After graduating from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 2001, David Amerikaner joined the faculty at the Meadowbrook School in Weston, Massachusetts. During his four years there, he taught fifth grade and also coached basketball and baseball at the middle school level. His academic interests lie primarily in the humanities, particularly history, but he also enjoys teaching math. He has spent much of his life in and around independent schools, having graduated from the Cate School in California. He aspires to be a leader in the private school world, possibly as a school head. He is very excited to be spending a year in New York City and studying at Teachers College.

Noah Bopp was graduated from Oberlin College in 1996 with a B.A. in Philosophy and in Law. He received his MAT from Duke University in 1998. For four years he taught history and philosophy at St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island, where he also chaired the school’s Community Service Council. Most recently, he coordinated the history program at the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire, Vermont, and coached the varsity boys basketball team at nearby Chelsea High School. In the summer he leads the Duke University TIP Global Dialogues Institute, which he created in 2002; he is also an instructor for the Duke TIP in Paris program. He hopes to use his experience at Teachers College to create a school for high school juniors that emphasizes global studies, leadership, and ethics.

Marie Bumgarner graduated in 2002 from Furman University, where she double-majored in English literature and studio art. While she was at Furman, she helped organize, market, and administrate Bridges to a Brighter Future, a non-profit organization designed to identify and mentor talented adolescents experiencing economic or environmental challenges. During the summer component of the Bridges program, Marie managed the residential life of the students and taught classes in leadership, creative writing, and studio art. In 2002, she accepted a position as an upper school humanities teacher at Glenelg Country School near Columbia, Maryland. She just completed her third year at Glenelg.

Joe Cardenas was born in San Sebastian, Spain. After finishing high school, he moved to the Bay Area and graduated from UC Berkeley. Joe began his teaching career at The Head-Royce School, an independent coed school in Oakland, California. A year later, he started teaching at The Heights, an all-boys Catholic school in Potomac, Maryland. Joe has taught Art History and Spanish Literature and has coached tennis, soccer, and golf. In 2001, he became a member of the administration of the school and was put in charge of the accreditation process. Currently, Joe is the Dean of Advisory, a mentoring program that personalizes the school’s mission for each student. During the last eight summers, he has organized service projects in Mexico. Joe enjoys hiking, running, and reading fiction. Someday, he would like to write a book about teaching and mentoring.

Chris Day comes to Teachers College from the Holderness School in New Hampshire where he has served as the head of the History Department, coach, and dorm parent for the past four years. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. in History, Chris went on to earn an M.Ed., from UNH and more recently an M.A., from Dartmouth College. For the past fourteen years he has taught and coached at the Dublin School, Rye Country Day School, New Hampton School, and Holderness. While at New Hampton Chris founded a summer educational program for kids which combined environmental science, theatre arts, and creative writing in an integrated setting. Chris and his wife Cynthia have three children and the whole team is looking forward to this year!

After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1997 with a B.A. in English and French, Lindsay Dewar moved to Alexandria, Virginia. There she taught seventh grade history, eventually served as the Middle School History Department Head, and coached field hockey and lacrosse in the middle and upper divisions at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School. Three years later she relocated to New York City where she instructed sixth grade social studies and seventh and eighth grade English at St. Luke’s School in the West Village for five years. Lindsay just completed her M.A. from the Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury College) this past August. She is thrilled to study full-time this year and is eager to return to her school community a more effective educator and leader. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband Brian, and they enjoy alpine skiing, golf, food, travel, and the ocean.

Andrew Deyell is a teacher and coach at Mater Dei School in Bethesda, MD. He teaches English, language arts and Latin and coaches football, wrestling and lacrosse. Andrew previously served as Assistant Dean of the Resident Program at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, and as Assistant Director in the Office of Student Financial Assistance at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. He holds a BA in English from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY and an MA in Education Administration from George Washington University. Andrew will be pursuing an EdM in Education Leadership (Private School Leadership) from Teachers College through the Klingenstein Center. He is looking forward to learning from both the impressive faculty at TC and his fellow students and is excited about sharing his wide variety of experiences in education.

Chuck Edwards grew up in Charlotte, NC before attending Middlebury College. After graduation in 1998, he moved to Tampa, Florida to teach History and Spanish for two years at the Tampa Preparatory School. In 2000, Chuck moved to Tarrytown, NY to teach History and coach basketball and golf at Hackley School. This summer he married his beautiful wife, Caroline, and now he’s excited to start the Private School Leadership program.

Doug Fishman has taught middle school science and math at Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandria, Virginia, for 14 years. He has also chaired several curriculum committees and trained and mentored faculty in the use of technology. After graduating with a B. S. in mechanical engineering from George Washington University, Doug’s first career was at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, where he built and programmed components of a prototype automated factory. Doug’s interests include curriculum review and change, with the goal of achieving student literacy in core subjects, and how understanding cognitive theories of learning can influence that process. He moved to New York with his wife Tina and daughters Mikaela and Ella with the hope that their world would be broadened and enriched as much as his will. He is also thrilled to be in the land of the world’s best bagels and the New York Mets.

Ben Freeman graduated from Colby College in 1996 with a BA in Geology and Environmental Sciences. After a year as a science teacher at the Thacher School in California and three years as an instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, Ben made his way to the Cape Eleuthera Island School in the Bahamas. During the five years that he spent on Eleuthera, Ben worked with a small team of educators to help build the school from its infancy into the dynamic, successful program that it is today. After spending the last two years as Head of the Island School, Ben is looking forward to his study at the Klingenstein Center as a time for reflection, consultation, and preparation for the challenges of the future. Following this year, Ben (along with his wife and two children) hopes to move into an administrative position at a school that shares his values and passion for teaching towards a more sustainable future.

Nigel Furlonge is in his 5th year teaching US History at the Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE. Before his time at St. Andrew’s, he worked at the Holderness School for 6 years, spending one of those years at Villanova (‘99) earning his MA. Although he was born in Toronto (lived in Canada for 8 years) soon after his family emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago, Nigel considers Boston his hometown where he went to the Boston Latin School (‘90). While there, Nigel met his wife, Nicole and they then attended the same college–the University of Pennsylvania (‘94). They recently gave birth to a girl named Logan. Logan’s parents are trying their best to indoctrinate her with their passion for sports, music, literature, and a general love of learning.

Nigel’s project will center on in imagining what a professional learning environment could look like for faculty. More specifically, he will focus on how the Teacher Evaluation processes might be used to support such a learning environment where the “evaluation” was viewed as a stage of professional development.

Lauren Goldberg graduated from Northwestern University in 1997 with a BA in Political Science and a minor in English. Spending two years in the publishing industry, she realized she could no longer ignore the siren song of teaching. After earning an MA in English literature from Stanford University in 2000, Lauren taught high school English—including an intensive writing elective, English 9, and an elective titled Ethnic Voices—for two years at the Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. Relocating to the east coast in 2002, she taught freshman and seniors for three years at the Georgetown Day School (GDS) in Washington, DC. The Klingenstein Summer Institute, which Lauren attended in 2003, cemented her desire to work towards becoming a teaching administrator and inspired her to broaden her involvement at GDS. Excited to be returning to her native city, Lauren also looks forward to being a student again and to pursuing her interest in equity and social justice in independent schools. When not in the classroom or exploring New York City, Lauren can be found adventuring in the great outdoors.

Rob Hunt is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and comes to the Klingenstein Center from the Indian Mountain School, a junior boarding school in Lakeville, CT. He has spent the past three years serving as a Spanish teacher, Assistant Athletic Director, Dorm Parent, Advisor and Coach. Rob is originally from Maine and is very excited about living in New York. Before teaching, Rob spent three years living in Boston working for a variety of financial institutions. Rob hopes to prepare himself to be a Dean at a private school in the northeast or at an international school.

Jennifer Kitner began her teaching career at the Barnesville School, located in a suburb of Washington, DC, where she taught middle school social studies, coached the girls’ lacrosse team, and served as the lead eighth grade teacher. In the summer of 2004 Jen attended the Klingenstein Summer Institute in Princeton, NJ. Jen was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and attended Emory University, where she received a B.A. in History with a minor in sociology. One summer Jen was an intern for the American Federation of Teachers in their Educational Issues Department and after college graduation she then spent a year doing research and test development at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC. She plans to remain in the classroom with goals to encourage diversity amongst students and to create foreign exchange programs to expose students to worldwide culture and education.

Tom Marvin is returning to Morningside Heights after a seven year hiatus. After graduating from Columbia with a degree in history in 1998, Tom spent a year at a law firm and two years at a nonprofit. Unsatisfied with these jobs, but enjoying the coaching that he was doing, Tom decided to try teaching. Tom was an assistant teacher for one year and a fifth grade homeroom teacher for three years at Norwood School in Bethesda, MD. During this time, he also coached rowing at St. Albans school in Washington, D.C. Tom is married and lives with his wife, a former Norwood teacher and current education school student, on the Upper West Side. Upon completion of this program, Tom hopes to take on a leadership position in an independent school.

Tiffany McBride graduated from Claremont McKenna College in Southern California with a degree in government and economics. She taught upper and middle school math, AP US history and economics, coached championship teams in girls’ varsity soccer, track and tennis, and served as an advisor to student government and the work internship program at The Field School in Washington, DC for five years. After her third year at Field, she was named the math department chair and was awarded an E.E. Ford Fellowship to study the brain and multiple intelligences. After completing the fellowship, Tiffany designed an upper-level math course in Statistics for students who wished to excel in a non-Calculus bound math course or who had finished the traditional high school math curriculum. Upon completion of the Private School Leadership program, Tiffany hopes to find a position as an Academic Dean in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in an independent school. 

Will Morris grew up on the campus of The Taft School, where he was also a student. After earning his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Will decided to try his hand at teaching. He worked for three years at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, where he taught chemistry and physics, coached soccer, squash, volleyball and softball, and advised freshman boys. Last year, Will lived in Paris, France with his fiancée, Hannah, also a teacher, who was completing her M.A. in French. Will learned French and rode his bicycle through the French countryside while training for his fourth Ironman Triathlon. Will and Hannah are both excited about the unique opportunities presented by life in New York and at Teachers College.

Janice Murabayashi has a BA in Urban Studies from Brown University and a MA in City Planning from UCLA. An abrupt and supposedly temporary detour into teaching has evolved into a fulfilling career. She started at Punahou School in Honolulu (her alma mater), teaching high school social studies and coaching cross-country, track and outrigger canoe paddling for four years. She then taught and coached 7th and 8th grade at Brentwood School in Los Angeles for two years before moving to Francis Parker School in San Diego, where she taught and coached in the high school for the last four years. Janice is hoping for a very mild winter!

Judi O’Brien comes to us from the Fay School; a junior boarding school near Boston, MA, where she taught History and Geography in the middle school. During her three years at Fay she was also a dorm parent, field hockey coach, and yearbook advisor. Joining the Fay community marked Judi’s return to teaching after working for six years as a Director of professional development and training initiatives for a large business consulting firm. Judi graduated from The University of New Hampshire and was thrilled to pair her love for teaching and traveling in her first job as a teacher of a specialized reading program offered in a variety of independent schools throughout the United States and overseas. After teaching the program for two years she became the Program Director responsible for teacher hiring, training, and supervision. Her desire to become an effective school leader/administrator and her outstanding experience at the Klingenstein Summer Institute in 2003 inspired Judi to continue her studies in Private School Leadership.

A native New Yorker, Eric Osorio has worked at the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts since 1996. For the last four years, he has served as Director of Multicultural Services. In addition to teaching an eighth grade Civics course, Eric also serves as Associate Director of Admission and is an Assistant Coach with the Varsity Football team.

Eric's project will create an assessment plan that would allow his school to accurately determine the success of their efforts in their diversity goals as well as provide them with firm suggestions on how to continue to move forward. This plan would be built with Nobles in mind and could be adapted to fit other school communities. 

Thad Persons teaches high school English, Peer Leadership, and directs theater at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta. Prior to this, he taught at Holland Hall in Tulsa, Harpeth Hall in Nashville. During the summer—when he is not out waterskiing or getting the nursery ready for baby Jake—he is the high school program director for Odyssey Atlanta, a cost-free summer academic program for grades 3-12. A graduate of Princeton University's English and Theater department, Thad’s latest artistic interests revolve around developing a film studies and video making curriculum to help tie together English and the Performing Arts. In addition, he hopes to research and develop new curriculum ideas for Odyssey, and learn more about faculty recruitment, support, and development. His best friend is his wife Michele.

Noni Polhill has been teaching early adolescents in independent schools for almost ten years. She began her career in North Carolina at Greensboro Day School and Ravenscroft before moving to New York in 1998.

She is currently on the faculty of Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI) where, in addition to teaching seventh grade humanities, she is the English Department Chair and Middle School Dean of Students. Noni is also a Program Coordinator for GO Project NYC, a non-profit organization which provides academic assistance and family support to primary school students in Manhattan's downtown public schools. Noni has a 13-year old son, Novian, and resides with her husband, Eric, in Upper Montclair, NJ.

Noni's plan for her program of study is to investigate the experiences of African-American boys in both traditional and progressive independent schools in New York City and to use the findings to develop a plan for more effectively supporting African-American boys at LREI.l

Josh Pretzer earned a BA in biochemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1999. For a “year off” before medical school, Josh accepted an internship at the Culver Academies, a boarding school surrounded by a picturesque lake and miles of Indiana corn. It didn’t take long for Josh to realize he was more suited for the classroom than the operating room; in 2000 he accepted a position at Culver spending days in the lab, afternoons at the pool or track, and occasional evenings in the barracks. During his tenure at Culver, Josh has profited from a number of professional development opportunities, including a few summers researching the ecology of Lake Erie, serving on Culver’s program design committee, participating in a NSF grant developing project-based chemistry curricula, and attending the 2004 Klingenstein Summer Institute. Josh is eager to continue exploring private school leadership while experiencing the city with his beautiful wife, Erin.

Erin Rafferty began her teaching career five years ago through Teach for America, which brought her to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. After two years teaching English to 7th and 8th graders and coaching volleyball, she returned to her native New York to teach at Dwight-Englewood School, in Englewood, NJ. She just completed her third year teaching middle school English at Dwight; she also coached Middle School girls’ volleyball and supervised the production of the yearbook. Erin graduated as an English and Spanish major from Mount Holyoke College in 2000. Her passion for languages and travel has inspired a year of living in Sevilla, Spain, and many excursions in Mexico while living on the border. These days, she enjoys living in Washington Heights and is excited for the opportunity to study in the Private School Leadership program this year.

After graduating with both her BA and MA from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Lisa Rieger returned to the NY area where she grew up and began her teaching career at a public school in northern New Jersey. Tired of the reverse commute, she began work at The Browning School, a K-12 boys’ school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where she taught Upper School American History and designed and taught a senior elective on the US Civil Rights Movement. Empowered by the informal leadership opportunities in her schools, she was driven to TC's PSL program by a desire to formalize her readiness for an Upper School Administrative position. When she's not thinking about the future of education, Lisa's can be found outdoors—hiking, biking, working out, and enjoying the dynamic city that she lives in with her husband.

Jeremy Robbins graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in the College of Letters, an interdisciplinary program combining literature, history, and philosophy. Prior to attending the PSL program, Jeremy taught middle school French, drama, and Earth Science at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jeremy coached middle school baseball, directed the after school program, and cared for a number of animals on the campus, including llamas, goats, and ducks. Jeremy sings and plays banjo with the Riverbank Banjo Band, a non-profit Dixieland style jazz band. Additionally, Jeremy enjoys making rustic furniture and building tree houses.

Shehryar Salamat hails from Lahore, Pakistan, where he was born and currently resides. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 2000, he headed back to help run his family’s privately owned educational concern, Salamat School System (www.sss.edu.pk), which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary. They recently held a fantastic theatrical showing of Pinocchio to mark this occasion. On a personal note, he is 28, single, enjoys sports on the weekends (golf, squash, tennis etc.), loves to travel, and spend time with his family and golden lab, Russell. He has an elder sister who is married and a younger brother who works for Goldman Sachs and with whom he’ll be rooming in the East Village. His parents are adorable and they continue to manage their schools while he furthers his education here.

Rabbi Eliyahu Teitz has served 15 years as the associate dean of the Jewish Educational Center school system (Yeshiva of Elizabeth elementary school, Rav Teitz Mesivta Academy and Bruriah High School) in Elizabeth, NJ. The 22nd consecutive generation of pulpit rabbi in his family, having just retired after 15 years in that position, Rabbi Teitz received rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University's Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, as well as his BA (in Computer Science) from Yeshiva College. In addition to Rabbi Teitz’s current work with youths at the elementary and secondary levels, he has also taught computer science at Yeshiva University and Stern college, and was one of the original hosts of live Torah discussion groups on America Online. Rabbi Teitz is the proud father of four beautiful children.

Sandra Wang holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Barnard College, and a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education from New York University. Having been a New Yorker for the past thirteen years, Sandra has taught at a variety of independent schools, including The Barnard College Toddler Center and The Town School. A member of the faculty at The Dalton School for the last six years, she has decided to leave her position as Fourth Grade Head Teacher and Middle School Math Coordinator to pursue a career in Private School Leadership. Though she will miss her classroom a great deal, Sandra looks forward to all of the exciting new adventures she will have in the PSL program and at Teachers College. Sandra is interested in investigating the various aspects of private school life, such as parent communications and school diversity. Her future plans include becoming head of an Elementary or Middle School division, and eventually, head of school.

Timothy Weymouth comes to Teachers College after nine years at The Fessenden School, an all-boys junior boarding school outside of Boston, MA. Timo was the head of the science department and taught 8th grade biology, chemistry and physics. He also served as a dorm parent, advisor, coach, class dean, and trip leader. He even found time to act in the school’s musicals, (his favorite role playing the plant in “Little Shop of Horrors”). For many summers, Timo has trained staff and led summer wilderness trips in the American West, Australia, and Norway for high school students. He has happily come to NYC with his wife Kate, but has left his dear dog in his native Delaware. Timo is excited about his Klingenstein experience and the possibilities that lie ahead.

After graduating from Saint Olaf College with a degree in social history and education, Nora Whalen expected a brief career in public school education. Seven years later, she views her upcoming year experience with the Klingenstein to be a necessary reflective “recess”, not a career shift. Four years ago she helped open Avalon Charter High School in Saint Paul, MN. A progressive project-based learning school, Nora found herself sharing the hats of administrator, counselor, instructor, mentor, and custodian with her colleagues. Avalon’s connection with EdVisions Cooperative, a Midwest organization for educational reform, has given Nora the opportunity to work directly with the Gates Foundation’s Small Schools Project and mentor teachers throughout the country as they open new schools. Her dream? Making sure every school is a democratic learning environment. Her reality? She is excited to land in NYC, and see where this next year takes her.

Rebecca Young graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in biology. After teaching biology and chemistry at Flintridge Preparatory School in Southern California for two years, she moved back to her hometown of San Francisco, CA to continue her teaching career at Marin Academy High School. In addition to teaching science, during her four- year tenure at Marin Academy, Rebecca also served as Acting Learning Services Coordinator, Acting Sophomore Dean, tutor to students with learning differences, and as a founding member of a “study coach” program. Rebecca’s goal is to become a Head of School so that she can further her work toward her vision of inclusive, equitable, and engaging learning environments.