People

Emily has been teaching elementary grades for over ten years, with a special focus on the lower and intermediate grades. She is a self-described 'brain nerd', who loves tying social-emotional learning and understanding of how the brain works into academic content. Outside of the classroom, Emily loves spending time with her family, being active outdoors, cooking and reading.

Vered is passionate about developing and following student inquiries to ensure that learning is authentic for her students. She brought this approach to several years of teaching in public schools before coming to Acera, where student inquiry drives every class. At Acera, Vered loves to encourage deep thinking and inquiry around fiction and creative writing, as well as the history that one has to understand to be able to fully appreciate writing. She encourages students to always see the possible avenues of continued exploration in everything they look at. When not at school, Vered is an avid reader, especially loving speculative fiction, and gardener.

Prior to joining Acera in 2017, Bob taught for seven years at Odyssey Day School in Wakefield, where he taught children of all ages from toddlers through eighth grade. At Acera, he loves helping math students attain both the joy and discipline of advancing their skills to the next level. In addition to being a co-teacher in the core classroom, Bob teaches a wide range of electives from Cultural Anthropology to the History of Math, including the annual US Government elective. Bob is from Boston, and is the parent of a former Acera STEAM Camp summer intern.

Ruma comes to us from the Odyssey Day School, where she served as co-head teacher as well as English and Social Studies teacher for grades 7 and 8. Her classroom experience includes teaching 6th grade humanities at the Pike School in Andover and working with students with reading vulnerabilities at the British School of Boston. Before discovering her love of teaching and working with adolescents in 2009, Ruma enjoyed a distinguished career as an experienced writer and editor, working with authors signed by large publishing houses such as McGraw Hill and Wiley, and writing for the Times of India and the New York public television channel WNET. Ruma has gone to school in India, Iran, the UK and the US, and is familiar with four languages next to English.

"I've always loved teaching, and learning in all aspects of life, but nothing beats school for building community and relationships. And I love Acera’s community of creative, motivated, dedicated, warm, caring people!"

Jill Rubinstein joined Acera in 2023 as Room 7’s core classroom teacher. Jill has a combined 26 years of teaching experience, including more than 20 years at the Park School in Brookline, Mass. Throughout our very detailed and comprehensive hiring process, it was clear that she is an educator with a remarkable depth of experience, an innovative, responsive and collaborative approach to her work, and a passion for teaching and learning with her students.

Jill earned her masters degree in education at the UMass Amherst, during which she received an invitation to be part of their Collaborative Teacher Education Pathway. Outside of the classroom, Jill is an avid cook and outdoor enthusiast, as well as a writer of children’s fiction.

"I'm writing a children's novel right now,” said Rubinstein. “I love how fiction advises how to be a friend, survive mistakes and discomfort, and celebrate success."

As a teacher, Renee loves seeing her students revel in asking “why?” – an embrace of curiosity that makes her a wonderful fit for the inquiry-driven learning at Acera. In fact, it was her own “why?” moment that inspired her to become an educator.

“As a graduate student, I was co-teaching a university writing course for freshman honor students,” said Renee. “ Our very brilliant students had amazing insights in discussion, but struggled to move those ideas to paper. That gap in skills drove me to wonder ‘why?’ Why did these students seem to struggle with writing? Why did they seem to think they weren’t good writers? I loved helping my students learn not only how to bolster their skills, but to find their own confidence and curiosity in things that seemed intimidating.“

Following earning her advanced degrees at the University of Michigan, Renee served as a Humanities Teacher, English Specialist, and English Curriculum Designer for California schools including Khan Lab School and Tessellations: The Beneventi School, bringing a project-based learning approach to her classrooms.

“One of my students’ standout victories was the creation of an Oral History Archive in partnership with an organization called Downtown Streets Team,” said Renee (The mission of Downtown Streets is to build teams that restore dignity, inspire hope, and provide a pathway to recover from homelessness). “My students created a digital oral history archive of the life experiences of people experiencing housing insecurity, then presented the archive, their reflections on the project, and a series of photo portraits of participants at a community event that the students themselves planned.”

At Acera, Renee is excited to ask and explore questions with her students.

“Acera has already been a warm and welcoming community. I’m inspired by the passion that I see and hear from adults and students, and by the intentionality and dedication of the staff. What a joy to be here!”

“I am passionate about helping young children learn and grow by providing them with a learning environment that is accessible, engaging, and provides them with the structure and boundaries that give them confidence to explore and challenge themselves.”

Lisa will be entering her third year as a Lower Elementary teacher at Acera. As an early childhood educator for more than 15 years, Lisa understands the importance and value of ensuring that students with high cognitive abilities have a solid foundation in the core competencies of social and emotional learning. She earned her master’s degree in education specializing in curriculum and instruction, with a concentration in special education including social and emotional learning, differentiated instruction, executive function skill development, and educational leadership. Lisa enjoys the challenge of developing and planning inquiry-based curricula, and an interdisciplinary, project-based learning environment that encourages critical thinking, curiosity, and a love of learning.

Lisa is originally from New Zealand, is married with two adult children, and enjoys biking, hiking, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends.

Eileen is Acera’s self-described behavioral science geek! She loves learning about why humans do the things they do, especially complex verbal behavior, and she has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since September 2010. She previously spent more than a decade working at Nashoba Learning Group, a private school serving individuals with autism, as a clinical director specializing in working with students with anxiety and inflexibility. She really loves talking with kids of all ages about their interests and sharing her interests with others, which include video games, art, and gemology. Eileen grew up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where she currently lives with her husband John, her sons Lincoln (Link) and Leo, and her cats (Mato and Oro).

Malcolm joined Acera in 2013 as our School Counselor for one year, then served as the Assistant Director of the School for the next five years before shifting to the role of Senior Counselor and, now, Director of Lower School. Malcolm has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in New York State. For more than 20 years Malcolm worked with youth from birth through age 21 as a founder, director and therapist in foster care and residential treatment programs. As a director in these programs Malcolm was responsible for overseeing all facets of the care being provided for the youth including their education. Malcolm served on a number of professional oversight committees within the foster care system to ensure quality of service, application and integration of evidence based practices and progressive models of care. Malcolm also consulted with the Child Protection Services department to support youth moving up and out of the residential treatment system in a more efficient, effective and less traumatic manner. In addition, Malcolm has also had a private therapy practice for children, youth and adults. Before his graduate degree, Malcolm focused his self-designed bachelors degree on alternative education and human development. At Acera, beyond his work with our students and staff, Malcolm also loves building things to help make our school facilities better. Perhaps Malcolm's favorite part of his day finds him in the lobby greeting every student (and parent) as they enter the school at the start of the day! Aside from his deep experience as a member of the team, Malcolm also has insight into our school as the father of an Acera alumnus. A few lesser known facts about Malcolm include that he is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming, was on the ski patrol at Mount Baker in Washington State for 7 years as a certified Wilderness First Responder, loves cooking and making ceramics, and has been on a four-week silent meditation retreat.

Sigourney comes to Acera with a Floortime background. Floortime is a relationship based therapeutic approach utilized to promote the development and strengthening of social and emotional skills. Sigourney has worked with young children as a specialist at early intervention and older children through her work at a private practice and private school. She is excited to work at Acera and bring her skills to the classroom setting–from promoting self-regulation and self-advocacy to working as a flexible team member. When she is not at school, Sigourney loves to be on the beach or practicing pilates.

Laura has taught upper elementary and middle school math, and was a math specialist for kids in grades 1-5. Later, she shifted her focus to a deeper examination of literacy education, particularly reading. She has been engaged in Orton Gillingham training and post-graduate coursework for Reading Specialists. Laura grew up in New England, and enjoys being outside in all seasons.

Josh studied and trained as a civil engineer for more than fifteen years prior to changing careers to teaching in 2014. After graduating with dual degrees from University of Notre Dame in 1996, he worked as an engineer in contaminated groundwater assessment and remediation in the San Francisco Bay area. He relocated back to the Boston area in 2000 and worked for a small environmental firm designing restoration solutions for stream and wetlands impacted by human development and stormwater. Josh then pursued his M.S. in Civil Engineering studying the use of porous asphalt for stormwater treatment (2006). After several years of working in rainwater harvesting design and installation, he made the leap to education. He started out teaching woodworking for Eliot School’s School Partnership Program in Boston Public School classrooms. Soon thereafter, he started part time at Acera running Frugal Engineering sessions for Creativity Morning. He began working full time at Acera in the 2015-16 school year. His focus at Acera is creating exciting projects for students that leverage student creativity while developing solid construction and engineering skills. Josh originally hails from Maine, where he developed his great love for boats, building and playing in the outdoors!

With a background in physics and pedagogy, Alison uses her mad science skills for good, not evil. Having taught science and project-based engineering her whole career, she loves empowering students to hack, tinker, build, repurpose, explore, and invent all kinds of things, but definitely NOT robots that could take over the world. Ailson's other interests include stargazing, sewing, traveling, totally not being an evil supergenius, and playing the sousaphone.

“I love inspiring and guiding children's learning using my past experiences and skills, as well as my insights into the benefits of game-based learning.”

Danny joined Acera in 2016 as a Specialist Teacher, and has led the school’s signature Inquiry, Maker & Passion Project (IMPP) program, connecting Upper School students with project mentors, and serving as a frequent mentor himself. Danny’s philosophy and practical approach to teaching is well-aligned with Acera’s, which offers creative freedom to experiment with teaching methods and tools in a supportive community of educators.

Danny is passionate about continually extending his knowledge and skills, especially in digital domains, to keep serving his students and colleagues. He has particularly enjoyed the opportunity to collaborative teach across many courses, including in 2022, when Upper School students from both Acera and the Escola L’Horitzó school in Barcelona designed and created Future Dwellings during a three-week exchange program. The project – which included elements of research, design, building, and humanities – challenged the students to draw connections between housing, culture, community, and climate change.

When not at Acera, Danny likes practicing Tae Kwon Do, running, reading, playing tabletop games with his family and friends. When asked if he could go anywhere on vacation, Danny declared that he would explore the world’s oceans via submarine (yellow, of course!).

Thom loves math – and loves sharing that with his students at Acera! Prior to joining our school Thom worked as a financial software engineer, and also spent many years as the – as Thom puts it – “front-line parent” for his three kids. When not at school, Thom enjoys biking, skiing, and spending time with his two dogs.

Alexis Hibbler joined Acera in the fall of 2022 as a physics and math teacher. Alexis attended MIT – where she majored in physics – and she also attended North Carolina School of Science and Math for high school, which is a school for gifted students. Already, Alexis has made an incredible impression on our students, introducing new electives like Astrobiology and challenging kids to consider the energy and physics behind flying pumpkins! Alexis loves the curiosity of students at Acera:

"The great thing about Acera is that whether the kids know how to get to the answer to a problem or not, they want to try – and present their process of logic. They do not feel shy about asking questions, and are unconcerned if they get it right or wrong. Acera kids are interested to investigate why and to connect it to bigger themes. When you are studying physics, that is exactly the point."

Stephanie is a professional recording artist, performer, published songwriter, former chair of the Medford Arts Council, Creative Entrepreneur Fellow with the Arts and Business Council of Boston, a Live Arts Boston grant recipient, and a community artivist with the Club Passim Folk collective, Boston Dance Alliance and Americans for the Arts.

Curriculum created by Stephanie at Acera include Songs in the Key of life, Dancing with Darwin, Community arts, Art and Power of storytelling, Exploring the Hero's Journey through Zines music, Songwriting, Puppet Plays, Music Appreciation, Take the “A” train, Music and Movement, Poetry in Motion, Sound and Color. When not teaching, you will find Stephanie in nature hiking, making music, dancing, singing, seeing art and culture, and most importantly spending time with her family.

After 20 years as a Senior Design and Construction Project Manager for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Kevin accepted a company-wide early retirement offering and joined Acera. The opportunity for more hands-on work – and to be a mentor for inquisitive students – drew Kevin to this role, and he’s looking forward to enhancing the lives of our students and helping to expand the mission of the school. Kevin lives in North Reading with his wife, youngest son, and his son’s girlfriend. He rebuilds old cars with his son, and they enjoy winter hiking in the White Mountains as a family.

Alice is a seasoned Executive Assistant with over 25 years in account service and business development. Her experience has spanned the advertising and public relations fields, consulting firms, veterinary hospitals, and childcare organizations. Alice has also launched and managed her own dog walking business, which she grew to more than 40 clients, and is a volunteer at the Perkins School for the blind. In her spare time, Alice enjoys cooking, movies, and attending live theatre and music events. When the weather cooperates, you’ll likely find Alice at the ocean! She has three cats – Bud, Lou and Tony – and loves hanging out with her daughter Kathryn.

I enjoy supporting teachers, staff and students through many little ways! Being at the front desk, I get many questions each day and those from the little ones just makes my day! Outside of school, I love going for nature walks with my family.

David is the creator and mentor of Acera’s TechHub, the facilitator of various “respectful disassembly” Creativity Stations – in which students can take apart technology to better understand it – and a sought-after mentor and content coach for technology-related IMPp projects. Formerly the Network and Systems Engineer for WGBH and Bike Mechanic at Laughing Alley Bicycles, David loves the hands-on approach to learning at Acera. You’ll frequently find him repairing, refurbishing, or repurposing pretty much anything electronic or mechanical and digging into the history of technology with students. When not at school, David keeps busy building, making, and designing all sorts of things, mushroom hunting, night driving, and gaming with his teen.