Spotlight on New Faculty and Staff

Renee Bai, Chinese Teacher
Originally from China, Renee holds a B.A. in Economics from Gordon College in Massachusetts. She worked in asset management as a CFA charter holder before joining the Groton faculty as a Chinese teacher in 2015. Nelson Mandela once said: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." Renee is a firm believer of this "heart" power and is passionate to pass it down to her students. Renee has been a self-appointed Chinese cultural ambassador ever since she set foot in the U.S. Having worked with professors, CEOs, politicians, star athletes, artists and writers as an interpreter/translator/language tutor, Renee brings real-world applications to linguistic and cultural studies. She is also an active community organizer. In her spare time, she has hosted over a hundred multi-cultural events in Greater Boston area and beyond. Renee considers herself a bookworm, traveller, gourmand, and accidental poet. She lives in Littleton, MA with her family.

Christina Corcoran, Registrar
Registrar Christina Corcoran joined Groton School in February 2015. Before living in Groton, she lived in Richmond, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Christina earned a bachelor's degree in education from Temple University and taught third grade until her first child was born. Prior to that, she spent nine years as sales manager for the Bitter End Yacht Club in the British Virgin Islands. In her spare time, Christina teaches Sunday School at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Ayer and volunteers for FloRo Elementary School and the Girl Scouts. She lives on campus with her devoted husband, organist and choirmaster Dan Moriarty, and their two daughters, Charlotte and Ellen.

Arthur Diaz, Chief Financial Officer
Arthur Diaz spent the first 18 years of his professional career with Amoco Corporation, the international oil and gas firm. During that time, he held a variety of senior financial positions in locations including Chicago, Houston, Denver, Atlanta, and London. His projects included Amoco's first oil and gas developments in the former Soviet Union; a major restructuring of the company's U.S. natural gas business; and the merging of Amoco's and BP's global chemical operations. Subsequently, he was the VP of strategic planning for Bacou-Dalloz, an international manufacturer based in Paris.A graduate of Pomfret School, Arthur was elected to Pomfret's board of trustees in 1999. He served for six years, including four as head of the Finance Committee, before being appointed the school's chief financial officer in 2005. While in that role at Pomfret, he also coached JV soccer and varsity softball, developed and taught a course in personal finance, was the form dean for the classes of 2014 and 2018, and was the faculty advisor to two student organizations. He left Pomfret to become Groton's CFO in July 2015. Arthur has a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University. He and his wife, Eileen, have three children.

Sheila Fritz-Ellis, Director of Counseling
The director of Counseling Services at Groton School, Sheila Fritz-Ellis Ed.D., LCPC, NBCC, LMHC has extensive experience in school counseling, most recently seven years at Deerfield Academy. In addition, she has 23 years of clinical counseling experience, in outpatient community mental health centers, hospital programs, and her own private practice, which specialized in issues facing women and adolescents. Dr. Fritz-Ellis believes in integrating the art and science of counseling, in part through strong self-awareness, comprehensive knowledge of counseling theories, and a tool bag of effectual counseling skills. She earned her doctorate in counselor education and supervision with a concentration in school counseling from Northern Illinois University, where she was an adjunct faculty member. She also was an assistant professor at DePaul University and adjunct faculty at University of Massachusetts. Among the courses she taught at the college level are Legal and Ethical Issues for School Counselors, Theories of Individual and Group Counseling, Counseling Skills, and Multicultural Counseling. Dr. Fritz-Ellis earned a master's at University of Louisville and a bachelor's at University of Kentucky.

Eileen Giles, Athletics Intern
Eileen Giles graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015, where she majored in geography and minored in American studies and social and economic justice. Before becoming the athletics intern at Groton, she played for four years on the UNC women's lacrosse team, and was part of the 2013 Division 1 national championship team. Eileen is originally from Concord, Massachusetts, and attended Middlesex School. She coaches soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.

Eric Hansen, Physics Teacher
Eric completed his B.A. from Luther College in 2003 with a triple major in physics, mathematics, and computer science, followed by a year as a Luther College Physics Department technician. In 2007, he received his M.S. in mathematics from Iowa State University, where he taught a variety of college-level mathematics classes. Eric then headed northeast to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for two years to work in health care actuarial consulting, helping to deliver health care for Medicare-eligible citizens and local government employees, while tutoring for a volunteer program that assists inner city high school students. Next he moved to Boston and continued health care actuarial work at Tufts Health Plan before joining Groton's Science Department in 2015, alongside his wife Danielle and daughter Annie. He teaches physics and advanced physics and also coaches cross country. Eric is also certified as a Royal Scottish Country Dance instructor.

Nathan Lamarre-Vincent, Chemistry Teacher
Nathan Lamarre-Vincent joined the Groton faculty in 2015. He developed a love of bioorganic chemistry and Ultimate Frisbee as an undergraduate at Carleton College and followed his passion to the California Institute of Technology, where he completed a PhD in chemistry and met his wife, Sarah. Following graduate school, Nathan expanded his intellectual horizons by working on genomics as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. During this time, Nathan rediscovered the joy of teaching as a teaching fellow at Harvard University. Before coming to Groton, he held a joint appointment in chemistry and biology at Alfred University in western New York. Nathan and Sarah have two sons, Cormac and Kellan.

Kate Machan, Manager of Prospect and Stewardship Programs
Kate Machan joined the Alumni and Development Office as manager of prospect and stewardship programs in July 2015. Her previous experience includes fundraising and volunteer management positions at The Rivers School, Boston College Law School, Peddie School, and St. Mark’s School. At Groton, Kate manages prospect, stewardship, and research programs. She earned her BA from Boston College and her JD from Villanova Law. She is married to Mark Machan, associate director of college counseling and dorm head. Kate and Mark live in Hundred House with their two children, Teddy and Elizabeth, and their dog Milo.

Amily Moore, Director of the Groton Fund
Amily Moore joined the Alumni Affairs and Development Office as director of the Groton Fund in May 2015. Prior to joining Groton, she spent more than a decade working at Harvard University's Alumni Affairs and Development Office. She also worked in development for the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program, YMCA Camp Huckins, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. At Groton, Amily works closely with form agents, assistant form agents, and secretaries to support the Groton Fund. She holds a B.A. from Trinity College (CT). Amily resides off-campus with her family.

Ryan O'Donnell, College Office Manager
Ryan O'Donnell joined the Groton community in July 2012 with her husband, Dean of Students Michael O'Donnell, and began working as the College Office manager in July 2015. She and her family live in Brooks House in an Upper School boys dorm. Prior to joining the College Office, Ryan managed the Pediatric Sleep Center for three years and the Multispecialty Clinic for four years at Boston Children’s Hospital. She earned her MBA in 2004 from Southern New Hampshire University.

Dave Pedreschi, Academic Support Teacher
Academic Support Teacher Dave Pedreschi arrives to Groton having taught in several Public School Systems over the past 12 years. On Fall afternoons Dave can be found on the fields coaching the Boy’s Varsity Soccer team. An accomplished soccer player himself, Dave remains active within the Massachusetts soccer community. Originally from Ireland Dave arrived in the U.S. in 1993 to attend the Middlesex school. Graduating in 1997 Dave went on to attend Ohio Wesleyan University for two years, then transferred to UNC Charlotte for the remainder of his collegiate career. Dave holds a B.A. in Political Science, and lives off campus with his wife Annya, and the their three children.

Elizabeth Preston, Chief Technology Officer
Chief Technology Officer Elizabeth Preston has worked in independent schools for more than two decades; before joining Groton in 2015, she was Director of Information Technology for sixteen years at St. Luke's School in New Canaan, CT. She was part of a leadership team that transformed St. Luke's into an exceptional, forward-thinking school, where technology is fully leveraged in the service of learning. Elizabeth says that while it's easy to get excited about all the possibilities of new devices and applications, it's harder and more important to hone in on the opportunities that will have the biggest payoff for educators and students. Doing this well means listening carefully to needs and aspirations and staying well-informed about trends, advancements, and research in educational technology. Elizabeth lives in Sharon, NH, where she pursues the sport of dressage with her two Dutch Warmbloods.

Bonnie Rubrecht, Development Assistant
Bonnie Rubrecht joined the Alumni and Development Office in June 2015 and focuses on planned giving and capital campaign support. Before she arrived at Groton, Bonnie worked as an immigration paralegal at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo, PC and as a program administrator at Harvard Law School’s Immigration & Refugee Clinic. A fourth-generation Californian, Bonnie and her husband moved to the greater Boston area in 2006 and now live in a historic home in West Groton with their six-year-old daughter. Bonnie holds a bachelor’s degree from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA.

Stacey Spring, History Teacher
Stacey Spring joined the Groton faculty in 2015. After earning her undergraduate degree as a double major in English and political science at Middlebury College, Stacey eventually earned her M.A. in political science from Lehigh University and is "just" a dissertation short of a PhD in political science at Boston University (where she taught a 300-level course on the American presidency). Prior to beginning her doctorate work in 2013, Stacey taught history and politics at Blair Academy (NJ) for eleven years, while also coaching the varsity girls soccer and softball teams and serving as a junior class dean. Previously, she taught English, coached soccer and softball, and was a dormitory supervisor at The Peddie School (NJ). In addition to teaching history at Groton, Stacey coaches soccer and basketball and lives on campus with her husband and fellow history department member, Ryan Spring, and their two children, Owen and Eleanor (Elly).

Danielle Tumminio, Chaplain
The Rev. Dr. Danielle Tumminio is an Episcopal priest who holds three degrees from Yale University (BA, MDiv, STM) and a PhD from Boston University in practical theology.Prior to becoming the chaplain at Groton, she worked as a lecturer at Tufts and Yale universities. At Yale, she taught a popular class on the intersection of Christian theology and the Harry Potter series, which gained international recognition for its unique pedagogical method of integrating religious thought and culture. The material she taught in that class also became the basis of her first book, God and Harry Potter at Yale.In addition to this book, Danielle has authored or edited two other books and regularly writes on the intersection of faith and culture for a variety of publications. She has also served as a priest at the Church of Our Redeemer in Lexington, Massachusetts, St. Anne's in-the-Fields in Lincoln, and Christ Church in Quincy.In addition to her duties as a chaplain and teacher, Danielle currently serves on the General Board of Examining Chaplains, a national body of the Episcopal Church that designs and administers an exam to assess the academic readiness of future clergy for ordination. She also has served on the Yale Divinity School Alumni Board, the Yale Boston Board, and the Theology and Postmodernity Group of the American Academy of Religion. Danielle will facilitate the chapel program, including weekday and Sunday services. She will also teach Ethics and Sacred Studies and will be a Choices leader. In her free time, she loves yoga, spinning, writing, and playing with her little girl.

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