Directory

Steve began coaching the boys’ cross country team in 1984 and was the inaugural coach of the girls’ team, launched in 1990. He continues to coach the boys’ varsity team, which won the 2018 NEPSTA championship. Steve received a BA from SUNY Oswego and an MEd from Slippery Rock University, and he earned the Athletic Department’s Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

Sinan Parsons has a BA in history and politics from New York University and an MEd in secondary education from Boston College. Before joining Rivers, Sinan taught at BU Academy and, most recently, Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols, where he taught history, coached girls JV basketball, and advised the quiz bowl team. At Rivers, Sinan teaches history and serves as girls’ JV basketball coach.

Sabrina Particelli graduated from Babson College with a BA in marketing. Sabrina is the assistant director of admission and advisor for Rivers’s student-run Red Key Tour Guide Club. Before coming to Rivers, she worked with families and donors at Harvard University and The Carroll School and was a USA Swim coach for a local club team. Currently, she is head coach for a summer youth swim team in Sudbury.

Noah Peduzzi is the assistant athletic trainer at Rivers. He has a BS in athletic training from Bridgewater State University. Noah is Massachusetts-licensed and board certified as an athletic trainer.

Kayley Pettoruto graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in community health and Spanish and a minor in child development. She earned an M.P.H. from Boston University, focusing on maternal and child health and social and behavioral sciences. She began her career at Mathematica as a survey associate, where she managed data collection efforts for several education and health research and evaluation projects. She began her teaching career at Excel Academy in 2016, then taught science and served in a number of leadership roles at West Middle School in Andover, MA, for five years. Most recently, Kayley spent a year in France teaching English to elementary school students. An avid runner, Kayley looks to bring her expertise and experience to the cross-country and track teams at Rivers.  

Stewart Pierson came to Rivers in 1999. He teaches Upper School science and coaches Middle School boys’ soccer. He has taught honors physics, AP physics, and AP environmental science and has served as science department chair. He has also taught chemistry, Middle School science, and math from pre-algebra through BC Calculus. Stewart was the recipient of the Mida van Zuylen Dunn Award for Teaching in 2004. Before coming to Rivers, Stewart taught at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, Sunriver Preparatory School in Oregon, and the American School of Milan, in Italy. He earned a BA in engineering from Dartmouth College.

Kate Pistel holds a BA from Colby College and a master’s degree in learning, cognition, and development from Rutgers University. Before joining rivers, Kate worked for many years in admission at the Taft School in Connecticut, where she also served as a coach. Along with her admission work at Rivers, Kate serves as an Upper School advisor and as head coach of the girls’ varsity lacrosse team. While at Colby, Kate was a three-sport varsity captain in soccer, squash, and lacrosse.

Over the past 20 years, Colette Porter has worked as a marketing communications professional for universities and independent schools in the region, and she has dedicated herself to institutions that focus on the transformative power of women's education. She served as director of campaign communications for Wellesley College’s $500M comprehensive campaign and, most recently, led marketing and communications efforts for The Winsor School in Boston and Nashoba Brooks School in Concord. Colette started her career in publishing and advertising, including several years as an advertising account supervisor at Arnold Worldwide. A Weston resident, Colette earned a BA in English literature from Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Christine Pynchon is an Upper School mathematics teacher and the head coach of the varsity softball team. She also serves as an Upper School grade dean. She has a BS in mathematics from Colby College, where she played varsity softball. Prior to joining Rivers, she taught upper level math and coached softball and soccer at the Berkshire School after interning at Phillips Exeter Academy.