Faculty and staff updates, September 2024

Aimee Bouchard she/her
fourth grade
Aimee Bouchard comes to Gordon from New York City, where she has taught in the public school system since 2005. For the past eleven years, Ms. Bouchard has taught in the third grade gifted and talented program at Sarah J. Garnet Elementary School in Manhattan. She is from Rhode Island and excited to be returning to be closer to family. Aimee earned a B.A. in Elementary Education, Psychology, and Middle School Social Studies from the University of Rhode Island and has an M.A. from the Literacy Specialist Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2010, Aimee received an Advanced Certificate in Gifted Education from Hunter College. Aimee’s two children will also be joining the Gordon community in the fall.
 

Lily Chase-Fielding she/her
first grade
Lily comes to Gordon after five years of teaching second grade at Amos A. Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline, Massachusetts. Mrs. Chase-Fielding brings thoughtful experience in differentiating classroom instruction and developing dynamic lessons to meet both the academic and emotional needs of a diverse student population. During her visit, the hiring committee was impressed by her enthusiasm and her keen understanding of the needs and interests of young learners. Lily has a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Muhlenberg College and an M.S. in Integrated Elementary and Special Education from Boston College (formerly Wheelock College).
 

Thea Ernest she/her
after school
Thea was an addition to after school programs last spring and is delighted to continue to contribute to the Gordon community. A RISD graduate in Jewelry and Light Metals and longtime Rhode Islander, her lifetime passion is the visual arts. In the past decade, Ms. Ernest's artwork has broadened into drawing, watercolor painting and illustration, such as Billy the Rescue Dog. Braving the elements, her summer has been full of plein air painting with all ages in Urban Sketchers Rhode Island and the Portsmouth Arts Guild. Thea’s private teaching focuses on helping people experience drawing as a bold and joyous pursuit. With a lifetime of community activism and involvement, Thea is using visual art and creative writing to reach young people and members of Rhode Island’s LGBTQ community.
 

​​Maggie Friedfeld she/her
third grade
Maggie will be joining Ms. Lovaas Ishihara and Ms. Kelley to round out the third grade team this fall. Ms. Friedfeld arrives at Gordon with a deep understanding of this community and rich experience teaching elementary and middle school students. The bulk of her classroom experience comes from fourteen years teaching middle school math at Lincoln School. Seeking to teach younger students, Maggie moved to Touchstone Community School in Grafton, Massachusetts three years ago, where she taught first and second grade. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University. Two fun facts about Maggie: one, she is the parent of two Gordon graduates, Hallie ‘11 and Aidan ‘14; and two, Lower School Director Minna Ham taught Hallie in first grade; Hallie now is a first grade teacher herself.
 

Sandy Horton she/her
librarian
Sandy served as Gordon’s nurse for a decade that began in 2011 and included the intense year-and-a-half of the COVID pandemic. When she left Gordon she aimed, as she said, “to follow in the footsteps of Frances Martindale!” Ms. Horton has manifested this dream, earning a Masters of Library and Information Sciences with a concentration in School Library Media from the University of Rhode Island in 2023 and working as the librarian for Gladstone Street Elementary School in Cranston since February of last year. While she will be “Ms. Horton” rather than “Nurse Sandy” upon her return, Sandy is still a licensed nurse, which means she will also be on hand to provide support to our health services office for designated hours during the school day and after school.
 

Don Mays he/him
theater
This year, Gordon is investing in a full-time theater arts teacher who will not only be responsible for after school productions, but will also ensure that the performing arts program remains an essential element of the day-to-day life and culture of Gordon. Don Mays will be joining Gordon in this role in the fall. In addition to directing theater productions and managing the Wales Theater, Don will teach electives, offer Lower School clubs, and support a Middle School advisory team.
Don has a long history in the Greater Providence theater community, having served as a director at the Wilbury Theater Group, Providence’s Black Repertory Company, Brown University, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and Bristol Community College. Don’s current project, the audio play God Speaks to an Agnostic, should be familiar to many local NPR listeners; it is now in its third season on The Public’s Radio. He holds a BFA in Theatre from Drake University and a certificate from the National Shakespeare Conservatory in Acting and Directing. Don’s most recent teaching experience was in all three divisions of Lincoln School, where he led full scale productions as well as a student-directed one-act play festival, and served as a member of Lincoln’s diversity, equity and inclusion team.
 

Julitza Ovalle she/her
Early Childhood Spanish Associate
Julitza Ovalle comes to us from Cadence Academy in North Kingstown, where she was named teacher of the year for two consecutive years, and where she distinguished herself as a problem solver, a committed collaborator, and a mentor to new staff. With a passion for early childhood education, Julitza has spent the past five years creating safe and nurturing learning environments for pre-kindergarten students. She is a first-generation Rhode Island native who expects to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages and Youth Development at Rhode Island College in May 2025.
 

Hallie Riggs she/her
school counselor
Hallie has been a mental health clinician for over a decade, most recently at Bradley Hospital. During her time there, Ms. Riggs was known for her compassionate, equity-centered work with young people and their families and for building a curriculum that will benefit Bradley patients for years to come. At Bradley and in her role as a clinical teaching associate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Hallie provided medical students and social workers with supervision and training in the treatment of trauma-related disorders in young people. Part of Hallie’s experience in trauma-informed practice included two years in collaboration with the Lakota people of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the South Dakota Department of Social Services to create a first-of-its-kind intentional community on the Cheyenne River Reservation that provided culturally centered foster care for Native children.
Ms. Riggs is also the author of All the Pieces, a children’s book aimed at helping young people process the experience of having a loved one die from substance misuse. She holds a BSW and MSW from Bridgewater State University and Rhode Island College, respectively. Throughout her career, Hallie has partnered with countless school-based clinicians, and she has longed for a position that would allow her to support students and families in a deeper and more sustained way over time. She is excited to join the Gordon team and continue to grow the ways in which the school attends to the emotional and psychological wellbeing of our community.
 

Ploy Promrat she/her
fourth grade
Ploy will join Aimee Bouchard as the second New York transplant on the fourth grade team. Ploy taught lower school at Collegiate School and, more recently, Village Community School, a noted progressive Kindergarten to eighth grade school. Like Aimee, Ms. Pomrat grew up in Rhode Island and is also relocating to be closer to her family; she first got to know Gordon through her brother, Ping, who is a member of Gordon’s Class of 2012. Ploy has a B.A from Swarthmore College in Sociology and Anthropology with a minor in Educational Studies, and an M.S.Ed in Childhood General Education from Bank Street College of Education. In her work in New York, Ploy established herself as a masterful teacher and true connector of people, two qualities which make her a perfect match for Gordon’s Lower School.
 

Glen Quinette he/him
library assistant
Glen has been a familiar face around Gordon for many years, as the parent of a now-Middle-Schooler but also as a dedicated volunteer in the library and in Gordon’s gardens. His gentle, thoughtful way with students has made him an indispensable part of the library team, and he is formalizing his relationship with Gordon this fall by joining the library staff. Glen has a BA in sculpture from Bennington College and an extensive collection of vintage picture books.