Meet Our Faculty

“I still remember my jazz band instructor explaining how improvisation is ‘just like swimming underwater."

Teaching and learning can happen anywhere. This may sound sappy and clichéd, but for me, it continues to be a guiding mantra. As a student at Holland Hall in Tulsa, OK, Carleton College in Northfield, MN, and Teachers College in New York City, I was lucky to have dedicated and engaging teachers and professors. They brought the material to life and challenged me to think critically and creatively.

However, some of my most formative learning experiences came from outside the classroom. I still remember my jazz band instructor explaining how improvisation is “just like swimming underwater,” and my football coach reliving the moment when his coach screamed, “block or get out of the way!” at him. These lessons were about the problem at hand, but came to mean something more – something that I still carry with me some 20 years later.

It is the appreciation of these lessons that has brought me to teaching, coaching, and my duties as a dean. Whether I’m finding new ways to stretch my students’ understanding and appreciation for history, challenging student leaders to think about an adaptive problem differently, or working with the ice hockey team to learn how to read a play and support each other as a unit, I find deep satisfaction in working and collaborating with students to solve problems and squeeze lessons out of our experiences. I am fortunate to be working at Potomac, a place that encourages these rewarding opportunities.
 

"Teaching truly is my joy and passion, and I have found a home alongside many other passionate educators at Potomac."

Teaching truly is my joy and passion, and I have found a home alongside many other passionate educators at Potomac. My journey as a teacher began in Cedarville, Ohio, where I graduated from Cedarville University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Upon completion, I moved home to St. Petersburg, FL, where I taught third grade in the independent school where I had grown up. In 2003, my journey led me to an independent school in Maryland where I once again taught third grade while also beginning work on my master's degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of Maryland. It has been a privilege to serve as grade five teacher at Potomac since 2008. When not in the classroom, I enjoy traveling to far-off places, reading a good book, heading home to the beaches of Florida, or golfing.

"I received my master's degree in English from NC State University and my undergraduate degree in English education from UNC Chapel Hill."

I received my master's degree in English from NC State University and my undergraduate degree in English education from UNC Chapel Hill. I am joining Potomac from the Connelly School of the Holy Child where I have taught all levels of upper school English over the course of my 12‐year tenure and also served as the department chair and as a college counselor.

My class motto is “try everything!” Challenge yourself, make new friends, try a new hobby, join a club, taste new foods, listen to different types of music, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and find joy in every day.

I grew up just down the road from Potomac in Arlington and McLean. I am a graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School and then attended James Madison University where I received a bachelor of arts in early childhood education. I began my teaching career within Arlington County Public Schools at Page Traditional School (now Arlington Traditional School). My next stop was in New York City where I taught at The Dalton School, a progressive independent school on the Upper East Side. From there, a move to Hermosa Beach in Southern California took me to Chadwick School on the Palos Verdes Peninsula where I taught fourth grade for a number of years both before and after I had my children. In between teaching and raising children, I worked in admissions at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica. Since returning to the East Coast, I’ve also taught fourth grade and was a parent at Norwood School in Bethesda.

Outside of teaching I love spending time with my two wonderful children, extended family, and friends. I enjoy running, hiking, golf, paddle boarding, cooking, traveling, and photography. I am happiest when I’m with kids or at the beach!

"I am eager to create a joyful, purposeful, engaging, and inclusive classroom filled with lifelong learners. As I enter my fourth year in education, I am thrilled to join The Potomac School community and look forward to building lasting relationships with my students and their families!"

I am native to the Washington, DC metro area — having grown up in Potomac Falls, Virginia — and look forward to returning after a three-year stint down in New Orleans. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Communication from The University of Alabama — Roll Tide! While at Alabama, I majored in Advertising with a concentration in Marketing, and minored in Psychology. After spending four years in the digital marketing and non-profit world, I decided it was finally time to pursue my dreams of becoming a teacher.

While living in New Orleans, I received my Master of Arts in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education, with a focus on elementary education and cultural competence. I have taught third grade Math and Science and fourth grade English Language Arts and Social Studies. I am eager to create a joyful, purposeful, engaging, and inclusive classroom filled with lifelong learners. As I enter my fourth year in education, I am thrilled to join The Potomac School community and look forward to building lasting relationships with my students and their families!

Outside of teaching, I am an avid traveler who loves to explore. To date, I have been to over 20 countries and over 30 states. I also love to bake, read, and spend quality time with my six year old son, extended family, and friends at the beach whenever I can!

"Carpe diem!"

Every day I am inspired by the passionate, reverent, talented young people I teach. I feel quite fortunate.

"I am thrilled to enter my new role at Potomac as a Humanities Teaching Fellow."

In this role, I have the opportunity to teach in the English and History departments. I originally came to education as a Speech and Debate Coach. Inside and out of the activity, I love to help students find their footing as communicators by building strong arguments and speaking with confidence.

Before coming to Potomac, I studied Sociology and Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, I developed  a specific interest in education policy. I had the opportunity to work with a grant-writing firm as well as a few policy making entities before joining the Potomac community as a debate coach, and subsequently, a teaching fellow. 

In history classrooms, I am motivated by a desire to help students think of history as layered and relevant stories meant to be understood from multiple perspectives. In English, I want to help students shorten the distance between their most creative ideas and their ability to articulate those ideas. In my experience at the Potomac School so far, I have formed connections with invested and supportive colleagues. I am excited to expand on helping students develop skills, and developing the creativity it takes to meet each student where they are.

“Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character. “

I first fell in love with science while studying Biology as part of the International Baccalaureate Programme in my hometown of Yonkers, NY. Designing labs and analyzing data provided me with moments of joy, frustration, and unending curiosity. What I enjoyed most was the collaboration science required to carry out experiments. Leading study groups and sharing resources with my classmates helped me realize that I wanted to become a teacher.

I went on to major in Adolescent Education and Biology at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Shortly after, I began a teaching fellowship at Rye Country Day School in Rye, NY that allowed me to teach full-time and attend graduate school at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, NY.

Working at RCDS helped me realize my role as a teacher extended beyond the classroom. It didn’t matter how much I knew about science if my students weren’t able to connect with and trust me. I found purpose in participating in committees, affinity groups, and even co-founded a mentoring group for girls of color called Uplift. Each year, my vision as a teacher changes based on the students I am fortunate to spend time with and get to know. I believe that for students to learn best, they need to feel affirmed and supported.

"As a science teacher, I work hard to create an environment that is fun, engaging, and provides a safe place for children to explore their natural imagination, curiosity and creativity. "

I am dedicated to incorporating visual and performing arts into the lessons I teach, making challenging content more meaningful and leaving a strong, lasting impression.  My passion for science, the arts, and the natural world have helped me develop as a professional and connect with my students.  After teaching science at The Lab School of Washington for 17 years, I am very excited to join the community at Potomac School. 

I grew up in Mclean, VA,  and as a child I loved riding my bike to the local creek, hopping rock to rock, catching crayfish, and exploring the woods.  That creek happens to be the same one that runs through our campus--Pimmit Run.  My summers were spent living abroad in Cairo, Egypt where I would enjoy two months of exploring the city, the ancient sites, and the Red Sea.  That experience led to a deep love of culture, history, and the beauty of our planet. 

Outside of teaching science, I enjoy spending time with my family (my wife, four teenager and a rescue dog), gardening, playing and composing music, soccer, and adventuring in the outdoors.  

"I am extremely proud and excited to become a member of the faculty of The Potomac School."

I look forward to working with and getting to know all of the teachers, staff, students and families of the School.

Prior to coming to The Potomac School, I taught special education in the emotional disabilities program at Walt Whitman High School from 2008-14. I was the defensive coordinator for the football program for over five years and was also an assistant coach for the wrestling program for three years. I also coached baseball for eight years for the KOA sports program, based out of Bethesda.

I am a 2001 graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. After Whitman, I attended a post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy in Bridgton, Maine. (A quick fact about Bridgton: it is the oldest and only one year post-graduate program in the country.

I graduated from High Point University in North Carolina in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Sport Management. Following High Point, I enrolled in Johns Hopkins University School of Education, where I received my master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in mild to moderate disabilities.

In addition, it is fun to note that I am first cousins with another excellent faculty member at The Potomac School, Claire Berg.