About Us

Faculty & Staff Directory

Meet our Faculty and Staff

Rebecca Allen MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Nedaa Alwawi Humanities Teacher	Mrs. Alwawi, graduate of DePaul University (Secondary Education, History), is a native Chicagoan. Mrs. Alwawi helped direct/build a GED curriculum while at an inner-city, non-profit youth center on the South Side of Chicago. She then went on to teach for a Chicago public high school where she taught 10th, 11th and 12th grade U.S. History and Ethnic Studies. Mrs. Alwawi is very excited to begin her career at MATCH.
Danny Clark Development Officer	Mr. Clark graduated from Salisbury University in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and from St. John's College in 2005 with a master's degree in Liberal Arts. He was a member of MATCH Corps II during the 2005-06 school year, and served as the school's grantwriter during the 2006-07 school year. He will be heading over to the middle school for the 2008-09 school year as the MATCH Corps Director.
Matt Collins Mathematics Teacher	Mr. Collins graduated from Boston College in 2003 with a degree in Mathematics. This will be his third year as a math teacher at MATCH, and prior to that, he was a member of the inaugural MATCH Corps. He is excited to continue being a part of the fantastic academic community at the MATCH School.
Ashley Danoff Deputy Executive Director	Graduated from NYU in 2002 with a BA in International Relations, Italian, French, and Japanese. MA in Sociology of Education from Boston University in 2004. Ms. Danoff was a member of the inaugural 2004-2005 MATCH Corps.
Johanna Dennehy MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Richard Dragon Controller	Mr. Dragon serves as the school’s controller. A 1990 graduate of Bryant University, his practical accounting and auditing background comes from working in the Providence office of Ernst and Young LLP from 1991 through 1995, and at a local Providence firm from 1995 through 1997. He then became self-employed in order to self-publish a book on R.I. history, and remained on his own until becoming involved with Boston charter schools in 2004. Mr. Dragon is a Boston native who has been a CPA since 1992 and joined MATCH in 2006.
Emily Duncan Executive Assistant to the Principal	Ms. Duncan graduated from Carleton College in 2005 with a BA in Art History. She was a member of MATCH Corps II and a Senior Corps member during the 2006-2007 school year. As a Senior Corps, she also assisted the Special Education Director. In addition to being the Executive Assistant to the Principal, she is also a graduate student in BU’s School of Education pursuing a degree in Special Education.
Chris Dupuis Chairperson of the Science Department and Science/Mathematics Teacher	Graduated from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor as Biology major in 1996. Mr. Dupuis taught math and science in New Hampshire for 8 years. During that time, he coached volleyball at the high school and college levels, earning a State Championship in 1998. This is his fourth year at the MATCH School. He loves his work, his students, and his colleagues and could not ask for more from his career!
Catherine Egan Grantwriter, Deputy MATCH Corps Director	Ms. Egan received her BA from the University of Rochester in 2005 with a major in English and a minor in Spanish. She was a member of the 2005-2006 MATCH Corps, and she will be working with the AmeriCorps program this year. After she finishes this year at MATCH, Catherine is planning to attend graduate school to study school psychology.
Brent Ellis IT Consultant	BA in Philosophy from Boston University, 1999; Graduate Certificate in Web Technologies from Boston University, 2005; MS in Computer Information Systems from Boston University, anticipated 2006. Mr. Ellis has experience with mixed PC and MAC environments and has had about 3 years' experience doing IT for educational institutions. He currently works with 3 schools, assisting them with their Information Technology needs. He enjoys learning new things and is constantly reworking things to try to make them better.
Liz Fort MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Angelica Gibbs Spanish Teacher	This is Ms. Gibbs' third year teaching Spanish I and II at Match. She is originally from New Haven, Connecticut and majored in Hispanic Studies and Education at Connecticut College. While there she studied Latin American literature, history, and culture. During her junior year she had the privilege of studying abroad in Cholula, a small town in Puebla México where her interest and understanding of the ubiquity of the cultural, historical, and social issues that impact western civilizations emerged. After teaching Spanish I and II for two years, she is pleased and excited to come back as the school's first full-time Spanish teacher and bring the mysteries of language and culture to life for her students.
Michael Goldstein Founder, Director of Research and Dissemination	Mr. Goldstein designed the MATCH School as his senior thesis project at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. From the school's inception to June 2005, he served as the school's CEO; he is now the Director of Research and Dissemination and the co-director of writing overly lengthy emails. He serves on the advisory boards for National Council on Teacher Quality and Harvard Education Press, and is a Senior Fellow at Education Sector, a non-partisan Washington think tank. He's a former journalist, Duke grad, and basketball junkie.
Bob Hill AP United States History Teacher	BA from UMass, Amherst, 1992; MAT from Simmons College, 1996; M Ed from Providence College, 2000. Mr. Hill loves to play basketball and to play the piano. He was raised in a small town in Massachusetts called Stow. He lives in Attleboro with his wife, Jen. Mr. Hill has been teaching at MATCH since its first year.
Lisa Hwang Assistant Principal, MATCH Corps Program Director	Ms. Hwang earned degrees from UCLA in 1999 in English and International Development Studies, and from the Stanford School of Education in International Education Administration and Policy Analysis. Her interests include foundation work, education research, and education in community/international development.
Denva Jackson English Teacher	Ms. Jackson graduated from Sweet Briar College with degrees in Italian Studies and Art History. She was a member of the 2006-2007 MATCH Corps.
Annie Jenkins MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Joanna Khalil Science Teacher	Graduated from the University of RI in 2004 with a degree in biology. Taught chemistry for two years in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas as a member of Teach for America. She loves teaching and enjoys traveling, drawing, and martial arts.
Sandy Little Humanities Department Chairperson and English Teacher	Clark University 2000 (History) and 2001 (Urban Education). Ms. Little taught GED in Dorchester for teens coming out of lock-up facilities, and co-founded the Phoenix Charter Academy for the North Shore. She has published articles in Field Notes, an adult education publication.
Tony Luckett Math Department Chairperson and Mathematics Teacher	Graduate of Dartmouth College 2001 - 2002. He has a BA in Engineering Sciences and Studio Art, and a BE in Mechanical Engineering. Mr. Luckett grew up in Queens and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. He worked as a volunteer teacher in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (on Kili Island) from 2002-2004.
Jason Marshall College Counselor/12th Grade Coordinator	Mr. Marshall earned a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Minnesota and a Masters in Student Development in Higher Education from Central Connecticut State University. He came to MATCH from the University of Connecticut, where he worked as a Program Advisor for the Office of Multicultural and International Affairs.
Meg McDonough Humanities Teacher/Dean of Students	Ms. McDonough attended Clark University for both undergraduate and graduate study. She has degrees in Urban Education and History. She is a traveler at heart who loves to bring the global world to life for her students.
Jorge Miranda Principal	Mr. Miranda is a Dartmouth College graduate who taught Algebra I and II at MATCH for 3 years before becoming MATCH's second principal. Mr. Miranda previously taught ESL history at a traditional district high school. In addition to his work at MATCH, he co-founded a national non-profit organization called 2020 Democrats and once served as an education advisor to Robert Reich in his 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign. Mr. Miranda is the first in his family to graduate from college and is proud and humbled to be able to help others take this important step in their lives.
Christie Paul MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Vivek Rao Biology Teacher	Mr. Rao grew up in Newton, Massachusetts and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005 with a degree in biology. He is currently in his second year of teaching 10th grade biology and AP Biology at MATCH. Prior to that, he served as a member of the 2005-2006 MATCH Corps.
Alan Safran Executive Director	Mr. Safran has served as the Executive Director of the MATCH School since July, 2002. Prior to MATCH, he served 9 years at the MA Department of Education as Administrator for Public Affairs, Executive Assistant to the Commissioner, Chief of Staff, Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Policy, and Senior Associate Commissioner for Student Achievement. Prior to this, Mr. Safran worked as a lead staff member of the MA Republican State Committee; as an SAT tutor; as an Assistant District Attorney in the Queens, NY District Attorney's office; as a Washington DC lobbyist on tax, environmental and trade matters; and as Spokesman for two committees of the United States Senate-the Senate Arms Control Observer Group (1985) and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1981-1985). He worked for the International Rescue Committee on the Thai-Cambodian border (1980). He holds a law degree from George Washington University (1987) and a B.A. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University (1980). Mr. Safran is certified as a Superintendent in MA, and is a member of the Bar in the States of New York and MA.
Ann Sagan Academic Dean	BA in Public Policy and Politics from Duke University; MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago; MS in Education from Bank Street College. Mrs. Sagan has worked at the MATCH School since 1999. She is also a member of the MATCH Board of Trustees. She enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening, photography, planning, and working with children. She and her husband Paul have three teenage children.
Steve Schaus MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Alia Smith Director of Special Projects	Spelman College BA Psychology, 2004. Ms. Smith was a member of the 2004-2005 MATCH Corps. She is a passionate believer in the MATCH School, its students, its leaders, and its mission. Originally from San Jose, California, she attended school in Atlanta, Georgia, and is now continuing her tour of the U.S. by living in Boston.
Charles Sposato Founding Principal, Teacher Advisor	BA from Boston College, 1970; MA in Education from Framingham State College, 1974. Mr. Sposato served as the Principal of the MATCH School from its inception until June, 2006. Prior to joining MATCH, he taught for 15 years at the Farley Middle School and 15 years at Framingham High School. He was a finalist for the Teacher in Space program in 1986, and was voted the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in 1990. He enjoys playing chess and spending time with his grandchildren.
Jared Taillefer Mathematics Teacher	Mr. Taillefer graduated from Boston University in 2005 with a degree in Applied Mathematics. Mr. Taillefer was a member of the 2005-2006 MATCH Corps.
Angelene Thompson English Teacher	Ms. Thompson holds a BA from Boston College where she was an English major and a MA in English Lit from Northeastern University. She is currently in her eleventh year of teaching, and she is looking forward to a fantastic year at MATCH!
Ross Trudeau MATCH Corps Staff	See Bio under MATCH Corps Directory
Joanne Wan Academic Resource Director	Ms. Wan earned a Bachelors Degree in English/American Literature from Brandeis University and a Masters in Special Education from George Washington University. As a Teach For America Corps Member, she taught middle schools students in Special Education in Washington, D.C. for 2 years. After TFA, she developed programs and curriculum for a private academic enrichment program in Boston for Asian American students. Ms. Wan is a member of Gund Kwok, the only Asian Women's Lion Dance Troupe in the nation. She also loves to eat, especially sushi.
Brandon Wong Director of Development	Originally from Northern California and graduated from Boston College in 2004. Member of the inaugural MATCH Corps I in 2004-05; Senior Corps 2005-06 and coordinated Weekend MCAS tutoring. Master’s in Education Policy & Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2006-07. Currently the Director of Development/Director of the SES Student-to-Student Tutoring Program for the 2007-08 year.