Our latest faculty member profiles are in! Meet some of the new faces that will be populating our hallways and our classrooms this fall. Additional staffing notes to come.

 

A proud Baldwin alumna, Becky Best returns to us from her travels and research in Asia to establish and teach a pre-kindergarten to Grade V Mandarin curriculum for the Lower School. She first traveled to China to research Tibetan Buddhism for her senior thesis at Yale University. Since earning a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from Yale, Becky has spent several months every year either in China or in intensive Mandarin study in the United States. Becky holds two Master of Arts degrees from Columbia University: the first from Columbia's Regional Studies Program on East Asia, and the second in East Asian Languages and Cultures. Through her research abroad and her dedicated language study, Becky has developed fluency in Mandarin and is deeply familiar with Chinese culture and history. Becky lives in Bryn Mawr and is excited to bring her diverse teaching experience and passion for education to Baldwin.

 

Katie Drollette is an experienced and innovative Spanish instructor. She joins Baldwin from Blair Academy, a co-educational boarding school in Blairstown, NJ, where she taught Spanish, served as a housemaster, and coached both field hockey and lacrosse. In the past, Katie lived with a host family in Quito, Ecuador and led English conversation classes to Ecuadorians of all ages. Katie also lived with host families in Segovia and Madrid while studying abroad in Spain. Katie holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Spanish, with a minor in Education, from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

 

Lauren Friedman-Way can often be found in the Children's Department at the Abington Free Library, where she works part-time as the Children's Media Librarian and the Home School Librarian. In these roles, Lauren orders all the media for the Department and organizes programs for homeschoolers in grades 2-8. In the past, Lauren as served as the librarian at Perelman Jewish Day School. Lauren holds a B.A. in English from the University of Delaware and a M.A. in Library Science from Drexel University. She currently resides in Havertown.

  

After nearly two decades of working as a registered nurse at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Friends School Haverford, Doreen Jones comes to Baldwin with an arsenal of experience and practical know-how. A graduate of Widener University, Doreen then attended West Chester University where she enrolled in the School Nursing Program. Doreen currently resides in Havertown.

 

Taylor Jordan has already made a positive impression on the School as the Assistant Varsity Crew Coach. She will now take on the additional role of pre-kindergarten teacher's aide. Taylor holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Bucknell University, where she was a member of the crew team. After graduation, Taylor worked as a substitute teacher in the Philadelphia area. She further honed her teaching skills by substitute teaching at Baldwin (primarily in the Lower School) while serving as Baldwin's assistant rowing coach. Taylor currently resides in West Chester, PA, but is hoping to move closer to Baldwin in the fall.

 

Kristen Kopf has taught all levels of Biology and AP Environmental Science at Elk Grove High School outside of Chicago. She is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, where she majored in Biology and minored in Hispanic Studies. She furthered her education at Concordia University, where she earned a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, ESL. Kristen is in the process of moving to Philadelphia.

  

Jessica Spatz-McNeary, an experienced psychologist, most recently directed school admissions testing at the Bryn Mawr Child Study Institute. She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology, and Bryn Mawr College, where she earned a M.A. in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Developmental Psychology. Jessica has a private practice in Media and lives with her husband and three children in Narberth.

 

After earning her B.A. from Wheaton College, Aly Underwood moved to Washington, D.C. where she spent two years working as Editor in the fast-paced newsroom environment of U.S. Newswire. She then decided to change tracks, settling into the Nursing program at George Mason University in Virginia where she earned her B.S. in the College of Nursing and Health Science. From 2005-2009, Aly worked as a Registered Nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children and Inova Alexandria Hospital in VA, before moving to Pennsylvania to work as a Registered Nurse with various schools throughout the Delaware Country district. Aly currently resides in Havertown.

 

Stephanie Wujcik is a living testament to the value of single-sex education. Stephanie holds a Bachelor's of Arts in History from Bryn Mawr College. She went on to earn an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Management from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduate school, Stephanie spent a year teaching Upper School history at The Emery/Weiner School in Houston, TX. Over the last two years, she has worked at Bryn Mawr College in various student-driven capacities, most recently as the Assistant Director of Residential Life, and also as the Assistant Lacrosse Coach. Stephanie resides in Ardmore, PA.