Board of Directors
Christina Colletti, Co-Chair
Alumna Student; Burlington, VT
Christina (she/her) is a Schoolhouse alumna and Burlington, VT native with expertise in child psychology and an enormous love for The Schoolhouse.
Christina earned a BA in Psychology from Hamilton College, an MS in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont. Early experience taking care of four children in a neighboring family inspired her to spend a decade building expertise in the field of child psychology. She has since put her varied skill set to use in public arts and a return to childcare. She currently works as a senior gallery staff at the non-profit, city-run Burlington City Arts, where she engages with the public in a customer service capacity. She also provides childcare to individual families in the community.
Christina thrived at The Schoolhouse and feels enormous gratitude for her time there. She has great appreciation and respect for its mission, values, and contributions to the Vermont community, and it is her honor and pleasure to now be a member of its Board. In her free time, Christina enjoys swimming in Lake Champlain, hiking, theater, documentary films, and spending as much time as possible with her two nephews and other family and friends.
Will Mitchell, Co-Chair
Alumnus Parent; Shelburne, VT
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Will (he/him) is the grateful parent of two boys who spent their critically formative middle school years at The Schoolhouse.
Will is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts with BS degrees in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering. Will is a career semiconductor verification engineer with decades of experience working on some of the industries most complex digital designs, including: server class microprocessors, memory subsystems, network processors, gaming chips, DSPs, network hubs, medical devices and assorted digital logic.
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Will is a co-founder and Executive Vice President of Correct Designs, an engineering and consulting services company serving the semiconductor industry for over two decades. In addition to providing consulting services to company clients Will manages business operations at Correct Designs including finances, contracts, employee placement and recruiting. Prior to founding Correct Designs Will spent a decade as a Senior Engineer at IBM developing server class microprocessors.
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With a passion for the outdoors, Will enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, backpacking and boating. Will lives in Shelburne with his wife, two sons and the worlds sweetest dog.
Sean Santry, Treasurer
Elementary School Parent; Essex, VT
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Sean (he/him) is the parent of two elementary students at The Schoolhouse. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Computer Science from Boston College. His career has ranged from co-authoring computer science textbooks to leading engineering teams in creating software systems that improve patient outcomes across the complexities of the healthcare system.
A classically trained tenor, Sean sang for several years with the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival Chorus, performing an extensive repertoire at venues including Boston’s Symphony Hall, Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, and on tour throughout Europe and the UK. As a soloist, he has also appeared in operas in Boston and New York, including productions of Puccini’s La Bohème, and Gianni Schicchi.
Sean brings his diverse background in technology, the arts, and leadership to his role as treasurer, supporting The Schoolhouse’s mission and ensuring its continued success. He is honored to contribute to a community that fosters creativity, curiosity, and a love of learning in its students.
Erin McLaughlin, Secretary
Elementary & Middle School Parent; Burlington, VT
Erin (she/her) is an English Language teacher for multilingual learners. She is currently certified to teach English Learners from K-12. In addition she is certified in Vermont to teach middle grades social studies and high school social sciences, earth science, and environmental science. She has a BA in International Relations and African Studies from The George Washington University, and a Masters in teaching Middle Grades Social Sciences from the North Carolina State University.
She has been an educator for more than 20 years; beginning as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, West Africa. The experience was transformative and taught her the value of being a part of an active supportive community; her neighbors and friends were integral in helping her learn how to live life in Benin. As a result, she chose to return to the USA and pay forward the kindness that was shown to her.
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Outside of kids and work, Erin likes hiking in the woods and hanging out around the fireplace with her family and two dogs.
Kai Beverly-Whittemore
Preschool & Elementary Parent; Colchester, VT
Kai (she/her) is a writer/director whose work has spanned several continents and includes both narrative and documentary film. As a director her work has been recognized by IFP’s Independent Film Week, the San Francisco Film Fund, the Experimental Television Center Finishing Fund, and the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. In addition to her feature film work, Kai works as freelance director, producer, and cinematographer on commercials and branding videos.
Her family was delighted to join The Schoolhouse community in September 2022. Kai grew up attending alternative schools and learning programs and credits those educational settings with providing the framework with which to think critically about the world. She hopes her children will be inspired to ask complicated questions about the world around them, and to learn in a community which welcomes challenging answers. To find an environment like The Schoolhouse – which also then helps children enact change in their communities – seems like a dream.
When she isn’t drawing in a sketchbook or reading a book, you may find Kai skiing or sailing with family.
Lorraine Carter-Lovejoy, Faculty Liaison
Middle School Teacher and Elementary Parent; Burlington, VT
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Lorraine (she/her) is originally from Richmond, VA. She attended West Virginia University, where she studied music and wildlife management. She spent these days hanging in the woods to look for ginseng, and playing trombone at football games across the country.
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After working in outdoor education and for Outward Bound, Lorraine moved to Vermont in 2012. She taught at Centerpoint School, Rock Point School, and then worked in HR administration at the UVM Medical Center. At Schoolhouse she teaches the middle schoolers, who are active learners interested in creating a meaningful educational experience for themselves. What she likes about Schoolhouse is the flexible and supportive community for both teachers and students.
In addition to teaching at Schoolhouse, Lorraine also plays and coaches Ultimate Frisbee. In her free time, Lorraine likes to ski, canoe, travel, and “yarden" with her family in Burlington.
Wesley Davis
Alumnus Student and Former Staff; Maynard, MA
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Wesley grew up in Burlington, VT, fostering a lifelong love of learning over the course of six years at Schoolhouse. He continued on through Burlington public schools and attended Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, graduating with a dual major in German Language and Medieval History. Wes started his career teaching ESL, first in Leoben, Austria through the Fulbright Commission and then in Boston, MA, at several adult-education organizations. He also found his way back to Schoolhouse as a staff member for SH Summer Camp, ultimately serving as Assistant Director.
From teaching, Wes was recruited into tech and has since joined numerous Seed and A-Round startups, including two based out of Vermont. He has taken on foundational and leadership roles responsible for customer success, revenue generation, systems administration and software engineering – that last thanks to attending the Launch Academy coding bootcamp in Boston. In addition to strategic contract consulting for tech companies, Wes currently works with a Boston-based educational non-profit, STEAM Ahead, which provides STEM+Arts programming for underserved and underrepresented students.
Wes remains passionate about learning, loves the challenge of strategy games and puzzles, and enjoys spending time outdoors – especially with his family in Burlington & South Hero, VT.
Fran Huntoon
Alumna Teacher; Richmond, VT
Fran (she/her) is a long-time educator. She taught middle school French before coming to The Schoolhouse. She spent many years with Alphas, Taus, Omegas and Sages (now Deltas).
Fran left Schoolhouse to focus on exploring math education. She has worked with a variety of organizations working to improve math learning for children. These include the All Learners Network, the Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP), and the Vermont Mathematics Initiative. She loves digging deeply into the research about how students learn math and then sharing that with teachers, including those at Schoolhouse. Fran also serves on the Board of
VEEP/NHEEP.
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When Fran isn't working with teachers or thinking about math, she loves spending time with family and being outside in all types of weather.
Katie Mather
Elementary Parent; Richmond, VT
Katie (she/her) learned about The Schoolhouse from her kids' in-home daycare provider, who understood Katie's desire that her children experience a child-centered, progressive education. She has two kiddos at The Schoolhouse, a Sophos and a Tau who have been here since they were an Alpha and a Wild Grape.
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Katie was a high school English teacher, soccer coach, and dorm parent at a boarding school for seven years, and then spent four years as an English teacher at an all-girls school. When her kids were born, she became a stay-at-home parent and also dedicated more time to writing. Her first novel, Rage is a Wolf, was published in 2020. She is currently at work on two other novels and will enter her third year as a high school soccer referee in the fall of 2024. She also served as a member of the Richmond Select Board from 2019 - 2021.
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When not writing, reading, or spending time with her friends and family, you can find Katie hiking, traveling, baking, gardening, volunteering, or at Champlain Valley Community Fitness.
Liz Shayne, Non-Voting Member
Head of School, Alumna Parent; Burlington, VT
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Liz (she/her) has spent her professional career in and around education and became the Head of School at The Schoolhouse in August 2011. Liz was a middle and high school teacher, administrator and technology specialist at the Spence School, an independent K-12 school in Manhattan.
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Liz is co-founder of the Rosie’s Girls Summer Program, an award-winning trades exploration program for middle school-aged girls, and she continues to serve as a consultant to the program’s replication partners nationwide. She has served on the board and advisory committees of area non-profits, including the Fletcher Free Library, Vermont CARES, and The Schoolhouse. She received a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University and an AB in Modern European History from Harvard University.
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Liz’s two children have attended Schoolhouse, and she served on the Board of Directors for seven years before becoming Head of School.
Zach Stevens
Preschool & Elementary Parent; South Burlington, VT
Zach (he/him) is the parent of a K-1 Alpha student and a Dragonfly preschooler. He is also the founder and head instructor of ONTA Studio, a Mixed Martial Arts school in Williston, VT, where he and his assistant instructors teach a variety of martial arts to both kids and adults.
He holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago and a Masters in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics.
Additionally he worked as a special needs educator for over a decade, working with children and adults with a wide variety of developmental disabilities, but specializing in those students on the nonverbal end of the autism spectrum, and those with violent behavioral disorders. He worked both as a behavioral interventionist doing ABA interventions in homes and classrooms, and as a staff member at a nonprofit education institution for high risk special needs students.
He is the creator and head instructor of PADS (Physical Assault Deescalation System) a self-protection training system taught to care workers whose work might expose them to assault. He trains the staff at multiple institutions, including local health care workers, group home staff, health and human services crisis intervention staff, and the security staff at methadone clinics.