RE Log Fall 2016

FALL 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 43 Douglas Heller ’80 arrives to the Upper School as a member of the science depart- ment faculty. As a senior lecturer at the University of Miami since 2005, Dr. Heller taught chemis- try, organic chemistry and biochemistry courses while co-writing the textbook Visualizing Everyday Chemistry (2015) and mentoring graduate students in writ- ing and public speaking. Prior to that, he spent two years at Florida International University, serving as a program manager of the International Forensic Institute. He also worked as project manager at IVAX Corporation in Miami (2000-01) and Arch Development Corporation in Chicago (1996-98), and co-authored four articles that have appeared in scientific journals. Dr. Heller earned his BA in chemistry at the University of Kansas; his MBA in finance and economics, and MS and PhD in organic chemistry, at the University of Chicago. Patrick Houlihan comes to Ransom Everglades as as- sistant director of athletics and assistant basketball coach. He taught physi- cal education and served as middle- school basketball coach at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami for three years; prior to that, he was a substitute teacher and assistant varsity basketball coach at Hewlett-Woodmire School District in Hewlett, N.Y. Mr. Houlihan assisted the Hofstra University men’s basketball team as a graduate assistant coach; directed Belen Jesuit’s basketball camps for two years; and played in col- lege at Northwestern University, where he was a Big Ten Scholar-Athlete and Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner. He received his BA from Northwestern; his master’s in physical education from Hofstra; and a master’s in educational leadership from St. Thomas University. Anita Joseph joins the Upper School science department faculty. For the last decade, Ms. Joseph has taught all levels of physics at Miami Palmetto Senior High in Pinecrest, where she significantly increased the enroll- ment of female stu- dents in AP-level courses. At Miami Palmetto, she coached students for the U.S. Physics Team, the Barry University Olympiad and National Science Bowl, and also served as site coordinator and coach for the SECME Competition for Science. She sponsored the Equal Access Club and was a sci- ence teacher at Breakthrough Miami at Ransom Everglades. She received her MS and BS in physics at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India, where she was a University Merit Scholar and minored in chemistry and mathematics. Michael Laughlin joins the Upper School mathematics and computer science department after three years at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he taught a number of math courses – pre-calculus, business calculus, college algebra and elementary education development – while working toward his MA in mathematics. As a high school and college student, Mr. Laughlin was very involved with the math team and Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, and looks forward to contributing to those pro- grams at RE. A scuba-diving enthusiast, Mr. Laughlin served as interning divemas- ter at Adventure Sports in Auburn, Ala., overseeing and demonstrating the under- water diving drills of beginning students. He received his BS in applied mathematics with a concentration in biology in 2011 at Auburn University, where he worked as a tutor and eventually tutor coordinator at the Math Tutorial Center. Captain Joseph L. Logan III joins RE’s physical education department and sailing program, extending a diverse career on the water that has included captaining catamarans, racing sailboats and serving as a sailing instructor for yachts up to 50 feet. He also has directed sailing programs for youths in Manhasset Bay, N.Y.; Greenwich, Conn.; Darien, Conn.; Miami Beach; and in Coconut Grove at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. As a teen, Logan was a member of the U.S. sailing team, winning one U.S. national title and qualifying for the 1987 420 world championships in Australia. While earn- ing his BS in secondary education and MA in education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., Capt. Logan led his college teammates to several NCAA sailing cham- pionships as varsity skipper. He has been a Coconut Grove Sailing Club member since 1979. James A. Oxsalida joins the mathematics and computer science department at the Middle School. For the past two years, Mr. Oxsalida has taught geometry and pre-calculus at St. George’s Independent School in Collierville, Tenn., while coaching the girls’ middle-school basketball and track teams. Prior to that, he taught math as part of the International Baccalaureate curriculum at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden, Mass., while also serving as an assistant coach on the varsity baseball, cross country and basketball teams. He previously worked in the admissions of office of his alma mater, Emmanuel College in Boston, where he received his BA in mathemat- ics and secondary education. He also was founder and president of Saints Giving Back, a Boston-based organization that coordinated service activities at Children’s Hospital Boston. Julie Pappas Smith joins the Middle School as a dance instructor. Ms. Pappas Smith brings extensive expe- rience from the worlds of dance, theater and youth performing arts. She recently served on the faculty of the Miami City Ballet and as a summer faculty member for the Boston Conservatory of Music, and taught tap, ballet and musical theater at the University of Miami. Ms. Pappas Smith also worked as dance director of the Bedford Youth Performing Company in Bedford, N.H.; choreographer and director for the Miami Childrens Theater; and show and thespian choreographer for