Faculty and Staff Bios: GSW 2017 Tamara Akinbo (AREA II) Teaches
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Faculty and Staff Bios: GSW 2017 Tamara Akinbo (AREA II) teaches Spanish at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem. She earned her B.A. in Spanish and English at Winston-Salem State University and her M.A.Ed. at Wake Forest University. She enjoys discussing pop culture and current events. She loves listening to old school hip hop and 80s rock, reading, watching 80s “B” movies on Netflix, and traveling. She is obsessed with HGTV and the Food Network, but she hates Reality TV. She loves spending time with her son, Ife. Rodney Allen (GSW DIRECTOR) currently teaches English at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, where he has taught since 1998. He earned a B.A. in English and History and an M.A. in Education from Wake Forest University. He attended GSW in choral music in 1988 and has worked at GSW since 2000. Rodney is married to Robyn Allen, whom he met at GSW in 2000 when they were both TACs. They have 3 children, Lizzie Grace (9), Liam (7), and Connor (3). Rodney enjoys spending time with his family and getting sleep if time ever allows. Brooke Benson (TEACHING ASSISTANT/COUNSELOR) graduated from East Carolina University’s Honors College with a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts concentrating in Professional Acting. In August she will move to Sarasota, FL to be a part of Florida Studio Theatre’s Acting Apprentice Company. She attended GSW for Theatre in 2013 and this will be her second summer working as a Theatre TAC. She loves Jimmy Buffett, is a total bookworm, a nap enthusiast, and will talk passionately about Shakespeare if provoked. Mary Bergstone (OFFICE MANAGER) Mary is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro and has a Masters in Marketing Education from East Carolina University. She is currently the Career Development Coordinator at Reynolds Art Magnet High School. Mary enjoys singing with several community choirs in town and her church choir. In her spare time, she buys and renovates historic properties to rent. This is her third year at Governor’s School. Alex Blake (CHORAL MUSIC) holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance from Wake Forest University, and an M.M. in Choral Conducting at University of California, Los Angeles. Alex’s choral arrangements have been performed by colleges and universities across the nation and his latest arrangement of “Wade in the Water” (written for the 2013 GSW Chorus) has been published with Santa Barbara Music Publishing. He is currently a D.M.A. student in choral conducting at the University of Southern California. He attended GSW in 2005 for Choral Music, and this will be his seventh year working at the Governor’s School. Sabrina Boyer (AREA II) earned her B.A. and M.A. in English at Florida State University. She completed her post-baccalaureate work in Gender and Women’s studies at UNC-Greensboro, where she also earned her Ph.D. in Education and Cultural Studies. She currently teaches Community College in High Point, NC. She loves anything zombie related; she is a huge fan of the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the original 1992 film. She is also a fan of Gilmore Girls, and anything created and contributed to by Joss Whedon. She loves Gothic literature and digs anything related to media studies or pop culture. She identifies as a queer feminist, and is hugely into politics and issues of social justice. She is often mistaken as an extrovert, but she is very much an introvert who likes to dwell in dark, cool places alone. She loves the ‘80s and ‘90s in terms of music and fashion, and she is preparing for the coming zombie apocalypse. This is her fourth year at GSW! SSDGM. Joshua Bragg (NATURAL SCIENCE) received his M.A.Ed. in Science Education from Wake Forest University and his B.S. in Chemistry (Secondary Education) from Appalachian State University. He has taught chemistry at several high schools over the last eleven years. He currently teaches AP Chemistry at the Career Center High School in Winston-Salem NC. The vast majority of his free time is occupied with his wife, and son, Parker (age 5). He will start ranting about pseudoscience at the drop of a hat. Meaghan Burke (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) is thrilled to be returning to Governor´s School West IM faculty as cello/bass instructor. A New York City-based cellist and educator, Meaghan is an avid champion of contemporary music, both composed and improvised, and has worked closely with composers such as John Zorn, Georg-Friedrich Haas, Muhal Richard Abrams, and many more. When she´s not performing with her string quartet The Rhythm Method, her bi-hemispherical performance trio Dead Language, or her Vienna-based songwriter collective Loose Lips Sink Ships, Meaghan can be found teaching group cello, violin, and orchestra to elementary schoolers at NYC's PS9, and leading workshops on improvisation and contemporary interpretation. She also moonlights as a singer/songwriter, and performs her art-pop songs for cello and voice throughout the United States and Europe. As a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Meaghan has performed under the batons of Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, and Peter Eötvös. She holds degrees from Manhattan School of Music (Contemporary Performance), Konservatorium Wien University (Vienna, Austria), and Yale. She is currently completing her translation of Austrian composer/sound artist Peter Ablinger's collected writings, and will soon be releasing her second solo album featuring her favorite collaborators from NYC and Vienna. Nikèl Bussolati (AREA III) just completed her seventh year teaching English in the public school system and will be teaching English at Knightdale High School of Collaborative Design in Wake County, NC this fall. She received her B.A. in English from Furman University, and her M.A.T. in Education from Salem College. Her undergrad focus was on Film Studies and Literary Theory, and she was accepted to Library of Congress Summer Institute for Teachers. She is a former counselor with the Governor’s School of South Carolina at the College of Charleston, and the recipient of the 1990 Most Improved Behavior Award for Mrs. Hamrick’s kindergarten class at Quarles Elementary in Long Beach, MS. Corrine Byrne (CHORAL MUSIC) just recently received her doctorate in music from Stony Brook University and is a freelance soprano and teaching artist in New York City. She is on faculty at NYC’s Greenwich House Music School where she teaches private voice and leads the outreach choral program. Her most recent singing engagements include creating the role of Lady Madeline in Felix Jarrar’s new opera The Fall of the House of Usher, singing the premiere of the new arrangement of David Lang’s love fail at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and starring as Cathy in The Last Five Years at Opera America. Her most recent conducting appearance was directing the CCMEA All-County Jazz Choir of Germantown, NY. This is her second year at GSW. Emily Casey (MATHEMATICS) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Siena College in 2014 and a Master of Arts in mathematics from Wake Forest University in 2016. She is currently a middle school math teacher at Brightwood Education Campus in Washington D.C. This is Emily’s second summer as an instructor at Governor’s School West. Orlando Cela (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) is the Music Director of the Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra. The Venezuelan-born conductor recently received the American Prize for conducting youth orchestras, and the Vytautas Marijosius Prize for orchestral programming. He also received second place in the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award of the American Prize for excellence in the performance of American music. He is also associate music director of Music at Eden’s Edge, and assistant music director of the Juventas New Music Ensemble. This past January he won second place in the London Classical Soloists Conducting Competition for his performances of Beethoven’s Symphonies 7 and 8. Orlando Cela has two masters from the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied flute performance and conducting with Paula Robison and Tamara Brooks, respectively. Sarah Grayce Coats (TEACHING ASSISTANT/COUNSELOR) is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Elementary Education and Comparative Literature. She attended GSW in 2012 for Social Science, which is the same area for which she currently serves as a TAC. In her spare time, she enjoys playing board games, running and spending time with her two cats. David Connell (CHORAL MUSIC) has just completed his third year as Director of Music and Worship Arts at Norfield Congregational Church in Weston, CT, having served there for the previous seven years as Artist-in- Residence. He is a founding Artistic Director of Music on the Hill, leading amateurs and professionals in choral and handbell ensembles. David holds a D.M.A., M.M.A., and M.M. in Music Performance from The Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. He also earned a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts. He started in the choral department at GSW in 2003 and has led the program since 2006. Chase Culler (PUBLICATIONS; TEACHING ASSISTANT/COUNSELOR; AREA III) is currently a graduate student at Georgetown University studying English Literature. He received a B.A. in English and Modern Culture and Media from Brown University. This is his fourth summer at GSW, which he attended as an English student in 2008. Bob Davis (MATHEMATICS) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Elon University in 2003 and a Master of Arts in mathematics from Wake Forest University in 2005.