Meet the Team

Karajean Hyde (Co-Director)  started her career in education as a middle school math teacher with the Santa Ana Unified School District. She has created and implemented over 5,000 hours of professional development for teachers, grades Pre-K-12 as well as authoring numerous math lesson plans, unit plans, curriculum guides, benchmark exams, and math curriculum for multiple school districts. Ms. Hyde was a co-author of a research paper concerning the positive impact of curriculum guides, benchmark exams and professional development on student achievement. She has been the co-directer of multiple grants including a 14 million dollar FOCUS National Science Foundation grant that was a seven year collaboration with UC, Irvine and three local districts impacting thousands of local California students in low performing schools. In addition, Karajean is also Master Teacher with the UC, Irvine School of Education Cal Teach program that guides undergrads through their bachelor’s and math teaching credential within four years. Karajean attended Vanguard University where she was a student athlete competing on the women’s volleyball team. She resides in Oceanside, California with her husband and four children.

Kris Houston (Co-Director)  taught high school math for sixteen years in Santa Ana Unified School District prior to joining the Irvine Math Project. She is currently an IMP co-director as well as serving as a Master Teacher and Academic Coordinator for the Cal Teach Program through the UC, Irvine School of Education. Her roles include writing and leading professional development, writing curriculum, teaching seminars for undergraduate students in the Cal Teach program, as well as placing and advising students who are student teaching in the field. Kris lives in Lake Forest with her husband and two children. She enjoys camping with her family as well as horse back riding.

Amanda Givens (Co-Director) is an alumna of UC Irvine’s School of Physical Sciences and School of Education. Before joining the Irvine Math Project, she taught high school mathematics and worked as a Teacher on Special Assignment in the Garden Grove Unified School District. Her roles include leading professional development, writing and revising curriculum, supervising undergraduates in the Cal Teach program, and teaching a seminar for Cal Teach students. She resides in Yorba Linda, CA with her husband and two children.

Jeff Hruby (Co-Director)  has been teaching math since 1991 in Santa Ana classrooms from 6th grade to AP Calculus.  He has a masters in mathematics from CSUF and is an instructor in UCI’s School of Education, teaching the math methods course for single subject candidates.  In 2000, Jeff helped to found the Irvine Math Project. Jeff returned to the classroom in 2006 but is currently on loan from SAUSD to IMP for a second time.

Danyelle Dale (Co-Director) taught middle school mathematics in Santa Ana Unified School District and Fallbrook Union Elementary School District before joining the Irvine Math Project in 2016. Her roles include leading professional development, writing and revising curriculum, supervising undergraduates in the Cal Teach program, and teaching a seminar for Cal Teach students. Danyelle attended CSU San Marcos for her undergraduate work and UC Irvine’s credential program. She lives in Fallbrook, CA with her husband and daughter. She enjoys horseback riding and hiking with her family.

Mark Finkelstein (Director & Faculty Advisor) Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, was a professor at UC, Irvine for 41 years. His accolades include receiving the first Department of Mathematics Outstanding Teaching Award, the first School of Physical Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award, the UCI Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished Teaching Award for Southwestern District of the United States. His research areas include Complex Analysis and Probability Theory. In 2000, Dr. Finkelstein was appointed Director and Faculty Advisor of the Irvine Mathematics Project. His primary roles are overseeing the mathematics content and professional development delivered by IMP as well as leading workshops within districts in the LA and Orange County area. Since retirement Mark has pursued his interest in duplicate bridge, frequently playing in tournaments with his wife.

Ivette Barcenas (Program Coordinator) A native of Santa Ana, Ivette graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and has a background in customer service, continuing education administration, and coordinating different projects. Before joining the Irvine Math Project, she worked at the Paul Merage School of Business in the Development office, where she played an integral role in the Brilliant Future campaign. She enjoys spending time with her family and relaxing at the beach.