Skip to main content

Faculty and Leadership

Qualia’s polymathic educators believe that learning should be expansive, rigorous, and deeply human. Each teacher at Qualia brings lifelong curiosity and a commitment to intellectual exploration. Many of them often say they wish they had experienced a school like Qualia—one that prioritizes inquiry, dialogue, and meaning over rote performance. This perspective fuels their work every day. Through a philosophical approach to teaching, they bring their uniquely playful approach to encourage students and each other to question assumptions and engage with ideas at their deepest levels, cultivating not just knowledge, but wisdom.

Jim Hahn

  • Head of School

BA Anthropology 1989, UCLA, Summa Cum Laude
MA Anthropology 1991, UC San Diego

Jon Cassie

  • Co-Founder

BA History / BA Classics 1992, University of Massachusetts Amherst
MA History 1995, The Ohio State University
Ed.D. Educational Leadership 2010, UCLA

Maggie Storm Director of Admissions Qualia School

Maggie Storm

  • Director of Admissions and Enrollment

BA Liberal Studies 2022, Antioch College

Mio Honke Hahn

  • Director of Advancement
  • Foreign Language Instructor
BA International Relations 2002, Tsuda College Tokyo
MA English (TESOL Concentration) 2004, San Francisco State University
MA Education, Leadership and Change 2020, Antioch College

Anne Butler-Swiech

  • Director of 5 – 12
  • English, History, Arts, Great Ideas Instructor
AB Theater Studies 2004, Duke University, Summa Cum Laude
MFA Theater 2012, UCLA
Maggie Storm Director of Admissions Qualia School

Emir Altug

  • Robotics Instructor

Rose Chen

  • Mandarin Instructor

BA Japanese and International Business 1997, Chinese Culture Univ. 
MS Retailing 2008, Michigan State University

Brian Clark

  • Math, Science Instructor
BA Psychology and Mathematics 2012, Pomona College
Maggie Storm Director of Admissions Qualia School

Veronika Gamaley

  • Arts Instructor
BFA Visual Art 2022, Cal Arts

Adam Gelman

  • Science Instructor

BA Biology 2021, Davidson College
MS Biosystems Engineering 2025, University of Arizona

Tim Handley

  • Math, Science Instructor
BS Physics 2000, Swarthmore College
MS Biological Sciences 2007, Cal Poly Pomona
Eve Hirschman

Eve Hirschman

  • Humanities and Great Ideas Instructor

BA English 2015, University of Oregon

Wednesday Hobson

  • Humanities and Great Ideas Instructor
BA Liberal Studies 2012, Loyola Marymount University
MA English 2016, Loyola Marymount University
MA Education, Leadership and Change 2019, Antioch University

Robert Johnson

  • English and Music Instructor

BA Film 1994, Southern Methodist University,
Magna Cum Laude

Eve Hirschman

Grayson Kent

  • Science Instructor

BS Paleobiology 2011, University of California Santa Barbara

Michelle Ratliff Willett

  • Campus Engagement Specialist
  • Humanities and Great Ideas Instructor
BA Psychology 2011, UC Irvine

Daniel Rolnick

  • Lyceum Coordinator
  • Humanities and Idea Lab Instructor

BA Sound Arts 2011, Ex’pression College of the Digital Arts
MA Creative Writing 2023, Naropa University

Sam Schiffer Mister Parmesan

Sam Schiffer

  • Culinary Arts Instructor

Institute for Culinary Education 2022

Andrea Shear

  • Arts Instructor
BFA Computer Art and 3d Animation 2004, School of the Visual Arts
Nina Swan Qualia Spanish and PE instructor

Nina Swan

  • Spanish and PE Instructor

BA Sociology 2004, UCLA
MA Communication 2016, CSUN

JC Wright Qualia Philosophy

JC Wright

  • Philosophy, Humanities and Music Instructor

BA Philosophy 2017, Virginia Tech
MA Philosophy 2018, Virginia Tech