Our Faculty

Christopher Batten

Camilla J. Bell-Ferdinand

PhD, Cultural Foundations of Education, Syracuse University, Cognate Area/Emphases: Qualitative Research Methods
M.S. Syracuse University, Cultural Foundations of Education
B.A. Syracuse University, English Education, English & Textual Studies

Kirsten Carter

Caroline Chavatel

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Benjamin Craig

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BA, Sonoma State University; MA, Texas A&M University; PhD, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Mary Cushing

Mary Fe Ramos de Armas

Elliot Grabill

Anne Henochowicz

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Alannah Hensley

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, University of Maryland
Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Arkansas at Monticello

Sean Kennedy

Melissa King-Rogers

Richard Kurker

BS, Providence College; PhD, University of Notre Dame
(Dr.) Richard Kurker, Jr., is a biochemist who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a Writing Minor from Providence College (Liberal Arts Honors Program) in Providence, RI. He earned his doctorate in Biochemistry with a specialization in protein biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, working with the bacterial oxygen-producing protein chlorite dismutase. Since completing his terminal degree, he has taught chemistry, biology, and graduate biochemistry at Manchester Community College, Quinnipiac University, and the University of Baltimore. He has also tutored online in chemistry and writing, as well as at a high school in the English Language Learner (ELL) program. In addition, he completed a postdoc at Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working on the virology and vaccine development of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV).

Sherry Lin

Ms. Lyn

B.F.A. in Ceramics from Towson University; M.F.A. in Studio Art from Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Lyn graduated from PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) with an MFA in Studio Art and a BFA in Ceramics from Towson University. Lyn believes that every child/young adult deserves the opportunity to succeed. She believes that test scores and past behaviors aren’t always the absolute indicator of a child’s/young adult’s success. If they are willing to put in the hard work, Lyn is willing to invest and support them wholly on their journey to academic and social success.

Andrew McKelvy

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BA, Grove City College; MA, Kent State University; PhD, American University

I started teaching at Bard in 2016, but I have been interested in languages and government since I was a kid in the 1990s. This pretty much explains why I teach what I teach: Spanish and political science, the former for 9th graders and the latter for Year 1s and Years 2s. I earned a bachelor’s degree in both subjects (as well as French) from Grove City College in Pennsylvania. I then got a master’s in Spanish translation from Kent State University in Ohio, and, eventually, I finished my Ph.D. in political science from American University in Washington, DC.

Nia McKenzie

Rushie McLeod

BA, University of California Los Angeles; MA, Southern New Hampshire University

Shaeeda Mensah

Ph.D. in Philosophy, Penn State University, University Park, PA
M.A. in Philosophy, Penn State University, University Park, PA
B.A. in Sociology, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA

Madeleine Monson-Rosen

James Povilonis

Anne Porter

M.S. Curriculum and Instruction, Western Governor’s University (Expected September 2026)
M.A., History, Harvard University. (ABD)
B.A., Medieval Studies, Yale University. Phillips Exeter Academy.

Bereket Sell

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Brian Uthe

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Catherine VanNetta

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BS, MEd, Towson University; PhD, University of Maryland, College Park

Catherine VanNetta earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Towson University and her doctorate in mathematics curriculum and instruction at the University of Maryland. Dr. VanNetta has over fifteen years of public school teaching experience, as well as, post-secondary teaching experience in both mathematics and teacher education at the University of Maryland and the Community Colleges of Baltimore County. She has worked on several NSF grant-funded positions in teacher preparation, developed a summer math curriculum for Baltimore’s Promise Grads2Careers program, earned two fellowships in undergraduate education, and served as part of a collaborative team earning a SEMINAL (Student Engagement in Mathematics) grant. She was a semi-finalist for the 2021 Baltimore City Teacher of the Year.  In her teaching, she seeks to affirm learners’ identities as “doers” of mathematics by creating a responsive classroom culture built around student ideas.

Christine Winkler

BA, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Matthew Woodle

BA, Savannah College of Art and Design; AAS, ITT Technical Institute; MA, Savannah College of Art and Design

Richard Zarou

BFA, Shenandoah University; MA, PhD, Florida State University
Richard Zarou, faculty member of Bard High School Early College in Baltimore, is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music.  His education includes a Doctoral and a Master’s degree in composition from Florida State University and a Bachelor’s degree in composition from Shenandoah University.  His works have been performed at festivals such as Electronic Music Midwest, The Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference, The Imagine2 Electro-Acoustic Festival, The College Music Society National Conference, and internationally in the Czech Republic and at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in the United Kingdom.  His awards include the New Music @ East Carolina University Competition in 2002 for Fragile Wraths and again in 2003 for Upon a Child.  A lullaby for women’s chorus, Upon a Child has been performed frequently since its premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in 2002.  In 2005, The Smell of Wet Dogs After a Summertime Rain, for bass trombone and CD, was commissioned by Aaron Misenheimer, who performed the composition at thirteen universities and recorded the piece as the title work for a commercial CD.  Zarou has also composed the music for 12 films, including the feature-length documentary Breaking the Silence: Torture Survivors Speak Out.