Welcome to LA Mike Polsonetti assumed the role of Dean of Enrollment and Admissions in July. A graduate of Connecticut’s Pomfret School, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, and Northeastern University, he previously served as the senior associate director of admissions and director of external partnerships for the Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn. Mike has also worked in admissions at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies and Brandeis University. He also has experience both coaching ice hockey and playing at the college level and in the ECHL and CHL. Ben Rogers ’02 joined Lawrence Academy as the new Director of Annual Giving in late August. The Sharon Massachusetts resident has teaching, coaching, and tutoring experience. However, since 2008, he held various positions in development and alumni relations — most recently, Director of the Annual Fund and Director of Alumni Relations — at Waltham’s Chapel HillChauncy Hall School. Ben holds a B.A. in history and a minor in education from St. Lawrence University; an M.S. in Education from Simmons College; and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in Educational Leadership from Salem State University. Lawrence Academy’s new Director of Parent Advancement is Tonya Kalmes of Dedham, Mass. She comes to LA from West Roxbury’s Catholic Memorial School, where she was the Director of Institutional Advancement. Tonya also has previous experience as Associate Director of Annual Giving and Reunion Manager at Dedham’s Noble & Greenough School, and as Associate 1 2 LAWRENCE ACADEMY FALL 2021
Director of Alumni Giving, Alumni Relations, and Initiatives at Kent School in Kent Connecticut. Tonya is a graduate of The State University of New York with a B.A. in liberal studies. Tonya spends her free time cross-country skiing, cycling, hiking, running, cooking, and practicing yoga. Matthew Ferreira is Lawrence Academy’s new Senior Athletic Trainer. A graduate of Springfield College (B.S., athletic training) and West Virginia University (M.S., athletic training), he most recently spent two years as a specialist in athletic training at the University of Connecticut, serving as head athletic trainer for the school’s 37 club sports teams. Matthew has also worked as an assistant athletic trainer at the College of the Holy Cross and Morgantown, W.Va.’s HealthWorks Rehab and Fitness, and has clinical experience with Holy Cross, Springfield College, Mount Holyoke College, and Longmeadow High School. As LA’s new Assistant Athletic Trainer, April Buchheit will work closely with Matthew. A graduate of Colby-Sawyer College (B.S., exercise and sport sciences) and the University of Maine (M.Ed., kinesiology and physical education), she previously worked for nearly a decade as Merrimack College’s assistant athletic trainer. Previously, April was an assistant athletic trainer at UMaine Farmington and the University of Maine. Marcelle Barker joined the College Counseling Office in August as the college counseling office assistant. She’s not new to campus, though, because from September 2012 through February 2014, she served
as LA’s bookstore manager. Marcelle holds a B.S. in education from Keene State College and has previously worked as the lead pre-K teacher at Indian River Nursery School in Canaan, N.H. Lawrence Academy’s new Director of Theatre, Dennis Canty, brings more than 15 years of experience to the role. Most recently the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild, he has also served as Boston College High School’s Director and Technical director, and as a guest director for both Middlesex School and Westford Academy. A member of the UMass Amherst Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild’s Board of Trustees, Dennis holds a B.A. in women, gender, and sexuality studies from UMass Amherst and recently completed a M.S. in non-profit leadership through the University of Pennsylvania. Anna Fleming joins the English department for the 2021-2022 school year from the College Preparatory School in Oakland, Calif. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in English, with a concentration in teaching literature and writing, from the University of Virginia. During her time at UVA, Anna worked as an English Department graduate instructor and research assistant, and was a writing center tutor. At UC Berkeley, she served as the Berkeley Fiction Review’s student instructor, editor, and director of events.
