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Episcopal Welcomes New Faculty and Staff for the 2021-22 School Year

A new year brings new faces — and some changes — to Episcopal’s campus. New faculty members came from across the region to join the EHS community, and a few familiar faces have been part of the transition as well.

Assistant Head for Student Life Phil Spears moved to campus with his family, including his son Nolan ’25. He comes from a lifelong career in education and has known the Episcopal campus for years, after coming as a rival coach. He is excited to be at EHS, where one of his former students is now a faculty member, and looks forward to immersing himself in the storied traditions. Read the announcement here.

Dr. Katie Humphries is Episcopal’s new Medical Director. Formerly the Medical Director/Chief Medical Officer at The Healing Community Center in Atlanta, Katie is a board-certified family medicine physician with experience in urgent care. Inspired by her interaction with Episcopal students during the interview process, Katie and her family are looking forward to joining the Episcopal community in mid-October. Read more about Katie here.

Beth Blaum joined Episcopal in July as the director of health services. She moved to Alexandria from northeastern Pennsylvania, where she worked at Wyoming Seminary for 27 years. Once the pandemic began, Beth and her husband wanted to move closer to her daughters, both of whom live in the DMV area. “I wanted to continue what I love to do but not be so far away from our girls,” she said. “And Episcopal’s been a perfect fit.”

New to the Health and Wellness faculty but certainly not to EHS, Emily Straight P’18 ’21 has lived on campus since 1997 with her husband Rick Wilcox, the associate director of institutional advancement. Throughout her time, Emily has served on a dorm team. This year, she joins the faculty as a health and wellness teacher and serves as the advisor to the SWELL (student wellness), Mental Health Awareness, and Embody Love clubs. A certified yoga teacher, Emily has been teaching yoga and meditation at Episcopal and throughout the Washington, D.C., area since 2005.

Another not-quite-new change comes to the campus post office, where Thaddeus Williams P'22 is now the post office manager. Thaddeus and his family came to campus in 2018, when his wife Amila Williams began her role as an associate dean and their oldest son became a student. Before his new role, Thaddeus was the assistant post office manager and served as a weekend activities lead. Prior to Episcopal, he was at the Knox School in New York where he worked in maintenance and was a head JV basketball coach. Thaddeus' favorite thing about working at EHS is supporting the students and connecting with colleagues. "It's very enjoyable to work here, and it's a great thing to do every day," he says.

Clark Doyle joins the Deans Office as an assistant dean of students. A recent graduate from Princeton University, Clark transitioned quickly from the business world to academia when he realized his passion for teaching after coaching a squash team at a club in New York.

With a degree from Howard University, Gwendolyn Goad has worked in special education in independent and charter schools in the D.C. area. Now at Episcopal, Gwendolyn provides full-time support to students with the Crosland Academic Support Center. She enjoys helping students realize their academic potential and inspiring them to be lifelong learners.

In the modern and classical languages department, Carmen Carraway is the newest addition to the faculty of French teachers. Having majored in French and economics at the University of Virginia, she studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence — it was there that she knew she wanted to teach the French language. Alex DiMeglio, a new Latin teacher, is a recent graduate from Yale University, where he studied history and classics and sang with the a capella group the Whiffenpoofs.

The math department welcomes three new faculty members: Kiamani Wilson ’14, Pierce Brennan, and Bill Nau P’15. As an alumna of EHS, Kiamani was excited to return to The High School after receiving her master’s degree in education. Kiamani is passionate about providing a strong, equal, and fulfilled academic experience to all students she works with and is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in her mathematics curriculum and across campus. A former college football player, Pierce went from college to the classroom as a math teacher. He took a two-year break to become a college football coach, before returning to the classroom and his passion for high school education in independent schools. Bill began his career in finance and is the founder of an investment advisory firm. Now an educator, Bill is the proud parent of an alumna from the Class of 2015.

While Jen Fitzpatrick is not new to Episcopal, she recently transitioned to a new role of Director of Athletics. She continues as the head coach of the girls’ varsity soccer team. Her husband Jim Fitzpatrick has moved  from his role of director of boys’ athletics to associate director of admissions. He continues as the head coach of the boys’ varsity basketball team, and will also support the college counseling office. Kadeem Rodgers, an assistant football coach from 2015-18, returns to The Holy Hill as the assistant athletics director and head football coach. He spent two years in New York to revive the football program at the Millbrook School and now returns home to EHS where he previously helped the team to two IAC championships. In addition to coaching, he will serve the Office of Community & Equity. Katrina Reed, the head coach for the girls’ varsity basketball team since 2014, now will be seen around campus year-round instead of only during the winter athletics season. She joins the faculty as an English teacher, coming from nearby Washington-Liberty High School in Arlington, Va.

Rudy Wise joins the admissions office as an associate director of admissions. He comes most recently from the admissions office at Mercersburg Academy. “I believe in the power of education, and I fundamentally believe in the opportunities that boarding schools can offer today's students,” he says.

Two science teachers round out the list of new teaching faculty: Emily Grubb teaches physics and Blair Dewing ’13 teaches chemistry. Originally from Colorado, Emily studied engineering and earth science at Dartmouth University and has experience in outdoor education. She will coach the crew and climbing teams at EHS. Blair most recently taught middle school science at The Langley School in McLean, Va., where she emphasized conceptual physics and the importance of experiential learning. She coaches JV field hockey.

The Advancement and Communications offices welcome three new members to their teams. Irfan Latimer is the new director of communications, and joins Episcopal from the Key School in Annapolis, Md. With more than 30 years of experience in independent schools, Irfan has an extensive background in admissions, development, and communications work. She was inspired by the Portrait of a Graduate when initially interviewing at Episcopal and is enthusiastic about becoming an active member of our community. Joey Farmery is the new director of events. She comes to Episcopal with over 20 years of event experience, and was most recently working for an events company where she produced large-scale national events, conferences, and galas for non-profits around the country. She is excited to be at Episcopal and looks forward to supporting the connections throughout the EHS community that take place at events throughout the year. Ken Tyler ’83 P’16 ’19, is excited to be back at Episcopal as a major gifts officer. Before returning to The Holy Hill in this capacity, he held positions in development and advancement at organizations in Northern Virginia, and prior to that was a college basketball coach and athletic director for 26 years. Ken is proud to be the third of four generations in his family to attend EHS, spanning 100 years from his grandfather to his two children.
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