David Hammerbeck is a member of the English faculty at Oakwood School, teaching 9th grade literature and writing, and 11th grade writing. He has previously taught university courses at UC Santa Cruz, San Jose City College, Loyola Marymount University, DePaul University, Cal Poly Pomona, and Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan). He has also taught high school classes at The Quarry Lane School, San Leandro High School, East Bay Arts in San Lorenzo, and San Benito High School. His teaching and research have delved into culture, literature, theatre, film, and theory in a wide range of subjects, from French Theatre and Orientalism to Russian and Soviet theatre, South Asian theatre and literature, Tibetan Buddhism, film, and other topics. He has backpacked and climbed in California, Wyoming, Oregon, Bolivia, and the Himalayas of Nepal. He has directed and acted in dozens of plays, appeared in films, and has also appeared on Jeopardy. David has a Ph.D. from UCLA's School of Theatre, Film, and Television.