Our Team

Meet the Directors

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”][fruitful_tab title=”Dr. Sherronda Brown, Director of D-E 360°”]Sherronda Brown, Ed.D.,  has worked at Dwight-Englewood School for fifteen years. She joined the D-E community as a college advisor in 2000 after a ten-year career in college admissions. Dr.Brown was the Director of College of Admissions at NYU prior to coming to D-E. Before that she worked in Engineering Admissions for Cornell University and Stevens Institute of Technology. Dr. Brown also served as the Director of Enrollment for Dwight-Englewood School for twelve years managing admissions, re-enrollment, and financial aid.   Three years ago, she began a new role developing a fourth division of Dwight-Englewood: DE360°.   D-E 360° which aligns several programs across the School serves about 1,000 students annually through the AfterCare & Enrichment Program, DE International, Driver’s Ed, World Game, SaturdayEnrichment, a Teaching Academy for Adults as well as the largest program, Summer Connections.

Dr. Brown has enjoyed her roles as advisor to students in the Upper School AIDS Awareness Club, Middle School HomeBase as well as her voluntary trustee seat on the Board of NJ SEEDS. An Englewood resident, Dr. Brown takes great pride in the “community” that is Dwight-Englewood School.  Among all of her responsibilities, her favorite endeavor is in working with educators and families in the local community to create programs after school, on weekends and during the summers that allow learners to cultivate their passions.  “Dwight-Englewood School is defined by the connected learning experiences we share.  In my time here, I have been overjoyed with the tremendous gifts and talent people bring to this community.”  Dr. Brown holds her Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.  She also has an M.P.A. from New York University, and a B.A. from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Lisa Brown Director of Discoveries & Adventures”]

 

Lisa Brown is a national board certified teacher with over 21 years of experience in both public and private schools in New York City and New Jersey. She has worked and taught children from preschool to high school as both a classroom teacher and teacher leader.  Today she serves as a mentor for new teachers and a member of the School Leadership Team and Professional Development Committee.  She has also served as a member of the School Improvement Panel, as well as, Coordinator of the Gifted and Talented Program.  Her goal is to encourage and instill a lifelong desire of learning in all children and has worked consistently to improve the quality of student education by piloting early literacy initiatives for her district, coordinating school-wide reading buddy programs, organizing parent workshops, and developing a district-wide teacher support group.  Currently, she is working to launch a county-wide educator support program and is creating a workshop series for preschools and day care centers designed to give them effective tools and strategies to enhance their curriculum in order to better support the transition from preschool to elementary school. In the community, Lisa is a member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.  where she served as Education Chair for the Eastern Region.  In her local chapter, as  Community Service Chair, she helped to create and implement three successful literacy and healthy living programs for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Paterson and Passaic which became a national model for Jack and Jill of America, Inc.  She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and The Links, Incorporated.  She received her B.A. in English and Chemistry from Howard University; and her M.A. in The Art of Teaching and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the mother of two sons, ages 16 and 14.

Fun Facts:

  • Hometown:  San Mateo, California
  • Favorite Place:  Half Moon Bay, CA
  • Favorite Memory:  Being a part of the 4-H club as a child
  • Favorite color:   green
  • Favorite ice cream:  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
  • Favorite Teams:  San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Golden State Warriors!
  • Favorite Activity:  Dancing, started at age 6
  • Favorite Past times:  hiking; reading; taking road trips; visiting historical, natural sites, and museums; watching documentaries and sports, and attending music, art, and dance exhibitions and performances
  • Greatest Inspiration:  My 100 year old grandmother and my 2 sons, Xavier and Jelani
  • Greatest Passion:  Teaching, Helping Others, and Learning
  • Motto:  Live life to your fullest, Be a continuous learner, and Strive to make a positive impact in the world

[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Stacy Carela, Assistant Director of Discoveries & Adventures “]

Stacy Carela, Assistant Director of  Discoveries & Adventures, earned a B.S. in Special Education/Elementary Education from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey.  She continued her education and received an M.A. in Educational Technology from New Jersey City University.  During the academic school year, Stacy is employed at Nellie K. Parker Elementary School in Hackensack, New Jersey, where she has taught Kindergarten since 2006.

  • Hometown:  Manhattan
  • Favorite Place:  Puerto Rico, Dubai and Maui
  • Favorite Memory:  Seeing the sunrise on Mt. Haleakalā 
  • Favorite color:   Black
  • Favorite ice cream:  Cookies and Cream
  • Favorite Teams:  Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees
  • Favorite Activity:  Traveling
  • Favorite Past times:  Reading, Listening to music and playing sports!
  • Greatest Inspiration:  Mom and Dad
  • Greatest Passion: Educating children
  • Motto:  Live, Love, Laugh

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Faculty and Staff

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”][fruitful_tab title=”Patrick Durkan”]

Founder of Durkan Fencing Academy, Maestro Patrick Durkan picked up a sabre at the New York Athletic Club when he was only five years old, and has been fencing ever since! For the past 32 years he has represented the USA in all levels of fencing, including being a part of the Cadet, Junior, and Senior National Teams. As a student athlete, Durkan competed at Regis High School in New York City where he won the New Jersey State Championship and at Columbia where he was a four time All-American. He is dedicated to building a truly American system of fencing using his training in the Hungarian fencing system under various international coaches and his background in the Russian, Polish and Italian systems. He began implementing this specialized fencing system when he became head sabre coach at the New York Athletic Club in 2008, creating a program including sport-specific weight training and nutrition protocols. He also earned his Maestro (Master’s) Degree in Sabre Coaching from the United States Fencing Coaches Association. D-E 360° Summer Connections is thrilled to be newly offering fencing this year in partnership with Durkan.

[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Diego A. Garcia”]

DIEGO A. GARCIA (Associate Director of Strings/Conductor), born in Cali, Colombia, he entered the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory at the age of five, where he began his musical studies in piano, cello, and conducting. This set the stage for a multifaceted career as performer, conductor, and educator. At the age of fifteen, Diego won a cello position with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Valle where he performed for six seasons. Simultaneously, he routinely conducted the AMV String Chamber Orchestra as conducting assistant to his teacher, Alexander Korjenko. Three years later, Diego came to New York City to pursue musical opportunities outside his native country. A cello prizewinner in the 1996 Carolina Oramas Competition, Diego received his Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music as a student of Alan Stepansky. During this time, he toured extensively in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Central America as a chamber musician, recording artist, orchestral player, and soloist. In 2000, Diego continued his studies on cello with Alan Harris and conducting with William Wienert at the Eastman School of Music. Soon after, he began teaching cello at Eastman in the pre-college division. In 2004, he was named Music Director of the Eastman String Fellowship Orchestra. In addition to his work in the pre-college, he began conducting other orchestras including the New Horizon Symphony Orchestra, Greece Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Kaleidoscope Community Orchestra, and Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Garcia was also a guest conductor at Parnu Symphony Orchestra (Estonia), Hampton Roads Chamber Players, and the Traveling Notes Orchestra throughout the Dominican Republic and Belgium. During the summers, Diego studied conducting at Bard College as a conducting fellow working closely with Harold Faberman, Marin Alsop, and Leon Botstein. He also worked closely with Markan Thakar and Larry Rachleff. An avid chamber musician and composer, Mr. Garcia was a founding member of Gibbs & Main, a string quintet that promotes classical music of all styles including his original compositions and arrangements. Over the past decade, Diego has become a sought after composer for instrumental and choral works. His music has been broadcasted several times on NPR’s ‘Live from Hochstein’. Recent commissions have included the original score to the independent film Heart of Tango, Rochester Oratorio Society, and Gibbs & Main. Currently, Diego is a conductor and cello instructor at D-E. 2014-15 marked his first year as Orchestra Director of Thurnauer School of Music Symphony Orchestra. He is the co-director of String Society, a one-week summer festival for string students. Bowstruck, a violin/cello duo he formed with his wife, Annaliesa Place, creates a unique voice with original compositions and arrangements of the classics.

Together with his wife, violinist Annaliesa Place, Mr. Garcia will be directing the music program at a new festival in Geneva, Switzerland in collaboration with the Juilliard School.  This summer festival is open to students ages 10-18 in music, drama, and dance.  For more information, please click here.  The dates of the festival are July 9 – 22, 2016.  Questions about this festival may be directed by Email to Ms. Place at: placea1@d-e.org.

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Leading the Tennis Academy offerings at D-E 360° Summer Connections 2017, Tsolak Gevorkian is the founder/director of Tag International Management, Inc. He was a player and captain for the Armenia Davis Cup Team, involved in international competition from 1996 – 2005. Tsolak has his B.A. in International Marketing from Boise State University, where he led BSU to a #2 Division One ranking and earned Team MVP honors. In Tsolak’s words: “My goal is to teach both kids and their parents the game of tennis, and through the process of teaching, make a positive change in their lives. I wish to educate them with the beauty, ethics, basic tactics, and competitive nature of the sport.”

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Gary Kapilevich is a physics PhD student at the CUNY Graduate center, with a specialty in high energy theory. He is also currently teaching the Physics 2002 lecture course and a Physics 2001 lab course at Baruch College. Last summer, he taught Pre-Calculus for the Dwight Englewood Summer program. He has taught several physics classes while obtaining his Masters at Temple University.

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Matthew Larrowe  has been teaching at D-E for nine years. He grew up in rural southwest Virginia. He started teaching science seventeen years ago in Galax, Virginia, where he taught Biology and Human Anatomy at Galax High School from 2000 to 2004. He later moved to Chapel Hill, NC in 2004, where he taught 8th grade science for one year before moving to Chatham Central High School where he taught Biology and Human Anatomy until 2008. Mr. Larrowe is also known as Coach Larrowe because he has coached football, basketball (both boys and girls), and baseball. Here at D-E he was formerly the head Girl’s Varsity Basketball Coach, assistant football coach, and assistant middle school baseball coach. He is also in charge of the Middle School Pep Rally Committee and a member of the D-E all-school diversity committee. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Bluefield College in Virginia and a M.S. Ed. in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University.  He will be serving as Assistant Director of the DE 360 Summer Connections. He will be responsible for staff members, technology team, and helping in the day-to-day operations of summer camp. He is very enthusiastic about working with an outstanding team of faculty and staff to create an excellent experience of learning and fun for all camper

[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Liza Littlefield”]Liza Littlefield has been on faculty with the Summer Connections program for the past several years. A native of New Jersey, Ms. Littlefield went to school in Maryland and New York where she got her in BFA Graphic Design, and previously majored in Illustration as well. She spent three years at the Maryland Institute college of Art in Baltimore. Then after spending a semester abroad in Australia and traveling to Indonesia, New Zealand, Fiji and across Australia, Ms. Littlefield chose to take a gap year to give herself a chance to gain new perspective before finishing school. She returned to school at Parsons New School of Design in New York, where she completed her degree. It’s obvious from Ms. Littlefield’s teaching that she is passionate about her artistic endeavors. She also currently works as a cognitive specialist and brain trainer at LearningRx, and is the owner of Curious Cotton – a graphic apparel company she created with the deep thinkers of the world in mind.[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Michael McCarthy”]Michael McCarthy began his teaching career in physical education at Dwight Englewood in 2014. He received a B.S. in Physical Education from the University of North Carolina- Wilmington and a M.S. in Health Education from the University of Adelphi- Garden City. Michael was a member of The Ohio State University and UNCW men’s soccer teams for two years each where he excelled both on and off the field. Prior to arriving at Dwight- Englewood, he taught on Long Island for six years while coaching various soccer teams throughout the area. At Dwight- Englewood, Coach McCarthy is the assistant coach to the Varsity Boys’ Soccer and Lacrosse team as well as the Strength and Conditioning coach. Michael enjoys participating and watching numerous sports which keep him connected to the games.[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Annaliesa Place”]ANNALIESA PLACE (Director of Strings) performs across the United States and abroad with ECCO, Classnotes, Traveling Notes, ACJW, Absolute Ensemble and Metropolis Ensemble. She has recorded albums with Absolute Ensemble for Sony Classical and ECCO for eOne Records. Ms. Place was featured in the Cleveland Orchestra’s first video conference with Alan ANNALIESA PLACE (Director of Strings) performs across the United States and abroad with ECCO, Classnotes, Traveling Notes, ACJW, Absolute Ensemble and Metropolis Ensemble. She has recorded albums with Absolute Ensemble for Sony Classical and ECCO for eOne Records. Ms. Place was featured in the Cleveland Orchestra’s first video conference with Alan.

Together with her husband, cellist and composer Diego Garcia, Ms. Place will be directing the music program at a new festival in Geneva, Switzerland in collaboration with the Juilliard School.  This summer festival is open to students ages 10-18 in music, drama, and dance.  For more information, please click here.  The dates of the festival are July 9 – 22, 2016.  Questions about this festival may be directed by Email to Ms. Place at: placea1@d-e.org. [/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Trevor Shaw”]img-2President and Founder of Genesis Learning, Trevor Shaw has been helping schools to leverage the power of technology as a learning tool since 1992. Trevor is the Director of Technology at Dwight-Englewood School. He has designed the technology infrastructure and championed the plans for integrating technology into the curriculum. He has also worked as a classroom English and technology teacher. He has consulted for dozens of other institutions and served on the Board of Education of an outstanding New Jersey school district.

[/fruitful_tab][fruitful_tab title=”Larry Umaña”]

Larry Umaña is the Co-founder/director and Head Trainer of T2S Basketball, with more than 15 years spent coaching, training, and teaching. He was recruited to swim for a Division 1 program at Saint Peter’s University. As a D1 swimmer, he understood what hard work, dedication, and determination meant. As a physical science teacher, he has developed the gift of making difficult scientific concepts simple to understand. When he volunteered to coach middle school basketball in 2000 in Paterson, NJ, he applied the same strategies to simplify the game to increase understanding and ability to my players. Throughout the years he has focused more on individual development by breaking bad habits and strengthening weaknesses. He has gained an extensive knowledge on footwork mechanics, which has been the key to his success as a skill development trainer. In his words: “My philosophy as a trainer is to teach basketball efficiency through fundamentals, footwork and muscle memory repetition through innovative drills. I am a certified USA Youth Basketball Coach/Trainer and currently preparing to take my career to the next level as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). This will allow me to incorporate speed, agility and explosiveness training through proper resistance training and repetitions. My goal is to provide the best training possible to develop confident and successful athletes.”

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