Celine Toomey Coggins has a background that includes research, policy and K-12 teaching. In her time at the Rennie Center, Celine has led the research and publication process for sixteen reports and policy briefs; she is an editor of two books. Celine has also led several consulting projects with large urban districts seeking to differentiate roles and pay for teachers. She directs the Teaching Fellows program, which trains exceptional early-career teachers to become advocates for their generation in the profession.

Celine earned her Ph.D. in Education Policy Analysis at Stanford University, where she studied teacher quality and education leadership. At Stanford, Celine conducted research on instructional coaches and their impact on teacher practice through the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching. She also served as a consultant to a national, blue-ribbon panel aimed at improving teacher quality called The Teaching Commission.

Prior to Stanford, Celine worked in the Office of the Commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Education on an array of teacher quality initiatives. She began her career as a middle school teacher in Worcester, MA. Celine earned her B.A. in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross and her M.Ed. in Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation from Boston College. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Milton.

Sarah Birkeland

Sarah Birkeland co-leads the Teaching Fellows seminar and provides strategic leadership/ advising for the initiative. A former elementary and middle school teacher, she holds a doctorate in Education Research from Harvard and has conducted extensive research on topics related to teacher quality, induction and retention. She is a senior research associate at Education Matters® in Cambridge.

Katie Shogan

Katie Shogan is an intern at the Rennie Center while she earns an Ed.M in Education Policy and Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. At the Rennie Center, she helps to organize and design the Teaching Policy Fellows initiative. Prior to attending graduate school, Katie was an elementary school teacher in the Bay Area, CA. She began her career as a member of the 2003 Teach For America corps, and taught in the Alum Rock and Oakland Unified School Districts. In addition to her classroom work, she served on many school committees including the school leadership team, hiring team, and math instruction committee. She also supported new teachers as a workshop presenter and curriculum consultant for Teach For America, Bay Area. Katie holds a B.A. in American Studies from Middlebury College and a CA teaching credential from San Jose State University. Following her graduate studies, Katie plans to work in education policy, focusing on teacher quality and retention in urban school schools.

THE TEACHING POLICY FELLOWS

Jason Asciola has been a teacher at Malden High School for six years. He currently serves as President of the Malden Teachers Association. Jason holds a B.A. in Mathematics and an M.A.T in Secondary Mathematics Education from Boston University.

Neema Avashia is a 6th grade Social Studies teacher at the John W. McCormack Middle School in Dorchester. Neema has been at the McCormack for five years--four as a classroom teacher, and one as a Boston Teacher Resident. In addition to teaching, Neema also coaches the McCormack girls' soccer team and teaches a graduate-level history methods course for the Boston Teacher Residency. Prior to moving to Boston, Neema completed her M.A. in Education Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied the role ethnic isolation in school plays in the development of cultural identity for Indian-American high school students. Neema earned her B.A. in Professional Writing and Anthropology, with a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Darren Buris is currently a high school math teacher and mentor for new teachers at Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester.  In addition to his work in the classroom, he serves on several committees including teacher retention, dissemination and college readiness.  Darren also acts as an on-site reviewer of both high-schools and middle-schools for the Massachusetts Department of Education and reviews applications for new charter schools in Massachusetts.  For the past several years Darren has been an independent consultant for the College Board working initially as a reviewer of items for the new SAT and currently as an analyst and commentator on state and national standards.  Prior to teaching in Boston, he taught high school math in the Philadelphia Public Schools at Abraham Lincoln High School.  While teaching in Philadelphia and over several summers, Darren worked for Educational Testing Services’ English Language Learning Division to develop the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).  Darren graduated from Georgetown College in Kentucky with a B.S. in chemistry and biology.  Upon graduation Darren studied romantic poetry and postmodern theory at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University and holds a Masters of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.  He is currently pursing a Masters in math education through the extension school at Harvard University. 

Aislin Davis teaches Computer Repair and Software Programming at Revere High School.  This is her sixth year teaching.  Prior to working at Revere, she was the technology director at the Newman School for four years.  Last November she earned a M.Ed in Technology in Education from Lesley University.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Boston with a bachelor of science in Management Science of Information Systems.  Her computer training includes Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Oracle DBA, and CompTIA A+ certification.  She is a member of MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) and co-leader of the Northshore MassCUE Special Interest Group.  Last year she worked with BATEC to establish an articulation between Bunker Hill Community College and Revere High School so that students would receive college credit for taking her class. Aislin also volunteers coaching swimming and cross-country skiing for Special Olympics.  

Maria Fenwick is a fourth grade teacher at the R.W . Emerson Elementary School in the Boston Public Schools.  In addition to working with students, Maria enjoys leadership activities outside the classroom.  She is the head of her school's Data Team, a member of the Instructional Leadership Team, and an active participant in school policy and management decisions.  Maria is currently working with the Boston Plan for Excellence to develop a teacher network for Boston teachers.  Prior to teaching, Maria earned a B.A. summa cum laude from Colby College and an Ed.M. in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Her path to teaching was through the Boston Teacher Residency, where she earned an elementary and special education certification and an additional master's degree in elementary education.

Jessie Gerson-Neider currently teaches 7th grade English and Social Studies at Prospect Hill Academy, a diverse, Title I, K-12 charter school located in Somerville, MA. She is a recent transplant from Louisville, Kentucky where she spent the last two years teaching 6th grade English at Myzeek Middle School. Jessie graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec in 2005 with an Honors degree in English and Political Science. Following graduation she worked for the Institute of Integrated Rural Development in Maharashtra, India. She earned her MAT at the University of Louisville where she was received the award for Outstanding Student in the Masters of Arts in Teaching. In addition to her work with the Rennie Center, Jessie is a recipient of the Calderwood Fellowship to enhance teacher and student writing. She is a committed classroom teacher who is excited to be branching out into education policy.

Caitlin Hollister was raised in the Boston area, and is in her third year of teaching in the Boston Public Schools.  She graduated from Brown University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in History.  After serving as a volunteer French teacher in a local school, Caitlin decided to pursue a career in education, accepting a position as Education Director of the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club in Boston.  She became a Boston Teacher Resident in 2004 and trained at the Richard J. Murphy School in a second grade classroom.  Certified in Elementary and Special Education, Caitlin currently teaches third grade at the Murphy School and serves on the school's Instructional Leadership Team. Outside of the classroom, Caitlin volunteers with the Youth Opportunities Program of the Appalachian Mountain Club, training youth workers to lead young people on outdoor hiking and backpacking trips.

Elsie Huang is the High School Lead Teacher and Math Chair at Boston Preparatory Charter Public School. She currently teaches 8th and 9th grade math and is in her seventh year of teaching. She was a founding science and math teacher at BPCPS when it opened in the fall of 2004. Prior to joining the BPCPS team, Elsie was a member of the founding team at Smith Leadership Academy Charter School in Boston. While her start to teaching was at an independent school in Washington DC, her interests lie in the charter school movement. She is interested in studying the long term effect of the charter initiative on the current public school systems and the impact of teacher retention and turnover on the development of these young charter schools. Elsie received her B.S. in Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Michelle LaMarca is currently the 8th grade English and Language Arts teacher at Excel Academy Public Charter School in East Boston, MA. Prior to teaching at Excel Academy, Michelle spent two years teaching in Baltimore, MD as a Teach for America corps member.  In Baltimore, Michelle taught 11th grade English and Creative Writing. While in Baltimore, Michelle served on her high school’s School Improvement Team and Leadership Team.  She also worked with a select group of teachers to create and develop a new, city-wide 11th grade English curriculum. Michelle received her B.A. in English and Creative Writing from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. and her M.A. in Education and Teaching from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Michelle is passionate about educational equality and closing the achievement gap.  She is thrilled to be working with a group of outstanding teachers through the Rennie Center Teaching Policy Fellowship, and believes that they will positively impact teacher retention issues. 

Kelly Langan is a 2002 graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She began her teaching career as a Teach for America corps member in Chicago. Kelly taught first and second grades for four years at Oliver Wendell Holmes Elementary School, her Teach for America placement school, in Chicago's south side Englewood neighborhood. While at Holmes, Kelly served as the first grade chairperson, Social Studies committee chairperson, and as a member of the leadership team, and school improvement planning committee. Kelly also served as a teacher representative to the Local School Council, Holmes' governing body. She left Chicago in 2006 to obtain her EdM in Language and Literacy at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Kelly was a member of the inaugural group of Urban Scholars, a select group of ten masters students who receive full tuition scholarships to the School of Education in recognition of their dedication to urban education. While at Harvard, Kelly also obtained her Massachusetts Initial Reading Specialist license. She now teaches second grade at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in Cambridge, a pilot school for Mass2020's Expanded Learning Time Initiative.

Melanie Livingston has been a middle school English teacher at the Rafael Hernández K-8 in Boston for the past six years. After graduating with a B.A. from Amherst College in 1999, Melanie moved to Mexico to teach English and learn Spanish, a skill that serves her well in the Hernández two-way bilingual program. Before coming to the Hernández, she got her M.Ed. from Northeastern and did a year-long internship at the John D. O'Bryant School, teaching 9th and 10th grade English. Now at the Hernandez, she is her school's union representative, a member of the school-site council and an advisor/co-founder of the school's peer leadership program. Teacher Education Quarterly published her article, "On Sucking, Being Easy, and Staying Out of the Way" in 2004, after she had presented it at the American Educational Research Association convention earlier that year. Melanie has been the subject of several teacher-training videos, most recently for Houghton Mifflin's Video Cases on differentiating instruction for English Language Learners.

Erica Moen is a 5th grade teacher at the Joseph J. Hurley K-8 School, a Boston Public School.  She has a background in urban public education, having taught third through ninth grades in Boston for the last eight years.  Additionally, she works as a New Teacher Developer, mentoring first-year teachers in Boston.  Erica received her B.A. in Comparative Religions from Wellesley College, and earned her M.Ed. from Boston College where she focused on Urban Elementary Education.  She serves on advisory boards for the Boston Children’s Museum and the Trinity Education for Excellence Program.  Erica was drawn to this fellowship because of her interest in the intersection of education policy and its practical application in urban settings.

Adebayo Owolewa brought Latin to the Boston Preparatory Charter Public School in Boston, MA. He first fell in love with Latin as a student at the Boston Latin School. Adebayo was fortunate enough to gain admittance to Amherst College where he excelled in Latin. As a life-long resident of Boston, MA, it now brings him great joy to share the discipline of Latin with students from his community.

Maggie Slye has been a primary grades teacher in the Boston Public Schools for the past four years.  She is currently teaching 2nd grade at the Philbrick School in Roslindale and completing a principal-internship as a graduate student in BC’s Educational Administration program.  Maggie contributes to policy and curricular decisions as an Instructional Leadership Team member, Math Leadership Team member, School Site Council member, and the Student Council advisor. She began her teaching career in 1999, as a 2nd grade teacher in Compton, California with the Teach For America program.  Following her TFA experience, Maggie spent a year in Dublin, Ireland, teaching children with special needs. She returned to the U.S. a year later and taught first grade in Anacostia, in Washington, DC.  Maggie was awarded a Donovan Urban Teaching Scholar fellowship and enrolled at Boston College the following year. Maggie has trained over 150 Teach For America teachers, led a very successful English Language Learners Summer Academy, mentored and facilitated workshops for numerous student-teachers, and recently assisted a BC professor with his Social Contexts of Education course.

Jalene Tamerat is a 7th grade science teacher, middle school team leader, and science curriculum leader at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston.  She received her BA in political science and African-American studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Master of Arts in teaching from Emmanuel College.  This year, she is working towards obtaining principal licensure through the Greater Boston Principal Residency Network.

Doannie Tran began teaching as a Teach for America corps member in Oakland, California after graduating with a degree in chemistry from the University of Georgia.  He has taught at the middle and high school level and currently teaches chemistry and anatomy and physiology at the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury.  As a teacher, Doannie has focused on finding creative, relevant and interesting intersections between art, social justice and science.  His students have created stop motion animations of chemistry concepts, tested candy and water for lead content, and put on symposiums on stem cell research.  Outside of the classroom, Doannie has supported other teachers as Learning Team Leader for Teach for America and as Technology Support Teacher for the O'Bryant School.

KimVy Nguyen has taught for four years, and teaches 3rd grade teacher at Lee Academy Pilot School. She was a member of the Boston Teacher Residency, and earned a B.A. in Art History from Boston College and a M.A. from the University of Massachusetts.