Our Team

Recruitment & Admissions

Carolyn Chen, Recruitment and Admissions Manager
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Prior to joining BTR, Ms. Chen worked in the arts and higher education with the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University, the Tufts Center for Neuroscience Research, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the New York City Opera.  She also taught for three years as a music instructor at a middle school in Virginia, and continues to teach flute as a private instructor for students of all ages and levels.  Ms. Chen holds a B.A. in English and music from the University of Virginia, where she was the recipient of the Michael Wagenheim scholarship for academic excellence in English literature and the Morrison Prize for Music in recognition for her research on issues of race, gender, and identity in music performance and film.

Kate Diedrick, Admissions Associate
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Prior to joining BTR, Ms. Diedrick worked in student services and recruitment and admissions at the American College of Thessaloniki in Thessaloniki, Greece. While living in Greece, she also taught English as a second language and coached soccer. Ms. Diedrick holds a B.A. in English with a concentration in American Studies from Grinnell College.

Jing He, Program Associate
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Ms. He holds a BS in Business and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University where she was an Andrew Carnegie Society Scholars Award recipient. Before coming to BTR, Ms. He worked as a marketing analyst for a web-based company in Boston.  She has also worked as a business counselor at Chinatown Manpower Project in New York City where she provided training and grant services to local small business owners.

Michael Omenazu, Recruiter
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Prior to joining BTR, Mr. Omenazu moved from Chicago to complete a year of service in AmeriCorps. In the Mass Mentoring Partnership’s Ambassadors of Mentoring program he helped build capacity in the marketing and recruitment department at his host site, Big Brothers Big Sisters Massachusetts Bay.  Mr. Omenazu holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Illinois-Springfield, where he worked as the Bonner Leaders Scholarship Senior Coordinator, promoting the academic success and civic engagement of minority college students.

Program

Emily Blume, Clinical Teacher Educator (Science)
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Prior to joining BPE, Ms. Blume taught middle school science and developed and taught an environmental technology curriculum at the high school level. In her three years at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center, she trained K-12 teachers to incorporate marine science into their classroom, developed and implemented marine science curriculum for K-12 students, collected evaluation data on student experience and learning, and supervised undergraduate student interns. Ms. Blume has received the Massachusetts Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Energy and Environment Education from the Department of Energy and Environment, the Drinking Water Excellence in Education Award from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the Ocean Stewardship Award from the New England Aquarium. She holds a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts in Teaching in Urban Science Education from Northeastern University.

Travis Bristol, Clinical Teacher Educator (English Language Arts)
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After teaching in two New York City public schools, Mr. Bristol is currently a third year PhD candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. His most recent work includes consulting for the World Bank, where he designed and implemented a course for secondary school teachers in Guyana on strategies for engaging males in the classroom. Mr. Bristol holds a BA in English from Amherst College and an MA in Teaching English from Stanford University. He is a product of the New York City public school system.

Samuel Campbell, Program Associate
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Mr. Campbell supports the Curriculum, Field, and Induction teams with programming and special projects. Involved in the educational field for over 10 years, he has worked for the Italian Home for Children and the Compass School as an assistant teacher and behavior management specialist. He recently moved back to Boston from Ohio, where he was the Director of Recruitment for Amicus II Inc., a non-profit organization that provided supplemental services under NCLB. Mr. Campbell is extremely passionate in his love for children and works tirelessly for their advancement.

Isabel DePina, Clinical Teacher Educator (Special Education)
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Ms. DePina worked in the Boston Public Schools for 14 years as a teacher, administrator, and headmaster. She completed the Principal Residency Network through Northeastern University and the Center for Collaborative Education in 2005. She earned her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on moderate special needs from Boston College.

Lynne Godfrey, Co-Director of Clinical Teacher Education
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Lynne Godfrey oversees professional support for Boston Teacher Residency program participants, graduates, and their colleagues in partner schools. Ms. Godfrey’s classroom at the King Open School on Cambridge is where Bob Moses began his pioneering work that became the Algebra Project. With her students and other teachers, Ms. Godfrey helped develop and taught the Algebra Project Transition Curriculum. She has taught grades two through eight in Cambridge and Boston and has been an adjunct professor at Wheelock College, a senior facilitator with the Algebra Project, the upper school coordinator and math coach at the Young Achievers School, and, most recently, a math coach for the Cambridge Public Schools.

Elizabeth Harris, Clinical Teacher Educator (English as a Second Language)
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Before coming to BPE-BTR, Dr. Harris was a literacy coach, English as a Second Language coach, and a redesign coach for the Fall River Public Schools. She recently completed her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at Boston College. Her dissertation focused on teaching writing to bilingual elementary students using systemic functional linguistics.

Simon Hess, Chief Program Officer
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Simon Hess oversees BPE-BTR’s school-based programs, including the teacher residency program. He was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Civitas Schools, an organization operating three Chicago International Charter School campuses serving 2,200 students. Prior to joining Civitas, Mr. Hess served as the principal of Gordon Tech High School in Chicago and was an administrator and teacher in the Boston Public Schools for eight years. He holds a BA in Religious Studies from the College of the Holy Cross, an MEd from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is the proud father of two beautiful little girls, a horrendous golfer, an enthusiastic eater, and a diehard Boston sports fan.

Nancy Horowitz, Clinical Teacher Educator (Elementary Math)
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Nancy Horowitz supports BTR residents, mentors teachers, graduates, and their colleagues in the teaching of elementary mathematics. She worked for 16 years in the Holyoke and Springfield, MA public schools, teaching grades 3, 4, and 5 and ESL, and working as an elementary mathematics coach. Ms. Horowitz later worked as a Research and Development Specialist at the Education Research Collaborative at TERC in Cambridge and as a senior writer on the 2nd edition of Investigations in Number, Data, and Space. She has designed and taught mathematics professional development workshops for a number of Massachusetts districts and has worked around the country as an Investigations Workshops leader. She has presented at conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. She has been a participant in several National Science Foundation-supported teacher development projects, including Teaching to the Big Ideas and the Teacher Curriculum Partnership project.

Yamila Hussein, Clinical Teacher Educator (English as a Second Language)
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Dr. Hussein is a recent graduate of the doctoral program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a Bachelors in English literature from Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, and a Masters degree in Community Education from Harvard. Dr. Hussein has worked with and for Palestinian children in Palestine, and has designed, directed and taught intensive academic programs for teacher professional development in Boston (Harvard, Boston College, Lesley University, Boston Teacher Residency) and abroad (Morocco, Jordan, Spain, Palestine, the Balkans). She is fluent in English, Spanish, Arabic and Palestinian Sign Language.

Connie Jacquays, Clinical Teacher Educator (Elementary Literacy)
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Ms. Jacquays is entering her 20th year in the field of education, having spent many years as an elementary teacher and reading specialist/consultant. For the past ten years, she worked with the Boston Public Schools as a district-wide literacy coach, Vice Principal/Director of Instruction at the Ohrenberger Elementary School, and as a Response to Intervention (RTI) Curriculum Specialist at the Haley Pilot School. She has taught graduate classes at the University of MA and has worked as a literacy consultant for Tufts University.

Elisabeth Kanner, Clinical Teacher Educator (History)
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Elisabeth Kanner joined BPE/BTR in 2011 as a Clinical Teacher Educator for History. As an educational studies major at Brown University, she developed a passion for education and school reform. She cut her teeth in the classroom as a founding teacher at the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, teaching Arts and Humanities to middle and high school students. In 2000, Ms. Kanner began the doctoral program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education where her research focused on civic education. During her five years as a graduate student she worked in the Graduate School of Education Teacher Education Program as a supervisor, researcher, mentor teacher, and advisor. Ms. Kanner has been a lecturer on the Methods of Teaching History and Introduction to Teaching at Harvard and she has worked as a researcher for the Urban Teacher Training Collaborative at Tufts University. Ms. Kanner was a curriculum writer at Facing History and Ourselves where she had the opportunity to create lessons and units designed to deepen students’ historical understanding skills while nurturing their growth as ethical decision-making and active community members.

Renee Lewis, Clinical Teacher Educator (Math)
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Ms. Lewis has taught math at Somerville Charter School, the Shaw Middle School, and at the McCormack Middle School in Dorchester, where she assumed substantial leadership roles, including co-founding the school’s 8th Grade Academy, serving as a mentor teacher for BTR Residents and other student teachers, and serving on the school’s hiring committee, School Site Council, and principal screening committee. Ms. Lewis participated in the Boston Principal Fellowship and served as Director of Instruction at Boston Day and Evening Academy. She earned a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Alexis Oosting, Clinical Teacher Educator (Special Education)
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Before coming to BTR, Ms. Oosting taught for 8 years as a special education teacher. She worked in inclusive and substantially separate classrooms with elementary, middle, and high school students. She also spent a year teaching in an alternative education setting. Ms. Oosting received her BA in Learning Disabilities from Hope College and her EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University. Currently, Ms. Oosting coaches BTR graduates, teaches courses, and supports residents and mentors.

Marcie Osinsky, BTR Curriculum Director
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Ms. Osinsky began her education career as a first- and second-grade teacher in the Cambridge Public Schools. Her experiences there led her to explore how partnerships with community and educational institutions can support teacher preparation and student achievement and the role of teacher leadership in urban schools. To continue this exploration, she became a liaison between Wheelock College and the Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School in the Boston Public Schools. In her role as a liaison, she worked with college faculty and public school educators to design a yearlong internship program focusing on mathematics and equity. Ms. Osinsky holds a B.A. and an M.A. in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Mora Owens, Clinical Teacher Educator (Elementary Literacy)
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Mora Owens supports the professional learning of teacher residents, mentors, and graduates, specializing in elementary literacy. Prior to joining the organization BPE-BTR, Ms. Owens was a literacy coach in the Cambridge Public Schools. She was responsible for implementing a comprehensive school-wide literacy program. She modeled best practices which used literacy-based learning strategies and coached teachers on how to enhance student’s literacy skills. In addition, she provided professional development for the K-2 team at her school. During her time in Cambridge, Ms. Ows was also a mentor teacher and supported those in their first year of teaching. She has taught in both Cambridge and Boston.

Julie Sloan, Clinical Teacher Educator (English Language Arts)
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Julie Sloan is a dual-certified National Board teacher and served as an instructor with BTR for several years. She is a former English language arts teacher at the McCormack Middle School in Boston and currently supports teacher residents and graduates in their coursework and teaching practice.

Liz Sweeney, Clinical Teacher Educator (Elementary Math)
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Ms. Sweeney has worked with the Boston Public Schools in a number of roles: Title I reading teacher, elementary teacher, mentor teacher, staff developer, district math facilitator, and district assessment developer. For ten years, she was the district’s Assistant Program Director for K-5 Mathematics. She holds an MEd from Boston State College in Elementary Education and a BA from Boston University.

Gene Thompson-Grove, Co-Director of Clinical Teacher Education
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Gene Thompson-Grove oversees professional support for BPE-BTR’s Clinical Teacher Educators, as well as teacher residents, mentors teachers, BTR graduates, and colleagues in partner schools.  Ms. Thompson-Grove began her career as a high school English and social studies teacher in Watertown, MA and later taught middle school in Cambridge, MA. Most recently, Ms. Thompson-Grove served as Director of Professional Development and Special Initiatives in the Brookline Public Schools. For the past twenty years, she has worked with numerous reform organizations, schools and school districts; she has lead seminars on examining student work, understanding school culture, creating professional communities, engaging in collaborative inquiry, developing facilitative leadership, and designing and facilitating adult learning experiences. Ms. Thompson-Grove was a Clinical Professor in the Education Department at Brown University, and she worked for the Coalition of Essential Schools and Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown for ten years. She is a founding member of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR), the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), and more recently, the School Reform Initiative (SRI).

Andrea Wells, Clinical Teacher Educator (Science)
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This is Ms. Wells’ second year with BTR. She served first as a host school site director and now as a Clinical Teacher Educator in science As an undergraduate, Ms. Wells majored in physics and integrated science at Northwestern University. She then taught physics, chemistry, earth science, physical science, and math in Chicago. After ten years of teaching, she moved to Boston where she earned her MEd at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Administration

Jenny Amory, Development Director
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Jenny Amory is the Development Director at Boston Plan for Excellence-Boston Teacher Residency. Previously, she served for eight years as the Executive Director of Teen Voices, a journalism mentoring and leadership program for girls in Boston that publishes an alternative print and online magazine worldwide.  She has over 25 years of experience in community organizations focusing on women’s leadership and quality educational programs for children and youth. Specializing in creating new organizations and programs committed to social justice, she designed and directed innovative youth employment programs in New York City, helped to build a local camp program in Iowa into a national organization, Indian Youth of America, and directed the Massachusetts School-Age Coalition. She began her career as a youth worker in New York City primarily working with teen girls. She has a B.S. in Social Work from New York University and a Masters in City Planning from M.I.T. 

Monique Davis, Alumni and Placement Manager
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Ms. Davis has been with the organization since its inception in 2003.  Prior to becoming the Alumni and Placement Manager, she served as a Recruiter, and was responsible for recruiting talent on a local and national level for BTR, building relationships and cultivating partnerships. Prior to joining BTR, Ms. Davis worked as an employment manager at The Home for Little Wanderers, a Boston-based not-for-profit human services organization; Vinfen Corporation; and the Boston Stock Exchange. Ms. Davis earned a B.A. in finance and accounting from Northeastern University and an executive MBA from Dartmouth College in minority business.

Erin K. Elliott, Finance and Operations Associate
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Prior to joining BTR, Ms. Elliott managed recruitment efforts for Building Excellent Schools and coordinated housing and community organizing projects for Marquette University and Oberlin College, respectively. She is an alumna of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Americorps VISTA programs. Ms. Elliott holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications from Creighton University and a Masters in Nonprofit Public Administration from Marquette University.

Shoma Haque, Chief Operating Officer
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After a career as an information technology consultant at Deloitte & Touche, Ms. Haque switched to the non-profit field and has worked for Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation, Center for Women & Enterprise, City Year, and the City of Somerville as a Rappaport Fellow. Ms. Haque holds a B.S. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in city planning from MIT.

Ed Liu, Director of Organizational Learning
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As Director of Organizational Learning, Dr. Liu leads the organization’s efforts to understand why certain teachers produce exceptional student learning gains and to embed these insights into BTR’s program. Before joining BTR, Dr. Liu was assistant professor of educational administration at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He began his career as a high school history teacher and was Founding Co-Director of Summerbridge Portland, an academic program that put low-income middle-school students on the path to college and exposed outstanding high school and college students to a career in teaching. Dr. Liu holds an Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he was an original member of the Project on the Next Generation of Teachers and co-authored Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive in Our Schools (AACTE Outstanding Book of 2005). Dr. Liu also holds an M.B.A and A.M. in Education from Stanford University, and a B.A. in History from Yale.

Cassandra Pagan, AmeriCorps Program Director
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Prior to joining BPE/BTR, Ms. Pagan was a Quality Assurance Analyst for Clear Capital, a financial services firm in Truckee, CA. She also was a Client Services Advocate/AmeriCorps volunteer at Tahoe Women’s Services in Kings Beach, CA. During her time at Tahoe Women’s Services, Ms. Pagan completed Crisis Intervention Training and became a Crisis Advocate per the State of California. She holds a BA from Colorado College in International Political Economy, with a minor in Latin American Studies.

Melissa Shannon, TQP Grant Manager
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Ms. Shannon coordinates grants and reporting for the the Boston Teacher Residency Partnership. Prior to joining BPE-BTR, she was the financial manager for a research unit at the Cambridge Health Alliance. Ms. Shannon has also served as a contract budget analyst for Management Sciences for Health, a non-profit international health organization, and as a business analyst for Public Consulting Group. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut.

Jesse Solomon, Executive Director
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Mr. Solomon has taught middle and high school math for 10 years at the King Open School in Cambridge, Brighton High School, and City on a Hill Public Charter School, where he was a founding teacher, lead teacher for curriculum and instruction, and a member of the board of directors. While at City on a Hill, he founded the Teachers Institute, a school-based teacher preparation program. He has been an instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a National Board-certified teacher. Mr. Solomon holds a B.S. in mathematics from MIT and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.