Our Team
Our staff is made up of a diverse set of programmers with a wide range of coding experience, as well as backgrounds working with students of various ages. They are all very passionate about sharing their collective knowledge with those interested in starting their own programming journey.
Eric Mendelsohn
Co-FounderDirector
With more than 25 years of experience in Education and Management, Eric has a wealth of knowledge that spans a variety of educational levels and learning practices. In addition to his valuable experience as an educator, Eric has served on a number of committees and boards, all with the focus of continued development of young minds. His service includes being a Writing Team Member for the Nevada Department of Education K-12 Computer Science Standards (2018), an Advisory Board Member at Lied STEM Academy Middle School, and a School Organizational Team Member at Glen Taylor Elementary, Wallin Elementary, & Elise Wolff Elementary.
Eric has been recognized by the Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada as the Outstanding Community Partner Award in 2019, and the Vegas Top Tech Executive Community Exemplary Award in 2018. He holds an M.A. in English and has extensive program development experience, covering countless courses in many areas of study, including: computer science, cultural training, learning development, and tutoring programs.
He is committed to cultivating environments that inspire others to learn and create.
Sam Cornelius
College of Southern Nevada
Curriculum Specialist
A graduate from Western Governors University with a Bachelors in Cyber Security and an Associate in Computer Programming from the College of Southern Nevada, Sam has been with Code Central since before we opened. He has accomplished a lot during his time with our company, such as being a writer for the CS standards for the state of Nevada as well as implementing the learning platform that Code Central uses for our students. When not writing curriculum or training instructors, Sam likes to play his ocarina, cook video game themed foods, and play video games.
Nadine Rayes
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Center ManagerSocial Media
An Interdisciplinary Studies student at UNLV, Nadine has been learning computer science since her freshman year of high school. Her passion for coding arose from an interest in video game design at a young age. She has been with the company since 2017 and was on the writing team for preparing our curriculum to meet the CS standards for the state of Nevada. A former college-level computer science tutor, she has an extensive background working with students of all ages. In her free time, she works on personal programming and writing projects, and playing video games. She has written poems that have been published in two anthology collections.
Ebony Moseley
Smith College
Center ManagerCoordinator
After attending a summer camp focused on game development, Ebony started taking an interest in the field. She received her Bachelors in Computer Science from Smith College, where she was a member of an a-cappella group. Ebony has been coding for 6 years and teaching kids how to code since 2017. Her favorite programming language is Python. Outside of coding, she enjoys singing, traveling, and solving puzzles.
Deanna Irby
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Coordinator
An Educational Psychology student at UNLV, with an ultimate goal of advocating adapting education to the real ways people learn, Deanna has over 5 years of experience in work Education Administration, and is specialized in workplace safety. Her personal hobby is restoring antique art and books. In her spare time she enjoys classical art, retro music, and reading.
Abbey Weeks
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Lead Instructor
Currently studying Computer Science at UNLV, Abbey found a love of coding through video games. She is a Unity-certified developer and is familiar with graphic design, animation, and robotics. She loves to teach students all types of programming and hopes to encourage more and more students to enjoy learning to code.
Grace Gabrielson
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Lead Instructor
Grace is studying Computer Science at UNLV. She has been passionate about Computer Science since she was ten years old and is grateful for the opportunity to inspire others to learn how to code. She won the 2020 Las Vegas affiliate award for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing. In her free time, Grace enjoys long walks with her dog and movie nights with her brothers.
Talei Sagawinit
Western Governors University
Lead Instructor
Talei began coding when she was a freshman in high school, learning from tutorials online and making websites for fun. She continued studying on her own and attended a web development bootcamp in Las Vegas, NV. Since graduating in 2019, Talei has worked as a software engineer, working in both frontend and backend roles. She is currently studying cybersecurity at WGU and enjoys going to music festivals in her free time!
Noah Leighton
University of Nevada Reno
Instructor
Noah is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. During his high school career at Coronado High school, he competed at the global level for VEX robotics. His robotics team has played in tournaments all across the country from the US Nationals to the Vex World Championships. He also enjoys fidgeting with his Rubik’s cube and playing games online with his friends.
Xander Endre
Neumont College of Computer Science
Instructor
Xander is currently studying Software at the Neumont College of Computer Science. He has been learning Computer Science since he was in 7th grade. He began as a student for Code Central, became a student volunteer, and has been an instructor for three years. Xander has a passion for designing and developing websites, like this one!
Melody Weaver
High School
Instructor
A junior at a Las Vegas high school, Melody is a former Code Central student, joining the team in 2022! She started learning computer science with us back in 2017 and is currently taking Advanced Placement Computer Science classes and learning graphic design at school. In her free time, she plays on her high school basketball team and enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her friends.
Musashi Mccllellan
High School
Instructor
A senior attending an Aviation Magnet Program, Musashi has a passion for technology that started in his early years. Since then, he has been closely intertwined with computers, taking various courses such as Cybersecurity and currently, AP Computer Science. In 2022, he joined Code Central as an instructor, having previously been a student since 2018. When he’s not programming, he enjoys playing video games with his friends, always exploring new worlds and finding creative solutions.
Richard Vargason
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Instructor
Richard is currently studying Computer Science at UNLV. During his high school career, he competed in VEX robotics at a national level throughout the country. Outside of programming and robotics, Richard enjoys playing the guitar.
KJ Lee
University of California, San Diego
Instructor
KJ is an undergraduate student studying Mathematics & Computer Science at the University of California, San Diego. He started his coding journey as a student at Code Central and now work as an instructor, introducing the next generation of students to the world of programming. He has a strong passion for software engineering and website development.
Jennifer Yu
University of California San Diego
Instructor
Jennifer is currently studying at the University of California, San Diego majoring in Mathematics and Computer Science, with a minor in Linguistics. She started coding after seeing her mom make websites. In her free time, she likes to cook and play Tetris.
Ryan Hupperts
Indiana University
Instructor
Ryan has obtained his associates in Informatics and is currently studying for his Bachelors. He has been programming for about 18 years and always enjoys learning new languages. He has been involved in tutoring and mentoring during summer camps prior to joining Code Central. Ryan can usually be found tinkering around with making his own games and music in his free time. He is currently learning guitar!
Marco Salinas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Instructor
Marco is currently studying Graphic Design at UNLV. His reason for learning to code stemmed from the years he spent playing video games as a kid. He is experienced in C++, HTML, and Python, and is looking to continue to learn more coding skills as he finishes his degree. During his free time, Marco is always trying to find the next most popular game.
Arian Izadi
The University of Nevada Las Vegas
Instructor
Arian is currently studying Computer Science at UNLV. He first became interested in the field at the age of 10 when his father brought home a book about C# programming, showing Arian that he could create anything he could imagine on a computer. When Arian isn’t studying Computer Science, he enjoys learning about Cyber Security and playing sports with his friends.
Owen Rasar
High School
Instructor
Owen is currently a senior studying Computer Science. His passion for coding developed at age 7. In fact, he was one of Code Central’s very first students. He has taken courses in AP Computer Science, Graphic Design, and Information Technology, to name a few. Owen has a deep knowledge of Game Development with a speciality in Unity. When he’s not coding, he enjoys playing co-op style video games.
Christopher Schlagheck
College of Southern Nevada
Instructor
Christopher is currently studying Cybersecurity at CSN. He became in interested in switching to computer science working towards his game design degree. He has worked in freelance game design, testing and web development. Interesting fact, he is in his 16th year teaching for CCSD both art and digital media.
JC Herd
The University of Nevada Las Vegas
Instructor
JC is currently studying Computer Science at UNLV and has a bachelor’s in Psychology. His passion for programming was inspired by his brother who works as a software engineer. His preferred programming languages are Python and C++. When he’s not studying, JC enjoys hitting the ski slopes in his home state of Washington!
Monica Narouz
The University of Nevada Las Vegas
Instructor
Monica got her degree in Computer Science from UNLV. Math is her favorite subject to study, and she enjoys working alongside kids as she’s able to show them new and exciting projects. In her free time, Monica enjoys listening to music.