Our Instructors
Kellee Blanchard
Kellee was born and raised in Eugene and she loves teaching Imagine That Summer Adventures! in her hometown. During the school year she leads Moving Joyfully, a dance and movement program for young children where she fosters creativity and self-discovery in her students. Kellee feels that working with children is a blessing. She uses stories and imagination in her teaching so Imagine That! feels like home to her playful heart. Though life has allowed her to teach in many places such as India and South America, Kellee will always look forward to her summers with this wonderful program. She is overjoyed to bring it to her current home town of Bend, Oregon and can’t wait to share the experience in the form of Bend Imagines with the community here.
Nina Palada
Nina was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She is currently working as a 2nd Grade Teaching assistant at The San Francisco School. In addition she teaches dance and movement classes to young children. She graduated from Saint Mary's College with a double major in Dance and Choreographic Studies and Justice, Community, and Leadership. She enjoys teaching movement, and movement exploration with young children. She has worked at Imagine That Summer Adventures! in Eugene for many years, and is excited to be the dance teacher for Bend Imagines first summer!
Amy Bathen
Amy grew up in Flagstaff, AZ and has lived in Bend for the last 11 years. She began playing music in school at age 9 and has since picked up a variety of instruments. She has been a part of the local music scene, performing in different bands for the last 16 years. Her primary instruments these days are guitar, drums and keys. Although her active bands have taken a backseat to her growing family, she is excited to share her love of music with this new community.
Before she had her first child, Amy worked as a preschool teacher for about 8 years in Bend. Since then she has been substituting in the public schools and booking music at various venues. Amy is looking forward to combining these two passions of music and teaching in her time with Bend Imagines.
Ruby Jensen
Ruby Jensen looks forward to leading the artistic experience for your kids. She is no stranger to the creative process in Imagine That, bringing a fresh perspective to the art component of the camp. Ruby is a student at a private university in Prague, Czech Republic, where she is pursuing her bachelor's degree. She loves the outdoors, travel and skiing. She was a South Eugene High School student leader for the Integrated Outdoor Pursuits program. She competed at State on the Eugene Ski team, played varsity lacrosse and performed at the Oregon Country Fair. She can't wait to welcome your kids to the Imagine That community!
Lisa Mattielo
Born in Eugene and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Lisa has delighted in watching her nieces (now camp instructors) Elise and Eden perform for years in Imagine That! camps. Lisa's love for music, drama and art started early on. At the age of 9, she wide-eyed watched Liberace on TV and decided to become a concert pianist. She has taken many years of piano and voice lessons, created myriad art projects (often utilizing an abundance of glitter) and entertained her friends and family endlessly with her hilarious, ongoing one-woman show. Lisa graduated with an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from Eastern Washington University and has lived in Italy and Spain. She has taught preschool in the 2/3's class at The Big Little School for 12 years thus far and loves it! When not exploring and learning with her classroom kiddos, Lisa loves performing in plays in various local Eugene and Cottage Grove theaters. Her life goals are to learn to fence, play the drums and adventure all over the world teaching kids.