Specialists Bios
Lou Veramessa
Kodály Vocal Instructor - Toddler and Preschool
Lou Veramessa is a music educator, vocalist, composer, pianist, ukuleleist, director, songwriter, performer, and poet hailing from the Virginias. She believes that singing is a catalyst for human expression, emotional healing, creativity, and is passionate about helping others discover their inner artist through their voice.
As an educator, Lou has been a community organizer for inclusive music spaces, including facilitating ukulele jam sessions at music festivals, leading drum circles, and co-directing collegiate musicals. She has served as an arranger, choreographer, soloist, and album curator for an award-winning a cappella group Unaccompanied. She recently wrote and produced choral parts for Bay Area indie-folk band Westerly's upcoming studio album, and has directed numerous professional, community, and church choirs.
Lou received her BM in Vocal Music Education in 2019 from James Madison University in VA, soloing in over eight languages and singing jazz improvisation. Currently, she directs two community choirs:
VOENA, a nonprofit community childrens' choir, and
Expressions, a choir she co-founded in February 2023 in Berkeley. She performs in a jazz pop band Muwa, hikes, and spends time outdoors with her tuxedo cat Jupiter.
Jade Woo
Kodály Vocal Instructor - Elementary
Jade Woo is an Albany, California native who received her Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in saxophone performance, from University of California, Riverside. She served as choir director for two years at Ramona Elementary in Moreno Valley. She has also taught private saxophone and piano lessons for several years. Jade maintains that music is essential to our emotional wellbeing and should be accessible to all children. She is a firm believer in the notion that music brings people together and builds community. Jade can often be found playing saxophone, guitar, piano, or percussion with her friends and community members.
Natalia LaRoche
Art Instructor - Primary
Natalia studied Russian Language and Literature at the Teacher Training Institute, and Art Theory and Art Instruction at the Mari State University. Natalia worked for ten years teaching art to elementary aged children in Russia before coming to the United States. Natalia also has an Early Childhood Education background and 19 years of art teaching experience. Over the years, she has developed her own, unique teaching method and has developed the current art programs at TRIS for primary-aged students. Natalia started teaching at the Toddler and Preschool levels at TRIS in 2000.
Julie Gochman
Art - Elementary
Julie is an accomplished artist and educator with a rich background spanning both the United States and South Korea. Currently residing in Oakland, California, she holds an MFA in Printmaking from Pratt Institute in New York. Julie has been a dedicated art teacher over the years, including offering private lessons and art classes, as well as volunteering for art classes in OUSD (Oakland, CA) for many years. Before moving to the U.S., Julie founded and ran Mee Art Tutoring School in Seoul, where she taught drawing, watercolor, oil color, and pattern design to K-12 students. Her expertise extended to the international art scene during her tenure as Associate Director at Pibi Gallery in Seoul, where she analyzed art markets and spearheaded international marketing and sales. Julie’s artistic achievements have earned her significant recognition, including being named Artist of the Year by SFSU, winning First Place in the National AIDS Art Competition, receiving an Honorable Mention from Robert Rauschenberg in the Slivermain Gallery Print Competition, and being awarded a Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Merit in Studio Art by Pratt Institute.
Vincenzo K. Nocito
Librarian
Vince was born in Naples Italy of British and Italian parents. After spending the first 6 years of his life in Italy with occasional stays in England, he grew up largely in New Jersey with significant periods in California. He has worked in a variety of administrative roles in different businesses, including as an intern in a small law firm. He completed his MA at Columbia University in New York, in Liberal Studies with a focus on east-Asian culture and Japanese Zen Buddhism. He holds a BA in History from William Paterson University in New Jersey, with a focus on Classical and Medieval European history and culture. He completed his Masters in Library & Information Science. He has been with TRIS since 2016. In his spare time he enjoys travel, reading, hiking, museums, boating and the outdoors in general.