Meet the RecessReset Team
Welcome! I’m Peter, Founder of Recess Reset.
The creation of Recess Reset grows out of my life journey as an artist, teacher, academic, and meditation practitioner — weaving together my creative spirit, commitment to self-awareness, and desire to improve the daily experience of students and teachers in schools.​
​In my early twenties, I worked as a professional dancer in New York City.
Life was full of highs and lows, and my sense of well-being rose and fell with each opening and closing night. Amid the hustle of auditions and side gigs, I found myself longing for balance and a deeper sense of direction. From this place of struggle, I discovered meditation. During a month-long yoga and meditation retreat, I connected with a profound sense of inner meaning that helped me navigate the ups and downs of a performing career without the emotional roller coaster I had grown accustomed to.
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As my interior world shifted, so did my outer path.​
​At 25, I was offered an opportunity to teach dance in India at a K–10 boarding school for youth affected by leprosy. I packed up my apartment in NYC and never looked back. Over the next three years, I traveled throughout India and Europe, living in ashrams and immersing myself in contemplative practice and meditation.
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When I returned to North America in my late twenties, I began teaching dance and theater with organizations like the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation and American Conservatory Theater, eventually joining the San Francisco Unified School District to teach elementary dance and theater. It was there I witnessed firsthand the widespread stress and emotional dysregulation experienced by students and teachers.
Working in the public school system was deeply rewarding — and often exhausting.​
​​At 36, I faced a choice: continue teaching inside a struggling system, or return to graduate school and discover how to help the education system become a more sustainable, self-aware, and emotionally regulated environment for students and educators.
I chose the latter and enrolled at Stanford. It was there that Recess Reset evolved from an idea into a prototype, and ultimately into a tool now used by teachers across the country. Through the support of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, I was able to channel my creativity, meditation practice, and teaching experience into a platform that brings the value of self-awareness and self-regulation directly to students and teachers in a simple, practical, and engaging way.
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Thank you for joining me on this journey of supporting self-discovery and well-being inside our schools — and in our world.
Peter Brian Mills
Founder, CEO & Product Designer
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Peter Brian Mills is a former elementary dance and theater teacher with San Francisco Unified School District, and teaching artist with American Conservatory Theater, Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, and Visionary Center for the Performing Arts. Peter has over a decade of experience with mindfulness and meditation, and is a certified yoga teacher. He holds a MA in Education (Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies) from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, with a graduate certificate in Applied Contemplative Science from the Stanford School of Medicine. An early career professional dancer, he holds a BFA from The Boston Conservatory.
Katie Krcal
Clinical Lead, Child Development Expert
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Katie Krcal is a child development expert, licensed occupational therapist, and educational consultant specializing in neurodivergent children and families. She serves as Consultant at BEGIN, is a Clinical Manager at Easterseals Northern California, and previously worked as a pediatric occupational therapist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. With experience spanning clinical practice, program development, and educational content creation, Katie integrates art, play, and sensory-informed strategies to build motor, emotional regulation, and executive functioning skills. She holds a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from Xavier University.
Dima Moiseenko
Character Animation Artist
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Dima Moiseenko is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer with 8 years of experience creating memorable characters and fun illustrations for brands, startups, games, apps, and animated videos. He specializes in motion design, editorial illustrations, branding, and visual identity work. Dima has worked with clients including SEGA, INDITEX, and Parity Technologies, contributing to blockchain projects and illustrations for various printed products like books, board games, and posters. He brings uniqueness and life to illustrations through detailed, character-driven design, working with both individual clients and creative teams worldwide.
Chris Walsh
Advisor, Education Technology
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Chief Product and Technology Officer at PBLWorks, where he leads the development of new digital products that expand access to high-quality Project Based Learning, especially for Black and Brown students.​ Previously, he was CEO and co-founder of Portmoto, a performance assessment platform acquired by PBLWorks, and a founding team leader at Abl, where he helped secure Series A funding and a major Gates Foundation grant to reimagine time in schools.​ Chris has also served as Director of the Jean Hofmann Center for Innovation at Carondelet High School, where he created STEM, entrepreneurship, engineering, and media programs. He holds a M.A. in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford, and a M.Ed from UCLA.
Zachary Levine
Advisor, Business Strategy & Marketing
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Zachary Levine is the Founding Executive Director of TEACH.org, a non-profit that partners with State Departments of Education to recruit new teachers into teacher certification programs - with a mission to elevate and diversify the teaching profession. Zachary has over a decade of experience building organizations that serve education at scale, and is the industry leading expert on teacher recruitment. Zachary is a former Boston Consulting Group consultant, and has worked in education operations at Green Dot Public Schools and Uncommon Schools. Zachary is a Broad Institute Fellow and holds a MBA/MA in Education from Stanford University.
Jackie DeHuff
Advisor, Marketing and Branding
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Jackie DeHuff is a strategic advisor with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of design thinking, media, education, and social impact. She brings expertise in brand strategy, mission-driven growth, and scaling innovative education platforms. Her career spans integrated marketing leadership at Paramount, Hootsuite, and pocket.watch, where she developed deep understanding of how design and narrative shape human behavior. This evolved into healthcare systems innovation work with Stanford's Biodesign Program, where she advocates for patient-centered design and equitable solutions. Jackie holds a BA in Design from USC Roski School of Fine Arts and serves on multiple boards including USC Roski School and PlayBuild NOLA.