Teachers

Andrea McCloskey
For her day job, Andrea is an associate professor in the department of Curriculum & Instruction at Penn State. She earned a PhD in mathematics education at Indiana University--Bloomington. Before that, she taught middle and high school mathematics. Her research has centered on student and teacher learning in a particular mathematical domain: proportional reasoning. She also conducts ethnographic research in which she accounts for mathematics instruction and classroom participation through cultural terms--in other words, beyond strictly cognitive dimensions. In her spare time, Andrea enjoys spending time with her family. ​

Jackie Gianico
Jackie caught the improv bug after doing a faculty workshop with Happy Valley Improv through the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State. She has since led improv workshops in the local community for teachers, professionals, and English language learners.  When not teaching for the departments of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences, you might see Jackie leading a sip-and-paint at the Arena Bar and Grill in State College.

James Tierney
James knew he wanted to be a teacher ever since he played school with his two younger sisters--making them do homework and learn how to do math when they were in pre-school. Fast forward a few decades and James began teaching economics at the high school and college level. After spending 7 years at Penn State as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics, James left the university to focus on building his own businesses here in State College. He is the current Business Manager of Happy Valley Improv and the owner of Tierney Education--a private tutoring, coaching, and consulting business. James believes improv and comedy help in business and everyday communication. 

Lori Bedell
With her two daughters grown and moved away, Lori thought she'd try something new. She took Happy Valley Improv classes and met lots of amazing people. She's pretty darn excited to be a part of Happy Valley Improv!

When not practicing improv, she's busy teaching in the Communication Arts and Sciences department at Penn State, hanging out with her silver fox husband, and entertaining friends. Cheers to new adventures!

Nate Rufo
Nate has been doing improv since 2013. He got his start as a company member at Theatre 99 in Charleston, SC, and quickly fell in love with improv as an art form and a way to build community.

Nate is a communicator at Penn State Global. When he's not doing improv or working, he can be found competing in Smash Ultimate, playing music, or hanging with his cat Murphy Brown.

Nate is also a published author. You can check out his series, the Salastrom Saga, on his website.