Welcome to LA!

Whether they live on or off campus, all faculty participate in Lawrence Academy’s residential life program, either as dorm parents or affiliates. Additionally, all serve as advisors, and most have coaching or extracurricular responsibilities as well.

Kyle Adamian joins the Lawrence Academy staff as an accountant in the Business Office, after spending more than five years as the accounting supervisor for Privatus Care Solutions in Lexington, Mass. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Eastern Michigan University and an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jackson Bilbrey is new to Lawrence Academy’s history department this school year. A 2023 graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. (B.A., English), he spent this past summer working as a Summer Session teacher at Canaan, N.H.’s Cardigan Mountain School and was a nature camp counselor at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Woodstock in Summer 2022. Jackson also has experience as a student instructor with America Reads.

Melanie “Mel” Dexter returns to the math department this school year, after previously teaching math and coaching varsity field hockey and varsity girls’ ice hockey at Lawrence Academy in 2014-2016. She arrives back at LA from Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms School, where she taught engineering and computer science; was both a coordinator and instructor for the school’s health, wellness, and DEI program; and coached the varsity swimming and diving, JV tennis, golf, and robotics teams. Melanie received her bachelor’s degree (industrial engineering) from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and her master’s degree (education) from the University of Pennsylvania, and she is working toward a Ph.D. in transformative social change from Saybrook University.

The Lawrence Academy Spartans have gained Sean Foster, LA’s new assistant athletic trainer. A graduate of Springfield College (B.S., athletic training), he is a certified and licensed athletic trainer with experience in athletic training at his alma mater, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, and Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I.

New history teacher Mike Foustoukos joins Lawrence Academy from Littleton Public Schools, where he taught history and social studies since 2013. During his time at Littleton, Mike also coached the boys’ varsity basketball team and served on the school leadership team as a curriculum coordinator and as a club advisor. He holds both a bachelor’s degree (business administration, with a focus in finance) and a master’s degree (education) from Merrimack College in Andover.

Anthony Giovino, who previously worked as a fight choreographer and movement director at Lawrence Academy, is now teaching theatre at LA. Anthony graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.F.A. in acting. During his time there, he also studied abroad at Theatre Academy London. He has previously worked as a director at Boston College High School and a music and drama specialist at Camp Three Rivers in Concord, and also as a special education tutor at Concord’s Willard/Alcott Elementary School and an LTS English teacher at Watertown High School.

Lawrence Academy’s new director of human resources is Maggy Godfroy, who arrives on campus from Concord Academy, where she served as director of human resources since 2015. She’s also previously worked at Sasaki Associates, Inc. (director of professional resources, 2013-2015) in Watertown, Mass., and Boston’s Shepley Bulfinch, where she spent 12 years in various roles. Maggie holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., and studied human resources management and personnel administration through Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Heather Hooven has joined Lawrence Academy as a learning specialist. Previously, she was a seventh and eighth grade English teacher and the academic support coordinator at Bancroft School in Worcester. She also has experience as a special education teacher (Monroe Township High School and Montgomery Township Upper Middle School and High School, both in New Jersey) and as the assistant to the head of school at Birches School in Lincoln. She holds a bachelor’s degree in human development (with a minor in elementary education and a specialty in special education) from Boston’s Wheelock College.

Sheri Howard is our new accountant. She arrives on campus from Harvard Business School, where she was working as a financial analyst contractor, though she has also previously worked at BNY Mellon (2009-2023) and PNC Bank (2002-2009), both in Westborough. Sheri attended Becker College, where she studied accounting and business management, and Mount Wachusett Community College, where she studied accounting and psychology.

Also now at Lawrence Academy as a learning specialist is Anna Jarnyrd, who has been on campus since 2022 as a coach and dorm parent. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (B.S. in sociology with a concentration in medical sociology; minor in art history) and also received a wellness counseling certification from Cornell University. Since 2014, Anna has worked with the Bacaanda Foundation in Oaxaca, Mexico, as a social media strategist and health and wellness educator.

Jen McAleer ’03 is Lawrence Academy’s new assistant dean of academic affairs and director of learning support. She is a graduate of both Colby College (B.A. in religious studies; minor in education) in Waterville, Maine, and Lesley University (M.Ed. in moderate special needs, pre-K-8th grade) in Cambridge, and holds professional licenses in middle school mathematics (5th-8th grades) and special education, moderate disabilities (pre-K-8th grade). Jen comes to LA after 15 years at the Carroll School in Lincoln, where she was head of the middle school math department, a teacher leader, and a seventh and eighth grade math teacher.

Jacquie Macdonald, a new English teacher on campus, joins Lawrence Academy from Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall School in Waltham, where she held a variety of roles: English teacher (since 2014), dorm parent (since 2014), head softball and girls’ varsity basketball coach (since 2016), and sophomore class dean (2018-2022). She has also previously worked at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord and Milton Academy. Jacquie earned her bachelor’s degree in English (with a minor in history) from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley.

Matthew “Max” Marchiony joins the Lawrence Academy math department after graduating from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. with a B.A. in quantitative social science. He has experience as a private geometry tutor and has also worked as a ski instructor trainer for Dartmouth Snow Sports.

New to Lawrence Academy’s arts department is Kestrl “Kes” Maro ’18, who will be teaching digital/visual arts. They are a 2022 graduate of Boston’s Massachusetts College of Art and Design (B.F.A., studio for interrelated media), and they were also part of a GrubStreet advanced poetry workshop in the fall of 2022. Kes most recently worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for Trivium Interactive in Boston and as a private writing tutor, but they also have experience as a production assistant and as a muralist. They have had several poems published, and their work has been displayed at the Lockkeeper’s House on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Victoria Mercouris is new to Lawrence Academy’s science department this school year. A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (B.S., robotics engineering), she comes to LA from Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, La., where she was a high school makerspace instructor, teaching coding, computer science, and related courses. She also coached the school’s competitive robotics team and volunteered with the FIRST robotics community.

Joel Morton is now a member of Lawrence Academy’s buildings & grounds staff. An experienced carpenter and licensed construction supervisor with more than 15 years of experience in construction, he has owned and operated JSM Construction, which specialized in residential additions and remodels, since 2014.

Rodolfo “Rudy” Peña, Jr joins the Lawrence Academy math department. A recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., mathematical economics; minor in statistics), he has experience as a peer advisor at his alma mater, a math tutor with Mathnasium, and a research assistant with Khollaboration with Khan Academy.

Another new math teacher, Annalisa Peterson arrives at Lawrence Academy with more than two decades of experience teaching high school students, most recently at Newton’s Mount Alvernia High School, where she taught math and physics since 2015. She holds a bachelor’s degree (math, music) from Wellesley College and both a master’s degree (mathematics) and a Ph.D. (mathematical logic) from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Emily Pratt ’16 is Lawrence Academy’s new assistant director of athletics. She joins LA from Nebraska’s Hastings College, where she had been an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team since 2020. After graduating from Lawrence — where she was a four-year girls’ basketball starter, a four-time NEPSAC All-Star and ISL All-League honoree, and a Richmond Baker Prize winner — Emily earned her bachelor’s degree (sport management; minor in business administration) and a coaching certification from Endicott College in Beverly, where she was also a four-year women’s basketball starter. She also holds a master’s degree in teaching (physical education) from Hastings College.

Michael Stoops, now teaching math, has a B.A. in mathematics from Columbia University and a M.A. in secondary mathematics education from Bard University in Annandale, N.Y. He previously taught math at Franklin Academy in East Haddam, Conn., and New York’s East Brooklyn Community High School. He has also worked as a high school and college math tutor.