New Year, New Faces

 

 

1 | Madolyn Accola (Maddy) is thrilled to be joining Friends Seminary as the Lower School Music Teacher! Maddy is a certified Kodály and Orff-Schulwerk practitioner who enjoys singing, playing instruments, folk dancing and traveling. Maddy holds degrees from New York University and Hunter College.

Not Pictured | Conner Allen is looking forward to teaching Science to Grades 5 and 7. She earned a BA in Neuroscience from Oberlin College, and an MA in Education/Teaching Science from Brooklyn College. She is currently earning her MFA in Young Adult Fiction Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She comes to Friends from Carroll Gardens School for Innovation, where she taught Middle School Science and Technology.

2 | Tamar Arisohn is thrilled to return to Friends as a History teacher in Grades 6 and 8, after a semester teaching in the English Department last spring. She holds a BA in Government and Africana Studies from Cornell University, and an MA in Education from Pace University. Tamar has previously taught at Spence and Berkeley Carroll.

3 | Chris Cleaver joins us as our new Upper School Science Teacher for Grades 11 and 12. He holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from UCONN and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from Western Connecticut State University. Chris is coming to Friends from Avenues: The World School where he taught Science in both their Middle and Upper Schools.

4 | Matthew Critchlow is very excited to begin his teaching career as an Assistant Teacher in Grade 1 after several years of working in the sports industry. He is currently earning his Master’s in Early Childhood Education at Fordham, and comes to Friends after a year of coaching at the Nightingale Bamford School. He is a proud Friends Upper School alumnus.

5 | Jennifer Delisca joins us as a new Grade 1 Assistant Teacher. She holds a BA in Politics from New York University. She is currently receiving her MA in Childhood Education/Special Education from Columbia University. Prior to joining Friends she worked as a Kindergarten Assistant at Corlears School.

6 | Sarah Demers joins us as the Director of Financial Aid and Associate Director of Admissions. She holds an MEd from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA in English and Art History from Brown University, where she competed in swimming and lacrosse. Prior to Friends, she taught English at St. Andrew's School in Delaware and served as the Director of Placement at The TEAK Fellowship in NYC.

7 | Thomas Fagin '09 is returning to Friends to teach English in Grade 9, and act as interim Academic Center Writing Instructor while Lindsay Allen is on maternity leave. He earned a BA in Philosophy and English from Vanderbilt University, and has worked as a ghostwriter and freelance writer since graduating in 2013.

8 | Joseph Foti '12 joins us as the new Communications Assistant. Joseph graduated from Marist College in 2016 with a BS in Digital Media.

9 | Amanda Goodman joins us as our new Director of Alumni Relations. She holds a BA in English from William and Mary and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Prior to joining Friends, Amanda worked for an education nonprofit in East Harlem.

10 | Angela Hahn joins the Upper School Science Department to teach Biology, Chemistry and an Evolution elective. She holds a BS in Biochemistry from Beloit College and a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Physiology from Stanford University School of Medicine. Prior to coming to Friends, Angela taught Middle and Upper School Biology and Chemistry at BASIS Independent Brooklyn.

11 | Coleman Hall is excited to serve the students, families and faculty of Friends as a new Math Teacher and Tutor in the Academic Center. He earned a BS in Math from Liberty University and a MS in Math from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before moving to New York, Coleman taught full time at VCU, and most recently he served as a math teacher at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach.

12 | Crystal Hong is looking forward to being the new Athletic Trainer. She recently received a BS in Athletic Training from SUNY Stony Brook. During her time as a student, she worked with Stony Brook's Football and Women's Basketball teams, St. Joseph's College's D3 fall athletic programs, and the spring teams of Harborfields High School in Long Island.

13 | Charlie Hopkins is looking forward to joining the history department where he will teach Grades 8 and 9 and advise the Model UN team. He has an BA in History and Near Eastern Language & Civilization from the University of Chicago, and is completing an MA in American Studies from Trinity College. He comes to us from Choate Rosemary Hall and previously taught at King's Academy in Madaba, Jordan.

14 | Erica Jones joins us as our new Upper School Dean of Students. She recently completed her Master's in Private School Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University, and she earned a BA in Political Science and African & African American Studies from Dartmouth College. Prior to joining Friends, Erica taught High School History and served on the Equity Council at The Dalton School.

Not Pictured | Geny Kimbrell joins us as our new Special Events Manager and Development Associate. She earned a BA in Psychology from Mississippi State University, and is returning to Friends after spending a year in Nashville, TN working as a Logistics Manager.

15 | Shiwei Liu is looking forward to teaching Chinese to Grades 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10. She holds an MS in TESOL from LIU Post, where she was honored LIU Post 2017 Experiential Learning Award. Prior to joining Friends she worked as a graduate assistant for the Department of Education as well as the Department of Management and worked as a bilingual teacher at Long Island school of Chinese.

16 | Remy Mansfield is looking forward to teaching Grades 5 to 8 and working with peers on the creative uses of technology in learning experiences as the Middle School Technology Integrator. He comes to Friends from Adobe where he led global education programs, teacher communities and online learning for educators. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Not Pictured | Alex Moquist joins us as the new Technology Support Specialist. He has a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining the team at Friends, Alex worked in the IT departments at the International Center of Photography and San Francisco Art Institute.

17 | Salvi Muzio joins us as our new Lower School Learning Specialist. She completed her Master’s in Education with a specialty in Literacy from Bank Street College of Education. Prior to graduate school she earned her BA from Swarthmore College, majoring in Psychology and Educational Studies with a minor in Spanish. She comes to Friends from Avenues: The World School where she taught Grade 1.

18 | Lorena Rengel joins us as the new Admissions Manager and Registrar. She holds a BA in Political Science from Syracuse University together with an MA from the Janklow Arts Leadership Program from the same institution. Prior to joining Friends she worked at an art advisory company specializing in 20th Century and Contemporary Art.

19 | Melanie Smith joins us as a member of the Math Department teaching in the Middle and Upper Schools. Melanie holds a BS in applied mathematics from Columbia University and an MA in Mathematics Education from Teachers College. Prior to joining the Friends community, Melanie worked as a Math Teacher in New York City public high schools.

20 | Amber Tian joins us as our new Staff Accountant in the Business Office. She holds an MS in Accounting from Hofstra University. Prior to joining Friends she worked as a Financial and Budget Analyst at the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, where she also successfully assisted in several fundraising events for the community.

21 | Kineta Wahl is looking forward to joining our Admissions Office as an Admissions Assistant. She recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University, with a BA in Writing Seminars. While attending Hopkins, she worked for three years in the Public Relations department at the JHU Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

22 | Alyssa Zierenberg joined us last October as the new assistant in the College Counseling Office. She earned her BA in Communications from Penn State University. Prior to joining Friends, Alyssa worked in the luxury floral design and event planning industry here in New York City.