News Detail
New talent gets to work
Ransom Everglades welcomed new faculty from around the nation and world during opening meetings on August 17-18. The school's new talent arrived from California, Rhode Island, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, Santo Domingo, D.R., and Dubai, U.A.E., among other locales. During two days of virtual meetings, the group met with department heads and members of the administration to prepare for the start of REmote RE on August 24.
The school also introduced three new members of its senior leadership team: Director of Advancement Melanie Hoffmann, Director of College Counseling Lew Stival and Chief Technology Officer Linda Lawrence. All commenced work this past spring or summer.
Learn more about the newest members of the 2020-21 faculty, staff and administration:
Faculty and Staff
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 professor skilled in DNA Sequencing, RNA Isolation, Molecular Biology, Next Generation Sequencing, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). He is a graduate 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.
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 courtesy 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 graduated 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.
Andrea Gallardo came to the Mathematics and Computer Science Department at Ransom Everglades with significant international educational experience. Ms. Gallardo previously taught mathematics to multiple 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 coordinator, high school division lead, grade-level team leader – she collaborated with teachers to help manage the students’ academic, social, emotional and developmental needs. A native of Ecuador, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and Master in Mathematics Education from Columbia University. Outside the classroom, Ms. Gallardo loves to spend time with her family, explore 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 relocated to Miami from Dubai this summer.
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 teacher at BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona. His teaching and publications have been recognized 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, mindfulness 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 literature, psychiatry and the law. Dr. Helmers is also an improv performer and clinician, an avid gamer, a lifelong Star Wars fan, 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 experience, 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 elementary schools. Mr. Hoffmann is a graduate 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.
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 highest 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 studying 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.
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Learn more about the newest members of the 2020-21 faculty, staff and administration:
Senior Leadership Team
Melanie P. Hoffmann, Director of Advancement, has been a fundraising professional for more than 25 years. Prior to coming to Ransom Everglades, she was the Assistant Head of School and Director of External Affairs at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vt., for two years (2018-20), and the Director of Institutional Advancement at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, N.J., for 13 years (2005-18). Previously, Mrs. Hoffmann worked for Graham-Pelton Consulting, the Save Ellis Island! Foundation in NJ, Museum of the City of New York, and Central Park Conservancy in New York City. She began her fundraising career at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 2018, she completed her Master in Education for School Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. She previously received a bachelor's degree in art history from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. Mrs. Hoffmann and her husband of 23 years, Arthur Hoffmann – RE’s new Director of Book and Online Stores – have two sons, Nick ’27 and Will, and two dogs.
Linda Lawrence is the Chief Technology Officer at Ransom Everglades School where she oversees all aspects of technology across the middle and upper school campuses. Combining her data management and programming experience with her passion for innovative technologies, she promotes best practices throughout the school’s technology ecosystem to creatively harness the power of the technology investment. Prior to working at Ransom Everglades, Mrs. Lawrence was the Director of Technology Development at Metairie Park Country Day School in Louisiana where she streamlined data management solutions, chaired the Applied Technology academic department, founded a Pre-K through 12 computer science and engineering curriculum and taught AP Computer Science A and AP Computer Science Principles. She serves on the Blackbaud K-12 Advisory Board, providing guidance on future product directions for K12 education management solutions. Before joining the educational sector, she worked in the technology sector designing data solutions and network infrastructures that supported oil and gas exploration and production. Mrs. Lawrence earned a Master of Science from Tulane University and BS in computer science from Louisiana Tech University. She is the former owner of a software development and data management company, TIA, Inc. She is married to Dr. Christopher F. Lawrence, a radiologist. They have three children: Jeffrey, a general surgery resident; Gary, a real estate investment banking associate; and Kelsey, a special effects artist.
Lew Stival joined Ransom Everglades as Director of College Counseling after nearly 25 years as Dean of College Counseling at Blair Academy in New Jersey. During more than three decades at Blair Academy, he cultivated meaningful relationships with admission officers at colleges and universities nationwide and helped Blair keep pace during a dynamic time in the admission process. After starting his career as an English teacher, Mr. Stival moved into the Blair Academy college counseling office as an associate dean in 1990. In 1996, he assumed the college counseling deanship at the boarding school, and for more than a dozen years oversaw the school’s office while working with 55-60 counselees annually. A boys’ varsity tennis coach for more than 25 years, Mr. Stival co-authored a book on athletic recruiting, Understanding Athletic Recruiting: A Comprehensive Guide for the High School Student-Athlete. He also assembled a comprehensive college counseling handbook, and has written a college-visit blog. Prior to his tenure at Blair, Mr. Stival taught English and coached tennis and swimming at Phillipsburg High in Phillipsburg, N.J. He earned an AB in English at Lafayette College and a Master of English Literature at Drew University.
Faculty and Staff
Felipe Amaro joined RE’s World Languages Department & Global Studies Department from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he taught Spanish and Portuguese and coordinated the Portuguese program for six years. He also served as an adjunct English lecturer at the Harry S. Truman College in Chicago, and interim Portuguese instructor at the University of Florida. Early in his career, he served as Business Development Manager at INCURSOS (National Institute of Courses), in Goiânia, Brazil. He has explored different teaching methods and particularly appreciates the application of the task-based approach in the classroom. This method allows students to learn the target language and culture while performing meaningful tasks. Mr. Amaro developed an interest in the field of linguistics when he moved to the United States and realized that linguistic knowledge allowed for the exploration of different markets, such as service, technology and education. Mr. Amaro earned a master’s degree in linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Universidade Ibirapuera, São Paulo. Besides teaching, he continues studying languages, and enjoys painting, refinishing furniture and traveling.
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 curriculum developer. He worked previously at West Virginia University as a Spanish professor, and has 12 years of teaching experience in the United State 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 organization, 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 professor skilled in DNA Sequencing, RNA Isolation, Molecular Biology, Next Generation Sequencing, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). He is a graduate 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 conducted paleoecological research 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 courtesy 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 graduated 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 various 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 and coach in private schools, he has coached multiple sports, served in development roles and as a dorm parent, led Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives 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 winner 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 will join 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 international educational experience. Ms. Gallardo previously taught mathematics to multiple 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 coordinator, high school division lead, grade-level team leader – she collaborated with teachers to help manage the students’ academic, social, emotional and developmental needs. A native of Ecuador, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Smith College and Master in Mathematics Education from Columbia University. Outside the classroom, Ms. Gallardo loves to spend time with her family, explore 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 relocated 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 management 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 teacher at BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona. His teaching and publications have been recognized 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, mindfulness 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 literature, psychiatry and the law. Dr. Helmers is also an improv performer and clinician, an avid gamer, a lifelong Star Wars fan, 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 experience, 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 elementary schools. Mr. Hoffmann is a graduate 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 basketball. He also participated on the school's wellness committee and the social emotional 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 outdoorsman, he began teaching and coaching five years ago. Jeff holds boater’s certifications and an American Canoe Association instructor’s certification. Jeff 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, jogging, 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 highest 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 studying 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.
Ramesh Nyberg ’75 arrived to RE in the new position of Director of Security and Auxiliary Programs. He previously managed his own investigations and security agency and has conducted law enforcement training classes nationwide. As a freelance writer, he wrote a column for the Miami Herald about police-community relations, and since 1987 has continued to write for law enforcement magazines. Mr. Nyberg spent 27 years serving the local community in law enforcement, with over two decades as a homicide investigator. After retiring in 2006, he taught criminal justice at Coral Reef Senior High. He is a native Miamian, who spent his early years in Coconut Grove and South Miami after his parents arrived to Miami in the late 1950s. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from the University of Phoenix. Mr. Nyberg attended Ransom Everglades for two years and the school left an indelible mark on his life. He is married to RE mathematics and computer science teacher, Mandira Bose-Nyberg, and has six children, including a recent graduate from the RE Class of 2020.
Jodie Roderick arrived to the physical education department at Ransom Everglades from the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she served as a physical and health education teacher and student advisor. She previously taught at Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American School of Lima, Peru; the International School of Dakar, Senegal; and International School of Panama. Ms. Roderick earned a Masters in the Art of Teaching at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., and a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing at the University of Rhode Island. She has coached soccer for more than eight years and is enthusiastic about the environment, collaborating on many Green Teams. Ms. Roderick has a two-year-old son, Zaiden, and loves to be active outdoors – surfing, skateboarding, working out and going to the beach.
Jodie Roderick arrived to the physical education department at Ransom Everglades from the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she served as a physical and health education teacher and student advisor. She previously taught at Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American School of Lima, Peru; the International School of Dakar, Senegal; and International School of Panama. Ms. Roderick earned a Masters in the Art of Teaching at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., and a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing at the University of Rhode Island. She has coached soccer for more than eight years and is enthusiastic about the environment, collaborating on many Green Teams. Ms. Roderick has a two-year-old son, Zaiden, and loves to be active outdoors – surfing, skateboarding, working out and going to the beach.
Middle School
2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 250 6850
Upper School
3575 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 33133Phone: 305 460 8800
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.