Meet Our 2022-23 New Faculty & Staff Cohort

Get to know some new community members:

Addie H. (Science) grew up here in the DC area, earned a BA at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, an MS at Antioch University in New England, and then moved to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Addie spent many years as an outdoor guide and an environmental educator before returning to the DC area to co-start The Howard Gardner School in Alexandria, VA. She writes, "I spend most of my non-working time outside as much as possible. I run, camp, boat and rock climb.  I am really excited to join the Burke community!"

Curtis H. (History) grew up in Galveston County, Texas, and studied history at American University, earning his BA, MA, and PhD. Before teaching at Burke, Curtis worked as a tour guide, sportswriter, and adjunct professor. He spends his free time listening to music or playing basketball.

Debbie B. (Learning Support) grew up in in Southern California and moved to this coast 12 years ago. She started college at USC on a D1 swimming scholarship, before earning a BA in Communications and MS in Psychology from California Lutheran University. Prior to Burke, Debbie worked for three years a local Catholic school and for nine years at McLean School in Potomac. When it comes to free time, Debbie likes to "run, read, cuddle with my pup, play trivia, organize and collect vacuums. Yep, I have 17 vacuums in a storage unit."

 

Emily Z. (English / 6th Grade Core) writes, "Hello! I'm from Philadelphia but I love the Mets, which made the last year I spent working at a K-8 school in New Jersey especially fun. I went to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire (and on Zoom), where I studied English and Creative Writing. I've been picking up lots of hobbies lately, which include roller skating (and falling over), embroidery, and what I call extreme podcast listening."

Nathan B. (English) lived in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Baltimore before DC, studied English as an undergrad at Emory University, and earned an MFA in poetry from Johns Hopkins University. Before coming to Burke, Nathan taught introductory and upper-level courses in The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins, and, prior to that, was an assistant to the curators of a rare book library. He writes, "I'm a poet and freelance book critic, and I also love spending time playing tennis, traveling to new cities, and exploring used bookstores!"

Monecia S. (Library) grew up in San Fernando Valley's city of Sylmar, known for the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake, and is one of four siblings. Monecia studied Music and Voice at Howard University and  Library Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, after working for several years as a paraprofessional at Howard University Libraries. Before coming to Burke, she worked as a Research Librarian at George Washington University and a School Librarian at Military Road Early Learning Center (DCPS). She writes, "for the past 3.5 years, since I adopted my dog Amal, a 13-year-old Snoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle), I like discovering new walking routes, neighborhoods, restaurants, boutiques and hotels that welcome both of us."

Sarah B. (World Language) grew up in Saginaw, MI, and earned a BA and MA in French from Michigan State University in East Lansing. Sarah comes to Burke from Saint Luke School in McLean. She writes, "I enjoy spending my free time with my friends and family, cooking, going to the beach, walks with my dog and reading!"