Tim Deidrick
Secondary Math Specialist
tdeidrick@pistem.org

Mr. Deidrick has been a member of the Pi STEM team since the Fall of 2019.  He has experience teaching, coaching, and mentoring students at many different educational levels including junior high, high school, and college.  He loves teaching math and enjoys bringing his love for learning and math to this new position.

Early in Mr. Deidrick’s career, he taught math at the Junior College level.  During this time, he also coached men’s basketball, recruiting and coaching eighteen players that went onto play NCAA Division I basketball and two players that went on to play professionally.  He then went on to teach and coach at Truman State University.


After spending 11 years at Truman, Mr. Deidrick joined the athletic department at the University of Missouri, where he mentored and tutored athletes and organized and ran college sporting events.  Missing teaching, Mr. Deidrick went back into the classroom full-time to teach Algebra and Geometry for Columbia Public Schools. Tim was fortunate to work alongside Kathy Steinhoff who was National Teacher of the Year.  Mr. Deidrick accredits Kathy for his passion for teaching Geometry and his development as a strong secondary teacher.  Kathy taught him how to use geometry activities and projects to engage students and help them develop mathematical thinking and deductive reasoning.

Mr. Deidrick left Missouri when his wife was offered a position in Boise.  During the transition, he taught Trigonometry as an adjunct instructor at Boise State University and again found himself working in the athletic department as an advisor and tutor for student-athletes. Mr. Deidrick spent four years at Compass Public Charter teaching Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Math in Modern Society and AP Statistics before joining PiSTEM Academy in 2019.  

In his free time, he spends time with his wife and two children (ages 7 and 13). They spend vacations visiting family in Missouri and spending time in the mountains of Idaho. He enjoys running, hiking, and swimming.

Elliott Marshall
Secondary Math/Engineering Specialist
emarshall@pistem.org

Mr. Marshall received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 2017. After graduating, he worked for a software start-up in Madison, where he produced 3D models of customers’ buildings and trained users how to utilize the facility maintenance software.

Mr. Marshall left Wisconsin to join the Peace Corps, where he worked to promote Economic Development across rural communities in Senegal. After being evacuated due to the pandemic, he continued his service-driven work through an Americorps position at the school in Creede, CO. He assisted in math instruction for 9th and 10th graders as well as 4th and 5th graders, and supported the Engineering Tech class by helping students understand the real-world application of the software and technologies they learned. Through his work with the Creede School District, Mr. Marshall confirmed his passion for teaching and is excited to launch his education career at Project Impact STEM Academy.

Mr. Marshall grew up in the suburbs of Houston, but spent his summers at a backpacking camp in Durango, CO. He developed an appreciation for the outdoors and a love for the mountains at a young age and continues to spend as much time outside as possible. He is excited to explore the Sawtooths and is thrilled by Boise’s proximity to his favorite mountain range, the Tetons.

Zizly Quiroz
Secondary ELA Specialist
zquiroz@pistem.org

Mrs. Quiroz received her Bachelor degree in Broadcasting and Electronic Communications in 2012 and is in the process of completing a Master degree in Communication at Boise State University. This will be Mrs. Quiroz’ third year as the Secondary English Language Arts teacher. She transitioned from a career in broadcasting as a radio personality. 

In her free time, Mrs. Q enjoys listening to music, any activity outdoors, but especially spending time with friends and family. When she married her husband she gained a gorgeous bonus daughter! She also has two pups, Gracie and Sausage.

She loves bringing her lived experience from her previous careers in broadcasting and communication into her teaching. She uses her lived experience to engage her students and invigorate their love for English. She wants her students to learn to value a great education while having fun!

Lauren Young
Secondary Science Specialist
lyoung@pistem.org

Miss Young has a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis in Zoology from Boise State University. During her undergraduate years, she traveled to India to learn about Indian Vulture Conservation and to New Zealand to plant Manuka Honey trees in the clear-cut forests of the North Island. Miss Young coached gymnastics for three years while in college and then transitioned over to teach preschool after graduation. She has taught preschool for two years, which inspired her to enter teaching as a career. She began her journey into teaching as science teacher at Project Impact STEM Academy in the Fall of 2019.

Miss Young grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. With this she gained an immense love for the redwoods that she would climb and the overall beauty of the great outdoors. Her free time is spent doing anything and everything active with a dash of reading. She loves climbing, acro-yoga, aerial silks, backpacking, biking, and traveling. Her passion for exploration has also led her to Peru to backpack the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, the Falkland Islands to learn about the conservation research taking place with the Gentoo Penguins and Black-Browed Albatross, and to Canada for acro.

Keoni Eshelman
Secondary History/Social Studies Specialist
keshelman@pistem.org

This will be Mr. Eshelman’s third year at Project Impact STEM Academy. He came to Idaho from Discovery Bay, California to teach at Project Impact STEM Academy. In 2019 he graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education. He is certified to teach grades 6-12 in World History, U.S. History, and Government.

In his free time, he loves to be with friends and family. Going out to record shops, buying vinyl's and listening to music. When the weather is nice, he likes to go hiking, play sports, and swim. His favorite thing to do is to go on adventures with his 1-year-old corgi named Sir Maximus McFluffbottom.

As a teacher, his goal is to inspire the hearts and minds of all his students so that they can go into the future knowing they can make an impact in the world around them.

Lorri Brenneman
K-12 Art Specialist
lbrenneman@pistem.org

Mrs. Brenneman has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Horticulture/Plant Science minor from Montana State University.  She also has a Master’s degree in Education and Curriculum Development/Instruction from Montana State University.  She has taught art and agriculture in public schools, colleges, and universities for over 17 years.  She has served as the Agriculture Literacy Specialist for the Department of Agriculture in Montana.
Mrs. Brenneman has also served as the President of the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) and served on their Board of Directors for several years.  She has been the Executive Director of the Montana Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, and for her work with agriculture literacy was chosen as the “Ambassador of Education” award recipient for the state of Montana in 2014 by Governor Steve Bullock.
Mrs. Brenneman grew up in a cool mountainous area near Glacier National Park in Montana. She loves nature, animals, huckleberries, and farming.  She has owned and operated her own pottery business, and currently lives on a small farm with her husband and several farm animals. She loves cats, horses, flowers, and creating habitats for wild birds and animals.  In her spare time, she enjoys watching British comedy and funny movies.
In the classroom Mrs. Brenneman and her students learn alongside each other about the connections of the world and its cultures through the arts.  She introduces nature into her art studies as often as possible and integrates agriculture into the lessons as well.

Vince Taylor
1st-12th grade Physical Education/Health Teacher
vtaylor@pistem.org

Mr Taylor graduated from Boise State University in December of 2014 with a Bachelor's in Kinesiology.  He taught PE & Health at Idaho Arts Charter School & Pathways In Education prior to joining the team at Project Impact STEM Academy.  He loves helping students grow and develop academically, socially, and physically.  He keeps his classroom a safe, fun, and respectful environment to learn.

Mr. Taylor has a 5 year old son, Brody. He enjoys spending time with his son going to  Monster Truck Rallies, Bull Riding events, & Dinosaur expos!  In the summer you will catch these two on a paddleboard and in the winter you may see them sledding or snowboarding to stay active.  Mr. Taylor is very excited to be a part of Project Impact STEM Academy and help students develop lifelong skills to use toward their futures.

Christian Lenier
1st-8th grade Agriculture Technology Teacher
clenier@pistem.org

Mr. Lenier graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2021 with a Bachelors in Education and a minor in Science. Mr. Lenier is a huge enthusiast for hands-on learning which always strives for. He loves to spend his free time playing sports, fishing, playing with his dog, and cooking!

Athea Prillaman
High School CTE Agriculture Teacher
aprillamn@pistem.org

Mrs. Prillaman has her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Science from California Polytechnic State University and her Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Idaho. She is a graduate of the Professional Technical Education Leadership Institute and served as an Attendance Dean at Columbia High School in Nampa from 2013 to 2016.

Mrs. Prillaman grew up in the mountains of California riding horses on a Christmas tree farm.  She has always loved the outdoors and animals.  Her favorite place is sitting on a stump at Bull Trout Lake taking in the view.  She loves hiking, camping, biking, swimming, paddle boarding, and riding horses. She grew up on a ranch where working and playing hard was the only way to live life.  She loves balancing life with new experiences and challenges.  Her passion for traveling has taken her all around Idaho, the United States, and the world.

Mrs. Prillaman loves helping people find meaning in what they are doing and teaching others how to make their life easier.  She has enjoyed sharing her passion for technology to the students at Pi STEM for the last three years, but also looks forward to sharing with them a love for agriculture. Through her work she hopes to help students to discover the important connections that exist between the agriculture industry and technology. She is excited to bring Agriculture education to the students at Project Impact STEM Academy during the 2021-2022 school year.

Mrs. Prillaman loves country music and classic rock music, she enjoys action movies. She considers herself one of the original 80's Star Wars fans.

She lives in the country with her family, three horses, and one dog.

Stephanie Braun
High School Special Education Teacher
sbraun@pistem.org

Ms. Braun was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. She grew up swimming and playing water polo, which led to her playing water polo-playing at the collegiate level for University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)…..Go Bruins!

Ms. Braun received her B.A. in Psychology in 1998. Within a year of graduating from UCLA, she pursued the All Subjects K-8 certification and Master’s degree in Education from Pepperdine University. While student teaching, Mrs. Braun pursued another certification from the California State University of Fullerton to work with students with learning differences.

Ms. Braun has 14 years of teaching experience as a secondary special education teacher in California and Idaho and an additional 3 years as a middle school science teacher. During 5 of those years she worked at North Star Charter School. In addition, Ms. Braun owned a tutoring franchise in Washington that served Pre-K to 12th grade students. Most of Ms. Braun’s professional experience has been working with students with learning differences in 6th-12th grades.

Ms. Braun has two daughters, one who is a Freshman in College this year and the other will be in 8th grade. She loves the summer months because she loves to travel and be with her family and friends.

Ms. Braun has high expectations for her students and seeks to provide a safe and friendly learning environment where her students have the opportunity to take risks and experience success. Mrs. Braun is excited to join the Project Impact STEM Academy team and looks forward to working with the families of the Pi STEM community.