Megan Aponte: Megan joined Excel in 2008 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's Learning Specialist. She previously served as Excel's afterschool tutoring specialist. She has worked for numerous museums and galleries including Boston’s Museum of Science and Museum of Fine Arts. Megan earned a Bachelor’s degree from Colgate University and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at Boston University.
Jennifer Altavilla: Jennifer joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s English Language Learning Specialist. She is a Teach for America alum who worked in Dorchester at the Lilla Frederick Pilot Middle School before joining the Excel team. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from New York University and a Master’s degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Lorraine Bacos: Lorraine joined Excel in 2005 and is Excel Academy-Easton Boston’s school counselor. She has previously worked as a counselor at Lowell Middlesex Academy. Lorraine holds a Bachelor’s degree from Merrimack College and a Master’s degree from Cambridge College.
Carmen Baez: Carmen joined Excel in 2006 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Office Manager. Prior to Excel, Carmen worked for more than ten years as a paralegal. She holds a degree from North Shore Community College.
Komal Bhasin: Komal joined Excel in 2005 and is the Principal of Excel Academy-East Boston. She is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the educational program including management of the instructional staff, curriculum development and delivery, assessment development, promotion of school culture and school-family relations. Before Excel, Komal served as a founding teacher for the KIPP-affiliated school in New Orleans and, more recently, as the founding Assistant Principal of KIPP-affiliated schools in New Orleans and Houston. Komal was also a corps member in the Teach for America program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
Zoe Burgess: Zoe joined Excel in 2010 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Operations Manager. Before Excel , Zoe was a Teach for America corp member in New York City, teaching 7th grade English. She also has work experience in the financial services industry. Zoe is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Master's degree from Pace University.
Caitlin Campbell: Caitlin joined Excel in 2009 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 5th grade math teacher. Prior to Excel, she served as a mentor and events coordinator for the Strong Women, Strong Girls program and worked in the Harvard College Admissions office. She is a graduate of Harvard University.
Shannon Coyle: Shannon joined Excel in 2006 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s English Language Learner Program Manager. She previously taught adult ESL classes as part of the Literacy Project, based in Cambridge, MA. Shannon also has a number of years of business experience, and is a graduate of Boston College.
Dai Ellis: Dai is Excel’s Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for management of the network, holding non-instructional responsibilities including board relations and governance, educational accountability, personnel issues, budgeting and finance, legal and regulatory compliance, facilities issues and external relations. In addition, as the network of schools grow, Dai will be responsible for overseeing these additional institutions and managing the network team. Prior to joining Excel, Dai served as the Executive Vice President of Access Programs at the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), where he led the Foundation’s work on improving the marketplace for HIV/AIDS and malaria drugs, diagnostics and other essential commodities. He also co-founded Orphans of Rwanda, a nonprofit organization that provides university scholarships to orphans and other vulnerable youth. Dai holds a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
Maureen Foley: Maureen joined Excel in 2008 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 6th grade math teacher. Prior to Excel, Maureen served as a Teach for America corps member, teaching for two years at a public middle school in New York City. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Boston University and a Master's of Science in Teaching from Pace University.
Jocelyn Foulke: Jocelyn joined Excel in 2004 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Dean of Administration. Prior to Excel, Jocelyn initiated a program called Media Smart Kids, designed to heighten media awareness for teenagers. She also has experience working with middle school students in New York City. Before assuming the position as Excel's Dean of Administration, she served as the 5th grade math teacher at Excel Academy-East Boston. Jocelyn is a graduate of Bowdoin College.
Taylor Gaar: Taylor joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's 5th & 6th grade science teacher. He previously taught at the Community Charter School of Cambridge and is a graduate of Whitman College. Taylor also holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Bryan Gattis: Bryan joined Excel in 2010 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Student Support Fellow. Most recently, Bryan worked as a volunteer teacher in Ecuador, India and Kenya. He also spent four summers as a counselor at Camp Deerwood in Holderness, NH. Bryan is a graduate of Colby College.
Laura Goldworm: Laura joined Excel in 2008 is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Dean of High School Placement & Graduate Services. Most recently, she served as a Site Manager for Jumpstart. She has previous teaching experience and taught for three years in NYC public schools through the NYC Teaching Fellows program. Laura earned a Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a Master’s degree from Fordham University.
Rebecca Gruber: Rebecca joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's 7th and 8th Grade Advanced Learning Support Specialist. Prior to Excel, Rebecca taught eighth-grade English for nine years at the William Diamond Middle School in Lexington, MA. She has her Master’s of Arts in Teaching from Simmons College. She also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Boston University.
Keith Guerin: Keith joined Excel in 2004 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 7th & 8th Grade Dean of Students. Before Excel, Keith taught at the Tudor Hill School in Chelsea. He has also served as the Art Director for the Manchester (MA) Community Center. Keith is a graduate of Montserrat College of Art.
Kendra Heinricher: Kendra joined Excel in 2004 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 8th grade math teacher. Previously, she served as a founding member of the MATCH Corps. Kendra also has two years of experience working at schools in Bellingham, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Roger Williams University.
Ryan Holmes: Ryan joined Excel in 2008 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 7th grade math teacher. Before Excel, he worked as the founding program director for the Boston Charter School Alliance where he focused on political advocacy on behalf of Boston-area charter schools. He has also served as a MATCH Corps Fellow. Ryan earned his Bachelor’s degree from UMASS – Amherst.
Lindsay Hudgins: Lindsay joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's Teaching Fellow. Prior to Excel, she served as a Humanities facilitator and Language Arts teacher in the Denver Public Schools. Lindsay is a graduate of Texas A&M University & Colorado Christian University.
Lauren Kaplan: Lauren joined Excel in 2010 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 7th & 8th grade science teacher. She is a Teach for America alum, having served as a first grade teacher at a Title I school in Glendale, Arizona. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and holds a Master's of Education--Elementary Education from Arizona State University
Kate Lints: Kate joined Excel in 2006 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 5th & 6th grade social studies teacher. During college, she student taught in a number of Winston-Salem, NC, public schools. Kate graduated from Wake Forest University.
Marcy Long: Marcy joined Excel in 2003 and is one of Excel Academy-East Boston’s Learning Specialists. She has student teaching experience at three different schools in the Boston area, and also has experience working at the Hun School of Princeton’s summer school program. Marcy holds undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Boston College.
Kyle Martin: Kyle joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's Health & Fitness Teacher and Athletics & Extracurricular Manager. He taught at the Loma Linda Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona before joining Excel. A former Teach for America corps member, Kyle holds degrees from Arizona State University and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Katie Mansfield: Katie joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s art teacher. Prior Excel, Katie was a professor of photography at a community college in Connecticut as well as a high school art teacher at a charter school in Dorchester, MA. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts and Education degree from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston as well as a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Connecticut.
Caitlin Moore: Caitlin joined Excel in 2006 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher. Caitlin, who has also taught at North Central Essential Charter School, is a graduate of Bowdoin College.
Becca Moskowitz: Becca joined Excel in 2003 and is the 7th grade English teacher at Excel Academy-East Boston. She has extensive experience at Citizen Schools, where she has held roles including Citizen Teacher, Teaching Fellow, Director of Teaching and Learning, and Curriculum Coordinator. She has also served as a District Coordinator for Project Citizen and a Teaching Fellow for Discovering Justice. Becca is a graduate of Carleton College.
Liliana Ornelas: Lily joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's Director of High School Placement. She worked as an Admissions Officer at Brown University and a Postsecondary Success Associate at ACCESS in Boston before coming to Excel. She holds degrees from Brown University and Harvard University.
Brett Pangburn: Brett joined Excel in 2005 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's 6th grade English teacher. Before Excel, Brett taught middle and high school students in Boston and Cambridge public schools. Previously, he worked as a corporate and health care lawyer in Boston. Brett is a graduate of Bowdoin College, received a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and an Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Emily Salander: Emily joined Excel in 2009 and is one of Excel Academy-East Boston’s Learning Specialists. Emily is a Teach for America alumni and was the first Teach for America-Boston corps member placed at Excel. Through Teach for America, she also has experience teaching in the Chicago Public School system. In addition, she has worked on behalf of the education program at the Contemporary Art Museum (St. Louis). Emily is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
CeSea Saunders: CeSea joined Excel in 2010 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s Director of Post-Secondary Support. Prior to joining the Excel team, she served as a Family and Community Coordinator at The Academy of Public Service for Boston Public Schools, and most recently as the Senior Associate Director/Chief Operations and Program Director at Boston HOPE (Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation, Inc.) CeSea is a graduate of Suffolk University and holds a Master's in Mental Health and a Master's in Organizational Management and Leadership both from Springfield College.
Sarah Stuntz: Sarah joined Excel in 2008 and is Excel Academy-East Boston’s 8th grade English teacher. She has worked as a Research Assistant for the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning and as an Operations Coordinator for Teach for America’s Houston Summer Institute. Sarah graduated from the University of Virginia.
Nicole Simoes: Nicole joined Excel in 2008 and is a Director of Graduate Support at Excel Academy-East Boston. Before Excel, she served as a supervising grant coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital. Most recently, Nicole served as a permanent substitute Spanish teacher at Medford High School. She earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from Tulane University.
Matthew Thornton: Matt joined Excel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's 5th grade English teacher. Prior to Excel, he taught at the Northwestern High School in Baltimore for three years. He is a Teach for America corps member who holds degrees from Rider University, Rutgers University and Johns Hopkins University.
Denise Weaver: Denise Weaver joined Excel in 2003 and is the school nurse at both Excel East Boston and Chelsea. Denise has held a variety of public health nursing positions in Massachusetts schools and hospitals. She holds degrees from Northeastern University and Salem State College.
Meghan Welch: Meghan joined Exel in 2011 and is Excel Academy-East Boston's Associate Dean of Students for the 5th & 6th Grade. She was a founding teacher who helped to plan and implement KIPP DC's first high school. She is a graduate of Connecticut College and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Tufts University.
