Faculty & Leaders
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Ramy Abdel-Nabi Chelsea Amegatcher Emily Baron Nikeya Bridges Megan Broome Kevin Bullwinkel Chelsea Costello Michael Fleming Christina Franz Sari Fromson Kelsey Grich Kevin Haecker Nicole Hornig Caroline Kearns |
Brendalyn King Rachel King Doug Lennox Kazutoshi Maruta Michelle Maso Noel McKenzie Sarah Ott Brett Peiser Emilie Tarraf Megan Thomas Lottie Walker Bayoan Ware Jefferson Warren Miri Wexler |
Ramy Abdel-Nabi 1st Grade Teacher
Mr. Abel-Nabi earned his B.A. in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia and his Level 1 Certification in Elementary Education at The New Teacher Project in New Orleans. Before joining Leadership Prep, Mr. Abel-Nabi worked as a first grade teacher at McDonogh 32 Literacy Charter and McDonogh 26 Elementary in New Orleans. He has served as an associate in the National Campaign to Stop Violence and is a corps member of Teach for America.
Chelsea Amegatcher Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Amegatcher received her B.A. in Political Science and Black Studies from Amherst College. Before joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Amegatcher worked with the Amherst College Residential Life Office and interned at the Harvard Business Review and the office of Congressman Adam B. Schiff. She has also taught English while abroad in Ghana and served as a corps member of Teach for America.
Nikeya Bridges came to Leadership Prep for the 2008-09 school year with a breadth of teaching experience. She co-designed an introductory college-level writing curriculum and taught an introductory college composition class at the University of Wisconsin. She was also a curriculum specialist at Teach For America where she delivered 150 hours of curriculum sessions to Teach For America corps members. Ms. Bridges also taught second and fourth grade with the Bronx Charter School for the Arts. Prior to that, she was the lead fourth grade teacher and Teacher of the Year nominee for Fisk-Howard Elementary School in New Orleans. Ms. Bridges received her B.A. in English and Minor in Theology from Georgetown University, Masters of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and Masters of Arts in Literary Studies (PhD in Literary Studies Candidate) from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Brett Peiser Managing Director
Brett Peiser is the Managing Director of the Excellence, Preparatory, and Collegiate Networks of Uncommon Schools, a non-profit charter management organization. From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Peiser was the Founder, Principal, and Executive Director of Boston Collegiate Charter School, a college preparatory middle and high school serving 450 students. Prior to this, Mr. Peiser taught History at Midwood High School in New York City. Mr. Peiser received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Emily Baron Founding 1st Grade Teacher
Emily Baron is a Founding Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Baron earned her B.S. in Educational Theatre from New York University. Prior to joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Baron was a student teacher for the Grace Church School and Assistant Teacher and Director of A Class Act Summer Program in New York City. She has also worked at a variety of artistic summer camps and theaters in New York City as an Educational Intern. Ms. Baron is currently pursuing her M.S. in Education at UKA Teacher U.
Megan Broome Founding 1st Grade Teacher
Megan Broome is a Founding Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Broome earned her B.A. in Japanese Literature from Oberlin College. She is a 2010 Teach For America corps member and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Education at UKA Teacher U. She received an Associated Kyoto Program Research Grant and studied Landscape Architecture at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan.
Kevin Bullwinkle Founding Fitness Teacher
Mr. Bullwinkel earned his B.A. in psychology at Penn State University and his M.S. in physical education at Hofstra University. Mr. Bullwinkel has organized sports activities for children as well as served as a wrestling coach. In addition to coordinating sports, Mr. Bullwinkel has worked as a behavior assistant for persons suffering from traumatic brain injuries and neurological disorders.
Chelsea Costello Founding Kindergarten Teacher
Chelsea Costello is a Founding Lead Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Costello received her A.B. from Harvard University and her M.S. in Education from Fordham University. Before coming to Leadership Prep, Ms. Costello worked as a Kindergarten Teacher and 3rd Grade ESL Teacher for Public School 11X in the Bronx. She also worked as a Teacher and Tutor at Summerbridge Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was a 2005 City Year corps member in Philadelphia.
Michael Fleming Special Projects Coordinator
Michael Fleming is Spcial Projects Coordinator Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Mr. Fleming earned his B.S. in Early Childhood Education and Humanities Studies from Georgian Court University. Mr. Fleming also studied Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University and completed a study abroad trip with Semester at Sea. Mr. Fleming comes to Leadership Prep with experience in elementary education and special education. He student taught at various elementary schools in New Jersey, taught cooking classes to Kindergarten students, and volunteered at after-school programs in Providence, RI and Seekonk, MA.
Christina Franz Founding Learning Support Coodinator
Christina Franz is the Founding Learning Support Coordinator at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Franz received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Indiana University before earning her M.S. in Childhood Special Education at Fordham University. Before coming to Leadership Prep, Ms. Franz was the Director of Special Education at Ross Global Academic Charter School in New York City, where she previously taught Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade Special Education. She also taught teenage students with language and emotional disabilities at the Herbert G. Birch School in Flushing.
Sari Fromson Founding 1st GradeTeacher
Sari Fromson is a Founding Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Fromson received her B.S. in Psychology and Educational Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She is currently pursuing her M.S. in Education at UKA Teacher U. Before joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Fromson worked as an Assistant Teacher at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center School and as a Student Teacher at Moylan Elementary School in Hartford. She also worked for a variety of parent advocacy and educational organizations in Hartford.
Kelsey Grich Founding 2nd Grade Teacher
Ms. Grich earned her B.A. in Sports Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC Ms. Grich served as the co-captain of the Varsity Women’s Rowing team and on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. She was a soccer coach and mentor for students in Vietnam and participated in the Bike and Build program raising money and awareness for affordable housing. Ms. Grich is a corps member of Teach for America.
Kevin Haecker Apprentice Teacher
Kevin earned his B.S. in Neuroscience from Baylor University in 2010. While at Baylor, he worked in Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventure, leading small groups through team-building games and high ropes elements. He also worked at the Baylor Rock Wall, and was a tennis coach and camp counselor for elementary school children at T Bar M camps in New Braunfels, TX. During his last two years at Baylor, he participated in a research class that partnered with Talitha Koum Institute to offer play therapy to children living in deep poverty in Waco, TX. Though a native of Austin, Kevin has lived in Brooklyn since July 2010.
Nicole Hornig Founding 2nd Grade Teacher
Ms. Hornig earned her B.A. in American Studies and Ethnicity and Spanish at the University of Southern California and her M.A. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Before joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Hornig worked at P.S. 165 Robert E. Simon School and as an elementary EFL Teacher in Madrid, Spain under a Fulbright International Fellowship.
Caroline Kearns Kindergarten Teacher
Caroline Kerns is a Kindergarten Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. She earned her B.A. in Special Education for Elementary school children from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. Before joining Leadership Prep Ocean Hill Ms. Kerns taught was a Third Grade teacher Robert E Lamberton Elementary School in Philadelphia, PA. She has also worked as a teacher’s assistant at Children and Adult Disability and Education Services, and at Vuzumanzi Primary School in Khayelitsha, South Africa.
Brendalyn King Director of Operations
Brendalyn King joined Uncommon Schools in 2005 as a volunteer for Excellence Charter School for Boys. She was later hired as the founding Office Manager for Leadership Prep Bedford Stuyvesant. In that role Brendalyn recruited the initial kindergarten and first grade cohorts, managed admissions, and created all front office systems. She has since worn many hats, including reading teacher, afterschool program instructor, Director of Special Projects, and Operations Fellow. Ms. King is the first former office manger and current Uncommon Schools employee to become an Operations Fellow and eventually a Director of Operations. Brendalyn earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Fordham University and her M.S. in Education from UKA Teacher U.
Rachel King Founding 1st Grade Teacher
Rachel King is a Founding Lead Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. King earned her B.A. in Journalism from Southern Methodist University and her M.S. in Education from UKA Teacher U. Before coming to Leadership Prep, Ms. King was a 3rd Grade Teacher at The Kingsbridge Heights School in the Bronx. She served as a 2008 Teach for America corps member where she participated in the Teaching as Leadership Rubric Validation Study and New York State Reading Academy.
Douglas Lennox Founding Kindergarten Teacher
Douglas Lennox is a Founding Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Mr. Lennox graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. degree in Anthropology and was the co-captain of the varsity swim team. He is a 2010 Teach For America corps member and currently pursuing his M.S. in Education at UKA Teacher U. Before joining Leadership Prep, Mr. Lennox served as a Law Clerk at The Bosch Law Firm in Knoxville, Tennessee and swam for the 2008 Puerto Rican Olympic Team.
Kazutoshi Maruta Founding 2nd Grade Teacher
Mr. Maruta received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining Leadership Prep Mr. Maruta helped organize and run an athletic summer camp and served as an assistant manager at a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. He is a corps member of Teach for America and an ardent weightlifter and outdoorsman.
Michelle Maso Founding Dance Teacher
Michelle Maso is the Founding Dance Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Maso earned her B.A. from Rutgers University in Dance and her M.S. for Secondary Special Education from Long Island University. Prior to joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Maso worked as a Special Education Teacher for The Brooklyn School of Global Studies and previously as a Special Education Teacher at Dr. Susan S. McKinney Junior High School in Brooklyn. She also served as the Head of the Dance Department at Appel Farm Music and Arts Summer Camp in Elmer, NJ and has taught a variety of dance classes throughout Brooklyn and New Jersey.
Noel McKenzie Founding Office Manager
Noel McKenzie is a Founding Office Manager at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Mr. McKenzie earned his B.A. in Sociology from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia where he served as the President of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Before joining Leadership Prep, Mr. McKenzie worked as a Tutor with Hands on Atlanta and worked as the Mentor Advisor for a freshmen mentoring program. While in college, he also served as a Marketing Intern for The Homestead, Projects for Street Children in Cape Town, South Africa.
Sarah Ott Kindergarten Teacher
Sarah Ott is a Kindergarten Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill Charter School. She received her B.A. from the University of Oregon in Educational Foundations and her M.A. in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College. Before working at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill Ms. Ott taught fourth grade at the William Walker Elementary School. She has also worked as a Title 1 Literacy Support Teacher and Child Development Professional for the Boys and Girls Club of Portland, Oregon.
Emilie Tarraf Founding KindergartenTeacher
Emilie Tarraf is a Founding Teacher at Leadership Prep Ocean Hill. Ms. Tarraf received her B.A. in Economics and Commercial French at the University of Illinois. She also studied at the L’Institut D’Etudes Politiques in Paris, France. Ms. Tarraf is a 2010 Teach For America corps member and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Education at UKA Teacher U. She previously served as an English Teaching Assistant at the Unversité de Bourgogne and an English Assistant at the Collège Saint Joseph in Dijon, France.
Megan Thomas 2nd Grade Teacher
Ms. Thomas earned her B.A. in Political Science at Marist College and her Masters of Elementary Education and Instruction at UNLV. Prior to joining Leadership Prep, Ms. Thomas spent time abroad in England and China. She worked in Cunningham Elementary School and Paul Cully Empowerment School in Las Vegas as a first grade teacher. She has also worked with Teach for America and Nor For Sale, an organization raising awareness of human trafficking in Nevada.
Ms. Walker earned her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. While in Michigan, Ms. Walker worked as a clinical counselor at the University Center for Children and for Families. Prior to joining LPOH, Ms. Walker worked as a Special Education teacher at Aspirations High School in Brooklyn and previously at the Austin H. MacCormick Island Academy in Queens. During that time she earned her M.S. in Secondary Special Education from Pace University.
Bayoan Ware Learning Support Teacher
Mr. Ware earned his B.A. in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College. Before joining Leadership Prep, Mr. Ware worked as an English teacher at Centro Municipal de Educacion para Adultos in Estado de Mexico, Mexico. Mr. Ware has interned at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency an the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. He also served as a resident assistant in Oberlin College.
Jefferson Warren Apprentice Teacher
Mr. Warren received his B.A. in Psychology from Yale University. Mr. Warren has taught at The East Harlem School and served as a Director of Development and associate editor for the Politic in New Haven, CT. In addition to being an avid cyclist, Mr. Warren has spent time as a paralegal in Memphis and interned at the Vera Institute of Justice in Brooklyn.
Miri Wexler joins Uncommon with diverse experience teaching children and adults. She spent four summers at the Teach For America Los Angeles institute as a curriculum specialist and curriculum coordinator, delivering hours of sessions on classroom instruction and management to new teachers. Miri taught 5th grade at PS 32 in Brooklyn and 4th grade at the Bronx Charter School for the Arts. She spent a year in Jerusalem teaching English at a joint Arab and Jewish coexistence school. Miri began her career in education as a 2002 Teach For America corps member, where she taught 1st and 4th grade in Los Angeles. She received her B.A. in African American History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Masters of Education from Loyola Marymount University and recently completed her doctoral coursework in Urban Education at New York University.
