::: Meridian Academy :::

About Us

Faculty

	Joshua Abrams, Head of School, Mathematics, Science, and Technology B.S. in Biology, Yale University. M.A. in Mathematics Education, Columbia University. Josh has been a teacher, curriculum developer, and teacher leader for over twenty-five years. He has taught mathematics and science research in a variety of schools including positions as Master Teacher of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science, a state-wide, public, magnet school, and Mathematics Department Head at The Rivers School. He has taught in settings ranging from prisons to suburban day schools. Josh has also worked with students on extra-curricular activities including Model United Nations, math club, and juggling. In 1998, he was a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics from President Clinton.
	Carlos Abaunza , Spanish B.A. in Education, and Hispanic Linguistics and Literature, University of Costa Rica. M.A. in Hispanic Literatures, Boston College. M.A. in Sociology and Journalism, University Complutense of Madrid. Carlos is a Costa Rican-born educator. He has over a decade of teaching experience in many different settings: adult education, international schools, colleges, and American public schools. Carlos comes to us after 9 years of teaching at Woburn High School. Carlos also taught Spanish, philosophy and literature at the Marian Baker International School in San Jose, Costa Rica. Carlos' passions lie in diverse fields - he has studied native American cultures (Aztec, Inca, and Maya), meditation, literature, film-making, sociology, and philosophy. Carlos believes that his main role as an educator is to create an engaging environment, one where students are exposed to multidisciplinary activities that will guide them to become producers of their own knowledge, to be motivated by their own learning process, and to be willing to explore and challenge themselves while sharing the journey with others.
	Megara Bell, Health Education Megara has been teaching comprehensive sexuality education since 1999. She has taught in a variety of locations including public and private schools, state institutions, boys and girls clubs and other youth organizations. She is a regular presenter at the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy annual conference with talks on Sex Myths and Facts, Teaching Pregnancy Prevention to At-Risk Boys, and Teaching about STDs without resorting to fear-based methods. She is the co-author of the companion curriculum to “Women’s Voices, Women’s Lives: HIV Prevention for At-Risk Girls." Megara formed Partners in Sex Education in 2006 in order to expand direct educational services to youth in Greater Boston.
	Lenny Brown, Physical Education B.A. in Black Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston. Lenny has been working with youth in educational settings for over a decade. He is committed to physical activity and has a variety of activities that he enjoys: lacrosse, basketball, martial arts, long distance running, hiking and mountaineering, bike riding, swimming, skiing, rollerblading and gardening. He has lived in Boston his entire life and values its unlimited opportunities including the Charles River and Minuteman biking trails, hiking in the Blue Hills, and nature walks along the Emerald Necklace or Franklin Park. He shares his lifetime of love for, and learning from, the outdoors, sports, and experiential education with his students. When not teaching, Lenny cares for his two young, very active boys.
	Elliot Chase , Mathematics, Science, and Technology B.A. in Astronomy and Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder. M.A. in Mathematics Education, Long Island University. Elliot comes to Meridian following a year spent in Cambodia helping to develop a community-oriented sustainable school which aims to nurture meaningful and relevant learning in rural villages. Prior to that, Elliot taught Math, Physics, and Astronomy to middle and high school students at the Master's School in New York and Eagle Hill School in Connecticut. Elliot has spent several summers at an Upward Bound program working with academically motivated Native American high school students. He is passionate about making learning math both purposeful and personal. When not teaching, Elliot can usually be found laughing, writing poems, reading books, and enjoying nature in its myriad forms; especially hiking up big (and small) mountains. Elliot aspires to bring the same sense of marvelous adventure and open-ended narratives from his hobbies into math class.
	Misha Chowdhury, Humanities B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University. Misha's teaching experiences run the gamut, from leading folk music workshops for preschool students, to teaching creative writing in ESL classrooms, to developing literature courses for college seniors. Before returning to his home state of Massachusetts, Misha worked as a humanities and arts educator in the San Francisco Bay Area teaching literacy arts curricula in urban elementary and middle schools during the work week, while mentoring LGBT high-schoolers as an instructor for ‘outLoud’ Youth Radio on the weekends. Misha believes deeply in the power of storytelling and is committed to helping young people discover their own voices. He recently returned from a year-long Fulbright Fellowship in India, developing a book of poetry. Misha was a featured singer for the Grammy award-winning classical crossover album Calling All Dawns.
	Mary Ellen Ehrenreich, Art B.F.A. State University of New York at Purchase. M.F.A. with a concentration in studio teaching, Boston University. Mary Ellen has taught in the Newton Public Schools and directed an after-school arts program for one of the Federated Dorchester Community Centers for four years. In 2000, she founded Kids Together in the Arts, a summer arts program in Jamaica Plain that she still directs. Mary Ellen also works with the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain giving art classes for 7-, 8-, and 9-year-olds and she volunteers one day a week at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in their creative arts Blume Resource Center for families and patients. She and her husband homeschooled their two oldest daughters who are now in high school and three years ago they adopted their youngest daughter.
	Laura Grill, Music B.A. in Jazz Voice and Composition, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. M.A. in Jazz Studies and Vocal Performance, New England Conservatory. Laura knew at a very young age that a life of music was the only one for her. She is equally at ease playing bassoon in a symphony orchestra, scatting in a vocal jazz group, or jamming with an African drumming ensemble. While her career currently includes arranging, composing, and performing, Laura has found a unique joy in teaching. She finds it very gratifying to share her passion for collaborating with other musicians, creating original music, and performing music. The Laura Grill Band (Laura's original folk/bluegrass/jazz project) can be heard in and around Boston.
	Sarah Parker Geller, Humanities B.A. in Political Science, Bryn Mawr College. M.A. in Teaching in Political Science/Political Philosophy, Tufts University. Originally from New Mexico, Sarah earned her BA from Bryn Mawr College and then moved to Boston to teach 5th grade at Cambridge Friends School. After earning an MAT in social studies education at Tufts University, Sarah sought a change and moved to Atlanta. During her four years in the South, she taught high school history at The Weber School, an independent Jewish school. Most recently, she has taught 6th and 7th grade humanities at Abington Friends School in the Philadelphia area. Sarah believes that young people should learn to think critically about the world around them and use their education to make positive contributions to society. She also strives to instill in her students the idea that learning is not something that takes place in a day or a week but over the course of a lifetime.
Staff
	Ed Kleiman, Business B.A. in Philosophy from Tufts University M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College M.A. in Instructional Design from University of Massachusetts - Boston Ed has worked in the private and non-profit sectors for many years and is currently dividing his professional time among an accounting firm, two synagogues, a foundation that raises funds for schools, and several private clients. Unprompted, Ed says that he loves his work at Meridian.
	Hilary Law, Administrative Assistant B.F.A., Hampshire College. After receiving her art degree in 1984, Hilary launched Hilary Law Design, a textile product design and manufacturing company specializing in floorcloths. A lover of all things tactile, she gardens, knits, sews, cooks, does the crossword, entertains, and makes a general mess in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts where she lives with her tolerant family. Hilary has been a welcome addition to Meridian's administrative efforts since she joined us in 2008.

Board of Trustees

Joshua Abrams, President
In addition to his experience listed above, Josh has held leadership positions helping schools during their initial accreditation and reaccreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), has assisted with college guidance, and has had responsibility for budgets and personnel decisions. Josh founded Meridian because he wanted to provide an option for secondary students that valued their ideas, understood their need to be useful members of their communities, and welcomed them as junior researchers within and between the disciplines.

Max Bauer, CPA, Treasurer
B.S. in Accounting and Finance, Boston College.
Max began his career in public accounting over a decade ago. He currently works for Newton-based CPA firm Abrams Little-Gill Loberfeld PC. His clients include a broad array of enterprises, including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, biotechnology, and non-profit organizations. Max is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Kathleen Ennis
B.A. in History, Brandeis University; M.A. in English, Bread Loaf School of English, Middlebury College.
Kathy has been an educator for 30 years including four years at Needham High School and six years as Head of Humanities at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science. Kathy is Executive Director of Primary Source, an organization dedicated to helping teachers develop and incorporate curricula that include traditionally underrepresented peoples, inspire an openness to new information and ideas, and lead students to pursue cultural and historical accuracy based on primary sources of information. Kathy believes strongly that interdisciplinary work leads to a deeper understanding of the world.

Tricia Morrow
B.A., Knox College.
Tricia Morrow has enjoyed her role as a Teacher/Director at Neighborhood School in Jamaica Plain since she co-founded the purposefully small, independent elementary school in 1986. Her trek from Illinois to Boston in 1982 was stimulated by a strong sense of calling to live and work with children in an urban, multicultural environment. With teaching certification in elementary and special education, followed by graduate coursework in educational management and parenting studies, and then parenting three children, Tricia is committed to the rich, personalized learning and family connections that small schools cultivate.

Beth Schultz
BA, Washington University in St. Louis
Beth is the Chief Development Officer for Samaritans, Inc., the primary suicide prevention organization serving Boston and MetroWest. Beth has worked for social service organizations in both programming and development for nearly 20 years. Beth has advised non-profits and schools in Boston and Chicago on fundraising issues, and has worked with Meridian Academy since its inception.

Web Design

During his sophomore year, Meridian student Matthew Haber '11 designed and supervised the development of this web site.