Excellence in Teaching and Learning Beyond Our Classrooms
Friends Select faculty and staff exemplify a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning beyond their classrooms. |
From speaking at national conferences to volunteering with impactful organizations and serving on influential boards, many talented Friends Select educators share their talents to make a difference in their broader communities. |
Rohan Arjun, Director of Enrollment Management & Financial Aid
Creating and Working with a Budget (co-presented by Matt Rosen, director of financial operations), Association of Independent Schools Admission Professionals (AISAP) Financial Aid Institute, October 2024
Earned Income Tax Credit & Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Webinar: How to Get, Use, and Report the Funds (co-presented by Angela Winterrowd, director of leadership gifts), presented in partnership with ADVIS (Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools), PAIS (Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools), and PAISBOA (Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools Business Officers Association), October 2024
• Co-chair, Enrollment Management Leadership Council, Enrollment Management Association
• Member, Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) Commissioners for Accreditation
• Member, Faculty Search Committee, National Association
of Independent Schools (NAIS) Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC)
• 2024 Game Changer Award Recipient, Change Our Future Foundation
• Member, Clarity Methodology Review Board
• Planning Committee, National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA)
• Mentor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education’s School Leadership Program
• Co-founder and Chair, My Brothers’ Keeper: A Retreat for Men of Color in Education
• Co-founder and Faculty Member, The National Diversity Practitioners Institute
• Member, Board of Trustees, Newtown Friends School and Far Hills Country Day School
• Co-chair, Enrollment Management Leadership Council (EMLC), The Enrollment Management Association
Norman Bayard, Upper School Dean of Students/Advisor
KESA (Knowing, Enduring, Service and Action): In Service and Support of Black Male School Leaders, FORUM/DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging), January 2024: In this workshop, a group of Black educational leaders‚ with expertise in independent schools, university research and scholarship, professional practice, and professional development facilitation, shared their strategies and approach to the formation of KESA, a group dedicated to supporting the leadership, and leadership development of current and aspiring Black men who are heads of school and leaders.
Instructor, ManUpPHL, January 2019-present
Working as lead instructor with the adult population (18-35), Norman was the site coordinator for the North Philly section. “Getting involved with ManUp was less of an inspiration and closer to fulfilling a promise or acting on a deep spiritual mission,” he shared.
Sara DeSabato,
First Grade Lead Teacher
Allison Frick,
Lower School STEAM Librarian
Let’s Talk About Sex: Teaching Gender and Sexuality to Elementary-Aged Children Using Age-Congruent Literature, ALA Annual Conference, June 2024: Sara and Allison presented how they wrote and implemented Friends Select’s lower school gender and sexuality curriculum, and how others can do the same.
Sex Is a Funny Word: Incorporating Gender and Sexuality Literature and Activities into Youth Programming, ALA Annual Conference, June 2025: The pair will present how to easily implement LGBTQIA-affirming program in public and school libraries.
Heather Fortune, Music Teacher
Clinician, Modern Band; Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) annual conference, April 2025: Heather served as a coach for school rock bands whose members participated in the conference performance track.
• Board Member; Chair, Strategic Planning Committee; Rock to the Future
• Board Member, Association for Popular Music Education
Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters, Upper School Drama Department Chair and Teacher
Artistic advisor on Playwriting with Purpose (2nd Edition), by Jacqueline Goldfinger, to be published by Routledge and released in July 2025.
Jared Levy, Upper School History & Religion Teacher
Writer, Meet Cute Presents: Power Ten - Part 1, an underdog drama: This episode is about Greg Culver, the privileged son of a championship rower, who is given an ultimatum: either join the crew team at his father’s alma mater, Alderbridge College, or be cut off financially. (Note: includes profanity.)
Ian Lockey, Upper School Latin teacher, 10th Grade Lead Advisor, Upper School DEI Coordinator
Teacher Talks: Decolonizing the Classics, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, April 2024: Attendees learned about the historical connections between the Classics and white supremacy, moments of resistance within the discipline, and how people are working to reimagine how this subject
can be a locus of liberation rather than oppression.
Social Justice in the Latin Classroom: A Tour for High School Teachers, Vergilian Society, June 30-July 10, Italy: Classroom sessions on teaching Latin through a lens of social justice and tours of multiple sites in Rome and the Bay of Naples.
Futures of Ancient Race (FAR), Johns Hopkins University, March 2024: A multi-year project including a collaborative group of mostly college professors working to build an open-access online resource (OER) about race in antiquity.
Chair of the Villa Management Committee, Vergilian Society, first term 2025-28: Ian oversees tours offered by the Vergilian Society in Europe, works closely with the treasurers and the manager of the Villa in the Bay of Naples, recruits for future tours, and advertises tours running each summer.
Tracy C. Matthews, Director of College Planning
Lead Admissions Coach and Admissions Coach, University of Southern California Bovard Scholars Program: In this role, Tracy provides intensive individual college planning and college application advice to a group of 10 high-achieving underrepresented high school seniors, most of whom are first-generation college students. She co-taught a class on the college selection and application process, career exploration, essay writing, financial aid, and the transition from high school to college. Traci also reviews college applications and essays, and provides advice and support throughout the students’ senior year. As lead admissions coach, she also provides support, supervision, and professional guidance and advice to admissions coaches and classroom support coordinators.
Miriam Rock, English Department Chair, Upper School English Teacher, Upper School Student Leadership Coordinator
Advisor and Facilitator, Eastern State Penitentiary Summer Teacher Institute: Since 2023, Miriam has presented workshops for Philadelphia and area teachers, educating them about mass incarceration, and supporting them in developing curricula to teach about mass incarceration in schools.
Chair, Board of Trustees, The Miquon School
Margaret Smith
In her role as director of city curriculum, Margaret often shares Friends Select’s
unique curriculum with other educators. Recent presentations have included the National Network of School Partnerships.
Partnership: We all say it, but what do we really mean? 2024
Partnership Potential Everywhere: Six years of establishing partnerships through Sights on Site, co-presented by Deborah Caiola, former art teacher, 2023.
Friends Select School: In the city and of the city, Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools 2023.
Change Starts Now—Lessons from Social Justice Week, ADVIS: Advancing Independent Schools (co-presented by Chris Singler, upper school director, and Toni Graves Williamson, director of equity and inclusion), 2023.
Satoia Wright, Math Department Chair, Middle School Math Teacher
Philadelphia STEM Equity Week, October 2024: During this event, Satoia was recognized at the STEMposium, “To Inclusion and Beyond,” for her impactful work in delivering culturally competent STEM education at Friends Select.
Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program: Satoia recently served as an alumni ambassador and continues to host professional development sessions for this program, helping teachers connect middle and upper school math content to real-world phenomena. She will also be serving on a panel at Penn Charter this spring titled Bridging the Gap: Supporting Equitable Transitions to Private Schools for Students of Color.
NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC): Presented the importance of culturally responsive practices in education and strategies to engage students of diverse backgrounds in STEM.
Deneen Young, Administrative Assistant to the Upper School Director
Panelist, SAIS (Southern Association of Independent Schools) Administrative Assistants Roundtable, January 2024
Wellness facilitator, Clinician Think Tank Retreat, 2021-present
