Meet Our Community
Get to know some of the compelling figures who have helped shape the vibrant TASIS community.
Director of Communications Mark Chevalier sat down with Middle School Italian Teacher Ms. Irene Avaldi-Bianchini, who has been at TASIS since 2003 and feels more strongly than ever that this generation of students has a very bright future.
Alexia Dochnal '22 interviewed Middle School English Teacher Ms. Ritta El-Manadily, who has taught at TASIS since 2005 and believes that the student should always be at the center of one's teaching universe.
Jane Wilson '22 sat down with Elementary School teacher Ms. Sarah Maas Bearden, who started at TASIS in 2013 and currently teaches fourth grade while also serving as Core Knowledge Coordinator. She emphasizes openness and honesty in the classroom and encourages her students to aim high.
Joy Mack '21 interviewed Elementary School Teacher Ms. Natasha Koltypin, who has taught both Kindergarten and first grade since starting at TASIS in 2015 and believes it is essential to forge a personal connection with each student.
Nicole Abrate Echezarreta '20 interviewed High School German Teacher Ms. Ania Barciak and crafted a thoughtful profile.
Nicole Abrate Echezarreta '20 interviewed Ms. Anna Kavalauskas, who joined the High School English Department in 2011 after serving as a counselor in the TASIS Summer Programs nearly a decade earlier, and crafted a thoughtful profile.
Joy Mack '21 interviewed Modern European History and AP European History Teacher Mr. Daniel Kirsch, who began teaching at TASIS in 2007 and was appointed High School History Department Chair in the fall of 2018.
Joy Mack '21 sat down with Middle School Math and History Teacher Mr. Patrick Alava, who began teaching at TASIS in 2011 and was honored to receive the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award in 2018.
Nicole Abrate Echezarreta '20 interviewed High School Chemistry and Physics Teacher Mr. Gil Grimm, who taught at TASIS from 1997–2000 and returned in 2011 after teaching in New Zealand for 11 years.
Lilian Angelone '19 sat down with Pre-K to 8 Learning Technologies Coordinator and Elementary School Math Coordinator Mr. Tim Venchus, who has done much to advance the use of technology in the classroom since he started at TASIS in 2010.
Emma Dressler '18 interviewed Elementary and Middle School Theater Director Mr. Matthew Frazier-Smith, who also teaches dance and music during the Academic Year and served as the Director of the Dedicated Performing Arts Team in the TASIS Summer Programs from 2014–2017.
Shu Ye '18 interviewed Elementary School Italian Section Teacher Ms. Cecilia Origoni, who currently teaches students in grade three and helped found the School's Italian Section when she started at TASIS in 2006.
After being inspired by a speech he gave about gratitude earlier this year, Esma Karuv '19 chose to interview High School Math Teacher Mr. Tommy Manning, who started at TASIS in the fall of 2017. Mr. Manning explains why he feels so fortunate to be at TASIS.
Anastasia Kolesnikova '18 interviewed High School Science Teacher Ms. Pegeen Crockett, who taught for nearly 40 years in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and China before coming to TASIS in 2016.
Amelia Panella '18 interviewed High School Fine Arts Department Chair and professional artist Mr. Martyn Dukes, who has taught both AP and IB classes over the course of his 10 years at TASIS.
Aurelia Dochnal '19 interviewed High School Italian Teacher Mr. Mario D'Azzo, who began teaching at TASIS in 2000 and was the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award recipient in 2015.
Diana Kuznetsova '18 interviewed High School Photography Teacher Mr. Frank Long, who had some very interesting professional experiences before landing at TASIS in 2013.
Shu Ye '18 interviewed High School English Teacher and Associate Dean Mr. Peter Locke, who served a number of roles over the course of his nine years at TASIS.
Jessica Landa '18 interviewed High School Dean of Students Mr. KC McKee, who also teaches AP United States Government and Politics and coaches Middle School lacrosse.
Bryan Soh '18 interviewed High School Math Teacher Ms. Kerry Venchus, whose contributions to TASIS extend well beyond the classroom. Ms. Venchus has helped her AP Calculus students perform extraordinarily well on their exams in recent years and was the 2017 recipient of the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award.
Anastasia Kolesnikova '18 interviewed Middle School Science Department Chair Dr. Brett Merritt, who helped develop an Engineering and Invention unit at TASIS and was awarded the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award in 2014.
Diana Kuznetsova '18 sat down with High School Theater Director Valerie Bijur Carlson, who runs the IB Theater program and is responsible for directing and producing a classic play each fall and a musical each spring.
Bryan Soh '18 interviewed Mr. Zach Mulert, who taught AP US History and was the director of the School's pioneering Global Service Program from its inception in 2013 through his departure from TASIS in the spring of 2018.
Diana Kuznetsova '18 sat down with High School French Teacher Ms. Brigitte Cazebonne, who has taught at TASIS since 1993 and was the Khan-Page Master Teacher Award recipient in 2012.
Aurelia Dochnal '19 interviewed High School English Teacher Dr. Christopher Love, who has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Michigan and taught at universities in both the United States and Turkey before coming to TASIS in 2012.
