RE Log - Fall 2020

FALL 2020 Ransom Everglades LOG 45 Leonardo Arango joined the World Languages Department & Global Studies Department from The Episcopal School of Dallas, where he served as a Spanish language instructor and cur- riculum developer. He worked previ- ously at West Virginia University as a Spanish professor, and has 12 years of teaching experience in the United States and Colombia with an emphasis on language learning through digital literacy. Mr. Arango is a presenting member of the American Association for Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), as well as an associate of the Student Shoulder-to-Shoulder organi- zation, and a participant in the Global Solutions Forum. He earned a master’s degree in TESOL and Spanish from West Virginia University. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University Global Competitiveness Leadership program and earned a BA in second language acquisition (English and French) from Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. Mr. Arango and his wife Renee, a former Florida horse racing jockey, relocated to Miami from Dallas, Texas. He’s an avid learner, an identical twin, and enjoys riding his motorcycle. Adam Bitzer joined the STEM Department to teach biology, chemistry and AP Biology, and he will also coach baseball. Prior to his arrival at Ransom Everglades, he was a STEM teacher at St. George’s School in Newport, R.I. He is completing his doctorate at UMass Dartmouth, where he explored the molecular interactions of soil bacteria in vitro. He has previously served as a research assistant and adjunct profes- sor skilled in DNA Sequencing, RNA Isolation, Molecular Biology, Next Generation Sequencing, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). He is a gradu- ate of Westminster School and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Salve Regina University and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and biotechnology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He moved to Miami with his fiancée, Abigail, and their two dogs, Sage and Theia. Karina Buhler joined the English Department at RE as a full-time faculty member and volleyball coach after serving as substitute teacher last year. She has worked as a trainer at the Posse Foundation in Miami; a STEM teacher at the Bridge Golf Foundation in New York City; a math and science mentor at Frost Science in Miami; and paleoeco- logical researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y. She was awarded a research grant from The Earth Institute of Columbia University to study the relationship between fecal bacteria and precipitation levels, and she presented her research about combined sewage overflow within the Hudson River and its socio-environmental effects at the 12th Annual Conference of the Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities held at Vassar College. Ms. Buhler received a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. When she isn’t teaching, she enjoys baking coconut cakes and hiking in the Everglades. Drew Cardinale joined the World Languages Department & Global Studies Department from Gulliver Preparatory School, where he started and built a Portuguese program that in 2017 won an excellence award sponsored by the American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese. As a cour- tesy lecturer at Florida International University, Drew was involved in a Dual Enrollment program for Portuguese. He has taught Latin, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese during his 25-year career, which has included service at Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J.; Brooklyn Friends School in New York; Friends Select School in Philadelphia; and Gulliver Schools in Miami. Mr. Cardinale was born in Brooklyn and gradu- ated from Hillsborough High School in Hillsborough, N.J. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin at Muhlenberg College and master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Romance Philology. Outside of work, his primary interests are music and travel. He sang with opera companies in New York after attending the Juilliard School. Travel has taken him throughout Europe, the United States, Mexico and Brazil. Tyrone Croom joined the Admission Office with more than 20 years of sales, marketing and coaching experience. He comes to Ransom Everglades from the Falmouth Academy, a co-educational independent school for grades 7-12 in Falmouth, Mass. He has served in vari- ous marketing, sales and management roles in professional sports, Fortune 500 companies, the wine and spirits industry and in events and promotions. He has coached football, basketball and lacrosse from youth through collegiate levels. He supports youth athletic programs, serving in multiple leadership roles on boards. As a student, faculty member and coach in private schools, he has coached multiple sports, served in devel- opment roles and as a dorm parent, led Diversity Equity and Inclusion initia- tives and taught ESL. He is a graduate of Susquehanna University, where he earned a BA in communications with a minor in sociology. Mr. Croom grew up in Sudbury, Mass., and graduated from Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School and the Salisbury School in Salisbury, Conn. He was a four-year letter win- ner on the football team and four-year player/coach for lacrosse. He enjoys participating in lacrosse and basketball leagues and tournaments across the country. Mr. Croom and his wife, Ginger, have two children who joined the student body at RE, Leah ’24 and Mason ’27 . Andrea Gallardo came to the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Ransom Everglades with significant inter- national educational experience. Ms. Gallardo previously taught mathematics to multiple