Camp Staff
Ashley Ahlin
Camp Director
Ashley is the K-12 Outreach Coordinator for the MSU Mathematics Department. She earned
her Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and has taught at the University
of Chicago, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Vanderbilt University and
online for the Davidson Institute and the Art of Problem Solving. She has been running
the MSU Play Math Camps since they begin in 2013.
Lisa Armstrong
Camp Instructor, Zero to Infinity
Lisa has worked as an elementary school educator in the East Lansing Public Schools
for the past 18 years. She has taught first and third grades and is currently serving
as an Instructional Coach. She has been teaching Math Camp for the MSU Math Outreach
Department since we began in 2013. Lisa is passionate about instilling an interest
in mathematics in young children and planting in them the seeds of curiosity for further
math study. She welcomes the opportunity to expose children to mathematical concepts
and activities that they may not experience in a traditional elementary classroom
environment.
Karen Bonnell
Camp Instructor, Math Explorers
Karen worked as a teacher and tutor in Illinois, Ohio, Kenya and Michigan after earning
a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Wheaton College in Illinois. This
is her seventh year teaching MSU Math Camps. She loves exploring mathematics with
the youngest campers by investigating number sense, parity, and so much more, giving
them a foundation of mathematics for a lifetime. Currently, she is a freelance editor
and lives with her husband and teenagers in East Lansing.
Jeff Burgess
Camp Instructor, Topology
Jeff has been a dedicated educator with East Lansing Public Schools for 19 years,
teaching both middle and high school students. He spent eight years at the middle
school level before transitioning to high school, where he has taught for the past
11 years. Jeff currently teaches AP Statistics, where he combines his passion for
mathematics with a commitment to helping students think critically and analytically.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Albion College and a master’s degree
in mathematics education from Missouri State University.
Jason Curtachio
Camp Instructor, Fractals and Python
Jason earned his bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Syracuse University
and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics from Michigan State. He has taught
children of all ages in general education settings and is now instructing college
students at MSU. He is passionate about providing detail to the vague phrase “math
is everywhere” by answering “what?”, “where?”, and “why?”
Julie Haskell
Camp Instructor, Geometry and Fun with Fractions
Julie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education and an early childhood
(ZA) endorsement in early childhood education from Western Michigan University. She
has been teaching lower elementary students for more than a decade, and currently
teaches in East Lansing Public Schools. She is passionate about teaching mathematics
in a fun, hands-on way that brings enthusiasm and energy into learning. She strives
to provide children with opportunities to participate in rich conversations about
mathematical concepts, even with our youngest math learners. She is excited to help
provide a unique and intriguing summer experience that will motivate children to “play”
with math and participate in rich discussions about their discoveries.
Bin Sun
Bin is a mathematician who specializes in topology, a branch of math that studies properties of shapes that are unchanged by continuous transformations. For example, to a topologist, a donut and a coffee cup are equivalent, because one can be molded into the other without any tearing. He earned his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and has been a postdoctoral researcher in University of California Riverside, University of Oxford and Michigan State University. In Fall 2026, he will become an assistant professor at MSU.
