Meet the Apt Team!

At Apt, the talented team of educators serves each student and creates a dynamic classroom environment.

Pre-K & Kindergarten

Ms. Julene Koenig has been teaching since 2016. Her love of children started at an early age. In her teenage years, she often cared for children and enjoyed watching them learn and grow. Little ones enjoyed their time with Ms. Koenig, she had structure, discipline, and a kind temperament with genuine interest in each child. After graduating from Canby High School, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University. From there, she obtained her Masters in Curriculum of Trauma and Resilience training from Concordia University.

Ms. Koenig started her teaching career with substitute teaching at Oregon schools. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she accepted a position teaching for Apt Academy, and was Apt’s flagship teacher. She has enjoyed the opportunity to facilitate students’ growth in their education and in their faith over the years.

Outside of teaching, Ms. Koenig loves to play volleyball, swim, play disc golf, travel and experience new places. She is particularly fond of Disneyland. She loves coffee and a variety of foods. Ms. Koenig is also involved in Canby High School Volleyball as a coach for the Junior Varsity (JV) team. She coaches a 14u club volleyball team.

1st & 2nd Grade

From a young age, Mrs. Brubaker developed a love for children. As she volunteered to work with children, her joy and love for teaching blossomed. Mrs. Brubaker attended Portland State University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. For over 15 years she volunteered to work with children within the community. For 18 years, she homeschooled her three children.

Over the years, Mrs. Brubaker has created curriculum unit studies and led several homeschool co-op classes and tutored students ranging from pre-school through 7th grade in reading, writing, spelling, and math. Other joys in her life are spending time with her three beautiful granddaughters, enjoying the great northwest outdoors with kayaking, hiking, camping, and biking.

3rd-5th Grade

Mrs. Wendy Doran grew up in the Portland area enjoying hiking and bike rides with family. She always wanted to be a teacher and remembers often using the chalk board in her bedroom and setting up dolls and stuffed animals to play “school”.

Mrs. Doran attended Weber State University, in Ogden, Utah, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2011 with a degree in Elementary Education. She began teaching a PE class, before being asked to take on a new 1st grade class being opened at the school where she was teaching, six weeks into the school year. The following couple years, Mrs. Doran went on to accept a position teaching a Humanities class for 1st – 6th grades. With this class, she got the opportunity to help design the curriculum and scope of the class.

When her husband retired early for medical reasons, she moved with her family, as they’d always planned, back to Oregon where she continued to teach in a substitute teaching role. Mrs. Doran gained experience teaching all grades from Pre-K through 12th at a variety of schools throughout Clackamas County. She was hired as a private tutor during the COVID-19 pandemic to help teach her brother’s three children.

The following year, she accepted an offer to teach at Apt Academy. She is looking forward to another great year at Apt Academy as she begins her 11th year teaching. She still enjoys hiking and bike rides, as well as traveling and spending time with her two wild puppies, her cat, and family. Mrs. Doran has two children; one son who was recently married and is graduating from college this year, and a daughter who is a senior in high school.

6th-8th Grade

My name is Tristan Holechek, and I teach the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades for Apt Academy.  I grew up in Molalla, Oregon, graduating from Molalla High School in 1993.  Following high school, I attended Oregon State University where I majored in agricultural business management.  After obtaining my Bachelor of Science, I did not feel like the corporate world was for me.  Therefore, I went back to Oregon State University and completed a master’s degree in education.  

My first teaching position was teaching agricultural science in Elgin, Oregon.  Elgin High School was a great place to work, but I wanted to experience life in the military.  This was before September 11th, 2001, so most of the branches of the military were only training.  I wanted to be doing something.  Therefore, after I completed my first year as a teacher, I resigned and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.  

Once I fulfilled my four-year commitment to the Coast Guard, I decided I wanted to go back to teaching.  Since that time, I have taught in Monument, Oregon; Clatskanie, Oregon; and Boardman, Oregon.  

In 2019, I needed a break from public education.  Upon learning of an opportunity to work for Canby Public Works, I applied and was hired.  I spent two years working on a geographic database for the City of Canby.  This was a wonderful position, but in 2021 I was yearning to return to the classroom.  This is when I found Apt Academy.  

Apt Academy has been a wonderful opportunity, and I wholeheartedly believe in our mission of providing a Christian based education to our students.