Jessica began her career in education as a 2000 Corps Member with Teach For America in Los Angeles. She taught 7th and 8th grade English and ESL and was awarded the Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching, given to just six teachers nationally each year. In 2002 she joined the Bay Area Teach For America staff where she launched two new district partnerships and doubled the size of the corps in Oakland. In 2005, she was a School Director at the Teach For America Summer Institute before joining Sankofa Academy as a founding teacher where 90% of her students made an average of two years grade-level growth in reading. Jessica holds a B.A. in English and Women's Studies from the University of Rhode Island and a M.A. in Women's Studies and Literature of the African Diaspora from San Diego State University.

Jeannemarie Hendershot-Kim Director of Operations

Jeannemarie was introduced to education while working as a 6th grade ELL and social studies teacher for three years in Los Angeles through Teach For America. Most recently, she served as the Associate Director for Academic Accountability at the NYC Department of Education Office of Charter Schools. During her time at NYCDOE, she managed monitoring and renewal for all Chancellor-authorized charter schools and served as the assessment director for all NYC charter schools. Prior to this Jeannemarie worked in the Education division of Scholastic, Inc. as part of the Research and Validation team, assisting with effectiveness research and data dissemination for several reading intervention products. She holds a M.P.A from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at NYU, a M.A. in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount University, and a B.A. in Communications and Spanish from Loyola College in Maryland.

Brett Peiser Founder

As Managing Director of Collegiate Charter Schools, an Uncommon Schools network of middle and high schools in Brooklyn, Brett Peiser is the Founder of Williamsburg Collegiate, Kings Collegiate, Bedford Stuyvesant Collegiate, Brownsville Collegiate, Brooklyn East Collegiate, Ocean Hill Collegiate, and Uncommon Charter High School. From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Peiser was the Founder, Principal, and Executive Director of Boston Collegiate Charter School, a college preparatory middle and high school serving 500+ students. Prior to this, Mr. Peiser taught History at Midwood High School in New York City. Mr. Peiser received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Michelle Arader Special Projects Coordinator

Michelle grew up in Riverside, CT, and earned her B.A. in Spanish at Princeton University, where she also earned certificates in Translation and Intercultural Communication and Environmental Studies. She studied abroad in Spain and has also lived in Costa Rica and Portugal. She rowed competitively in high school and freshman year of college before switching from the crew team to the sailing team. Her efforts to spend as much time as possible in boats may stem from her many happy summers taking canoeing trips from a Vermont-based camp where she then returned to work as staff and lead her own trips. She joined the BVC team as Special Projects Coordinator in 2010 and is looking forward to another great year!

Katy Berlin 5th Grade Science Teacher

Katy earned her BS in Ecology at the University of Michigan in her home state. After graduating from college, she moved to San Francisco and began teaching middle school science. She remained in the Bay Area for graduate school, and earned a Masters in Education Policy from Stanford University. Following grad school, Katy worked in operations in the shared services office of Harlem Village Academies. In 2009 she re-entered the classroom as Brownsville Collegiate’s founding science teacher, and she is excited to be back for another year at BVC!

Ryan Burningham 5th Grade History Teacher

Ryan grew up in a quiet town in southwestern Idaho. From 2006-2007, he lived in central Taiwan, where he learned Mandarin Chinese and organized free English classes in his spare time. Fascinated by Chinese history and literature, he then pursued a B.A. in Chinese at Brigham Young University, where he worked as an undergraduate writing instructor, Student Editor of BYU's Asian Studies Journal, and Editor-in-Chief of The BYU Political Review. Ryan joined the 2011 Teach For America corps and is very excited to be starting his teaching career at BVC. A former Boy Scout, Ryan enjoys the great outdoors. He has wrestled calves on a dusty ranch in Wyoming, scuba dived the coral reefs of Maui, skied pristine powder in Utah, and hitchhiked with a surfboard through Hainan, China, trying to find the perfect waves.

Sara Corona Special Education Coordinator/Teacher

Raised on a farm in upstate New York, Sara received a B.A in English from the University at Buffalo before going to Las Vegas with Teach For America. After working two years in a Las Vegas elementary resource placement and receiving her Masters in Special Education from UNLV, she moved to Los Angeles to work with Green Dot at Animo Venice. She has served students in a combination resource/ inclusion setting in 11th and 12th grades and was privileged to help organize senior activities, student government, yearbook, and coach cross country. Sara’s big loves will always be hip hop, teaching, the New York Yankees, and the Men of Excellence. She is so excited to be finally moving back home and working with Brownsville students!

Imani Darden Office Manager

Born and raised in the Bronx, Imani ventured further northeast to Massachusetts for college. A recent graduate of Smith College, she earned her B.A in Psychology and Portuguese Brazilian Studies. As an undergraduate she was involved in institutional diversity, multi-cultural affairs and mentor programs for underrepresented students. Prior to joining Brownsville Collegiate, she interned at a non-profit organization, Baby Buggy, that supports families and children throughout New York City with essential clothing and infant/toddler gear and products. She is extremely excited to be a part of Uncommon Schools as Brownsville Collegiate's Office Manager and looks forward to being a part of a dedicated and motivated team.

Jamie Davidson 5th Grade Reading Teacher

Born and raised in New York City, Jamie attended the Spence School and Barnard College. She studied Literature and Education at Barnard; her undergraduate thesis work advanced a literature curriculum designed to enhance general well-being and happiness amongst adolescents. She believes in the power of reading and writing to shape the adolescent sense of self-worth and well-being, and holds that happiness in young adults can actually be quantified using various metrics. Previously, Jamie worked at Democracy Prep Charter School, where she taught 6th Grade Literature Studies. She is a huge believer in the charter school movement and no excuses schools, and she is thrilled to be working at BVC again this year!

Emily Davis 5th Grade Writing Teacher

Emily was born in Oakland, California, but grew up in Springfield, Ohio. She graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in English in 2009. At Stanford, she was an RA for two years, performed with an improv group, and helped start a mentoring and tutoring club for middle school girls in East Palo Alto (when she wasn’t out frolicking in the California sunshine). She moved to New York in August of ’09 to start working on the Recruitment Team for Uncommon Schools and is absolutely thrilled to be a part of BVC and a 2010 Teach for America Corps Member.

Sarah Engstrom 7th and 8th Grade Writing Teacher

A native of Minnesota, Sarah earned her B.A. in English Literature and Secondary Education from the College of St. Benedict in 2004. She continued her education at the University of St. Thomas, receiving an M.A. and second licensure in Reading Instruction. Ms. Engstrom cultivates her love of New York City by frequenting the live music scene, running her favorite routes in Central Park, and by never meeting a dance floor she doesn't like. She feels fortunate for the opportunity to teach Writing to the hardest-working students in Brooklyn!

Katherine Enright 7th Grade Math Teacher

Kat grew up in Riverside, Connecticut. She received a B.A. in Psychology at Georgetown University. Prior to joining BVC she earned her JD from Boston College Law School and practiced tax law in New York and Boston. After several years she realized that her passion lay in teaching, not lawyering! Math has always been her favorite subject, and she is very excited (and honored) to be starting her teaching career at BVC.

Nina Fitzeman-Blue 6th Grade Writing Teacher

Nina is excited to be part of the BVC family! Nina grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, she went on to earn a degree in Classics and Latin at Brown University in Providence, RI. Realizing that teaching was the right career for her, Nina joined the Teach for America Corps in Washington, DC, as an 8th Grade English teacher at Jefferson Middle School. While in DC, Nina earned a master's degree in Education from American University. After two years in the nation's capital, Nina is looking forward to New York and Brownsville Collegiate! She is absolutely delighted to meet the winning writers at BVC!

Lightning Jay 7th and 8th Grade History Teacher

Lightning grew up just outside of the nation's capital in the town of Bethesda, Maryland. For college he went north to Connecticut and double majored in Philosophy and Religion at Wesleyan University. During his time at Wesleyan, Lightning occupied his spare time with basketball, ultimate frisbee, volunteering in local schools, and eating. After participating in BVC's amazing first and second years he is excited to see the school continue to grow and challenge students to achieve at the highest levels.

Sharlene Jeanty Apprentice Teacher

Sharlene was born in Brooklyn, NY, and went to high school in Boston, MA. She then went on to Connecticut College in New London, where she majored in American Studies. After college she went on to become a Teaching Fellow for Citizen Schools. She loved out-of-school education so much she decided to become a Campus Director for Citizen Schools and started the program in East Harlem, NY. During her tenure with Citizen Schools, Sharlene also received her Masters in Education at Lesley University. Before coming to BVC, she was building school partnerships with New York City business leaders through a non-profit called PENCIL. Sharlene is very excited to get back into schools and be a part of the BVC team.

Christina Lippert 6th Grade History Teacher

Christina grew up in Astoria, Queens and then ventured north for college, completing a Joint Honors in Political Science and International Development from McGill University (Montreal, QC). Upon graduation she joined Teach For America and was placed in Houston, TX. For two years she taught U.S. History to 140 amazing 8th graders at Ortiz Middle School. Christina is Ukrainian (but born in the U.S.) and continues to be heavily involved in the Ukrainian-American community in New York. She loves to travel, learn about culture, and discuss educational issues. She is overwhelmingly excited to be returning to BVC and working to send all of our students to college.

Megan MacDonald Special Education Teacher

Megan grew up far from the Turnpike in the quaint town of Chester, NJ. She headed to the nation's capital to pursue an interest in politics at Georgetown University, where she earned her B.A. in Government and English. During her time at Georgetown, she became interested in the issues facing education in America through her coursework and an internship on education policy at the office of Senator Ken Salazar. Her involvement in a literacy tutoring program in a nearby DC neighborhood inspired her to pursue teaching after graduation. She joined the DC Teaching Fellows as a Special Education teacher, and after a summer of working with high school students she began teaching 6th and 7th grade at Winston Education Campus in Southeast DC. After an extremely rewarding experience helping her students grow as scholars, Megan relocated to her favorite city to work with the scholars at BVC!

Charmayne Maddox Dean of Students

Native to Brownsville, Brooklyn, Charmayne earned her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University in 2004. While earning a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State in 2005, Charmayne discovered her passion for urban education. She decided to apply for Teach For America, and later served as a corps member in Philadelphia teaching 6th-9th grade students with special needs. She went on to earn her M.Ed in Special Education from Chestnut Hill College. After her two-year commitment, Charmayne moved back home to teach 7th and 8th grade ELA at Achievement First Crown Heights Middle School. During her time with AF, she also worked as the Saturday School Director, Director of After School Programs, and 7th Grade Level Chair. She joined BVC as the Dean of Students in the school’s founding year and is thrilled to be a part of a talented team who is ready to educate, motivate, and inspire!

Laura McDaniel 7th and 8th Grade Reading Teacher

Laura grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she attended the University of Minnesota as an English and Ojibwe Language double major. From there, she and her husband moved to New York where Laura pursued a career in promotions management. Knowing that deep down she wanted to teach, Laura joined the 2009 Teach for America corps as the founding ELA teacher and Department Head of a Brooklyn charter school, where 93% of students made at least two years of reading growth. In her second year of teaching, Laura was nominated for the Sue Lehmann Award for Excellence in Teaching. From there, she knew that Brownsville Collegiate was the place for her, and she is thrilled to be a part of the team!

Tom McDermott 5th Grade Math Teacher

Tom earned his undergraduate degree in History at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He played baseball while in college, and was the captain of the team during his final two years. After college he taught 5th grade as a Teach For America corps member in Phoenix, Arizona, where his students made drastic measurable gains in reading, writing and math! While in Arizona, he earned his Master’s degree in education from Arizona State University. He is looking forward to returning for his third year at BVC this year to help all our new Bears get on the path to college!

Cate Mingoya 6th Grade Science Teacher

Cate graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall as a Carl Icahn Scholar in 2004 and earned a B.A. in biology with a minor in early American history from Reed College in 2008. She completed her senior undergraduate thesis on intraspecies recognition in A. burtoni cichlids and in 2010 earned a masters degree in secondary science education from Lehman College. In 2010, Cate completed her second year teaching middle school science with Teach for America. With two feet in the east and a heart in the west, Cate is constantly on the lookout for chances to hike, bike or kayak. Cate’s afternoons and weekends are filled with swimming, art projects, Bikram Yoga, pottery lessons, cooking, listening to "Radio Lab" and "This American Life" and taking long rides (and running short errands) on her red hybrid bike “Leslie Knope.” She became a Brooklyner in the summer of 2010 to begin teaching at BVC.

Molly O’Connell 7^th and 8^th Grade Science Teacher

Hailing from the heart of Red Sox territory, Molly grew up just outside of Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts. Molly graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where she spent most of her time wielding a field hockey stick or softball bat, and/or studying religion and African American studies. A cohort 18 New York City Teaching Fellow, Molly earned her Master’s in Secondary Science Education from City College of New York and taught middle school science in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx before joining the BVC family. She is excited to be a part of such a dedicated group of students and staff!

Kelsey Peaper Special Education Teacher

Kelsey was born in South Korea and came to the United States at 5 months old to live with her wonderful adoptive family. She was raised in a small town in Minnesota called Litchfield, where there is little diversity. After graduation, she chose to go to Chicago for college and a change of pace, where she attended Loyola University Chicago, receiving a B.A. in Theatre and minors in Communication and Music. Kelsey started teaching in Los Angeles through Teach For America, where she taught special education self contained science to all grade levels at Dorsey High School. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University with her Masters in Special Education and is very excited for her second year at BVC in New York!

Katie Schor 6th Grade Reading Teacher

Katie feels privileged to be joining the BVC team! After growing up in New York City and attending The Brearley School, Katie went north to Colgate University from where she was graduated with her B.A. in English and Elementary Teaching Certification. After a short stint in Ireland as a nanny and waitress, she soon returned to New York to pursue her Master’s Degree in Clinical Literacy from Bank Street College. September at BVC will mark the beginning of Katie’s ninth year of teaching, having most recently taught fourth grade at P.S. 40 in Manhattan. Although she loves teaching all subjects, discussing literature with her students has always been the most rewarding and inspiring part of her day. She looks forward to meeting the readers and thinkers of Brownsville Collegiate!

Danielle Shaw Social Worker

Danielle grew up in Queens, New York. She graduated from Spelman College in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology. After graduation she became an inaugural member of the MATCH Corps at MATCH Charter High School in Boston, MA. In addition to tutoring and mentoring, Danielle also advised the Girl's Step Team and organized fundraisers for team uniforms. When her year of service was over, she began studying Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Southern California. Danielle is inspired by the students and families of BVC who work so hard to get smart each and every day. She is absolutely honored to be a member of the team at Brownsville Collegiate Charter School!

Ben Simon 5th Grade Math Teacher

Ben was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and received a B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. At the U of M, he worked as a photographer for the school newspaper. After graduating, he went to work on a cherry farm in Northern Michigan knowing little about cherries and even less about farming. Turns out, spilling 1,500 lbs of cherries actually sounds worse than it looks. Before joining BVC in 2010, he worked as a full-time tutor/teacher-in-training at The MATCH Middle School in Boston. Moving to New York had long been a goal of his since his father, being from the city, raised him as a Yankees fan, which is why he is excited to have escaped Red Sox territory. He enjoys photography, biking, reading and is trying to learn how to cook.

Anjya Thomas 6th Grade Math Teacher

Anjya earned her B.A. in History with a concentration in Latin American studies from Williams College in 2005. After college she taught 5th and 6th grade math in Washington D.C. for two years (at a school where President and First Lady Obama read stories in April). Moving to New York in June 2007 she became a founding teacher at Kings Collegiate Charter School, an Uncommon School. She then decided to broaden her horizons and taught English as a Foreign Language in Shanghai, China. Ms. Thomas loves traveling, reading, and playing tennis. She is very excited to continue at Uncommon Schools, helping another group of students reach their full potential and begin down their road to college.

Cody Whitesell 6th and 8th Grade Math Teacher

Cody graduated from Indiana University in 2008 with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in sociology. Studying the mechanics of international economics policies, Cody attended the University of Wollongong in NSW, Australia. Upon graduation, he joined Teach For America as a 2008 Indianapolis charter corps member, and while fulfilling his two-year commitment, he earned a M.A. in Teaching from Marian University. Within his placement school, Cody taught high school math subjects ranging from remedial algebra to statistics. He is extremely excited to be a part of Brownsville Collegiate and ensuring our BVC Bears are college-bound!

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