California State University-Chico and worked in technology and sales for 12 years before choosing to stay home and homeschool. She lives in Newbury Park with her husband Kevin and four children; McKenna, Jack, Gillian and Job all of whom have attended BHCA at one time. 

Rrachel loves helping all our BHCA graduates find their calling after high school whether the plan is College, a Gap Year, Trade School or Community College. Her family worships at Calvary Community Church in Westlake, CA. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering and hiking with her dog Archie. 

Joy Plahn, Grammar 1 Teacher