RE Log - Fall 2020

46 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2020 age groups in Bahrain, South Korea, Ecuador, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. While serving in a variety of leadership roles – head of department, gifted and talented coordi- nator, high school division lead, grade- level team leader – she collaborated with teachers to help manage students’ academic, social, emotional and devel- opmental needs. A native of Ecuador, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and Master of Mathematics Education from Columbia University. Outside the classroom, Ms. Gallardo loves to spend time with her family, ex- plore the world, try different cuisines and burn some calories in the gym. Together with her husband, Bart, a product and program manager at Facebook, she relo- cated to Miami from Dubai this summer. Ken Handel arrived to RE in the new position of Director of Buildings and Grounds. He brought more than 20 years of facilities manage- ment experience in areas including emergency planning, hurricane preparedness and preventative maintenance planning. Most recently, he led teams for TracFone Wireless as facilities manager, overseeing 133,000 square feet of property. Previously, he served as director of facilities for BD Services in Boca Raton and as corporate/ regional facilities manager at Strayer University in Herndon, Va., where he oversaw more than 20 campuses across three states and the District of Columbia. Mr. Handel, who attended Dwight- Englewood High School in New Jersey, received his MBA from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University. Matthew Helmers joined RE as the Upper School English Coordinator and English teacher. Most recently, he served as the Upper School Master Teacher Mentor and U.S. World Literature teach- er at BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona. His teaching and publications have been rec- ognized with several grants and awards. While in England, Dr. Helmers also served as lead tenor for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society – where he premiered the role of Edwin in a rock version of Trial by Jury. Dr. Helmers has lectured at Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Sydney and Arizona State University primarily focused on literary theory and constructions of “the human” in post-1900 America. For two years following his lectureship in Sydney, Dr. Helmers was the assistant director for an outdoor recreation center where he taught communication skills, mindful- ness and wilderness skills ... as well as fire-spinning, zip lining, axe-throwing and friendship-bracelet-making. Dr. Helmers earned his master’s and PhD from the University of Manchester, where his intersectional research on panic drew from the disciplines of litera- ture, psychiatry and the law. Dr. Helmers is also an improv performer and clini- cian, an avid gamer, a lifelong Star Wars fan and a coffee devotee, and his favorite dinosaur is the triceratops. Arthur Hoffmann arrived to Ransom Everglades as the Director of Book and Online Stores. He came from the Sundance School, a small private PK-5 school in New Jersey where he served as the business director. He also has extensive automotive industry experi- ence, worked as territory manager for SGS North America, and served as the owner/president of his family’s school uniform business. Volunteering has led him to participate on the advisory boards of two private Catholic elemen- tary schools. Mr. Hoffmann is a gradu- ate of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He has also coached lacrosse for more than 30 years from the youth to junior college level, and he continues to play on a couple of 45+ and 50+ teams. He is married to RE’s new Director of Advancement, Melanie Hoffmann. Jeff McDaniel, a faculty member in the Athletics and Physical Education Department, arrived to RE from The Bright School in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was a recipient of the Michael G. Murphy Stewardship Award, the highest recognition given to faculty. He developed, planned and led the daily physical education curriculum, and coached cross country, track and basket- ball. He also participated on the school’s wellness committee and the social emo- tional learning (SEL) team. Born and raised in Chapel Hill, N.C., he managed and owned a small retail business there for nearly 20 years. An avid outdoors- man, he began teaching and coaching five years ago. Mr. McDaniel holds boater’s certifications and an American Canoe Association instructor’s certifica- tion. He earned his degree in biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. McDaniel, his wife and two sons, Brayden ’27 and Cohen, love to be active outdoors – swimming, jog- ging, biking, paddling and gardening. Samantha Morse joined RE’s English Department from Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. Previously, Dr. Morse taught in the English department at UCLA, where she received the university’s high- est honor, the Distinguished Teacher Award. Specializing in 19th-century British literature, she published several articles on her favorite genre – Gothic fiction. Dr. Morse completed her BA as a double major in English World Literature and Spanish while also study- ing Arabic at Pitzer. She studied and taught abroad in Spain and Oman before beginning a PhD in English at UCLA. During her graduate studies, she taught in the English Department’s summer study abroad program in London. When she’s not reading, teaching or writing you can probably find her participating in her other favorite trio – swimming, biking and running – or adventuring in nature with her husband and miniature Australian shepherd. Talent New