St. Stephen's Welcomes New Faculty and Staff

8/7/2017

St. Stephen's Episcopal School is pleased to welcome several new members of the faculty and staff for the 2017–18 school year. Please take a moment to welcome them to campus when they arrive for orientation on Monday, August 14.

New Faculty and Staff, 2017–18

Nicole Blandford comes to St. Stephen's from the Nightingale-Bamford School in New York City, where she served as academic technology coordinator. While at Nightingale, she established a 1:1 iPad program in grades 3-7, designed and opened a makerspace, developed a comprehensive STEAM and Computer Science curriculum for K-12, and worked with teachers to integrate and innovate their curriculum. She has presented at NCGS and NYSAIS on the use of design thinking throughout the curriculum, NYSAIS Sustainability Conference on establishing a paperless school environment, at NYSAIS on using iPads for personal and curricular productivity, and convened several unconference sessions on iPad deployment, iPad management and useful technology tools for productivity and classroom use. Blandford earned a B.B.A. and M.Ed. at the University of Kentucky and is currently completing a doctorate in education at Teachers College of Columbia University. In her off hours, she enjoys spending time at the community makerspace learning to make new things, seeing musicals and exploring all the outdoor activities Austin has to offer.

Paul Carrozza is already a familiar face to many at St. Stephen's. He is a current parent to two boys, Crayton ’19 and Coby ’20, and has led our cross country and track teams since 2015. He holds a B.S. in biology from Abilene Christian University, where he earned All-American honors in the 1500M in 1985. He was part of the President's Physical Fitness Council under President Bush from 2000–08, and was owner and founder of Runtex in Austin. In addition to leading our cross country and track programs, Carrozza will take on the role of program director for our swimming and diving program, as well as teaching physical education and health classes.

D.J. Johnson ’09, an Austin native, came to St. Stephen's in the fall of 2006. A three-sport athlete (football, basketball, track) in Upper School, he received a scholarship to play football at Texas Tech. Johnson played a significant role as a defensive back and still managed to graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 3.5 years. Following his football dream, he went on to play professionally in the Arena Football League. As a student, Johnson appreciated the relationships he developed with faculty and staff, the meaningful friendships with his classmates, and learning what it meant to be a Spartan. He remembers adjusting to the academic program and believes the effort and determination he developed on campus have allowed him to be successful in all areas of his life. In 2013, he returned to St. Stephen's as a part-time coach for football, basketball and track. He also has worked as a personal trainer in the Austin area. Now, as a full-time employee, Johnson will coach three sports and assist the Office of Admission with recruiting.

Liam Forstein earned his B.S. in athletic training from James Madison University and his M.S. in athletic training from Texas State University. He is a licensed strength and conditioning specialist and an instructor for the American Heart Association in First Aid/CPR/AED training. Forstein most recently worked at Hays ISD with Lehman High School in their athletic training department, developing emergency action plans and bilingual communication to parents and physicians. He was able to get his first taste of St. Stephen's this summer, working in our summer camp program.

Jennie Gray ’93 joins the fine arts department with responsibility for the Middle School art program. She also will teach visual studies and graphic design in the Upper School. A member of St. Stephen's Class of 1993, Gray earned an art degree from Texas State University. She comes most recently from Pflugerville ISD, where she was chosen “Teacher of the Year” last year by her colleagues. She has been involved in a variety of community arts projects, working collaboratively with organizations and individuals throughout the Central Texas area, and is eager to continue to take art beyond the classroom walls with her students at St. Stephen's.

A St. Stephen’s graduate and former trustee, Greg Hicks ’68 returns to St. Stephen’s to serve as head of the Upper School, teach History 9 and join the residential faculty. Hicks earned a B.A. in comparative literature from Yale University and was a Rhodes Scholar, which enabled him to continue his study of comparative literature at Oxford University. After three years in England, Hicks returned to Austin to earn his J.D. from The University of Texas Law School. He spent the majority of his professional career at the University of Washington Law School, where he served as a professor of law, associate dean for academic administration, interim dean, associate dean for faculty development, and senior associate dean for global advancement. Hicks’ connections to St. Stephen’s go back more than 50 years. He understands and is a part of our rich history and was called to return to St. Stephen’s because of our community’s core values and his commitment to making a difference in the lives of Spartans. No doubt, he will lead the Upper School with energy, wisdom, intelligence, character and compassion. Greg and wife Klara are parents to Sam, Henry and Lee ’20.

Troy Lanier earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech and a master’s degree in history of science technology and medicine from the University of Wisconsin. While at Georgia Tech, he worked on LIDAR at NASA in the Atmospheric Sciences Division, after which he moved to Austin, Texas, to teach at St. Stephen's. He served two stints at St. Stephen's with graduate school in between. During his previous time at St. Stephen's, he taught physics, chemistry and calculus and served as head of the math department and director of technology. In 1990 he founded the Outdoors Club and, with the help of many faculty members and student leadership, built it into the Devil's Canyon Wilderness Program. For the past 10 years he has worked in software development in the Austin startup community with a focus on big data analytics. His hobbies include robotics, electronics and backpacking. The new 7th grade science teachers is married to veteran St. Stephen's teacher Miriam Murtuza and has two children enrolled at St. Stephen's, Carson ’21 and Maya ’23.

Chioma Mba joins our Middle School math faculty and will teach Algebra I and Algebra IA. Mba grew up in Nigeria, where she earned a B.S. in mathematics, statistics and computer science. She also received an Ed.M. in education policy from Harvard University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in educational policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining St. Stephen’s, she taught Algebra I and Geometry at two ISDs in the Houston area and was an adjunct professor at Lonestar Community College. In addition to English, she speaks two Nigerian languages, Igbo and Efik. In her free time, she loves to play games with her family, travel and read. We welcome Mba, husband Kene and kids Kamsi ’24, Kaosi and Kaobi to the St. Stephen's family.

Lynn Schweber joins the St. Stephen’s community to serve as director of College Counseling and as a member of the residential faculty. Schweber holds an A.B. in music from Harvard-Radcliffe College, a B.A. in history from the University of Washington–Seattle, an M.A.R. from the Yale University Divinity School and an M.A. in religious studies from Temple University. She has taught Latin, history and mathematics at Madison Country Day School, where she has served as director of college counseling since 2005. She also has taught and served as a college counselor at the QSI International School of Astana in Kazakhstan. Schweber is a smart, seasoned and sensible educational leader whose passions span diverse academic areas, including music, debate, drama, publications and student government. Her greatest professional passion is working with high school students and their families through all aspects of the college search, application and financial aid processes.

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