Summer Camp Instructor Bios
Jason Fate – Programs Manager / Camp Director
Jason’s experiences at the Lauri Ann West/Boyd Community Center began with teaching youth activity camps and classes in his spare time. Jason has experience in art, music, and youth hockey, and worked as an artist/musician for over 15 years helping several galleries, non-profits, and museums like the Andy Warhol Museum, The Carnegie Museum of Art & Natural History, Pgh Ballet Theatre, City of Asylum Pgh, and Attack Theatre.
Jason is a USA Hockey certified instructor and was part of the 1999 Freshman National Championship Dek Hockey Team. He is also a board member and coach at River View Dek Hockey in Oakmont Pa.
Rosemary Ball – A&E Instructor / Summer Camp Instructor (3-5 year olds)
Rosemary Ball was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She grew up on a Black Angus farm in Lower Burrell where she rode horses and tended sheep and cattle while spending time with her large family. To this day, she loves horses, animals and the outdoors.
After high school, Rosemary attended Muskingum University where she received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Visual Art. Professionally, she has been involved in real estate and property management in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets for more than 15 years. Along with being an instructor in the A&E program, she also works the welcome desk here at the Lauri Ann West Community Center. Rosemary has her teaching license and currently substitutes at various schools in the area.
During her free time, Rosemary loves to eat healthy, work out and keep in shape. She also enjoys hiking, running, dancing and listening to music. She especially loves traveling to the beach.
Lauren Carpenter – Summer Camp Counselor / Substitute Instructor
Hello everyone, my name is Lauren Carpenter. This is my first year working at the Lauri Ann West Community Center, and I am very excited to be apart of the summer camp staff and look forward to seeing you all this Summer!
Lauren Copeland – Summer Camp Instructor (5-8 & 8-12 year olds)
Lauren Copeland is an artist and educator from Pittsburgh. She has experience in both general education and art classrooms with students from preK-12th grade. Most recently she has been student teaching at Franklin Regional Intermediate School in a 4th grade classroom.
Outside of the classroom, Lauren has worked with children in after-school programs, summer camps, and in her term of service with Americorps.
Bobbie Cubbage – A&E Instructor / Summer Camp Instructor (3-5 year olds)
Bobbie has been teaching a variety of classes at the Lauri Ann West/Boyd Community Center since 2011 and has more than 20 years experience teaching children of various ages. She currently works for the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church Preschool.
Mrs. Cubbage has a BA in Journalism and Communications (with an emphasis on Broadcast Journalism) from Point Park University. She is a certified youth fitness instructor and holds certification from the Penn Foster Early Childhood Program, as well as numerous professional development certificates from Penn State, PAEYC and FCASD Early Learning Consortium. And in 2022, she became a certified life coach.
In her spare time, Mrs. Cubbage enjoys spending time with friends and family and running a publishing company and YouTube Channel with her husband.
Aleigh Davis – A&E Instructor / Summer Camp Instructor (5-12 year olds)
Aleigh joined the team of instructors at Lauri Ann West in the fall of 2021, shortly after leaving Atlanta for Pittsburgh. There, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Political Science from Georgia State University. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in Cultural and Intellectual History.
In the classroom, she channels her interest in philosophy through thought experiments, brain games, and (most days) an appreciation for what ifs and but whys. Her aim is to cultivate confident, observant, and dynamic thinkers who see questions everywhere in the world around them.
Her downtime is often spent in the library or in the woods. Otherwise, she enjoys practicing calligraphy, experimenting in the kitchen, and creating puzzles for her two dogs.
Lorraine Free – A&E Instructor / Summer Camp Instructor (5-8 year olds)
In Lorraine’s career of 32 years, she has worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a graphic artist as well as teaching children painting on a part time basis. She relocated to Pittsburgh in2016 determined to pursue her passion for teaching children and immersing herself in her love of the fine arts. Since moving here, Lorraine has developed her own business painting works for private collections.
As an artist, she works hard at developing paintings using deliberate colorful strokes to breathe life into them. Along with teaching at Lauri Ann West, she has taught at the Carnegie Museum of art, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and Media, Winchester Thurston, NorthHills Arts Center and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center/PA Cyber. She has been featured in the Shady Avenue Magazine as one of O’hara townships newest fine artists. She has won awards for her works both locally and internationally. She has displayed pieces in Galleries throughout the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia region. Lorraine holds a BFA from the University of the Arts and an MFA from Rosemont College.
Ally Germ – Summer Camp Instructor (5-8 & 8-12 year olds)
My name is Ally Germ, I am a senior Music Education major at Slippery Rock University. I grew up in Gibsonia and graduated from Pine-Richland High School in 2020. At Slippery Rock, I play the clarinet and am a member of various student organizations. I am one of the Drum Majors for the SRU Marching Pride. I have a variety of teaching experiences, including a previous summer camp I was a counselor at for 6 years. I was a dance teacher’s assistant for many years while I was a dancer growing up. More recently, through my studies at SRU, I have taught pre-k–6th grade music classes, been an instructor for SRU’s drum major camp, and worked with local high school bands getting their marching band ready for the fall. I have a dog, my favorite color is blue, and I love listening to Taylor Swift’s music. I am really looking forward to being a camp counselor here this summer!
Lauren Klamut – Summer Camp Counselor
Laura just finished her first year of undergrad at University of Rochester. There, she is completing a major in applied mathematics, a minor in German, and possibly a second major! Laura also participates in a dance group and works on campus as an IT technical assistant. Before college, Laura was a part of color guard in marching band, Girl Scouts and played the violin. A fun fact about me: I’ve lived in a total of 5 states!
Wade Kramm – A&E Director / Summer Camp Instructor (8-12 year olds)
For more than 15 years, Wade has developed and taught STEAM and Maker programs in Pittsburgh, Providence, RI and Brooklyn, NY. A strong believer in a hands-on approach to science and learning, Wade strives to create lessons that spark curiosity, experimentation and discovery.
As an artist, Wade’s interest in participatory art and perception has led him to explore a variety of subjects including stop-motion animation, hand-cranked automata, pop-up books and action origami. Wade is excited to share his expertise, curiosity and enthusiasm for teaching with the Lauri Ann West Community Center.
Wade holds an MFA in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Brennan Poole – A&E Aide / Summer Camp Instructor
Brennan joined the Arts & Enrichment after school program as an aid in August of 2019. He was also an instructor in the summer camp last year with experience teaching all age ranges (pre-K, 5-7 year olds, and 8-12 year olds), with camps themes such as Space, Spa & Relaxation, and Nature.
He is currently enrolled at Robert Morris University and is planning to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in data Analytics in the spring of 2024. Though he plans to move on to another job after graduation he hopes to continue to help with the afterschool program as much as possible.
In between work and his studies Brennan enjoys watching sports, working out, listening to music, and spending time with his friends and family. Brennan greatly values his time working at the center with the children, he loves spending time with the children, teaching them, playing games with them, and helping them out in any way he can.
Courtney Smith – A&E Instructor / Summer Camp Instructor (5-8 year olds)
Courtney joined the Arts & Enrichment after school program in the fall of 2021.
She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and minors in studio arts and neuroscience. She is currently attending graduate school at Carlow University and earning a Masters in Art Education.
Courtney values and practices culturally responsive teaching and social emotional learning in her classroom. She developed a passion for art at a young age and has experience in set design, graphic design, painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and mixed media.
Her goal as an art teacher is to instill a creative voice in each of her students which they will carry with them throughout their lives.
