Welcome to Thacher - New Faculty Profiles

Welcome to Thacher!

Each Friday this fall, interim head of school Jeff Hooper treated assembly audiences to a “meet your new teacher Friday feature,” a chance for students to get to know a bit more about some of the talented new full-time teaching faculty members who joined the Thacher community this fall. Now’s your chance to get to know them too. For more information about these and more of our amazing teachers, visit the Faculty Unscripted page on the Thacher website.

Delaney Cargo

SCIENCE TEACHER

Delaney is teaching Integrated Science II and Field Biology classes, as well as partnering with the Turtle Conservancy. She has worked in a variety of educational settings, including an international school in Vietnam and, before that, field science programs in the Galapagos Islands. Delaney also conducted a population genetic analysis of pygmy marmosets while living with indigenous tribes in the Ecuadorian Amazon for her master’ s thesis.

Delaney Cargo, science teacher

David Friedman, computer science teacher

David Friedman

COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHER

David Friedman helms Thacher’s computer science courses, including Advanced CS, Data Structures, and Robotics. He joined us from St. Mark’s School and previously also taught at King’s Academy. An experienced, passionate runner, David also coaches cross country and track.

Nicole Chung

FISHER FELLOW

Nicole is Thacher’s newest Fisher Fellow, joining Sayra Trejo in this important Thacher program. Nicole graduated from Amherst this past spring with a degree in chemistry and education. She also played important roles in the college’s ongoing efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion and health and wellness. Nicole wrote her undergraduate thesis about higher education initiatives in maintaining diverse and genuinely inclusive science classrooms, and the role of educators in humanizing what tends to be a very quantitative and objective domain of study.

Nicole Chung, Fisher Fellow

Julia Harris, psychology teacher

Julia Harris

PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER

Julia brings an extensive educational background in the field of psychology to her teaching role, including an undergraduate degree in the discipline from Georgetown and a graduate degree that she just completed. Julia also has experience supporting students in advising roles and is working with Thacher juniors this year.

Charlotte Humes

MATH TEACHER

Charlotte is a world traveler and has served in both the Peace Corps and international schools, including King’s Academy in Jordan. She is currently teaching Math IIH and Math IIIH, is a dorm faculty in the Hill and Sepse, and coached girls' JV cross country this fall.

Charlotte Humes, math teacher

Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman

DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman, MSW rejoined the Thacher community in the summer of 2022 as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. A social worker with deep experience in educational and community settings, Sepideah is also supporting on-campus wellness initiatives by offering therapy under clinical supervision using a trauma-informed lens. To learn more about her, turn to page 30.

Rachel Kesler

HISTORY TEACHER

Rachel joins Thacher from Choate Rosemary Hall, where she was a faculty member in the history, philosophy, religion, and social sciences department. As Dr. Sarah DelVecchio’s sabbatical replacement this year, Rachel is teaching 9th and 11th grade history as well as a class on Indigenous Studies as part of our 10th grade history curriculum. You may be interested to know that Rachel created her own course from scratch, called “Topics in Native American Studies.”

Rachel Kesler, history teacher

Gary Roth

MATH TEACHER

Gary is teaching multivariable calculus, Math IVH, and Math III. He is a seasoned math teacher and coach who worked for many years at The Dwight-Englewood School in New Jersey. Gary enjoys sailing, ballroom dancing, and spending time with his wife and puppy.

Gary Roth, math teacher

Dr. Ali Rahman, English teacher

Dr. Ali Rahman

ENGLISH TEACHER

Ali rejoins Thacher this year after spending two years teaching in the writing program at The University of Pennsylvania. If he looks familiar to you, it’s because he was a Fisher Fellow a few years back, teaching English, History, and coaching several sports, including tennis and basketball. He is currently teaching English II and English IV and lives on campus with his family, including Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman, our new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Fun fact: one of Ali’s favorite books is Harry Potter—he credits it with instilling a love of reading in him that has continued to thrive over two decades later.