2019-20 New Employees
Hackley is pleased to welcome 19 new members of the faculty and staff for the 2019-20 school year.
Monique Adom joins Hackley as an Associate Teacher in the Lower School. She earned her Bachelor of Art in Art Education from Penn State University and a Master’s in Art Therapy and Counseling from The College of New Rochelle. She has experience working in a variety of educational institutions including schools, camps, and art studios, as both an art therapist and teacher, and the interview committee appreciated her curiosity, thoughtfulness and engagement as an educator. Monique is enthusiastic about bringing her experiences working with young children in a range of subjects to Hackley. We are truly excited to welcome her to Hackley as a member of our Lower School community.
Cecily Allison joined the Hackley Advancement Office this summer as Director of Annual Giving. Cecily has a rich background in independent school advancement work with a particular focus on annual and major giving programs. Throughout her career, she has consistently met or exceeded ambitious giving goals, employing data and technology, while also building strong relationships with both donors and volunteers. Cecily worked most recently at Dulwich College in London, and began her advancement career at Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts where she focused her efforts on the Senior Parent Gift, special reunion classes, and strengthening support of financial aid. An avid tennis player and coach, we look forward to the team spirit Cecily will bring to the Advancement Office, along with her extensive experience in building and growing annual giving programs.
Jennifer Chassin comes to Hackley Middle School this fall as a family leave replacement, teaching English. She earned a BA in English from Tufts University and a Master of Arts in English from Columbia, and has held a variety of positions at the Hannah Senesh Community Day, serving most recently, as the Director of the Humanities Department and Director of Outplacement. Jennifer's ability to teach multiple grade-levels, her warmth, and her eagerness to learn about the Hackley School community stood out right away and made a lasting impression on the hiring team. We are thrilled to have her working with grades 5 and 6 this fall while Ms. Louros is on family leave.
Shefali Nefdt joins the Hackley community as a leave replacement in the Upper School science department. Shefali brings a wealth of experience and versatility to the Biology and Cellular Biology classes she’s teaching this fall. Over nearly two decades of a teaching career, she’s worked at four other schools in four other nations (Zambia, Ethiopia, Germany and Kenya). At these schools, she’s taught a range of courses including IB Chemistry and IB Biology. Shefali holds a BS in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Allahabad and graduate degrees from the University of Sheffield and Goddard College.
Lisa Oberstein has been named Hackley’s next Director of the Lower School. Lisa’s warmth, expertise in elementary education, strong track record of educational leadership, and alignment with Hackley’s mission and values made her an outstanding choice to lead the Lower School. Lisa served most recently as the Assistant Head of School / Director of Curriculum and Faculty at The Caedmon School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade independent school in New York City. Under her leadership, the school adopted a new math program, strengthened its communication with parents, and created programming to support graduating fifth graders with essay writing and interview skills for their independent middle school applications. Before Caedmon, Lisa worked at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY, as a second grade teacher before serving for three years as the Lower School Curriculum Coordinator. Across her teaching career, she gained classroom experience in a variety of schools: a New York City public school, a Jewish day school, a school for gifted and talented, a K-12 independent school, and a Montessori-inspired independent school for grades pre-K through 5th grade. Her knowledge and skills are further strengthened by her advanced degrees, one a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Mercy College which she received while completing the New York City Teaching Fellows program and a second in Private School Leadership from Columbia University. We are very pleased to welcome Lisa to Hackley!
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Cecily Allison joined the Hackley Advancement Office this summer as Director of Annual Giving. Cecily has a rich background in independent school advancement work with a particular focus on annual and major giving programs. Throughout her career, she has consistently met or exceeded ambitious giving goals, employing data and technology, while also building strong relationships with both donors and volunteers. Cecily worked most recently at Dulwich College in London, and began her advancement career at Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts where she focused her efforts on the Senior Parent Gift, special reunion classes, and strengthening support of financial aid. An avid tennis player and coach, we look forward to the team spirit Cecily will bring to the Advancement Office, along with her extensive experience in building and growing annual giving programs.
Jennifer Chassin comes to Hackley Middle School this fall as a family leave replacement, teaching English. She earned a BA in English from Tufts University and a Master of Arts in English from Columbia, and has held a variety of positions at the Hannah Senesh Community Day, serving most recently, as the Director of the Humanities Department and Director of Outplacement. Jennifer's ability to teach multiple grade-levels, her warmth, and her eagerness to learn about the Hackley School community stood out right away and made a lasting impression on the hiring team. We are thrilled to have her working with grades 5 and 6 this fall while Ms. Louros is on family leave.
Krista Everett has joined the Hackley Lower School team as an Associate Teacher. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and English from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and is working towards an advanced degree in social studies education. Krista comes to us from Valhalla Union Free School District, where she has worked for the past three years with students in grades three through eight. Her educational experiences extend to working with older students, in her capacity as the head coach for girls’ varsity soccer and lacrosse in Valhalla. During her interviews, the hiring committee found her to demonstrate flexibility, kindness and a strong work ethic, and former colleagues cite her strong rapport with students and her willingness to go above and beyond what is asked. We are truly excited to welcome Krista to Hackley as a member of our Lower School community.
Jerry Gue, a member of the Hackley Information Technology team, this year adds teaching to his role, and we are very pleased to welcome him to the faculty. Jerry will teach Computer Science in the Middle School.
Jerry Gue, a member of the Hackley Information Technology team, this year adds teaching to his role, and we are very pleased to welcome him to the faculty. Jerry will teach Computer Science in the Middle School.
Damon Hall joins the History Department with experience in the classroom and as a coach. A graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard Graduate School of Education, Damon has worked as a humanities teacher in grades 5-8 and 9-12, first at the Fessenden School and at the Maret School before coaching at Bowdoin College and returning to graduate school to earn a Masters degree in Learning and Teaching & Instructional Leadership. Damon quickly connected with seventh grade students during his interview and manages his work with positivity and calm, which made him a natural choice for deanship!
Rishika Jain joins our MS/US Computer Science Department and Makerspace Coordinator. Prior to joining our faculty, Rishika served as the Director of the Collaborative Design Lab at Thayer Academy Middle School where she developed the maker program, collaborated with the Director of Technology and taught middle school students. Rishika holds a Master of Arts in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Bachelor of Design from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.
Qiong (Katie) Jan joins our Modern Languages Department this year as our MS/US Chinese teacher. Katie comes to us having taught first grade, 7-8th grade, and 9-12th grade Chinese language and culture in the mid-west before relocating to New York. Katie holds a Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning World Languages from DePaul University and a Bachelor of Arts from Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China.
Katie Jenson joins Hackley as Head Athletic Trainer. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of over 25 applicants, Katie comes to Hackley from Rye High School where she served as Head Athletic Trainer for the last five years. A graduate of SUNY Cortland, she earned her Master of Science in Athletic Training from East Stroudsburg University, and is has taken charge of the Athletic Training Room and related programming to benefit our students.
Nicole Lynch is the new Admissions Interview Associate. Nicole is a dedicated educator with more than a decade of experience in administration and teaching in Independent Schools, most recently serving as a long term substitute at Rye Country Day School.
Shefali Nefdt joins the Hackley community as a leave replacement in the Upper School science department. Shefali brings a wealth of experience and versatility to the Biology and Cellular Biology classes she’s teaching this fall. Over nearly two decades of a teaching career, she’s worked at four other schools in four other nations (Zambia, Ethiopia, Germany and Kenya). At these schools, she’s taught a range of courses including IB Chemistry and IB Biology. Shefali holds a BS in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Allahabad and graduate degrees from the University of Sheffield and Goddard College.
Lisa Oberstein has been named Hackley’s next Director of the Lower School. Lisa’s warmth, expertise in elementary education, strong track record of educational leadership, and alignment with Hackley’s mission and values made her an outstanding choice to lead the Lower School. Lisa served most recently as the Assistant Head of School / Director of Curriculum and Faculty at The Caedmon School, a pre-kindergarten through 5th grade independent school in New York City. Under her leadership, the school adopted a new math program, strengthened its communication with parents, and created programming to support graduating fifth graders with essay writing and interview skills for their independent middle school applications. Before Caedmon, Lisa worked at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, NY, as a second grade teacher before serving for three years as the Lower School Curriculum Coordinator. Across her teaching career, she gained classroom experience in a variety of schools: a New York City public school, a Jewish day school, a school for gifted and talented, a K-12 independent school, and a Montessori-inspired independent school for grades pre-K through 5th grade. Her knowledge and skills are further strengthened by her advanced degrees, one a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Mercy College which she received while completing the New York City Teaching Fellows program and a second in Private School Leadership from Columbia University. We are very pleased to welcome Lisa to Hackley!
Katie Pelham joins the Hackley Lower School as an Associate Teacher. She earned both her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Master’s in Elementary Education from Sacred Heart University, and has worked with students across a variety of ages from Pre-K through eighth grade. She served most recently as an intern and building substitute at Miller-Driscoll Elementary School in Wilton, Connecticut, and demonstrated excellent classroom management and lesson planning in her demo lesson. Former colleagues spoke to her flexibility, independence, and dedication to her craft. Katie is a lifelong dancer and swimmer and hopes to bring these passions to the Hackley community.
Kristyn Polucha joins the Hackley science department and 8th grade team this fall. A graduate of Ithaca College and the University of Memphis with a BA in biology and master's in nutrition, She is eager to begin working with our students both in the classroom and as a coach.
Katy Ritz joined the Advancement Office midway through the 2018-19 year as Associate Director of Advancement. With a strong background in independent school advancement work that includes data-driven decision making, team and program management, and public relations, Katy brings a diverse skill set and rich experience to our advancement team. While at The Windward School, she was part of a team that exceeded annual giving goals in each of the years of her tenure, managed a team of over 40 giving volunteers, and was an active partner with the school’s parents’ association. Before Windward, Katy served as the Director of Annual Giving at The Nightingale-Bamford School, where she oversaw a comprehensive annual fund raising $3.5 million annually. Additional fundraising experience includes a successful tenure at The Michael J. Fox Foundation leading a team that grew community fundraising revenue from $3.2 million to $8 million in two years, established a mentoring program for Parkinson’s disease awareness and education, and implemented new systems for online fundraising and data management. We are glad to have her on our team!
Tina Rix is Hackley’s new Director of Squash. Tina comes to Hackley most recently from the Pingry School where she was the Director of Squash. Prior to that, Tina directed the school and club squash programs at Episcopal Academy near Philadelphia, at a time when the EA’s boys’ team were National Champions from 2009-2012, and the girl’s finished no worse than #7 nationally. Our search committee was very impressed with her success, her philosophy, and her outgoing personality. We are very excited to have her on board. In addition to work with Hackley’s squash teams, she has launched a series of lessons and clinics that are open to parents and students – for more information, contact her at hackleysquashacademy@gmail.com.
Daniel Shaw '14 returns to Hackley in two roles this year: coach and leave replacement teacher. This fall, Dan is coaching the JV boys’ soccer team. Later this fall, he will teach Melissa Tranchida’s Upper School computer science classes when Melissa goes on family leave. Dan holds a BA from Wake Forest University with a double major in Computer Science and Spanish. A proud graduate of Hackley, Dan is delighted to be back at his alma mater in these two roles.
Kayla Simpson has joined the Athletic Training program part-time as Athletic Trainer. A graduate of SUNY Cortland, Kayla has multiple certifications in Athletic Training and is completing her licensing work as a Certified Dietician at Pace University. We welcome her to Hackley!
Sam Wallman joins Hackley as a Middle School history teacher and an Upper School debate coach. Sam holds a BA in History from Skidmore College and a MA in Teaching History from Rutgers. Sam will be teaching History 6 and advising in the Middle School. In the Upper School, he will teach the debate courses and coach the Public Forum debate team. Before teaching at Hackley, Sam was a part of the Americorps program, teaching middle school history at schools in Hartford, CT and Brooklyn, NY.
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