Directory

Laurie has worked at Rivers in various capacities since 1995. She was previously the associate director of athletics, taught media literacy in the Middle School, and served as assistant varsity girls’ field hockey and lacrosse coach. In 2002 Laurie received the Rivers School Athletic Department Distinguished Service Award. She has been in the communications department since 2004, working primarily as the web editor of the Rivers School and camp websites. In addition to her duties at Rivers, Laurie is the communications specialist for The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and the webmaster for the ISL and the EIL. A 1992 graduate of Connecticut College, Laurie received an MS from Northeastern University in 1995. She volunteers with Meals on Wheels in Hudson.

Feryal Sacristán Muñoz, a native Spaniard from Madrid, joined the language department at Rivers in 2008. She currently teaches Spanish and coordinates the summer session in Spain. She is also the sponsor of the debate team. Before coming to Rivers, Feryal taught and coached at Portsmouth Abbey School. She received a BA from the College of the Holy Cross.

Emily Samperi joined Rivers in 2022. Teaching mathematics has been Emily’s passion since she was 14 years old. Growing up, she tutored middle schoolers in math for fun while working at her family’s dance studio. Emily earned a BS in elementary education with a concentration in mathematics education from Indiana University. Her background in foundational math pedagogy has been instrumental in designing and implementing differentiated lessons for middle-school students. For fun, Emily enjoys attending New England Revolution soccer games, going to the theater, and spending time with her fiancé and her dog.

As head strength and conditioning coach, Paul directs the sports conditioning, personal fitness, and summer strength and conditioning programs for students in grades 9-12. He also directs the Middle School winter fitness program and, in conjunction with the athletic trainers’ office, administers rehabilitation programs for injured student athletes. Prior to joining Rivers in 2002, Paul owned and operated a local private fitness and sports training facility. He has been a certified strength and conditioning specialist and personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association since 1996.

Michael Schlenker joined the faculty in 2008 and teaches computer science. Founder of the Rivers robotics team, he also directs the science internship program. Michael has also taught physics, biology, and chemistry and served as chair of the science department. A lifelong tennis player and outdoorsman, Michael has coached basketball and tennis. Before coming to Rivers, Michael worked for nine years in management consulting, doing business projects in China, Thailand, South America, and Europe. He also taught at an international school in Rome, Italy, for three years. Michael holds two engineering degrees from Dartmouth and an MEd from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

??Phil Seidl returns to Rivers as a Middle School math teacher after graduating in 2009. He earned a B.A. in mathematics and human development and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Boston College. Phil taught math for six years at The Francis W. Parker Charter School in a student-centered and project-based classroom, pushing students to discover new concepts on their own and apply them in new ways beyond the classroom. He was inspired to teach when former Rivers math teacher, Dan McCartney, asked him to design a lesson and teach a class for a day. In his free time, Phil lives with his cat, Daisy, in Roxbury and enjoys cooking, and playing video, board, card, and tabletop games.

Josh Shaller has taught science at the Middle School since 2000. In addition, Josh coaches boys’ Middle School ice hockey and serves on the leadership committee. Before coming to Rivers, Josh taught at Milton Academy. He earned a BA in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire and a BS in biology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Dan Shaud is co-director of the Upper School orchestra and Middle School chamber ensemble and is the coordinator for the Conservatory Program. In addition, he teaches music theory, solfège, and chamber music classes and has been the horn instructor for The Rivers School Conservatory since 1999. He is an active freelancer on the horn in the Boston area and is also a church organist. He earned a BA and BM from Oberlin College and Conservatory and an MM from New England Conservatory.

Cathrine Shepard teaches science in the Upper School. Prior to joining Rivers, she taught at George Walton Academy and Oconee County High School. Cathrine also has extensive research experience in the areas of marine science and sustainability. She graduated from Principia College with honors in 2015 and received an MA in teaching science education from the University of Georgia in 2018.

Claudia Silva is a registered nurse with more than a decade of pediatrics experience in a variety of settings, including schools, camps, home care, and hospitals. She has been on the staff of the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Brighton, Mass., since graduating from Simmons College with a bachelor’s degree in nursing science. She has also served as school nurse at both The Park School and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. She has certification in CPR, CPI (Crisis Prevention), diabetes care in schools, and medication delegation.

Madison Smith will teach Upper School English and serve as the assistant coach for the varsity volleyball team. She earned a B.A. in English and theater from Grinnell College, where she competed in DIII volleyball. A native Midwesterner, Maddy comes to New England after spending two years as a UPenn Woods English Teaching Fellow at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, during which time she earned her M.S.Ed. She enjoys being outside, making music, and writing. 

Alice Sorensen teaches mathematics at the Upper School level and coaches JV field hockey, JV girls’ ice hockey, and JV girls’ lacrosse. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University and an MEd in science and math from the College of Charleston. She taught mathematics and coached at the Lincoln School, Rectory School, and St. Anne’s-Belfield School. While at Brown, she played on the club ice hockey team and also coached hockey in their youth program.

Dan St. Jean earned a BA from Yale University and an MA from Middlebury College. Prior to joining Rivers, he spent 12 years teaching English and served as a college counselor at Germantown Academy in Pennsylvania, where he also served as a college counselor. He shares Rivers’s commitment to student-centered education, to the principles of equity and inclusion, and to teaching that fosters depth of inquiry and joy in learning. In addition to teaching Upper School English, he also helps coordinate the senior speech program and serves as assistant coach of the alpine ski team.

Prior to becoming a librarian at Rivers, Karen W. Starr served as the director of libraries at Thayer Academy and worked as the upper school librarian at the Winsor School. She holds a BA in English from Tufts, an MS in library science from Simmons College, and an MEd from Boston College. In addition, she has worked as a resource coordinator at Facing History and Ourselves. Outside of school, she is head of rider registration for the Pan-Mass Challenge and is a member of the Tufts Alumni Council.

Taylor Stobinski graduated with a BM from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and an MM from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, both in cello performance. In addition to his performance background, Taylor enjoys teaching and joined the Rivers School Conservatory faculty teaching Suzuki cello in the 2021-2022 academic year. Currently, he serves on the board for the Suzuki Association of Massachusetts as the webmaster. Outside of music, Taylor is a technology enthusiast who regularly builds and programs computers.

Ellie Strayer graduated from Skidmore College with a BS in theatre arts and completed a theatre program at the Accademia dell'Arte while studying abroad in Arezzo, Italy. She has a background in mask work, claymation, playwriting, directing, devising, movement work, and puppetry. Most recently, in response to the challenges of live performance during the pandemic, Ellie co-founded First Kiss Theatre as an outlet to produce and perform new works on a virtual stage. Besides teaching Middle School theater arts, Ellie serves as assistant varsity softball coach.

Darren Sullivan is a member of the Upper School history department, where he teaches U.S. history and a strand of senior/junior electives. A member of the Tufts baseball and football teams as an undergraduate, he has guided Rivers’ baseball program since 1995. The 2012 ISL Baseball Coach of the Year, Darren has coached six Division I players and has had one selected in the MLB Draft. He has also won two AAU National Championships and directs several summer baseball camps.

Steven Sussman teaches piano and jazz piano at The Rivers School Conservatory. He holds a BM from Indiana University and an MM in piano performance from Boston University. Steven studied with Anthony Di Bonaventura, Jorge Bolet, Enrica Cavallo Gulli, and David Baker. He has served as director of Opera Presto, as a faculty member at St. Mark’s School, and as a staff accompanist at Berklee College of Music.