Andrew Barber Director of Academic Preparation Andrew earned a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Languages from Carleton College in 1996 and a Master's in Education, Leadership & Public Policy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. From 1996 to 2002, Andrew held a variety of positions at Saint Ann’s School, including the Assistant Director of Admissions. He has also previously worked as a teacher and Director of Operations of Pierrepont School in Westport, Connecticut. From 2005 to 2010, he served as the Managing Director of Veritas Tutors & Test Prep. Andrew joined the TEAK staff part-time in 2007, teaching test prep classes for TEAK’s high school and college bound students, and he became the Director of Academic Preparation in 2011.
Daniel Blednick Director of College Guidance
Dan earned his Bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1998 and his Master's degree in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2004. From 2005 to 2006, Dan was an Assistant Director of Headfirst Sports, where he was a coordinator of the college consulting program for student athletes. He was the Assistant Baseball Coach at Amherst College from 2002 until 2004, and he has also coached teams in Great Britain and Germany. Dan is fluent in German and he joined the TEAK staff in May 2006.
James Farris Assistant Director of Post-Placement
Jamie earned his Bachelors degree from Brown University in 2007, and he also earned his MAT in Secondary Education from Brown University in 2008. From 2008 to 2010, Jamie recruited and evaluated prospective students as an Admissions Officer for Columbia University. In this role he also co-facilitated outreach to low-income and first generation college students. He has previously been a teacher and advisor for Summerbridge Providence, and he interned for TEAK in 2005. Jamie is proficient in Spanish and he joined TEAK in 2010.
Rachel Field Dennis Director of Placement Rachel graduated from The George Washington University in 2002 and earned a Master's in Social Studies from Columbia University's Teachers College in 2005. From 2002 to 2004, Rachel worked for JET Programme teaching English in Japan. From 2005 to 2011, she was a social studies teacher at Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies in the Bronx. Rachel is proficient in Spanish and she joined TEAK in September 2011.
Brooke D. Kienle Special Projects
Brooke graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and earned a Master's degree from Columbia University's Teachers College in 2002. From 1998 to 2002, Brooke worked at Children's Scholarship Fund, administering over 3,000 scholarships for low-income children, and Prep for Prep, in program management and college guidance counseling. Brooke joined the TEAK staff in June 2002.
Katie Leh Assistant Director of Communications & Development
Katie graduated with distinction from Penn State University in 2006, where she majored in Marketing and minored in Psychology. Prior to joining TEAK, Katie worked in public relations at Sloane & Company, a boutique communications and public relations firm in New York City. She also worked for a corporate event management firm in Philadelphia. Katie joined the TEAK staff in October 2008 and worked as the Development & Alumni Associate for two years.
Gina Lucas Deputy Director
Gina graduated from Trinity College with honors and earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from Seton Hall University. She previously worked at Prep for Prep overseeing public policy projects and at the Association for Children of New Jersey, a statewide advocacy organization where she focused on issues and policies affecting Newark's children. Gina also worked in New Jersey at the Victoria Foundation and the READY Foundation. Gina joined the TEAK staff in September 2003 and previously served as the Director of Post-Placement.
Maribel Martinez Director of Admission
Maribel graduated from Rutgers University in 1999 and earned her Masters degree in Sociology and Education from Teachers College at Columbia University in 2004. Maribel has previously worked for the Center for the Urban Environment, managing after-school initiatives, and for three years she was a Manager for Thirteen/WNET, overseeing early literacy programs. Maribel has volunteered for Catalysta Networks, an organization connecting high school students via the Internet for cross-cultural learning. Maribel is fluent in Spanish and she joined TEAK in September of 2008.
Julie Mente Alumni ProgramDirector
Julie graduated with high honors from Fairfield University in 2000, where she majored in English. From 2001 to 2004, Julie worked for St. Martin's Press, first as an Editorial Assistant and then as an Assistant Editor. She has volunteered through Everybody Wins Power Lunch as a mentor and reading partner, and she worked as a teacher's assistant at Head Start in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Julie joined the TEAK staff in June 2005.
Beth E. Onofry Associate Director of Post-Placement
Beth graduated from Dartmouth College in 2002 and earned her Master's degree in Learning and Teaching in 2006 from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. From 2005-2006, she worked as an intern for the National Arts and Learning Collaborative, researching grants and observing education workshops and the mentoring program. Prior to that, for three years Beth recruited and evaluated prospective students and organized programming events as Assistant Director of Admissions and then Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Dartmouth. Beth joined the TEAK staff in September 2006.
Morgan Porzio Director of Communications & Development
Morgan graduated with honors from Middlebury College in 1999 and earned her Master's degree from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University in 2003. Morgan has previously worked with Homes for the Homeless as a Director of After-School and Family Education in a tier II shelter and in planning and development at a local economic and community development organization in the South Bronx. Morgan joined the TEAK staff in December 2003.
Glendys Rodriguez Office Manager & Executive Assistant
Glendys graduated from the Taft School in 2008 and she is currently working toward a degree in Biology at City College of New York, which she expects to earn in 2013. Since 2006, Glendys has interned for TEAK in a variety of departments, assisting with the implementation of a new filing system and helping to create teaching materials. She also supported the Summer Institute staff for five summers. Glendys is fluent in Spanish and she joined the TEAK staff full-time in September 2011.
Lynn D. Sorensen Executive Director
Lynn graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and earned a Master's degree from Teachers College at Columbia University as a Klingenstein Fellow. From 1995 to 2005 Lynn worked in a variety of positions at Riverdale Country School, including Director of Financial Aid & Outreach. She also worked with Summerbridge for over twenty years and in 1993 she was appointed as the East Coast Executive Director for Summerbridge National. Lynn has volunteered at TEAK since it was founded in 1998, serving as an admissions consultant and running financial aid workshops for TEAK families. In 2000, Lynn received the TEAK Volunteer of the Year Award for her invaluable contributions and in 2001 Lynn joined the Board of Directors. Lynn joined the TEAK staff in April 2005.
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