Dave Beery

Mingus Union High School 

Mock Trial
Yavapai County

Dave Beery is passionate about bringing law to life for his students. In order to achieve this, he has proposed to teach Arizona Civics Standards through mock trial and case law. Beery sees the value in his approach of teaching mock trial elements in his classroom as it allows students to better connect to broader world concepts rather than see the law just as abstract. His work has enabled students to consider how law impacts their own lives. 

Erin Eisen

Verrado High School 

Teen Court

Maricopa County

Erin Eisen promotes civic engagement through her continued involvement in the Teen Court Program. She has even extended the teachings of the program to be utilized in her classroom. Through her work, students are taught the importance of restorative justice in our community and what can be accomplished by honoring our civic duty. Eisen has created an environment in her classroom that champions civic responsibility. 

Janet Emond 

Desert Mountain High School 

Kids Voting, Teen Court

Maricopa County

Janet Emond is an exemplary criminology teacher as she provides many experiences for the students to get better acquainted with the law. For example, she has invited staff from various government agencies to speak with her students, leads her school's Teen Court Club, and has brought the Kids Voting program to her school. Her enthusiasm for law related education has transferred to her students as many are involved in these programs.  

Cassandra Thomas 

Desert Christian School

Mock Trial

Pima County

Cassandra Thomas is a mock trial coach who goes above her duties as a teacher by attending summer coaches’ meetings and serving on a committee to bring high school mediation tournaments to Arizona. Thomas is dedicated in her role as a mock trial coach as she works closely with English Language Learners to help them prepare and participates in the preseason Mock Hawk Tournament each year. She is the heart of her school’s mock trial program as she mentors and coaches students as they navigate the processes of law and public speaking.  

Bonnie Hickman
Patterson Elementary
Program: We the People, Project Citizen & Kids Voting Arizona
Maricopa County

Ms. Hickman believes in empowering her students to understand their rights and responsibilities as active citizens. Her students were involved in promoting traffic light safety to other students and their community.  They investigated regulations around electric scooters for Project Citizen to find out what laws were currently in place and what laws needed to be passed. Bonnie Hickman also had her students attend a distracted driving event at State Capitol and meet with lawmakers. One lawmaker sponsoring bill on scooter regulations stated he was inspired and informed by the students’ research. Her students participated in the We the People state Showcase, Kids Voting Arizona (which she coordinated for her entire school) and she had students interview veterans and submitted their stories to the Library of Congress for its Veterans History Project.

Jill Maner
Capps Middle School
Program: We the People, & Kids Voting Arizona
Navajo County

Ms. Maner has been a stronger supporter of the We the People program.  She uses the We the People curriculum in her 6^th grade history class and brings students to participate in the We the People Showcase each year.  One of her students stated that participating in We the People : “helped me gain confidence in my public speaking and I learned so much from the judges.”

 Jennifer Roberts
Empire High School
Program: Mock Trial
Pima County

Ms. Roberts saw the importance of bringing the Mock Trial program to her school, so she worked over the summer with another Mock Trial teacher to learn the program and how to implement it in her own classroom.  When it became difficult for students to participate, she then lobbied her administration to make Mock Trial an official class.  Her administration approved the elective! In 2020, her second year running the program, she took three teams to regionals and one took 3^rd place!

Shannon Sweat
Desert Edge High School
Program: We the People, Project Citizen, ICivics & Kids Voting Arizona
Maricopa County 

Ms. Sweat deeply engaged in law related education programs and their impact.  She has taken teams to the We the People state championship for the last two years.  Shannon has incorporated ICivics into her classroom and took three teams to the Ecivics competition. Ms. Sweat has also included Project Citizen in her curriculum and had students showcase in her class. For the 2020 election, she coordinated with the Foundation staff to bring Kids Voting to her school.  

Her involvement goes beyond her classroom.  She judges at both the We the People and Project Citizen Summer Institutes, has coached We the People and Mock Trial at past schools, and is a We the People Regional Coordinator, mentor and faculty!

Eric Alvarez
Glenn L. Downs Elementary
We the People
Maricopa County

Joshua Guidote
Cibola High School
Mock Trial
Yuma County

Roger Lyman
Carson Junior High
Kids Voting
Maricopa County

Jeremy Samoy
Tanque Verde High School
Mock Trial
Pima County

Tara Bartlett
Carson Jr. High School
Program: We the People, Kids Voting & Project Citizen
Maricopa County

Joshua Guidote
Cibola High School
Program: Mock Trial
Yuma County

Bill Stewart
Santa Maria Middle School
Program: We the People
Maricopa County

Richard Zamorano
Sunnyside School District 
Program: Mock Trial & We the People
Pima County