New Year, New Faces

9/8/2016

Learn about the 18 new faculty and staff members!

(1) Kara Barth joins us as our new Physical Education Teaching Assistant. She holds a BS in Exercise Physiology from LIU Brooklyn, where she was a member of the women's basketball team. Prior to joining Friends she worked as a college basketball coach in the NYC area at several CUNY schools as well as at Columbia University.

(2) Theresa D’Amico joins us as our new School Nurse. She recently completed her Master's in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania in Women’s Gender Related Health this summer. Prior to graduate school Theresa received her BSN from Penn State University and worked as a registered nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and as a school nurse at the Delaware County Technical School.

(3) Valentine Edgar is looking forward to teaching History to Grades 6 and 9. She earned a BA in Latin from Wellesley College and an MA and MPhil in Middle East, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University. She comes to Friends from the Nightingale-Bamford School where she taught Upper School History.

(4) Justine Engel-Snow joins us as a new Lower School Assistant Teacher. She attended the University of Vermont where she received her BS in Secondary Education. Prior to joining us she was a head teacher in Thailand where she worked with first and sixth graders.

(5) Jeannie Goldman is a new Assistant Teacher in the Lower School. She graduated from Hampshire College with a BA in Psychology and Costume Design. She spent over 15 years in the fashion industry before deciding it was a time for a career change. She then pursued her Master's in Education at Grand Canyon University. Jeannie is thrilled to be joining Tracey Jones in Grade 1.

(6) Taylor Hodges ’11 graduated with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education/Special Education from NYU. In the fall she will be graduating from Bank Street College of Education with a Master's in Early Childhood Instruction and Curriculum. She comes to us from Beginnings Nursery School where she taught in Pre-K. Taylor will be joining Chris Cincotta in Kindergarten.

(not pictured) Rebecca Holmes joined us last September as our Director of Major Gifts and Planned Gifts. She graduated from Russell Sage College with a BA in Economics. She previously served as Director of Development at Epsom College in the United Kingdom.

(8) Susie Hwang is our new teacher of Visual Arts and New Media. She holds an MFA from RISD and a BFA from NYU. She is also a college professor and has taught at the School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, RISD and other institutions. For a decade prior to that, she worked in the television industry on shows such as The Wonder Pets and Little Bill.

(9) Wendy Johnson will be assisting John and Kelly in the Lower School office. She holds an MA in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College and is a New York State certified teacher. Wendy has returned to NYC after four years in the Middle East where she was the Director of the Preschool for the US Embassy in Riyadh.

(10) Heather Nielsen is thrilled to be joining Friends as a Fourth Grade teacher. She has a BA In Environmental Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, an MA in Applied Theatre from SPS-CUNY, and she is currently earning her Educational Theatre teaching certification from City College. She was an Associate Teacher at Trinity School for the past three and a half years in Grades 2 and 3.

(11) Esther Sáenz joins the language department as a Middle and Upper school Spanish teacher. She holds an MA and a PhD from Middlebury College. Before coming to Friends she taught Spanish for 11 years at Convent of the Sacred Heart, here in Manhattan.

(12) Maddie Schultz, our new Admissions Assistant, graduated from William & Mary this past May with a BA in American Studies. She is excited to be back and working in her hometown. A true New Yorker, Madeline graduated from Spence School.

(13) Amy Starks joins our Math Department. She earned a BS in Mathematics from Pace University and an MA in Mathematics from San Francisco State University. Prior to joining Friends she worked as an instructor for the New York Math Circle and at Avenues as an Upper and Middle School Mathematics Teacher.

(14) Will Tesdell joins us as a new Assistant Kindergarten Teacher and will be working with Head Teacher Judy Anderson starting in the fall. He holds a BA in Music from Bard College and will be entering a Master's program in Early Childhood Education at City College in the spring. Prior to Friends he taught at LREI as a Fours and Kindergarten Associate Teacher.

(15) Rich Waldmann joined Friends in April of last year as the Assistant Database Manager in the Advancement Office. He holds an MA Degree in Education Administration K-12 from the University of Nebraska. Prior to joining Friends he worked at the Village Community School and at the Allen-Stevenson School.

(16) Adia Whitaker joins us as a Dance/Physical Education Teacher. She holds a BA in Dance from San Francisco State University. Prior to joining Friends she worked at Mark Morris Dance Group, Brooklyn Academy of Music and New Victory Theater.

(17) Claudine Zamor joins the Admissions team as the Associate Director. She holds an MA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street College and a BS in Math from Fairfield University. A fixture in the NYC pre-school world, she worked at Beginnings Nursery School for 15 years, first as a teacher and then as the Director of Admissions and Exmissions.

(18) Paula Zamora-Gonzalez joins us this year as the Lower School Librarian. She holds an MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute and a BA in Art History from Temple University. Prior to joining Friends she was the Elementary Librarian at the Churchill School and Center.

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