Staff

Bebe Hall (Owner)

Bebe moved back to California in 2011 and founded Hall Swim Academy in 2014. She also resumed her career as a middle school teacher and continued teaching until 2016 when she turned all her attention to Hall Swim Academy. She has 11 years experience teaching in the classroom and 30 years experience teaching in the pool. Bebe enjoys working with swimmers of all ages, from 2 months old to 82 years old. Her kind and patient approach makes any swimmer feel comfortable in the water.

Lauren (Administrative Assistant)

Lauren grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was a competitive swimmer throughout high school. She received her Bachelors degree from UC Santa Barbara, where she worked as both a lifeguard and a surf camp counselor. Lauren also has experience volunteering as a swim instructor for first-generation American children to promote water safety. After college, she worked as a surf therapist for adolescents in local treatment centers. She joined the Hall Swim Academy team in July of 2021 and serves as the head of our accounting department. Lauren is very excited to work with us; she enjoys sharing her passion for the water and believes swimming can serve as both a therapeutic and fitness modality.

Meet Our Instructors

Nora

Nora grew up in Edina, Minnesota and began swimming completely at the age of 5. Throughout her youth, Nora swam for both club swim teams and for her high school, Edina High School. She won the Minnesota State Championships all 4 years of her time on the team, including her senior year where she was a team captain. Nora began teaching swim lessons at the age of 16 in her hometown of Edina and has worked with swimmers of all ages. Nora loves teaching lessons because it brings her so much joy to see swimmers become confident in the water and improve their skills. Her goal is to make swimmers of all ages enjoy their time in the pool while learning lifesaving skills and refining their technique. When she is not swimming, Nora loves to bake, go to the beach, travel, and spend time with family and friends. Nora currently attends UCLA where she is studying Business Economics.

Kate L.

Kate, a Pennsylvania native, has been swimming competitively since the age of 5. She swam for club and high school teams before beginning her collegiate career at UCLA. In high school, Kate earned two state championships along with a national championship. She was also a team captain during her junior and senior year. Kate is currently a student-athlete at UCLA where she is studying Public Affairs. Outside of the pool, Kate is also a certified beach lifeguard and has participated in teaching junior lifeguards for two years. She is passionate about passing on her love and knowledge of the water to the next generation of swimmers.

Markelle

Markelle is from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has worked as a swim instructor for over 7 years. She has also worked as a nanny for 3 years and as a preschool teacher for 1 year. She attended Sonoma State University, where she earned her B.S. degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing. She has also completed some college coursework in Child Development. She has worked with children with disabilities, including Autism and Down Syndrome. She took swim lessons as a child herself, up until competition level, and later played water polo in high school. She looks forward to meeting you!

Thea

Thea grew up in Santa Monica, California, and she began swimming competitively at age seven. Growing up, Thea spent most of her time in the pool or the ocean and competed in pool and open water competitions with her club swim team. She won CIF as a freshman, balanced club and high school swimming all four years, and was named team captain as a senior. Thea is a rising sophomore and student-athlete at Columbia University studying political science and art history. She has worked as a beach camp counselor, focusing on water activities, including swimming, surfing, and paddle boarding. She has experience working with children of all ages and backgrounds, and she greatly enjoys helping others find a love for the water as well as learning the value of water safety.

Deontay

Deontay is from San Fransisco, and he moved to West Hollywood in 2021. He has experience working with kids during summer sports camps where the kids were able to practice various sports, including swimming. He joined the Hall Swim Academy team in 2022. His positive energy and warm personality allows his swimmers to not only be productive during their lessons, but feel comfortable, which is so important when learning how to swim.

Paige

Paige grew up in Boca Raton, Florida and began swimming at the age of 5 and competing at the age of 8. In high school, she was team captain and held 2 records for all four years of attending the school. She is currently a sophomore at UCLA and specializes in the individual medley. Paige made the “A” Final of the 400 IM in the first wave of the 2021 Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, ultimately finishing fourth. She is also a 2 x NCAA qualifier and Second Team All-American while holding a UCLA school record.  Paige has been teaching swim lessons since the age of 16 in Florida, and she loves to teach young swimmers everything there is to know about swimming! Learning to swim at such a young age has inspired her to want and teach younger kids as she thinks it’s a great skill. She wants to motivate other swimmers to have fun and feel confident in the water.

Burcin

Burcin’s passion for water sports dates back to her childhood. During her school years, she participated in many national and international competitions as a professional swimmer for seven years. She turned this experience into a teaching field by working as a swimming coaching assistant in swimming schools and colleges. She received a 1-level coaching certificate from the Turkish Swimming Federation to train professional swimmers. To understand human anatomy more closely and improve her experience as a trainer in the field of sports, she obtained Pilates instructor certificates. With this formation, she gave fitness group classes in the water for two years in Turkey with her instructor certificate named FloatFit.

Her passion for water sports continues. She participated in competitions as a professional rower in Turkey, and as a hobby, she is a beginner sailor and kitesurfer.

Michelle

Michelle is a Los Angeles native and a natural fish to water. She has 10+ years of competitive swimming experience and 16 years of swim instructor experience. She is passionate about supporting the growth of her clients and believes that there is no greater joy than sharing her love for swimming. She has experience in working with those of all ages and loves to find creative ways to meet people where they are at in their swim level journey. She loves teaching young children how to blow their first bubbles, adults how to become comfortable and capable swimmers, and working with competitive swimmers to improve their stroke technique. Her positivity and patience are fundamentals of her teaching.

Selma

Selma grew up in Columbia, Missouri and was a USA competitive swimmer throughout high school. She received a Bachelors degree from The University of Missouri where she worked as both a lifeguard and swim lesson instructor. She has a degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in media. So when she moved to LA, she knew she wanted to work in entertainment. She loves kids, so in her free time she teaches swim lessons, substitute teaches, and works as a nanny. She comes from a family of Olympic swimmers. She truly love working with kids and teaching the importance water safety.

Emma

Emma is a Sophomore on the UCLA Swim team. She studying International Development and Entrepreneurship. Emma grew up in the Portland, Oregon area and started swimming when she was 2 years old.  She has been teaching lessons since she was 15 years old, and she absolutely loves working with swimmers of all ages and skill levels. She loves seeing the excitement and joy swimming brings to kids and adults because it reminds her of why she continues to practice the sport. She looks forward to working with you in the pool!

Brooke

Brooke is a senior at UCLA where she has been a captain on the Swim & Dive team for two years. She started competitive swimming at age of 6 years old, and she has collected many accolades since. She is a Junior National, CIF, and California State champion. Brooke is also a UCLA record-holder and NCAA All-American. When she’s not in the pool, Brooke still loves spending most of her free-time near the water and enjoys surfing and hanging out at the beach. Her goal is to spread her love of the water with all her students.

Eva

Eva grew up in Portland, Oregon and has been swimming competitively since 8 years old. She continued swimming through high school and college where she won multiple state titles and participated in the 2021 Olympic Trials. She always loves spending time in the water, and she is currently a member of the UCLA swim team. She is excited to share the love she has for the water with others. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, eating good food, and spending time with her friends.   

Mikayla

Mikayla is a recent UCLA graduate with a passion for travel, volleyball, and trying new cafes. She began swimming at the age of three and has stayed close to the water ever since. Every summer growing up, she participated in her local junior lifeguards program, honing her aquatic abilities, safety skills, and leadership. Mikayla played competitive volleyball for five years and, after high school, coached recreational teams. With over 7 years of babysitting experience, she loves being around children and learning about childhood development. Mikayla is advanced in speaking Spanish and can’t wait to help children be confident in and around the pool!

Liz

Elizabeth is from Modesto, CA and moved to Northridge two years ago. She started playing water polo at the age of 13, competing on club teams, her high school team, and at Modesto junior college.  Elizabeth has been a lifeguard and has experience teaching swim lessons for the past 5 years. She has taught all ages from babies to adults. She is very excited to share her love for the water and all water sports with everyone in a safe and comfortable environment.

Elena

Elena grew up in Tallahassee, FL and went to college in Orlando, FL where she received a degree in Theatre and Creative Writing from UCF. She has been swimming all her life and began swimming competitively at age 10. She is so excited to share her passion for swimming with her students and teach such an important, life saving skill. Elena currently teaches music lessons at Cheviot Hills Recreational Facility, and she loves to help students of all ages find fun in new skills. Some of her favorite hobbies include surfing, guitar, and game nights with her friends.

Sara

Sara is from the Chicago area. She has two years of swim instructing experience, teaching Parent/Child classes and learn-to-swim lessons. She has also worked as a lifeguard for five years. She has experience babysitting, working with kids at an after-school program, and working with kids who have autism. She loves children of all ages! Sara has her Associates degree in fine arts from the College of Lake County and has been pursuing acting for many years. Sara was on the diving team in high school and earned her scuba diving certification as well. Sara is passionate about water safety and looks forward to working with you!

Casey

Casey is a San Fernando Valley native who grew up in a swim-oriented family. Her natural-born love of the water led her to get her first job as a swim instructor at her local YMCA, and she loved it. When it became time for her to move to college, she decided to continue teaching swim lessons while pursuing a degree at CSU Long Beach. In May 2020, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Psychology. Since graduating, she has continued to share her love and passion for the water with those in the Long Beach area and hopes to continue to do so by working for Hall Swim Academy. With 5+ years of swim teaching experience, she knew she could add more years of experience and joy to her life and the lives of others by working with Hall Swim Academy. She looks forward to teaching you and getting to know you and/or your little ones because she knows the importance of creating a positive connection between a swim instructor and her swimmers.

Taylor

Taylor grew up in Mountain View, CA and has been swimming competitively since she was 5 years old. She continued swimming through club and high school and is now a member of the UCLA Swim Team. She has taught swim lessons for children of all ages since she was 17 years old. She is so excited to share her love for swimming with others! In her free time, she loves going to the beach, listening to music, and hanging out with her best friends! She is a second year student at UCLA studying Molecular Biology.

Sean

Sean is a bilingual instructor, speaking both English and Spanish.  Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Sean started swimming competitively at the age of 9 and joined his local water polo club at age 12. He went on to becoming a 2 x Water Polo Junior Olympian and competed in both sports in varsity throughout all 4 years of high school. Sean has been working with Hall Swim Academy for the past 2 years, and his clients love him! He hopes to create a safe and fun environment for new and returning swimmers to ensure proficiency in the pool. In his free time, he enjoys playing various sports, writing music, acting, and spending time with friends.

Sara

Sara is from Los Angeles and she grew up swimming on swim teams and in junior lifeguards during her summers. She taught swim lessons at the YMCA and is excited to teach with Hall Swim Academy. She is currently pursuing a Kinesiology degree at UW Madison and is passionate about sports and physical therapy. She loves to dance, listen to music, and spend time with her friends and family. Sara looks forward to sharing her love of swimming with her students and create a fun, safe learning environment.

Anna

Anna grew up in Denver, Colorado and moved to LA to get her AA in Guitar Performance in 2014. She started swimming at 2 years old and continued to swim competitively through high school. She is Red Cross Certified WSI and taught at SwimRight swim school while in college. She has years of experience teaching swimmers of all ages, from infants to adults. Her favorite part about teaching is witnessing the moment when “it clicks” for someone. She loves inspiring others to accomplish their long time dreams and goals in the water. When she’s not touring or recording music, she’s happiest in the pool!

Shoghig

Shoghig was born and raised in Syria, Aleppo. She then moved to Armenia. She is a passionate swimming coach with 5 years of experience. Shoghig graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology, and has an International Training Certificate from Germany. All of these achievements have helped shape her coaching style. With 12 years of personal experience as a swimmer, Shoghig has a deep understanding of the sport and the dedication it takes to succeed. Through her coaching, Shoghig strives to instill this same level of commitment and passion in her students.

Kate

Kate grew up swimming in Indiana, and she has more than 5 years experience teaching swim lessons and coaching swimmers in the pool. She competed in the 2020 Olympic Games for Team Canada in Open Water swimming. She has lived in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Colorado, Vancouver, South Carolina before recently settling in Los Angeles. Kate is currently working for the LA ’28 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee. She loves teaching swim lessons to kids and adults so she can share her passion for the water and promote water safety.

Maleki

Maleki grew up in Iran and began to swim at 12 years old. She  learned synchronized swimming at 22 years old and has been swimming competitively (and for fun) ever since. She began teaching swim lessons when she was 23 years old and is grateful to have the chance to share her love of swimming with people of all ages. She especially loves to connect to each child’s energy and love for the water. She went to college in Turkey, where she received a PhD degrees in Pharmacology from AU. She also took a part in a movie that won U.S. dramatic competition (Sundance Film Festival) award in 2023.Some of her interests include sculpting, hiking, painting and singing.