As Beaver begins its 90th year, thirteen new faculty and staff members will spend a week with Beaver veteran Peter Gow in his Introduction to Life at Beaver (iL@B) program. In addition to the “nuts and bolts” of teaching and working at Beaver, they will learn a little about the history of the school and about the programs that make Beaver unique – from the Hiatt Center for Civic Engagement to the NuVu program.
The entire Beaver community welcomes the following new faculty and staff:
Kenny Burt, Theatre Technical Director
Kenny brings a wealth of theatre experience to Beaver. Most recently, he was the Head Stage Carpenter at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in Seattle, WA. During the 2009-2010 school year, Kenny was the Technical Director and Technical Theatre Teacher at the Pingree School in South Hamilton, MA.
Tina Farrell, Performing Arts Department Chair
Tina is returning to Beaver to lead the Performing Arts Department after spending the last two years at the Sotogrande International School in Sotogrande, Spain. She is also a founding member and resident artist at The Other Theatre which is a laboratory for theatrical exploration focusing on the rehearsal process and how it enhances the growth of the artist.
Sumaya Ibourk, Upper School Spanish and French
Sumaya comes to Beaver from York Preparatory School in New York City. While there, she devised and implemented an intense foreign language curriculum and taught French, Spanish, and Arabic. She also co-advised the school’s literary magazine, Genesis.
David Ingenthron, Upper School Visual Arts
With a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, David brings teaching experience at both the college and high school level to Beaver. Most recently, he was teaching assistant at the Derek Bok Center at Harvard University. He has taught in schools and camps from Massachusetts to Wyoming to California.
Escar Kusema, Upper School Science
Escar has taught Neuroscience and both Introductory and Advanced Biology at Phillips Exeter Academy and Berkshire School. She is active in the community having co-founded or founded three organizations dedicated to helping others. One, the Caledonia Relief Project, works with communities of internally displaced people to implement sustainable solutions to address inadequate access to water supplies, health services, educational resources, and shelter.
Robyn Mabry, Help Desk Coordinator
Robyn has been a member of the technology team at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Texas for the past ten years where she served as the school’s laptop program coordinator and a systems administrator. While there, she taught a web design elective to 11th and 12th graders and as an advisor to 10th and 11th grade students.
Sejal Patel, Upper School Photography
A professional artist who has shown exhibitions across the country, Sajal has extensive experience teaching at both the college and high school levels. Most recently, she was the Director of the Summer Youth Program at the Photographic Resource Center and a photography teacher at the Winsor School.
Josh Rilla, Upper School English
With a degree in English Literature and Spanish Language, Josh has served as the Harvard Site Coordinator for Tenacity, an after-school educational program to under-privileged middle school students. He is an avid tennis player and coach and has been the Assistant Director of Junior Tennis for Longwood Cricket Club’s summer tennis camp.
Benjamin Rowles, Upper School French
Prior to joining Beaver, Benjamin taught French to 7th and 8th graders at York Preparatory School in New York City. He has also worked at the French Ministry of Education, where he helped develop and implement English language curriculum for French middle and high school students.
Joyce Ting, Middle School History
During the 2009-2010 school year, Joyce was in Taipei, Taiwan at the Taipei Fuhsing Private School where she taught 7th and 8th grade Bilingual Socials Studies and English. She has also been an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University and a middle school humanities teacher at Shady Hill School.
Lisa Trask, Director of Strategic Marketing
Lisa joined Beaver in June of 2011 after serving as an Account Director at the Barbarian Group in New York. While there, she oversaw branding and messaging for clients such as CNN, Disney, and J. Crew. Lisa also works with 7a Foods, a “farm to takeout” restaurant serving Martha’s Vineyard.
Yolanda Wilcox González, Middle School History
With a background in social work and a Master of Science in Secondary Education, Yolanda comes to Beaver after six years as a middle school history teacher at the Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. She speaks Spanish fluently and has spent time living abroad in locations such as Rwanda, Mexico City, Spain, and Japan.
Kira Winter, Middle School Music/Middle & Upper School Chorus
Kira recently completed her Master of Music degree from Boston University. She joins Beaver full-time after directing last year’s Middle School musical, Into the Woods. Kira has also conducted or accompanied several college and church choirs since her graduation from Saint Olaf College in Minnesota.