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Jay and Tina Clark run
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About Us Tina Clark, Chef, Archaeologist and Historian, is passionate about historic preservation and good food. She has found a way to combine these interests in her cooking school, Tina’s Cocina at St. Paul’s Cultural Center. As Tina puts it, she caters for “historic preservation” and “spiritual well-being”, both of which serve the individual and the community. Indeed, she has helped support the restoration efforts of the complex by catering meals for a variety of fundraising events, tour groups, and locals looking for a unique dining experience. Tina’s Cocina provides simple, flexible, and fun instruction on the fine art of cuisine. Local grandmothers teach their traditional dishes as well as share their memories of old Yuma. Tortilla and tamale making are on the top of the list. In addition, local chefs and wine experts offer classes in their specialties. Everyone is welcome, so look for a gourmet or just one who enjoys conversation and eating good food. Tina’s Cocina is available for private parties, couples classes, fundraisers, and in-kitchen dinner parties. Tina’s Cocina is a restored hacienda style kitchen complete with St. Paul’s original cast-iron stove, the original dishes, and hand-painted tiles. Tina’s goal is to capture the same spirit and warmth found in the kitchens of old Yuma.
Professor Clark is currently the Headmaster at the Gateway Preparatory Academy, an educational division of St. Paul’s Cultural and Educational center. Before his relocation to Yuma in 1998, he was a senior faculty member in the College of Extended Studies, San Diego State University, where he taught for twenty years. He has more than twenty-five years teaching experience, including two years teaching abroad, and seven years in Clinical Psychology. For the last fifteen years he has been a teacher of teachers conducting workshops for teachers and other professionals on topics related to our inherited cultures and the development of the whole person. He is a Vietnam era veteran and a published poet. In February of 1996 he was nominated for inclusion in the Merit Scholar based: Who’s Who Among American Teachers. As an educator, his professional interest is in the basic task of education: The development of the whole person. His primary training, however, is in the Interpretation of Philosophical and Religious Literatures East and West. As an academic he has specialized in East Asia, but as he says, “From my youth my method and search have been decidedly eclectic—as the substance and nature of sacred literatures universally demand.” His other academic interests are: Mythology and Fairy Tales and their Significance for the Educator’s Task; Hermeneutics; Literature; Film; Native American Religions; Chinese Philosophy (especially the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching); Greek Philosophy; Ethics; Art; Poetry; and Science and Culture.
For a list of lectures given, poetry
published, teaching history and education, please
click here. Jonathan CloseJonathan Close is the Director of the Gateway Players, a professional acting troupe affiliated with The Gateway Performing Arts Center, an extension of St. Paul’s Cultural and Educational Center. He is also Associate Faculty at the Gateway Preparatory Academy, teaching the Academy’s second year courses in Literature and Drama. Prior to joining the Academy, Professor Close taught Literature, English Composition, and ESL for ten years in San Diego and Yuma. In addition to his work in the classroom, he has been active on-stage since the age of eleven, performing a broad spectrum of characters from Richard III in the Shakespearean play of the same name to Elwood P. Dowd in Mary Chase’s inspired comedy Harvey. His directing credits include As You Like It and Lettice and Lovage. Professor Close’s ideas about the theater have evolved out of his years of study and experience as a teacher. It is his conviction that theater is more than just entertainment but is the perfect medium for the edification of both the actor and the patron. His academic and theatrical interests lie primarily in Classical Theater, including Greek Drama and Shakespeare; other academic interests include Philosophy and Religious Studies, English Poetry, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, and Film Studies. Ed Villavert is an associate faculty member of the Gateway Preparatory Academy specializing in Math and the Sciences. He is also the Science and Technical Director of St. Paul’s Cultural Center, a current member of the Gateway Players, and webmaster for the St. Paul’s website. His background includes: Computer Science, Biochemistry, Mathematics, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Literature. He was a Math/Science tutor at Grossmont College for 5 years and an instructor for a pre-med program at San Diego State University. He has 15 years of experience as a Computer Systems Administrator and Programmer. His current passion is as he says: “The knowledge and wisdom of the ancient cultures of our past much of which has been lost in the current ‘miasma’ of our modern world. It is therefore essential that we ‘re-search’ and ‘embody’ this knowledge if we are to become free individuals.”
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