Staff Coaches

	Peter Oppegard Peter is a National, World, and Olympic-level coach. He was named “Choreographer of the Year” and “Coach of the Year” by the Professional Skaters Association and US Figure Skating. Peter has coached his skaters to 10 national singles and pairs titles. He is a three time United States Pairs Champion, and 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist. In 2004, Peter was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame. He specializes in singles, pairs, and choreography.
	Mingzhu Li “Coach Li” is a National, World, and Olympic coach. She coached Chinese champion Lu Chen to a gold medal at the 1995 World Championships and to two Olympic bronze medals. She teaches all competitive levels from beginner to advanced, specializing in jump technique and freestyle.
	Yuriy Kocherzhenko Yuriy was the Ukranian National Champion in 2001 and has represented Ukraine at the Olympic, World, and European Championships. He has 24 years of competitive experience. Yuriy specializes in ice dancing, power stroking, conditioning, off-ice training, moves in the field, and advanced footwork.
	Karen Kwan-Oppegard Karen is a U.S. National competitor, an international medalist, and a Pacific Coast and Eastern Champion with over 20 years of skating experience. She is a member of the Professional Skaters Association and US Figure Skating. Karen specializes in choreography, presentation, advanced jump technique, and spins.
	Alex Chang Alex has eight years of National Competition experience at the Novice, Junior, and Senior levels. He has competed in both the World Championships and the World Junior Championships. Along the way, he earned titles in Regional and Sectional Championships in Novice, Junior, and Senior Men’s events and completed the Gold Tests in Figures and Freestyle. Alex has coached national and internationally ranked skaters. He loves to choreograph and to teach jumps, spins, and moves in the field. He is also an IJS Technical Specialist. He received his B.A. degree from Harvard University.
	Jere Michael Jere is a ten-time U.S. National competitor, international medalist, World Junior Bronze medalist, and a former U.S. Junior National Champion. He has over 20 years of coaching experience and is a member of the Professional Skaters Association. Jere specializes in choreography and advanced jump and spin technique.
	Caroline Shafer Caroline has 30 years of figure skating experience. She has silver medals in Freestyle and Free Dance, and a gold in Dance. She trained at the Olympic Training Center and medaled four times at the Pacific Coast Sectionals. She is a member of the Professional Skaters Association and holds a Registered Freestyle rating. Caroline has extensive experience developing young talent through the Regional level. She specializes in freestyle, choreography, moves in the field, and off-ice training.
	Tiffany Bailey Tiffany competed for 11 years in the US Figure Skating program. She passed her Gold Freestyle test at age 14 and also completed the 6th Figure test. In addition, she has 11 years of ballet experience. She is a member of the Professional Skaters Association, US Figure Skating, and the Ice Skating Institute. Tiffany specializes in basic skills, jumps, spins, and choreography. She teaches skaters of ages and ability levels.
	Lisa Parisi Lisa has 24 years coaching experience, specializing in training the US Figure Skating competitive skater. She has built a strong foundation for many regional, sectional and national contenders, achieving outstanding results with an excellent track record for developing young talent. Lisa’s expertise focuses on advanced jump technique, including on- and off-ice conditioning for quality doubles and triples. Her extensive teaching background includes spins, moves in the field, choreography, the jump harness, and rollerblading for cross-training and strengthening.
	La Rhonda Scott La Rhonda has been coaching for 10 years. She is a member of US Figure Skating, the Ice Skating Institute, and the Professional Skaters Association with a Registered Freestyle rating. Through USFS, she is a technical specialist. She has considerable expertise in all aspects of a skater’s training regimen, but considers jump technique her specialty. Education is La Rhonda’s passion. In addition to coaching figure skating, she holds a Master’s Degree in Biological Education, teaches high school biology, and offers tutorial assistance for figure skaters.
	Themi Leftheris Themi was the 2007 US National Pairs Bronze Medalist. He is a two-time National Medalist and an international team member. He has 6 years of teaching experience and has long been involved in the Special Olympics program. Themi specializes in pairs, freestyle, and moves in the field.
	Naomi Nari Nam Naomi was the 1999 U.S. National Silver Medalist in ladies’ singles and was the 2007 Pairs Bronze Medalist. She has completed her gold tests in pairs, free skating, and moves in the field. With 6 years of teaching experience, Naomi teaches all levels from beginner to advanced.
	Peter Kongkasem Peter is an international medalist, World Championship competitor, and two-time National Champion of Thailand. He has also competed in nine U.S. Championships, earning two medals in men’s singles and ice dance. As a professional, he has toured around the world in shows including Ice Capades and Legends on Ice. Peter has coached skaters to the national level and holds a Certified Moves in the Field rating with the Professional Skaters Association. He specializes in moves in the field, jump technique, and dance — for beginners through advanced skaters.
	Derrick Delmore Derrick has been coaching for 11 years and has worked with national and international competitors. He is a former National Collegiate, Olympic Festival, and World Junior Champion. He has competed at 18 consecutive National Championships and has been a member of the U.S. International Team for 14 straight years. He also holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and Communication from Stanford University. Derrick enjoys coaching freestyle, moves in the field, and choreography for all levels.
	Jean Yun
	Annie Middleton
	Darryll Sulindro Darryll is an international, World Junior and World competitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from UCLA and is a gold level skater in pairs, freestyle, and moves in the field.
	Kristin Justiniano Kristin has 12 years experience in Figure Skating. She is a member of the Ice Skating Institute and was a freestyle competitor. She was a U.S. Figure Skating Novice Ladies competitor well as an Intermediate Pairs competitor. In addition, she has 8 years experience in ballet and was on various competitive dance teams. Kristin enjoys working with students of all ages and levels, specializing in the basic skills and freeskating programs, including jumps and spins.
	Igor Matsipura Igor is a two-time Slovakian National Champion, and four-time World and European competitor. He is also an Olympic Team member. Igor has 20 years of figure skating experience. He specializes in all areas of freestyle skating including jump and spin technique and off-ice jump training.