News at Buckley

New Faculty & Staff Join Buckley

We are thrilled that these new members of the faculty, staff, and administration are joining Buckley this year!
Bios (in alphabetical order, divisions in parentheses)
Sasha Andrews-Vietz (LMS), K-8 P.E. teacher. Joining the athletics department is Sasha, a current coach for the Los Angeles Bulls, a former athlete on the Canadian womens’ national soccer team, and a former P.E. teacher at Turning Point. Sasha is a graduate of the University of Nebraska with a bachelor of science in education, nutrition, fitness, and health promotion.
 
Paul Barker (MUS), computer science teacher. For the past several years, Paul held a range of roles at the Clairbourn School in Pasadena, including computer, drama, robotics, and speech teacher. He holds a bachelor's degree in history and a master's in educational administration from Cal Poly State University. Paul will be teaching HTML programming, animation, and more.
 
Whitney Brown (LS), grade 5 associate teacher. After spending the spring working as a substitute teacher in several of Buckley's Lower School grades, Whitney will join Buckley as a grade 5 associate teacher. She is coming from Southern Sitters & Nannies, where she was house manager and nanny and prior to that was a kids' club manger at Spectrum Athletic Clubs. She holds a BS in political science and is a candidate for a master's in special education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.
 
Jill Dash (MS), interim English teacher. Jill has been an English and Latin teacher at Viewpoint School in Calabasas since 2008 and Middle School English chair there since 2011. She earned her bachelor's from Skidmore College in NewYork and a master's in teaching secondary English from Boston University. 
 
Cristina Delgado (MS), associate director of admission. Joining the admission team is Cristina, who comes from Flintridge Prep in Pasadena and before that the non-profit organization A Better Chance. Cristina will focus on families applying to grades 6-8.
 
Matthew Fichandler (LS, not pictured), grade 4 associate teacher. Matthew is joining Buckley as a grade 4 associate teacher. He comes from Oakwood School where he was a grade 5 classroom assistant. Matthew graduated from Wesleyan University with a bachelor of arts in film and writing. He has also worked with children as a tutor and camp director.
 
Jillian Glynn (US), history teacher. Jillian comes to Buckley most recently from Teachers on Reserve, which placed her as a guest teacher in private schools in the Los Angeles area and from Kadima Day School in L.A. where she taught history. Prior to that, Jillian taught at Wellesley High School and Bellingham High School, both in Massachusetts. Jillian graduated from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in history and went on to earn two masters in teaching and history from Simmons University. 
 
Wessam Hazaymeh, content creator. ​​Wessam graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in May as a mass communications major and worked last summer for the International Center for Journalists in Washington D.C. She also spent the last year doing social media for the “Figuring It Out” podcast, worked as a photographer for her school newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, and wrote a case study for Leadership Metro Richmond, a project designed to improve the city’s racial, gender, and socio-economic divides through community programs. 
 
Lila Hoffman (LS), grade 3 associate teacher. Lila joins Buckley from Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, where she has been teaching since 2018, most recently in the first grade. Before that, she worked at Loyola University Preschool in Chicago. Lila holds a bachelor of arts degree from San Francisco State University and an MA in elementary education from Roosevelt University in Chicago. 
 
Rama Hughes (LS), Lower School art teacher. Most recently, Rama founded Art School for the Future, an online art school that uses recorded demonstrations to teach art to students of all skill levels. He is also a freelance illustrator and has worked with clients such as Warner Bros., Seventeen magazine, and the Cricket Magazine Group. Rama holds degrees in illustration and art education from Florida State University and Maryland Institute College of Art.
 
Irina Ivanova (not pictured), accounts payable and business office coordinator. With more than 10 years of accounting experience, Irina is joining Buckley with experience in managing accounting and finance for businesses in education, entertainment, and nonprofit organizations. A graduate of Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University in Russia, Irina holds a masters in accounting and finance. 
 
Amelia Mathis (LMUS), director of athletics and wellness. Amelia comes to Buckley from Archer, where she has been since 2011-- first as a coach and fitness/wellness teacher, then as a dean and student-appointed advisor to the Honor Council, and most recently as the assistant director of athletics. She graduated from UCLA with a bachelors in African American Studies and went on to earn her masters in secondary education from Loyola Marymount. Amelia is stepping into this newly defined role at Buckley, which will focus on student health, wellness, and competitive athletics. 
 
Alison McGarry (LS, not pictured), grade 2 associate teacher. After joining Buckley last year as a long-term substitute in the second grade, she is becoming a permanent grade 2 associate teacher. Prior to coming to Buckley, she was a substitute at the Wesley School and a first grade teacher at Carpenter Ave. Elementary. Alison holds a bachelor's degree in English and education from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
 
Brian Merry (MUS), English and social sciences department chair. Brian comes to Buckley from Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, New Jersey, where he’s been a teacher for seven years and chair of the history department for four. He has also been an adjunct professor of literature at Drew University since 2014. Brain earned his BA in history from Loyola University in Maryland, an MA in history from Monmouth University, and a PhD in Modern History and Literature from Drew. 
 
Brianna Murphy (LS), grade 3 lead teacher. Brianna comes to Buckley from Brentwood School where she has been teaching fourth grade since 2015 and is married to someone you know -- our IT support technician, Alicia Murphy! Brianna earned a bachelor of arts degree from Pine Manor College and a master of arts in teaching from Northeastern University. 
 
Michelle Ramsey, Lower School administrative assistant. Michelle worked at Buckley this spring and summer as a hall monitor and camp assistant; she now joins us in the Lower School Office as the administrative assistant. We are grateful to have had Michelle these past few months, facilitating dismissal, maintaining forms, ensuring the health and safety of students, and more! 
 
Carolina Rodriguez, school nurse. Carolina has most recently been a school nurse in the Santa Monica-Malibu school district, where she has worked since 2017. She began her schooling with a bachelor's degree in health science from San Francisco University and went on to complete a master's of science in nursing from Samuel Merritt College and an MSW from USC’s School of Social Work. 
 
Ivan Salcedo (MUS), video and new media integrationist. For the past three years, Ivan has been the video arts teacher and resident filmmaker at Taft, a boarding school in Connecticut. Before that, he taught film and media studies at Ross School in New York and at Explo, Yale University’s high school summer program. Ivan has his bachelor of fine arts from New York University. 
 
Daniel Schuman (US), interim science teacher and cross country coach. Joining the Upper School science department and Buckley athletics is Daniel. Most recently, he taught biology, anatomy and physiology, and intro to psychology at Seattle Country Day School. Daniel re-established a track and field program at Lincoln High School in Seattle, WA after a 30 year absence. Daniel has also taught science and math at Crossroads and Harvard-Westlake. He holds a bachelor of science from Duke University and a masters and doctorate in psychology from UC San Diego.
 
Christal Segura (not pictured), IT support technician. Christal joined Buckley mid-year last year in our technology department, just in time to provide support during hybrid learning. She has worked in tech support in several capacities, including at the Help Desk and as an equipment assistant at the New York Film Academy. Christal has a bachelor of cinematic arts in Japanese from the University of New Mexico.
 
Don Smith (MS), head of Middle School. Don comes to Buckley with 17 years of experience in education, having taught as a lower school assistant teacher at The Oaks, a seventh and eighth grade humanities teacher and advisory coordinator at Wildwood, and, most recently, the assistant director of middle school at Brentwood. Don graduated from Duquesne University with a bachelor of science degree in secondary English education and earned his master of arts in private school leadership from the Klingenstein Institute at Columbia University, Teacher's College.
 
Juliet Suess (US), English teacher and swim coach. Juliet comes to Buckley most recently from Harvard-Westlake, where they taught English and communications, coached the Middle School swim team, and guided DEI and anti-racism work through professional development and participation in student clubs. A graduate of Occidental College, Juliet earned their masters in English from Claremont Graduate University. 
 
Maribel Wallace, admission assistant. After being a lead kindergarten teacher at Curtis School for seven years, Maribel is making a career change and joining Buckley as the new admission assistant. Since 2008, she worked at Curtis as a substitute and then associate kindergarten and first grade teacher. Maribel earned her bachelor of arts in liberal studies from Cal State University Northridge. 
 
Erwin Wong, director of enrollment management. Erwin is coming to Buckley with more than 20 years of experience in admissions and advancement work. Before joining Buckley, Erwin served most recently as director of admissions, enrollment and financial aid at Convent & Stuart Hall: Schools in the Sacred Heart tradition, San Francisco and prior to that at Convent & Stuart Hall, Calvary Christian School in Pacific Palisades and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Erwin earned his BA at UC Irvine as a double major in political science and sociology and his master's at USC in public administration.

Top row, left to right: Amelia Mathis, Don Smith, Jillian Glynn, Juliet Suess, Brian Merry, Rama Hughes, Daniel Schuman
Middle row, left to right: Ivan Salcedo, Carolina Rodriguez, Paul Barker, Wessam Hazaymeh, Whitney Brown, Michelle Ramsey
Front row, left to right: Maribel Wallace, Lila Hoffman, Sasha Andrews-Vietz, Erwin Wong, Cristina Delgado, Jill Dash, Brianna Murphy 
Not pictured: Matthew Fichandler, Irina Ivanova, Alison McGarry, Christal Segura. 

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