Welcome New Faculty and Staff

The Bryn Mawr School is excited to welcome new faculty and staff to each division for the 2023-2024 school year.

Little School

Yonca Ables is originally from Istanbul, Turkey, and recently moved to Baltimore from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has extensive early childhood experience, holds a Child Care and Early Childhood certificate from Florida, and is working on her Maryland certification. Yonca has taught in traditional and Montessori schools and speaks French, Turkish, and English. 

 

Tyreese Fenner is joining the Little School toddler team.  She brings four years of experience in child care as a lead teacher building relationships with families.  

 

Liza Plant ’19 is a native of Baltimore and is a graduate of Bryn Mawr School and Bryn Mawr College. As an undergraduate, she majored in literature in English with a concentration in creative writing. Her love of caring for young children started with her large extended family and her time spent teaching during summers at Irvine Nature Center and the Dance Academy of Baltimore at Park School. After two summers as an assistant teacher at the Little School, she is thrilled to join the faculty full-time this fall.

 

Alex Poliakova has 12 years of experience working in education and holds an Infant & Toddler Child Care Certification and a Bachelor’s in Teaching. She is committed to helping children become whole and happy individuals. Alex strongly believes that everybody has their own talent, and it is a teacher’s task to help children discover it and realize their potential with no limits.

 

Emily Tull is joining the Little School team, bringing her experience in early childhood care.  She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pikeville and is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work.  

 

Carol Zamuner is a dedicated and experienced teacher with over four years of experience working with children. She holds two college degrees, a bachelor’s degree in teaching and a master’s degree in science. She is passionate about improving the lives of children and building strong relationships with her colleagues and families.

  

Olga Zehr comes from a family of educators and has always wanted to teach and make a difference in the world. She has been working in education since 2010 and holds Infant and Toddler, Preschool, and School-age Child Care Certifications, along with a bachelor's degree. Olga pays keen attention to the individual needs of each child in her care. 

Christine Roberts joins the Lower School as the new librarian. She holds dual Masters Degrees in Library/Information Science and Education from the University of Oklahoma and Reading University of St. Thomas as well as a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M. Christine hopes to promote and support students, faculty, and the community with both literacy and research using a variety of learning models developed to engage 21st century learners as the Lower School librarian.

 

Erin Brooks-Vaughn returns to Bryn Mawr as our pre-kindergarten teacher. She served as Bryn Mawr’s Wilgis Teaching Fellow from 2015-2017 in our pre-first and fourth grade classrooms and was a fourth grade homeroom teacher from 2017-2019 before moving west with her husband. Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Wake Forest University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins School of Education. A beloved teacher and engaged community member, we could not be more excited to have Erin back in Baltimore.

 

Helen Hardesty will be joining the Bryn Mawr community teaching Middle School art. Helen was born and raised in Baltimore. She lived in Philadelphia for 10 years where she graduated from Moore College of Art and Design. Upon moving back to Baltimore, she joined Baltimore Clayworks Community Arts Program teaching ceramics and taught art at Friends Middle School and Tunbridge Public Charter School. Helen loves inspiring others to explore their creative side and working with the community to create mosaic murals. When not teaching or creating her own artwork, she loves going for walks with her mom, baking, making chocolate creations, gardening, doing yoga and riding her bike.

Jamie Lemon will teach 6th grade math and advise a group of 6th graders. Originally from Delaware, she and her husband moved to Baltimore 10 years ago and currently live in Parkville with their two daughters.JJamie enjoys hiking, going camping, doing puzzles with her daughters and watching the Orioles with her family on their patio.  Jamie graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology, earned a Masters of Education from Wilmington University and has 13 years of teaching experience. 

Taylor Montgomery will be joining the Middle School teaching 7th grade Math this year. Taylor moved to Baltimore after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Auburn University and fell in love with the Baltimore area while earning her Master of Teaching from Loyola University. Her favorite part of teaching is encouraging students to take chances, ask questions and discover new passions. When not in the classroom, she loves spending time with her sister and nieces or heading to the beach. 

 

Emilia Bohórquez is in her first year teaching Spanish at Bryn Mawr. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, she has taught Spanish and French for over two decades. Emilia got her bachelor’s degree in foreign language education from the National University of Colombia, and a master’s degree in educational technology from Antonio Nariño University. She is proud to be a first-generation immigrant. In her spare time, you can find her reading, doing Qui Gong, dancing, and enjoying the company of her friends and family.

Katie Hammond ’97 is thrilled to return to Bryn Mawr as Director of Libraries! She earned her master's degree in library and information science from Drexel University, specializing in youth services. Katie has been an independent school librarian for the past 14 years and loves connecting with students and teachers around information literacy and the power of reading for pleasure. She also loves cooking and knitting. 

Jeff Hindes is entering his first year at Bryn Mawr after having spent the last eight years at Boys' Latin School of Maryland. He teaches AP chemistry and honors chemistry; additionally, Mr. Hindes is an affiliate instructor at Loyola University Maryland, where he teaches general and organic chemistry lab courses. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, he is a big Philadelphia sports fan and an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction books. His wife, Kate, is also a new Bryn Mawr teacher, and they have two daughters.

Kate Hindes is new to Bryn Mawr and teaches biology and chemistry. She has a master’s in chemistry and loves to help students wrap their minds around big concepts and see how they influence the world around them. For the past few years, Ms. Hindes has been tutoring and at home with her two kids. Before that, she taught high school science for 13 years. She loves spending time with her family and walking in the woods with her two dogs.

Mariam Sabri is in her first year as a History teacher at Bryn Mawr. They teach foundations of the modern world and U.S. history. Dr. Sabri earned a Ph.D. in History of Science from University of California Berkeley. They enjoy writing, reading, traveling and hiking. They have a six-year-old daughter who shares her love for nature.

Steve Bruno joined the Operations team as Senior Facilities Technician.  Steve comes to Bryn Mawr from the Maryland School for the Blind where he has served as Adaptive Equipment Technician and Maintenance Specialist for three years.  Prior to that role, Steve owned construction, remodeling and contracting companies for over twenty years.  He and his wife love to travel.  

Tommy Bull also joined the Operations team as a facilities technician after four years as a property coordinator for the government. He uses his organization and skills to maintain and improve the campus all year.  

Vicki Conley returns to Bryn Mawr as the Assistant Director of Advancement Services. She stepped away from the Advancement office for several years to raise her sons.   She also ran childcare out of her home, lived in West Virginia for a year and then came back to Maryland to rejoin the workforce.

Mario Galvan joins the Operations Team as facilities technician with 30 years of experience in construction, renovation and carpentry.  He was also part of the team that worked on the Student Center renovation.  He is an avid fisherman and enjoys cookouts. 

Robert Jones joins the Operations Department team as our new Grounds Technician.  Robert comes to Bryn Mawr from the American Kenpo Karate studio as a karate instructor.  Robert loves martial arts, learning new things and being part of a team.

Jordan Lincoln joined us this past year as Technology Support Specialist. .  He holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from UMBC. He comes to us after eight years at TAV Networks, subcontracted to BGE where he worked in the smart meter test lab, performing hardware and software testing and quality assurance of networked meter devices before they entered the field.  Prior to that, Jordan worked for RedZone Technologies performing end user support. In his free time Jordan is an avid table top, roleplaying and computer gamer and enjoys cooking, traveling and hiking. 

Mia Medlin Scott ’97 joined the Upper School as the Administrative Assistant. She is excited to support the Upper School team and entire Bryn Mawr community.  Mia and her husband have been married for 24 years and are looking forward to being empty nesters when they drop their youngest off at college.  

Megan Miner LSCW is a part of the Upper School Student Support team.  Her role focuses on the intersectionality of mental health and DEI. Megan is a licensed clinical social worker and a certified child life specialist. She recently became certified as a nature-informed therapist and loves spending time outdoors. Prior to joining Bryn Mawr, she spent most of her career at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She earned her MSW at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and completed her child life training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Bekah Reimer is joining the Arts Department as our new Technical Director, managing Centennial Hall productions and events. Bekah has her BFA in Theater Directing from Belmont University and most recently served as the Technical Director & Production Manager at Frostburg State University. Prior to her work at Frostburg, Bekah held positions in various theatres from Montana to New York serving in positions such as stage manager, theatre director, and production director. Bekah is skilled in all areas of the theatre from set design and construction to lighting design, and sound and costume design. 

Andrea Toivakka P’35 joins Bryn Mawr as Director of Advancement Communications. With prior experience in development and communications at Holton-Arms School and Roland Park Country School, she is looking forward to continuing to build the culture of philanthropy here at Bryn Mawr. Andrea earned her MBA in Marketing and Data Analytics from Syracuse University and BBA in International Business from Stetson University. 

Denise Worsley comes to Bryn Mawr after many years working for the City of Baltimore, most recently as Accounting Supervisor at the Enoch Pratt Free Library.  Denise will be working in the Business Office as the staff account.