Leadership Team

Principal
Erick Fineberg

A graduate of UC Irvine with a B.A. in psychology, a Masters in Education, and teaching credential from UCLA, Mr. Fineberg brings a wealth of knowledge, high expectations, and a commitment to insure that all students learn at the highest level. He has taught for Long Beach, Irvine, and Capistrano before joining Tustin Unified School District in July of 2009. Over the past 25 years, Mr. Fineberg has served as an instructional aide, teacher, assistant principal, and principal. Among his accomplishments, Mr. Fineberg has been appointed to the California Department of Education’s Title I Committee of Practitioners, received the Order of Omega National Honor Society award, presented strategy workshops for teachers and has written several articles for various educational publications. Under his leadership, Mr. Fineberg’s schools have received multiple honors including, National Blue Ribbon, California Distinguished School, Title I High Achievement and CBEE Honors School. He is also a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Counselor 
Jessica Erickson 

Mrs. Erickson has joined Tustin Connect as the school's counselor.  Prior to working at Tustin Connect, Mrs. Erickson served as a counselor at C.E. Utt Middle School for six years.  Mrs. Erickson earned her bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Fullerton.  She also holds a master's degree in Educational Counseling and a Pupil Personnel Services credential.  Mrs.  Erickson is bilingual in English and Spanish.  She is dedicated to helping students and their respective families pursue educational and career goals.  Mrs. Erickson enjoys teaching yoga in her free time.

Lead Elementary Teacher
​Administrative Designee
Emily McCourtney

Mrs. McCourtney is a passionate educator who has worked in Tustin Unified since 2006. Before opening Tustin Connect, she  worked for two years as a Digital Learning Coach. After completing the summer as a fellow in the UCI Writing Project Summer Institute in 2012, she quickly became an Associate Director and spends her summers coaching teachers in reading and writing at UCI. As part of her work at UCI, Mrs. McCourtney co-authored the book Thinking Tools for Young Readers and Writers: Strategies to Promote Higher Literacy in Grades 2-8. Mrs. McCourtney has presented her ideas at the annual Computer Using Educator(CUE) conference in Napa and Palm Springs, as well as the December Writing Conference at UCI. She is GATE trained, a Level 2 Google Certified Educator, and an Apple Teacher. Mrs. McCourtney also has microcredentials in Mindfulness and Grit & Resilience. Follow her on Twitter via @emccourtney. 

Lead Middle School Teacher 
Naomi Halili-Dove

Since 2000, Mrs. Dove has been an enthusiastic educator for Tustin Unified School District. Having been a product of TUSD schools, Mrs. Dove knew that she wanted to give back by returning to TUSD as a teacher. After earning her bachelor’s degree from UCI in just three years, she obtained her Master of Education degree from Pepperdine in 2000.  Mrs. Dove has served as a middle school teacher in TUSD for sixteen years and has been involved in various leadership positions at the site and district level. She has also served as an honors, AVID, and ASB teacher, and has hosted several beginning teachers and international guests in her classroom.  She received her second master's degree in reading and dedicates time beyond the classroom to refine her knowledge about educational technology, curriculum, and adolescent learners.  Due to her commitment to her profession, she was recognized as a Teacher of the Year in 2004 and 2014. When she’s not in the classroom, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children exploring other cultures and learning about the world around them through books, food, museum visits, and travel adventures.

Lead High School Teacher
Brian David

Mr. David is a dedicated and impassioned educator who is ecstatic about joining the Tustin Connect team. Before joining Tustin Connect, Mr. David taught various levels of English at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, where he also served as English Department Chair, Instructional Coach for Teacher Observations, and Senior Class Moderator. Concurrently, Mr. David joined the PLACE (Partners of Los Angeles Catholic Education) cohort (2012-2014) within Loyola Marymount University, where he lived in community with eleven other teachers and earned a Master of Arts in Reading Instruction. When he is not teaching, reading, or grading, Mr. David loves to hike, cook, and enjoy the beaches of Southern California. Follow him on Twitter via @bdavid12 ​

High School Teacher
Kimberly Fairburn

​Mrs. Fairburn has been a passionate Mathematics teacher for the last 15 years. Mrs Fairburn joined Tustin Connect in 2016 and has found great joy in teaching Math to such an incredible group of students. Previous to Tustin Connect, Mrs. Fairburn worked in Virtual education as a Mathematics teacher, Department Chair, and Principal. She has also taught for Los Angeles Unified School District and Orange County Department of Education. Mrs. Fairburn has a Bachelors from University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters in Education. In her free time, Mrs. Fairburn enjoys cooking, paddle boarding, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two daughters. 

High School Teacher
Tara Bullock

​Mrs. Bullock is an enthusiastic educator who is excited to be teaching at Tustin Connect. She enjoys her interactions with the students and she especially enjoys seeing them succeed. She has taught Science in Utah, Colorado and at Hewes Middle School in the Tustin School District. This is her 9th year of teaching Science and her second year with Tustin Connect. Mrs. Bullock has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Brigham Young University. She is also a Level 1 Google Certified Educator. At her previous schools she has served as ASB advisor and has coached multiple sports teams. Mrs. Bullock has four children and spends most of her free time volunteering, and running her kids to their various activities.

High School Teacher
Ashlee Romberger

​Mrs. Romberger teaches History and Spanish at Tustin Connect High School. For the past three years, she has been teaching History and Spanish at a public high school on a Native American Reservation in Northern California. She grew up in Brea in Orange County, and went to the University of Redlands for her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Single Subject Teaching Credential. She earned her Master’s degree in Human Rights from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. From there, she lived in Peru, Ethiopia, and Washington, D.C. When she is not teaching, she enjoys trying new food, going to the beach, and traveling with her husband. She also loves following current events, running, and listening to audiobooks. Her goal this school year is to bring a global perspective into our learning and incorporate food and music from the Spanish speaking world.

Paraeducator
Jennifer Lobato

​Ms. Lobato is a dedicated and skilled paraeducator who has made significant contributions to student learning at Tustin Connect. Ms. Lobato has worked with Tustin Connect for two years, and prior to joining the team, she worked in Tustin Unified as an AVID tutor. She is currently attending California State University Fullerton to earn her Bachelor’s in history.  Ms. Lobato is bilingual in English and Spanish. Overall, she is dedicated to helping Tustin Connect students have a highly effective blended-learning education. Ms. Lobato also serves as a volunteer for the Miracle League of North Orange County that focuses on assisting others in playing a great game of baseball. Follow her on Twitter via @MissLobato

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