History
Sunset Spark unofficially started in the Summer of 2008 when Yadira and Gaelen taught 3rd and 4th graders soldering and robotics at P.S. 24 in Brooklyn. In 2013, they began pursuing Sunset Spark's mission full-time by partnering with neighborhood schools to provide in-class creative technology instruction. With a bootstrapped budget and two people, an educator & an engineer, we teach over 3,000 kids creative technology skills yearly.
Yadira & Gaelen Hadlett
Yadira has a B.A. in International Studies from Seattle University and an M.Ed. in Social & Comparative Analysis in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She served in Peace Corp as a primary and secondary English teacher in Bulgaria. After graduate school, she ran a large, highly regarded K-5 bilingual after school program focusing on social emotional learning. She co-founded Sunset Spark to bring more fun and creative science classes to immigrant families. She enjoys bringing culture and tech together for more relevant and exciting classes for families.
Gaelen holds a B.S. and M.S. in computer science from the University of Central Florida. In his 10 years as a professional software engineer, he built useful things like medical language learning software, playful things like mobile games, and destructive things like weapon training systems. Looking for more out of coding, he started teaching experimental tech classes to K-8 students early on in his coding career. After co-founding Sunset Spark, he studied Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University to bring more science-backed learning experiences to the community.
♥ Support Sunset Spark ♥
Sunset Spark needs your help. Like many, 2020 has been a financially difficult year for Sunset Spark. Without donors like you, we will not make it to 2021. As a 501(c)3 org, your tax-deductible donation will help us teach families in-person and online and provide much needed tech support and assistance for immigrant families.