Staff

Contact Us

If you have questions, you should post on Edstem or come to our office hours. As a general rule,use Edstem rather than email, as that helps us manage communications among the staff. Edstem allows private posts that will only be seen by the poster and the staff. Of course, if your question is of a personal nature that should only be directed to the instructors or the HTAs, feel free to email us directly. (The syllabus contains more detailed guidelines on who to contact for what.)

Kathi is giving the lectures and running the main part of the course. Milda will be managing questions/answers during class. Both will be holding office hours. You are welcome to call them Dr, Professor, or just Milda and Kathi (whatever makes you most comfortable).

Emailing milda_zizyte@brown.edu will reach Milda, kathryn_fisler@brown.edu will reach Kathi, cs0111headtas@cs.brown.edu will reach the HTAs, and cs0111tas@cs.brown.edu will reach all of the staff. Please mail the entire TA list only if you aren't able to post on EdStem.

The Professors

Professor Kathi Fisler

Kathi Fisler (kfisler)

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Hometown: Staten Island, NY

I've been teaching CS for 25 years, after a rocky start in my own CS classes. I love jigsaw puzzles, puns, and cooking (and eating!) vegetarian food from around the world.

NEED TO UPDATE

Milda Zizyte (mzizyte)

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Hometown: Seattle, WA

Hi! This is my first year teaching at Brown, and I'm thrilled to be joining the 111 community. I just moved from Pittsburgh, PA, where I was doing my post-doctoral work on software testing of robots. Outside of computers, I enjoy cooking, going outdoors, and taking care of plants!

The HTAs

HTA Annie Cimack eating a cookie

Annie Cimack (acimack)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Mt. Prospect, IL

Hi everyone!! I'm a junior studying CS, and fun fact, my legal name is Annie, not Anne. Away from CS, I write for the Brown Noser, play in the band, and I love old movies and music.

HTA Ashley Chon also eating a cookie

Ashley Chon (achon2)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Dublin, CA

Hi! My name is Ashley and I’m a junior concentrating in CS and Sociology. At Brown, I’m involved in the Society of Women Engineers, Meiklejohn Leadership, and working as an MTA for the CS Department. I love exploring good places to eat, shooting 35mm film, and traveling!

HTA Erick Lerena eating a cookie? Of course

Erick Lerena (elerena)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Hello! I'm a Junior majoring in CS. I love reading manga, manhwa, and watching anime in my free time. My favorite food would probably be a classic Mexican dish called Pozole . I am excited to be one of your HTAs this semester!

HTA Ryan Simspon eating what? You guessed it, a cookie

Ryan Simpson (rsimpso2)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Orange County, CA

Hello! I’m a junior studying CS from Orange County. Outside of school I love being outdoors and playing guitar. Excited for the semester!

The UTAs

UTA ________

Ahmad Alkhatib (aalkhati)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Amman, Jordan

Hi! I am Palestinian-Jordanian currently in Amman, Jordan. I am a junior concentrating in Computational Biology on the CS track. I like to sing and do A Capella (Harmonic Motion >>) and I also love making and sharing playlists!

UTA _______

Aidan Wang (awang91)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland

Hi! I’m Aidan, and I’m a senior concentrating in History with a certificate in Data Fluency. At Brown, I help run BOLT and the BOC. When I’m not reading dense history articles, I love baking, hiking, and playing the piano

UTA _______

Andrew Li (ali140)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Falls Church, Virginia

Hey! I'm Andrew, a sophomore from Virginia. I love listening to new music, watching football, and traveling!

UTA _______

Katie Baumgarten (cbaumga1)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Greenwich, CT

Hey I'm Katie! I'm a junior concentrating in CS and IAPA. On campus, I am a part of Tunes for Change and Students for Educational Equity. In my free time, I love making playlists, watching sitcoms, and aimlessly walking around Providence. I can't wait to get to meet you all this semester!

UTA _______

Ching Lam (clam14)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Hong Kong

I'm a senior concentrating in CS-Econ and in my free time I love being outdoors and staying active (avid tennis and golf fan)!

UTA _______

Chris Chae (cchae2)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Manhattan, KS

Hi, I'm a sophomore planning to concentrate in CS on a pre-med track! I've been in Kansas for 15 years now, but before I lived in Texas and South Korea. My favorite things to do are swimming, watching movies, and trying new foods!

UTA _______

Diana Manzano (dmanzan1)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: New Braunfels, TX

I'm from Texas and spent the past year of remote learning in Seattle. I'm concentrating in CS, and I'm a member of Tech House and Brown Swing Club. I love video games and board games, and I collect duck toys!

UTA _______

Kenny Ihenatu (iihenatu)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

Hello all! I’m a junior studying Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. In my free time I love to watch football (American), watch movies and TV shows, and 100% video games.

UTA _______

James Park (jpark236)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Ardsley, NY

Hi! I'm James and I'm a third-year concentrating in Computer Science and Education Studies. I enjoy playing spikeball on Simmons quad, Minesweeper (I'm old I know), and reading anything by Brandon Sanderson. cs111 was the first compsci class I took at Brown, and it was a great experience. Looking forward to getting to know you all this semester!

UTA _______

Josue Cruz (jcruz14)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Oceanside, CA

Hey everyone, I’m Josue and I’m a sophomore from SoCal studying CS. In my free time, I really like to play soccer and basketball. I also enjoy making and listening to music.

UTA ________

Julie Karam (jkaram)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Hi everyone! I’m a rising junior from NJ concentrating in computational biology. In my free time, you can find me exploring coffee shops in providence, making Spotify playlists, or doing a spin class!

UTA ________

Justin Barlas (jbarlas1)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL

Hey! I'm a junior studying Applied Math-Computer Science and Urban Studies. Outside of classes, you can find me on the fields playing ultimate frisbee, on my computer playing video games, or going for late night walks around college hill!

UTA _______

Mazine Suliman (msulima2)

Pronouns: Him/His

Hometown: Khartoum, Sudan

Hello! I’m a junior studying Computer Science and Economics. In my free time I love to watch football (soccer), speed run video games and sample perfumes.

UTA _______

Michelle Lu (mlu49)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Hi! I’m a sophomore studying APMA-CS. I love singing, rollerblading, and indulging in salted caramel pizookies!

UTA _______

Michelle Mai (mmai1)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Rochester, MN

I'm Michelle and I'm a third-year computational biology concentrator. I love the interdisciplinary applications CS has to other fields, which is why I started taking a few CS courses! Outside of CS, I like solving crossword puzzles, satisfying my sweet tooth, and traveling.

UTA _______

Nada Benabla (nbenabla)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Casablanca, Morocco

Hi! I'm a junior concentrating in Math and Computer Science. I love traveling, trying new foods and playing Minesweeper.

UTA _______

Nathan Luu (nluu1)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: San Diego, CA

I'm from a faraway land called San Diego, California. I love building cool things with code, and I'm really excited to share my passion for CS with everyone this semester! Besides programming, I love surfing, longboarding, weightlifting, and eating good food with friends.

UTA _______

Nick Cancellaro (ncancell)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Hebron, CT

Hi! I'm Nick, and I'm a junior concentrating in CS. I've lived in Connecticut for my whole life, but I spent this past summer in Boston. Outside of school I enjoy music, either playing (trombone and piano) or listening.

UTA Sophia Tu

Pedro Monteiro Borges (pmontei1)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Boston, MA

Hey guys, I'm Pedro and I'm a junior studying CS. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball, watching YouTube videos, and playing games with my friends. This is my second time TAing 111 and I'm really excited to meet you all!

UTA ________

Phong Nguyen (pnguye19)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Victorville, CA

I’m from Victorville, California and I’m a senior studying Computational Biology. I started out as Biology but I found computer science to be fun and interesting! In my free time I like to rock climb and dance!

UTA ________

Rhea Anne (rgoyal6)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Singapore

I'm a second-year student from Singapore aiming to concentrate in math-cs. I took CS0111 last fall and loved it as an intro CS class, so I'm really excited to be one of the TAs this semester! In my spare time, I love playing basketball, video games, and listening to musical theatre.

UTA ________

Ricky Chau (rchau)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Columbus, OH

Hey!! I’m Ricky and I’m a sophomore concentrating in Economics and Computer Science. In my free time, I’m likely either out with some friends or in line for Thayer food lol. I’m also a part of the Vietnamese Students Association here at Brown. Can’t wait to meet everyone!

UTA ________

Riki Fameli (rfameli1)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Williamsburg, Virginia

Hi! I'm a junior from Williamsburg, Virginia. I originally came in as Public Health, but decided to make the switch to Computer Science sophomore year after taking some CS courses. On campus, you might see me spinning around on an aerial hoop with Brown Aerial and Acrobatics!"

UTA _______

Thomas Castleman (tcastlem)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia

I like juggling, eating hummus, and the movie Ratatouille. Let me know if you're interested in any of these things! I'm also a big fan of this class and hope you all enjoy it!

UTA _______

Zach Love (zlove)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Fort Lee, NJ

I am from New York and New Jersey and I am undecided for my concentration. I'm a fun guy and a huge Chicago sports fan. Some of my favorite activities are listening to music and catching z's.

UTA _______

Zach Weachter (zweachte)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Haddon Township, NJ

Hi!! I’m Zach and I’m a Junior concentrating in Cognitive Neuroscience and Computer Science. At Brown, I’m involved with student theater, Meiklejohn advising, and The Critical Review. My favorite color is purple and my favorite musical is Legally Blonde!

Joint STA/UTA

UTA _______

Alyssa Cong (acong3)

Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown: Germantown, Maryland

Hi! I’m Alyssa, a sophomore planning to concentrate in CS and APMA-Econ. In my free time, I play golf, practice photography, stare blankly at Reddit, and mourn the fact that I’m allergic to my cat :(

The STA

STA ________

Mohammed Akel (makel)

Pronouns: He/Him

Hometown: Sidon, Lebanon

I am a Palestinian born and raised in Lebanon. I went to high school in Wales which quickly became one of my favorite places so far. I enjoy cooking, baking, ceramics and short films.