New Faculty and Staff Profiles 2013-‐2014
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New Faculty and Staff Profiles 2013-2014 We have two new members of our Basking Ridge counseling team this year, one of whom is Perry Bell. Perry is a Rutgers Psy.D. candidate who joins us as a counseling intern. A native of Morristown, New Jersey and a graduate of Morristown High School, Perry earned his B.A. in psychology at Brandeis University where he also captained the men’s ultimate Frisbee team, and he completed his Psy.M. at Rutgers this summer. Perry brings a host of clinical and consulting experience to his role, as well as a range of experience working with children and adults in counseling settings. Sara Berg joins us as our new second grade teacher this fall. Sara graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in public policy studies from Duke University. She also earned an M.Ed. in early childhood from Lesley University. Interestingly, Sara did her student teaching in the same school system that she had attended as a student. She also served as a kindergarten teacher in the Philadelphia School District at the Teach For America Summer Institute. We look forward to Sara bringing her enthusiasm and talents to our second grade program. With Meredith Finkelstein’s move to the classroom, Erin Carannante is our new Assistant Athletic Director, as well as being a Certified Athletic Trainer. Erin earned her B.S. in biology and her M.S. in athletic training from Seton Hall University. She is no stranger to Pingry, having done a graduate school practicum here in spring of 2010. Erin comes to us from JAG Physical Therapy in Warren, and she also has been an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University where she serves as an Academic Advisory Board member for the graduate program in athletic training. Julianne Coxe is the newest member of our mathematics department. Julie earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with a minor in French from James Madison University. In 2010, she earned her Master of Science in mathematical physics from Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand, and, in 2011, she earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Delaware. She comes to us from the Woodbridge School District in Bridgeville, Delaware. Julie has spent two summers working in the Los Alamos National Laboratories and has played the piccolo in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Donna Deutsch joins the Lower School staff as our new first grade teacher. Donna comes to Pingry most recently from the Hilltop Elementary School in Mendham, New Jersey. Prior to her time at Hilltop, Donna taught for fourteen years in Pre-Kindergarten, Second Grade, and Third Grade at The Montclair Kimberley Academy. Donna received a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Music in voice from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. She also completed post-baccalaureate work in early childhood education at Montclair State University and received a Master of Arts in curriculum and teaching with a major in early childhood education from Teachers College at Columbia University. Donna is an accomplished vocalist, and we are excited to have her join the Lower School faculty chorus! Indigo Dow will join us as a Permanent Substitute on our Basking Ridge Campus. An alumnus of Northfield Mount Hermon School, Indigo graduated from Colby College this New Faculty and Staff Profiles 2013-2014 past May having earned a Bachelor of Arts in American studies with a minor in anthropology. He was a four-year member of the varsity football team at Colby. Indigo is a talented percussionist and has worked as a music counselor in Buckingham Browne and Nichols’ Summer Program. Indigo looks forward to contributing as a multi-season coach and is excited to sit in on classes and learn about teaching from our talented team. Please invite him into your classes! Meredith Finkelstein needs little introduction, as she has been part of the Pingry family since March of 2010 when she joined us as Assistant Athletic Director. Prior to her role at Pingry, Meredith worked for seven years as a Family Service Specialist with The Division of Youth and Family Services. She earned a Bachelor of Science in family studies and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Meredith earned four NCAA National Championship rings as a member of Maryland’s women’s lacrosse team and captained the team in her senior year. Meredith is thrilled to transition into the Middle School history classroom! Steve Frantz joins our Technology Team after serving as Tri-Campus System Technician at Montclair Kimberley Academy for the past 14 years. Among other accomplishments, Steve was a critical member of MKA’s 1:1 Implementation Committee. He also was the Associate Director of Communication since 2006. Not only does Steve bring incredible knowledge of computer hardware, but he also has terrific expertise in educational software and is a wonderful problem solver. He began helping us solve problems beginning this past spring! Steve earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial technology from Montclair State University. Cheryl Griffin comes to us from Stevens Institute in Hoboken, where she served as the Assistant to the Dean of University Admissions for the past four years, and she joins us as Development Assistant in the Alumni & Development Office. Prior to Stevens, she worked for 20 years as a legal assistant for a law firm in Orange. Cheryl will be supporting the Director of Institutional Advancement (Melanie Hoffmann) and the Special Assistant to the Headmaster (Miller Bugliari), and will be an integral part of the advancement team. She will officially start on September 9. Jason Haber is our new fourth grade social studies and homeroom teacher. Jason received his BA in American studies from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and earned his Masters of Science in curriculum and instruction from the Bank Street College of Education. Jason taught third grade at Little Red Schoolhouse and Elizabeth Irwin High School (LREI) in New York City and Greene Hill School in Brooklyn. Jason co- founded the after school sports program and coached basketball and football at Greene Hill, where he also served on their diversity committee. We are very excited to welcome him to our fourth grade team. Richard Karrat joins our Language Department as a Spanish teacher in the Middle School and a French teacher in the Upper School. Richard graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hamilton College with a Bachelor of Arts in French and world politics and a minor in Arabic. Richard’s recruiting process to Pingry was long distance as he was teaching English at Philadelphia University in Amman, Jordan as a Fulbright Scholar. Richard’s 2 New Faculty and Staff Profiles 2013-2014 first recommendation to us came from Biff Parker-Magyar ’08, who was also teaching in Jordan on a Fulbright this past year. He is also thrilled to support our Global Programs initiative. Mikaela Kilker, who is a New Jersey Certified School Psychologist, will be joining our student services team as our Middle School counselor. Mikaela earned her Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in school psychology at The Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology at Rutgers and completed her doctoral internship training at The Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Most recently, she served as a school psychologist for the Newton Public School District and was in private practice. She has extensive experience working with middle school students and families, and also in program development. Mikaela will be working primarily in the middle school and will teach 6th grade health. In addition, she will be working with Peer Leadership. Kara Korn has joined the Admission Office as Admission Associate at the Short Hills campus. Kara is no stranger to Pingry, as her brother, Kevin O’Brien ’97, graduated from Pingry and her husband, Chip ’89, is an alum in addition to serving as the President of Pingry’s Alumni Association. For the past 15 years, Kara has worked as an Account Manager at Preferred Placement Services, and she spent last winter in the Basking Ridge Admission Office during Dale’s maternity leave. We look forward to having Kara back in the Admission Office as a full time member of the team. Shauna Leffler joins Pingry as a Middle School science teacher after serving in that role for eight years in the Edison, New Jersey school district. During her time in Edison, Shauna taught 7th grade life science and 8th grade earth science. She also helped re- write the curriculum in both programs in an understanding-by-design format. Shauna also served as the Team Leader for Grade eight teachers and advised the student council. Shauna is very excited to join our science team and foster a love of science in our students. She will also assist with our Service Learning Co-curricular course for Grade 6 students. Shauna earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Lafayette and a Masters of Education from Rutgers University. Christa Li has joined Pingry’s business office as a Staff Accountant and Payroll Administrator. Christa is no stranger to the independent school community, coming to us from the Peddie School where she served as an Investment and Accounting Analyst for the past two years. Previously Christa has held accounting positions at Citigroup and PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and worked as a German instructor at Beijing Technology and Business University. She holds a Masters in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Bridgeport and a Bachelor of Arts in German and business administration from Wuhan University.