RE Log - Fall 2020

44 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2020 Ransom Everglades welcomed new faculty from around the nation and world during opening meetings on August 17-18. The school’s new talent arrived from California, Rhode Island, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Santo Domingo, D.R., and Dubai, U.A.E., among other locales. During two days of virtual meetings, the group met with depart- ment heads and members of the administration to prepare for the start of REmote RE on August 24. Melanie P. Hoffmann, Director of Advancement, has been a fundrais- ing professional for more than 25 years. Prior to coming to Ransom Everglades, she was the Assistant Head of School and Director of External Affairs at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vt., for two years (2018-20), and the Director of Institutional Advancement at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, N.J., for 13 years (2005-18). Previously, Mrs. Hoffmann worked for Graham- Pelton Consulting, the Save Ellis Island! Foundation in New Jersey, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Central Park Conservancy in New York City. She began her fundraising career at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 2018, she completed her Master of Education for School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. She previously received a bachelor’s degree of art history from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. Mrs. Hoffmann and her husband of 23 years, Arthur Hoffmann – RE’s new Director of Book and Online Stores – have two sons, Nick ’27 and Will, and two dogs. Linda Lawrence is the Chief Technology Officer at Ransom Everglades School where she oversees all aspects of technology across the middle and upper school cam- puses. Combining her data management Talent New Senior Leadership Team and programming experience with her passion for innovative technologies, she promotes best practices throughout the school’s technology ecosystem to creatively harness the power of the tech- nology investment. Prior to working at Ransom Everglades, Mrs. Lawrence was the Director of Technology Development at Metairie Park Country Day School in Louisiana where she streamlined data management solutions, chaired the Applied Technology academic department, founded a Pre-K through 12 computer science and engineering curriculum and taught AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles. She serves on the Blackbaud K-12 Advisory Board, providing guid- ance on future product directions for K12 education management solutions. Before joining the educational sector, she worked in the technology sector designing data solutions and network infrastructures that supported oil and gas exploration and production. Mrs. Lawrence earned a Master of Science from Tulane University and BS in computer science from Louisiana Tech University. She is the former owner of a software development and data manage- ment company, TIA, Inc. She is married to Dr. Christopher F. Lawrence, a radi- ologist. They have three children: Jeffrey, a general surgery resident; Gary, a real estate investment banking associate; and Kelsey, a special effects artist. Lew Stival joined Ransom Everglades as Director of College Counseling after nearly 25 years as Dean of College Counseling at Blair Academy in New Jersey. During more than three decades at Blair Academy, he cultivated meaning- ful relationships with admission officers at colleges and universities nationwide and helped Blair keep pace during a dynamic time in the admission process. After starting his career as an English teacher, Mr. Stival moved into the Blair Academy college counseling office as an associate dean in 1990. In 1996, he assumed the college counseling dean- ship at the boarding school, and for more than a dozen years oversaw the school’s office while working with 55-60 coun- selees annually. A boys’ varsity tennis coach for more than 25 years, Mr. Stival co-authored a book on athletic recruit- ing, Understanding Athletic Recruiting: A Comprehensive Guide for the High School Student-Athlete. He also assem- bled a comprehensive college counseling handbook, and has written a college-visit blog. Prior to his tenure at Blair, Mr. Stival taught English and coached tennis and swimming at Phillipsburg High in Phillipsburg, N.J. He earned an AB in English at Lafayette College and a Master of English Literature at Drew University. Faculty and Staff Felipe Amaro joined RE’s World Languages Department & Global Studies Department from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he taught Spanish and Portuguese and coordinated the Portuguese program for six years. He also served as an adjunct English lecturer at the Harry S. Truman College in Chicago, and interim Portuguese instructor at the University of Florida. Early in his career, he served as Business Development Manager at INCURSOS (National Institute of Courses), in Goiânia, Brazil. He has explored different teaching methods and particularly appre- ciates the application of the task-based approach in the classroom. This method allows students to learn the target language and culture while performing meaningful tasks. Mr. Amaro developed an interest in the field of linguistics when he moved to the United States and real- ized that linguistic knowledge allowed for the exploration of different markets, such as service, technology and educa- tion. Mr. Amaro earned a master’s degree in linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Universidade Ibirapuera, São Paulo. Besides teaching, he continues studying languages, and enjoys painting, refinish- ing furniture and traveling.