New Faculty Find a Home at KUA

As we start off the new academic year, we welcome not only new students but also new faculty who are diving into boarding school life.
With a range of experiences and skill sets, these new faculty are teaching, advising, coaching, and mentoring Kimball Union students and helping create the robust community of learners that comprise campus life.


Moira Anderson, Science
Moira joins the Science Department where she will teach chemistry and AP chemistry. She comes to KUA after teaching for the past three years at Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall School. She is a graduate of Smith College with a double major in art history and chemistry and recently completed a Master of Education at Northeastern University. She is a third-generation teacher who loves working at boarding schools. She lives in Dexter Hall with her two cats and will coach lacrosse and field hockey.



Jodi Dinsmore, World Languages
Jodi is an experienced Spanish teacher who most recently taught at White Mountain School and previously taught at the Perkiomen School and Cushing Academy. She lives in both the U.S. where she works during the school year and Mexico with her husband, a musician, in Mexico City – where she spends her summers and vacations. She lives just off campus with her five cats and young Golden Retriever and looks forward to teaching our Spanish III through AP Spanish students. She also serves as our International Student Coordinator.

 

Tasheana Dukuly, Academic Dean and English
Tasheana comes to KUA from the Berkeley Carroll School in New York where she served as the Dean of the Class of 2024 as well as a humanities teacher. She has also served as the Dean of Students at the Westover School and worked in the Office of Multiculturalism and Community Development at Milton Academy and at Middlesex School. Tasheana is a graduate of Bates College and received an M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is excited to take on the role of Academic Dean and will also be teaching one section of English. She arrives on campus with her fiancé, Austin Sanchez-Moran, who joins the English department.



Asher Ellis, Library Director
Asher will be transitioning to Library Director after serving for two years as the Assistant Director of the KUA Schafer Family Library. Asher came to KUA from Colby Sawyer College where he was a professor of English. Asher is an author and screen writer and has served as an English professor at several other colleges in New England. Along with directing the library, he will direct evening study supervision in the library, work as an advisor, and as a member of a weekend team. Asher commutes to KUA from Brownsville, VT where he lives with his family.
 
 

Mary Edmonds, History
Mary joins KUA as a History Teaching Fellow and assistant coach of the Varsity Girls Hockey Team. She is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross where she was a political science major and just earned a Master of Education from Merrimack College. She is also an alumna of Deerfield Academy. Mary has played hockey throughout her career and has also coached hockey for girls in U14, U12, and U16 for the past two years. She looks forward to teaching two sections of U.S. History under the guidance of her Department Chair and fully participating in our Athletics and Residential Program. Mary is living in Densmore Hall.



Justin Freeman, Mathematics
Justin Freeman is joining the KUA faculty after teaching mathematics for the past two years at Hanover High School. Prior to this, Justin taught math at the American School of the Hague in the Netherlands and New Hampton School. He is familiar with boarding school and welcomes the opportunity to join our tight-knit community. Justin is also a world-class Nordic skier who was a part of the U.S. Ski Team competing in the World Championships and Olympics in 2003-2005. He lives with his wife, Heidi, and their family in Hanover, NH.



Amanda Lighthiser, Gosselin Center for Teaching and Learning
Amanda comes to KUA from Portland, Oregon, where she has worked as a Learning Specialist for the past 10 years at the Caitlin Gabel School and Northeast Academy. She earned her B.A. from the University of Georgia, an MFA from the University of Oregon, and her Juris Doctor from Northeastern University. She comes to KUA with her husband, Mark, who joins the Arts Department and their two children, Regan and Liza. Though she and Mark have worked at independent schools, this will be their first foray into the world of boarding school.



Mark Lighthiser, Music
Mark joins KUA after teaching instrumental music at the Portland Northeast Academy arts-focused school for the past 10 years. Before that he was the Assistant Director of Bands at Tulane University for eight years. Mark is a musicologist and drummer who also plays multiple instruments. He has his masters in percussion from the University of Oregon but started as a scientist earning a B.S. in geological science from Michigan State University. He is excited to join the Arts Department and learn about becoming a boarding-school teacher.



Whit Lower, Science
Whit comes to KUA after teaching for the past three years at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City. Before that he taught at the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, CO, and the Island School in the Bahamas. He is an alumnus of Tufts University where he earned his B.S. as a double major in biology and environmental science. He will teach biology and AP biology at KUA. Whit lives in rear Rowe House with his partner Matia and looks forward to reviving our Outing Club in the spring.



Patrick Mahoney, History
Patrick Mahoney joins KUA in the History Department to teach history and AP economics. He moved to the Upper Valley last year with his family. Before the move, Patrick was a long-serving teacher and History Department Chair at the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, LA. He is excited to return to independent school work and looks forward to learning the ropes of teaching and working at a boarding school.  He also looks forward to coaching basketball. He and his wife live in Norwich, VT with their two children.



Becca Main, Athletic Director
Becca served for the past two years as the Director of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association where her role was to support coaches nationwide. Before that, she was the head field hockey coach and the head lacrosse coach at Quinnipiac University from 1995-2023. She looks forward to moving into the role of Athletic Director at the high-school level where she can support students and coaches in a more immersive and holistic way. Becca lives in Lebanon, NH.



Erin McNulty, Dance
Erin has taught dance for the past 11 years in various places including Boston University, Boston Ballet School, Wilmington Dance Academy, and Lebanon Ballet School. She is a graduate of Boston University and earned a postgraduate diploma from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire. She is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts. Erin currently lives in Enfield, NH, with her husband and looks forward to diving into the immersive culture of KUA Dance.



Timothy Patzelt, Mathematics
Timothy joins KUA’s Mathematics Department after working for the past six years as a software engineer. He attended the Kent School where he fell in love with learning and playing water polo. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in mathematics at the University of Connecticut. Throughout his time as a software engineer in Boston, Tim continued to play and coach water polo at the collegiate level. Tim looks forward to bringing his love of teaching math and working with young people to KUA where he will be coaching JV Tennis in the spring and STEM Activity in the winter. Tim lives just off campus with his two cats.



Lucas Richardson, Varsity Girls Soccer Coach
Lucas is excited to join KUA in a part-time role as the Varsity Girls Soccer Coach. He is currently one of the managing directors of Soccer Without Borders and has taught history and coached soccer at the Kent Denver School in Colorado. Lucas is an alumnus of Dartmouth College where he played soccer and spent time working as an assistant coach for that team after graduation. Lucas and his family relocated to the area from Kansas where they have lived for the last three years.



Austin Sanchez-Moran, English
Austin has been teaching English for the past eight years at independent schools including Hebron Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, and St. Luke’s School in New Canaan, CT. He looks forward to returning to the immersive culture of boarding school where he can get to know his students better through his many roles at the school. He and his fiancée, Tasheana Dukuly, live on campus in MacLeay House. He will be coaching Instructional Golf in the fall.



Jake Shechter, Science
Jake comes to KUA to teach physics and AP physics after teaching for the past four years at Wilbraham and Monson Academy. He earned his PhD in physics from the University of Massachusetts and enjoys inspiring students in science. He is happy to also be leading two seasons of STEM Activity and helping students in the Maker Space. He is living in rear Huse House with his wife Sara and their rabbit.



Angela Yang-Handy, Assistant Head of School
Angela joins KUA as Assistant Head of School. She comes to KUA from Hebron Academy where she was also Assistant Head for two years. Before that Angela served as the Dean of Experiential Learning and Director of Global Engagement at Northfield Mount Hermon School 2015-2022. Prior to her work at the high school level Angela worked at the college level and as an independent educational consultant. She is a graduate of Clark University where she earned her B.A. and her M.A. in International Development and Social Change and earned her Ed.D. at the University of Massachusetts in Education Policy and Leadership. Angela is joined by her family on campus.



Carl Zent, Mathematics
Carl graduated from St. Anselm College last year with a bachelor’s degree in physics and astrophysics. He also worked as a student teacher through St. Anselm, teaching courses in math in the arts, pulsar search astronomy, radio astronomy, and physics at Access Academy High School. Carl also served as a Residence Assistant in college. He looks forward to teaching mathematics at KUA, coaching soccer, and living as a residential dorm parent in Densmore Hall.
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