New Faculty and Staff

We are pleased to introduce twenty-one new faculty and staff members who have joined us this year.  We wish them a warm welcome to St. Bernard’s.

Benjamin Anagnos
Latin

A native New Yorker and graduate of St. Bernard’s (’82) and Trinity, as well as Brown and Columbia Universities, Benjamin Anagnos has tutored hundreds of students in all levels of middle and high school math, science, Latin, and grammar, in addition to general organization and study skills.  Ben has a long relationship with St. Bernard’s, having taught sixth grade homeroom and seventh grade algebra in 2003 and tutoring over 125 St. Bernard’s boys since 1991.  He is also the father of a recent Old Boy, Darius ’19.

Currently, he has developed Alta Ipsum (altaipsum.com), an easy-to-use website and app for students.  It is a goal-setting, organization and planning, and grade-tracking tool designed to help students take control of their academics and do better in school.  In the process it also helps them reduce stress and develop critical executive functioning and metacognitive life skills.

Ben is very much looking forward to being back in the building again with many dear colleagues to teach Latin in the Upper School.


Kelly Bogard
Crafts and Reading

Kelly Bogard was born and raised on a farm in a small town in Wisconsin.  She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a dual bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies and child development.  She continued her education at the University of Southern California where she obtained her master’s degree in elementary education.  After graduation, Kelly began her teaching career in Los Angeles where she taught second and third grade before relocating to New York City.  Prior to joining St. Bernard’s, Kelly was a teacher at The Dalton School for three years.  She is also a yoga instructor and mindfulness educator for children and enjoys sharing these practices with her students.

Outside of the classroom, Kelly loves spending time in nature, traveling, coloring, DIY projects, cooking, and reading.  Kelly is thrilled to be a part of the St. Bernard’s community as the reading and crafts teacher.


Eric Brumfield
Upper School & Remote Learning Associate

Eric Brumfield grew up in Kentucky and developed an avid love of history and reading at an early age.  This passion led him to earn a B.A. degree in history and secondary education from Kentucky Wesleyan College and later attain an M.A. degree in history from the University of Louisville.  Prior to joining St. Bernard’s, Eric taught history and literature at Owensboro Catholic Middle School for two years and history and geography at St. Martha Catholic School for four years.  Additionally, Eric brings experience as both a seventh and eighth grade homeroom teacher.  In his free time, Eric enjoys reading, watching movies, attending concerts, exercising, traveling, and spending time in nature.  Eric is extremely excited to join the St.
Bernard’s community and share his love of learning with students.


Ashley Cave
Grade I Associate

Ashley Cave grew up in Cranford, New Jersey.  Ashley attended Iona College and received a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and childhood education with a concentration in English.  While working as a student-teacher this past spring during the pandemic, Ashley found a new appreciation and love for teaching while helping her cooperating teacher innovate and adapt to distance learning.  During her time at Iona College, Ashley swam at the Division I level and served as the team captain her senior season.  Ashley is ecstatic to join the St. Bernard’s community and begin her teaching career.

In her spare time, Ashley spends time coaching the Seahawks Special Olympics swim team.  Ashley’s other interests include running, beach lifeguarding, and spending time with family and friends. 


Kyler Culver
Latin

Kyler Culver is honored and inspired by being included in the St. Bernard's community.  Mr. Culver grew up in Cleveland, where he spent thirteen years at The University School, the institution to which he attributes his lifelong love of education.  After reading German and French in Dalhousie University, Mr. Culver was a boarding house master and teacher at Hutchins School in Hobart, Tasmania.  Upon his return home, a brief stint at Kent State resulted in a master’s degree in library science, which led Mr. Culver to become the librarian at a school called Buckley from 2005 to 2020.  There he also taught Latin.  Mr. Culver is currently finishing graduate work in history, and pursuing an education degree as well.  On weekends, Mr. Culver loves working on Latin and Greek, showing little-known aspects of New York City to his friends and to his students, or heading out to Amagansett.  The Culver family spend their summers on Pelee Island, Ontario.


Lily Fraser
Grade III Associate

Lily Fraser grew up in New York City and graduated from the Nightingale-Bamford School.  She received a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and has recently earned her master’s degree in early childhood education and special education from NYU.  She has had extensive experience working with children in New York City and eastern Long Island as a student teacher, caregiver, camp counselor, and tutor.  In her spare time Lily Fraser enjoys jigsaw puzzles, cooking, and spending time with family.  She is excited to be joining the St. Bernard’s community as an associate teacher.  


Willie Goetz
Mathematics, Grade IV

Willie Goetz is returning to his alma mater to join the faculty and experience St. Bernard's from the other side of the fence after graduating in 2012.  Aside from teaching various math classes and assisting with the fourth grade, he will be coaching sports when the teams jump back into action, hopefully in the near future.
 
After departing 98th Street, Mr. Goetz took his talents to the Bronx High School of Science before heading upstate to Cornell University.  He received a B.A. degree in economics and a minor in business while rowing on the varsity heavyweight rowing team.  Passions include, but are not limited to, radio broadcasting, anything related to sports, horse racing, food, and the occasional joke.  Mr. Goetz is excited to get started and create the unparalleled St. B's experience he remembers so well.


Melanie Hart
Kindergarten

Melanie Hart was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago.  After high school she came to New York for her undergraduate and graduate studies.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and elementary education from Hartwick College and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She began her teaching career at Christ Church Day School where she spent eight years.  She is also a certified children’s yoga instructor.  Melanie enjoys tutoring math, being outdoors, traveling, and experiencing new places and foods.  She is thrilled to be part of the St. Bernard’s community and is excited to work with the kindergarten boys. 


Andrew Krasnavage
Grade VI

Andrew Krasnavage grew up in Norwalk, Connecticut, before attending Franklin & Marshall College, where he majored in history.  Drew also played football and club lacrosse while at Franklin & Marshall and decided to go into teaching after volunteering at local schools in Lancaster, PA.  Upon graduating, he taught for two years in Brooklyn while earning his master's degree in education.  After spending all of his life in the northeast, he decided to move to New Orleans, where he taught for four years.  Realizing that he missed his friends and family, he decided to return to New York City.  He is extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to join the St. Bernard's community.


Jake Lahey
Grade VIII

Jake Lahey grew up in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley.  He earned a B.A. degree in history from St. Michael’s College, on the outskirts of Burlington, Vermont, and a master’s degree in teaching secondary education from SUNY New Paltz.  Jake spent the last eleven years at Poughkeepsie Day School teaching history and humanities to students in grades 6-12.

Jake thoroughly enjoys spending time with his family, especially outdoors in nature.  His hobbies include reading, cooking, hiking, and exploring New York City.  Mr. Lahey is very excited to be joining the St. Bernard’s community.


Kathryn Lavelle
Grade III Associate

Kathryn Lavelle grew up in Rye, New York.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications and a minor in business management from Miami University.  She started her career in the corporate world working for various media companies in Chicago, but knew she always wanted to move back home to New York and become a teacher.  She is so excited to begin her new journey in education at St. Bernard’s.  In her free time, Kathryn loves to cook, hang with her friends, and travel to new cities.


Morgan Leff
Grade III

Morgan Leff is a born and raised New Yorker.  Deciding to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a marine biologist, she headed to the University of Miami.  Thankfully her academic pursuits shifted and, upon graduation, she attended Sarah Lawrence for graduate school.  During graduate school, Morgan began her teaching career and since then has taught second through fifth grades.  The 2020-2021 school year will be her twelfth year teaching third grade. 
 
In her free time, Morgan likes to build her diverse and extensive classroom library, travel to far-off places, attend Broadway shows, explore the ocean, and share all of her interests with her young daughter.


Tyler Littlefield
Mathematics

Tyler Littlefield was born and raised in Windham, Maine.  He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maine with a B.S. degree in chemical engineering and a mathematics minor.  Tyler is a former environmental engineer at Air Pollution Characterization & Control.  APCC is based out of Hermon, Maine, and focuses on air pollution compliance testing for industrial facilities.  While there, he learned the importance of applying abstract engineering concepts to real life and often irregular situations.  He also learned the value of problem solving in real time and conveys that importance to his current students.
 
For the past four years, Tyler has acted as a freelance tutor for high school and college level math and science classes and even started his own tutoring agency.  He is excited to expand his horizons by becoming an Upper School associate at St. Bernard’s.


Caroline McCann
Grade II Associate

Caroline McCann joined the St. Bernards staff this year after teaching preschool for the past four years at Garden House School.  Caroline received her bachelors of arts degree in psychology from Fairfield University in Connecticut with a minor in education.  Caroline is currently enrolled in graduate school at Hunter College working towards her master’s in education degree with a dual certification in special education.  Caroline enjoys playing tennis, running, and spending quality time with family in her free time.


Kelley Nugent
Grade III Associate

Kelley was born and raised in Litchfield, Connecticut.  She earned her B.S. degree in human services from the University of Delaware and shortly after graduating moved to New York City.  Although she had planned to pursue a career in child psychology, her career path took a turn when she worked in the afterschool program at the Nest+M School.  This is where she fell in love with teaching and decided to continue her education at Teachers College where she received a master’s degree in early childhood education.  Kelley comes to St. Bernard’s from Trevor Day School where she taught three years in first grade and one year in second grade. 

Kelley enjoys exercising, going to the beach, spending time with friends and family, relaxing with her puppy, traveling, and rooting for her favorite sports teams--the New York Giants and New York Yankees.  Kelley is very excited to join the St. Bernard’s community and to work with the third grade boys.  


Yako Prodis
Upper School Associate

Kiriakos "Yako" Prodis is a New York City based multimedia and teaching artist.  As a multi-instrumentalist, beat maker / producer, human beatboxer, and graffiti / visual artist, he has had the privilege of traveling the world as a student, educator, and cultural ambassador.  Mr. Prodis holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College's Interdisciplinary Arts Program.  He has composed music and visuals for theater performances, co-curated large scale art exhibitions, and toured as a professional musician and mural artist.   


Angela Rogan
Art

Angela Rogan grew up in Huntington, New York, where she spent summers at the ocean swimming and sailing.  She earned her B.A. degree in fine art, with a minor in psychology at SUNY New Paltz.  It was there that her affinity for the mountain air and nature grew.  This passion for the outdoors eventually led her to move to San Diego, where she continued to pursue her athletic and artistic passions.  She participated in Sprint and International Triathlons and started showing her paintings regularly in the up and coming art scene there.  Her professional life began in retail management and financial analysis.  It wasn't until later that Angela decided to follow her true passion in the field of education.  She moved back to New York, landing in Brooklyn, and earned her M.S. degree in art education from LIU Post.  Now in her tenth year of teaching she has been fortunate to have taught all ages levels and a variety of skill levels in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, craft, set & mural design, graphic design, digital photography, and filmmaking.  She strives to create an environment that nourishes and builds relationships with her students, to nurture and empower their young minds to gain confidence, and experience with their creativity and visual voice.
 
An outdoor adventurer and enthusiast, she loves cycling, hiking, gardening, and all athletics relating to water.  When she is not outdoors, Angela enjoys spending her down time painting, cooking, baking, and seeking out new art and music.  She also loves road trips, travel, and spending time with her friends and family.


Dominic Salerno
Technology Department

Dominic Salerno is native, born and raised in the Bronx, New York.  Mr. Salerno has a B.A. in Studio Art from Lehman College and a M.S. in Cyber Security from Mercy College.  He has over ten years of IT experience, five of which are in independent schools.  Dominic enjoys listening to music and vinyl records, working on creative projects, retro gaming, and traveling with his wife.  He is excited to join the technology team and St. Bernard's community.


Eleanor Sednaoui

Grade II Associate

Eleanor Sednaoui grew up in Bedford, New York, where she attended Rippowam Cisqua School.  She then went to Millbrook School and graduated from Trinity College with a degree in American Studies.  While there, Eleanor was a student teacher at the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy.  For the past three years, Eleanor was a head teacher at St. Thomas More Play Group and taught after-school programs at Nightingale-Bamford School.  In her free time, Eleanor enjoys playing tennis, reading, and going to new restaurants with friends.  Eleanor is very excited to join the second grade team at St. Bernard’s!


Marc Sholinsky
Grade V

Marc Sholinsky is a native New Yorker.  He attended Allen-Stevenson for grade school and Dalton for high school.  He got his college degree from Colgate University, where he studied math and economics.  While there, he served as color commentator for Colgate's football and hockey teams on the school's radio station, and also reported on the games for the school newspaper.  Upon graduation, Marc joined Goldman Sachs.  During his 22-year career, he worked as both a trader and sales-trader, primarily focused on equity derivative products. 
 
In 2017 Marc decided to leave the world of finance to pursue a career in teaching.  After spending a year substitute teaching middle school English and math, he went to NYU to get his master’s degree in math education.  While obtaining his master’s degree, he student-taught at the Brooklyn Institute for Liberal Arts and the Battery Park City School.
 
Marc has two children, a son currently in sixth grade at Allen-Stevenson and a fifth grade daughter at Dalton.  He is an avid baseball fan, with season tickets to the Mets, but enjoys following all of the other New York sports teams as well.  Marc spends his free time running, biking, and playing fantasy sports.  He is excited to join the St. Bernard's community as a fifth grade teacher.


Parker Stone
Middle School Associate

Parker Stone was born and raised just north of the city in New City, New York.  He graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. degree in economics and a minor in business administration.  While at Cornell, Parker rowed on the varsity heavyweight rowing team and helped out with a music festival called SlopeDay.  On the weekends, Parker enjoys sailing with his family, spending time outdoors with his friends, listening to music, and cooking.  He is honored to be part of the St. Bernard's community and is excited to be working with the fifth and sixth graders as a Middle School Associate.
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