For the 2024-25 academic year, Williston Northampton is pleased to announce our newest faculty members who will join our dedicated ranks of teaching professionals. The school is welcoming eight new teachers, a new Director of Athletics, a mental health counselor intern, and a residential faculty member. Included in the new teaching group are our three faculty fellows—young educators that will receive additional guidance and continuing education experiences in addition to their usual faculty duties.
“Williston’s newest faculty will complement the community in myriad ways,” said Dean of Faculty Corinne Fogg ’99. “This talented group is comprised of both long-standing and early-career educators who will help Williston to grow with their gifts. Of note, we are enthusiastic for the first year of the Faculty Fellowship, an immersive program for recent college graduates ready to explore boarding school teaching. Our nascent fellows will spend the year learning from our dedicated faculty about the craft of teaching, coaching, and advising in the unique setting of Williston’s global learning community. We have spent this last week of August sharing in discussions of teaching for lasting understanding, holistically serving our students as residents, attending to trends in student mental health and wellness, our shared viewing of Isabel Wilkerson’s Origin, and much more. The entire faculty is ready to begin again in this new year, and our most recent additions to the community will help us to begin with purposeful impact.”
Below are short biographies for all of our new faculty members.
Em Adrain, World Language Teacher
Em recently served as a Spanish Language Teaching Fellow at the Loomis Chaffee School. Prior to that, she received a bachelor’s in history and Hispanic studies from Bowdoin College where she was also a member of the NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey team. Em holds a master’s in teaching from Boston University, and completed her teaching practicum at Wellesley High School.
PJ Andrews, Residential Faculty
After previously working in admissions and coaching track and field at two other New England boarding schools, PJ is now the Talent Acquisition Manager for ServiceNet, a non-profit human services agency, headquartered in Northampton, Massachusetts. A graduate of Springfield College, PJ earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees there. In addition to his time as a student, he was also a member of the indoor and outdoor track and field teams, serving as captain for both in his senior year.
Veronika Bedard, Faculty Fellow
Veronika (Ronnie) taught Latin American History at Suffield Academy for a semester before completing her master’s in political science at Villanova University. Veronika was awarded a full academic scholarship to attend the university and worked as a research assistant, aiding in the publication of the Digest of Middle East Studies and contributing to yet-to-be-published research related to British law and politics. Prior to her time at Villanova and Suffield, Veronika earned her bachelor’s in political science and anthropology from the University of Connecticut.
John Doll P’27, Science Teacher
Since 2004, John has taught science and coached in independent boarding and day schools throughout New England. After earning undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and history from Rice University and his doctorate in biology from MIT, he began his teaching career at Cushing Academy. John then taught at The Dana Hall School, where he served as Science Department Head. Since that time, John taught at The Moses Brown School and Miss Hall’s School. While at MIT, John was recognized with the Graduate Student Council Award for Excellence in Teaching. At Dana Hall, he was presented with the Dana Hall Inspiration Award and the Blair Jenkins Chair in Math and Science; while at Miss Hall’s, he was honored with the Pietas Award. John has served as head coach for varsity softball and girls JV basketball for 19 consecutive seasons combined at Dana Hall, Moses Brown, and Miss Hall’s, winning multiple league and tournament titles in softball and earning the Coach of the Year award from the Eastern Independent League, and sportsmanship honors from the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. John has also coached football, boys basketball, and field hockey.
Patrick Loftus, English Teacher
For the past three years, Patrick has taught English and psychology at Holy Redeemer High School and specializes in teaching persuasive writing and speaking. Additionally, he has coached varsity tennis for two years, serving as the head coach for both the boys and girls teams. During his tenure at Holy Redeemer, he also served as a technical assistant for theatrical performances and school events and as a faculty advisor for the school’s inaugural Key Club. Patrick holds bachelor’s degrees in international political economics and communications and media studies from Fordham University before earning a master’s degree in secondary education at St. Joseph’s University in 2021.
Lexus McCollaum, Mental Health Counseling Intern
Lexus attends Springfield College Master’s in Social Work Program. She is employed at The Center for Human Development as ADA Coordinator and is a trained volunteer at Rick’s Place supporting grieving children and families. Lexus received her bachelor’s at Western New England University with a major in criminal justice and minor in psychology. She is a member of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Honor Society and Mortar Board National Honors Society.
Jade Morris, Athletic Director
Jade joins us from Belmont Day School where she served as the Associate Athletic Director for the past two years. In addition to assisting the functions of the middle school athletic department, she taught fifth grade physical education and coached girls varsity soccer, fencing, and girls JV lacrosse. Prior to Belmont Day, Jade spent nine years as a college athletics administrator at Boston College and seven years as an adjunct professor in the BC sports administration graduate program. Jade holds a master’s degree in athletic administration from Springfield College and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and early childhood education from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. As a student-athlete at MCLA, Jade captained the girls basketball and soccer teams and was elected as the student trustee. Read more about Morris here.
Taylor Russ, Faculty Fellow
A recent graduate of Yale University, Taylor has worked as a mentor and teacher to her peers and students in the greater New Haven area. While a student, she conducted weekly meetings as a math coach with college freshmen and worked as a tutor for the Yale Educational Tutoring Initiative. In addition to tutoring, Taylor developed and taught a curriculum for the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation that explored the history of vaccines. During her last years of college, Taylor served as a freshman counselor and an academic strategies mentor for the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Taylor holds a bachelor’s in the history of science, medicine, and public health
Renee Suhoki, Math Teacher
For the last two years, Renee has taught math and theology at Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School. During her time at Notre Dame Cristo Rey, Renee was a full-time master’s student at Boston College as a member of the Urban Catholic Teacher Corps. Renee holds a bachelor’s in mathematics and secondary education from Saint Anselm College and a master’s with a concentration in curriculum and instruction from Boston College.
Sarah Sullivan ‘19, Faculty Fellow
Returning to Williston as a proud alum, Sarah most recently served as assistant coach to the Williston girls basketball team. Prior to this, Sarah was a substitute teacher, tutor, and paraprofessional within Berkshire Hills Regional School District and a teacher at the Wellesley Community Children’s Center. Sarah holds a bachelor’s in psychology, with a minor in criminology, from Framingham State University.
Shelton Windham, Math Teacher
For the past nine years, Shelton has taught quantitative reasoning and problem solving for Manhattan Prep. During this time, Shelton taught students who were applying to competitive graduate school programs, coaching them as they pursued top 10% percentile admissions scores. Prior to his work with Manhattan Prep, Shelton taught all levels of high school math—algebra through calculus—at the Spring Creek Academy in Texas, teaching an ambitious group of Olympic hopeful athletes and semi-professional athletes and performers. Shelton holds a bachelor’s in English literature from the University of North Texas.