Any number of words could describe a place like Las Vegas, famed for its legalized gambling and loose behavior. One might pick exotic, exciting, or even appalling. But for Mark Anthony Barrionuevo, it is home.

Barrionuevo converted to Mormonism when he was 17 years old, having admired a friend’s Mormon lifestyle.

As an undergraduate, he enrolled at Brigham Young University, where he earned his B.A. in English literature and marriage/family therapy. He earned his M.A. in cultural and ethnic studies from Georgetown University. He teaches English literature and creative writing to sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Under the pen name Garcia Anthony, he has written a screenplay entitled American Desert and a novel entitled Raintree. His band Vital Featuring an American Poet played in the Olympic Village during the Salt Lake City games.

If Laura Swearingen-Steadwell could be any profession other than a teacher, she says she would be a carpenter. In the past she has worked on houses and loves the thrill of creation: “To use something you’ve made—it’s one of the most satisfying feelings,” she said.

Raised in D.C., she attended Amherst College where she studied creative writing. She teaches English to seventh-graders and juniors and creative writing to seniors.

Her favorite musical artists include Björk, Beck or anybody who has a lot of flexibility and “makes you want to dance.”

Her acting résumé includes: Pastel City, a play written by her friend, Shakespeare’s Pericles and Marat/Sade.

Rebecca Harrington, a structured study hall teacher, has always been a progressive-minded individual, but it was a college professor of feminist studies—because of her enthusiasm for the subject and personal interactions with the students—who influenced her to pursue an interdisciplinary major in that subject at Bates College.

Harrington became active in the feminist community. She volunteered at the Women’s Resource Center and breast cancer fundraising and education organizations.

Harrington’s passions include singing and acting. In high school she performed in a group that sang sixteenth and seventeenth century Italian folk songs, and in college she participated in a choir. She also acted in small student-directed plays. She is the middle-school drama teacher and a capella director.

A boyfriend introduced Jennifer Molinoff to Adventure Races in college and since then has competed in five such races with her husband and friend. They typically consist of seven through nine miles of running, 15 miles of mountain biking and one mile of kayaking.

Molinoff grew up in Crosswicks, New Jersey. She graduated from Rutgers University where she studied history, worked in technology consulting for many years and then received a graduate degree from Columbia University in social studies education.

Her hobbies include mountain biking, sea kayaking, reading, cooking and taking care of her baby daughter Charlotte.
Her favorite bands are Wilco, Gomez and Eels.

Molinoff is in the Educational Support Services Department and supervises the middle school writing center.

Elizabeth Colella’s favorite dance is the cha-cha, a syncopated Latin dance that gets its name from a repetitive foot rhythm. “It is energetic, but most importantly easy to learn,” she said.

After Colella earned all the necessary credits that she needed to graduate from the University at Buffalo, she decided to take a class in ballroom dancing. There she learned to foxtrot, tango and swing.

Collela, a structured study hall teacher, earned her Masters and Bachelors degrees in communication. After working last spring as a substitute teacher in the Upper School, Colella “really enjoyed the school’s commitment to education and the wonderful sense of community.” She said, “I was eager to take a full time position working with such bright, talented students.”

Annabella Kraut went to the University of Maryland where she studied psychology and biological anthropology. She teaches seventh grade Life Science and ninth grade biology.

Kraut plays badminton and enjoys listening to the music of The Calling, Lifehouse and Evanescence. Her favorite books are those in the Harry Potter series and The Clan of the Cave Bear. To students she says, “I am excited to join the JDS community and am looking forward to a wonderful and productive first year!”

Dr. Sara Coxe grew up in Virginia Beach. She attended Emory University where she majored in religion and earned her Masters Degree in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Later she received a Ph.D. in American Religion.

She teaches courses on Israel and the Holocaust. Books that she likes include Atlas Shrugged and The Pillars of the Earth.

To students she says, “I’m excited to be here at JDS teaching this year. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you, and I think it will be a lot of fun to get to know you. I’m open to just about any conversation, so if you’re curious, just ask.”

A couple of years ago Melissa Gartner participated in a 300 mile, three-day AIDS bike ride, which went from Boston to New York. It rained for two days and Gartner, a guidance counselor, remembers being “really cold” and “really unhappy.” She was exhausted, slumped over and looking down at her feet when a man passed her and said, “If all you do is look down, you miss it all.”

“So I looked up,” Gartner said, “and saw a rainbow just spinning with life. I looked up the whole way home.”

Gartner grew up in New York. She went to American University where she received her B.A. in Public Communication and Sociology. She received her Masters degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Some of her favorite musical artists include Martin Sexton, the Counting Crows and Miles Davis. Her favorite book is Cry, The Beloved Country, “It provided me with a more global perspective,” she said.

Jessica Maratsos grew up in Minneapolis. She attended Amherst College where she studied Italian literature and art history with a special emphasis on the Late Gothic and Early Renaissance periods.

During her studies, she spent six months in Italy studying the art of that country. Her favorite artist is Fra Angelico, because his paintings have a “transcendental quality” and appeal to more than just Christian audiences.

Maratsos has been dancing ballet and modern styles since the age of six. Just out of college, she has previously taught a pilates class for dancers.

Although unable to pick favorites, books that she likes include The God of Small Things, which she “really enjoyed,” The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Born in Iran, Shoshana Sfarzada immigrated to Israel as a child. There her family settled in the city of Ofakim. After her mandatory service in the Israeli army, she enrolled at Hebrew University where she studied educational counseling and Hebrew literature.

Although a Hebrew teacher, she does not limit herself to Hebrew books. One of her favorite English books is Bee Season by Myla Goldberg.

Her role models are her parents because after moving to the United States 13 years ago, she now realizes how hard it is to adjust to a completely new place.

Rebeca Rydel was born in Buenos Aires and made aliyah to Israel at the age of ten where she lived in the town of Azur, south of Tel Aviv. She studied education and Jewish Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has been teaching for 15 years in a variety of places including Israel, Russia and the U.S.

She enjoys hiking, reading and wood-painting, although she does not consider herself a great artist.

She likes Israeli and new-age music, especially Hava Alberstein, the Hagevatron Group and Paul Winter. Her favorite book is Mister God, This is Anna and her favorite movie is The Sound of Music.

If she could live during any time period, she would live during Israel’s War of Independence.

“It was a very meaningful time in Israel. They did things because they believed in the cause. There was really a sense of doing something valuable for the nation and not because of personal gain,” she said.

Rabbi Mordechai Rackover grew up in Montreal. He received his B.A. in Jewish Studies from McGill University and is completing a M.A. in Jewish Education from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He spent the last eight years in Israel studying at various Yeshivot.

Currently, he is the Youth Director of Beth Sholom Congregation in Potomac. He teaches seventh grade rabbinics, ninth grade tanakh and 11/12 Talmud.

He listens to 60s-70s rock and lately has listened to a lot of Bob Dylan. Books that he likes include Ender’s Game and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which he has read five times. His favorite movie is Star Wars.

He does not know whether he would rather live 100 years from now “to see the future we hope to be brighter” or 1,950 years ago “to see Jerusalem in its final glory.”

All Michele Zemsky would need to survive on a deserted island is an agreement with Borders to send her new books every three months.

Zemsky grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Hunter College where she majored in sociology and education, or, as she puts it “what makes people tick.”

After several years teaching sixth grade classes in New York, Maryland and Michigan, she switched careers and became a librarian.

“I had always wanted to be a librarian when I was younger,” she says. “I loved books and learning, so it was natural for me.”

Zemsky, who will be joining the library staff, says she has no favorite book, though she loves the author Isabel Allende.

If Zemsky could be any other profession she says that she would want to be a pilot.

Although she cannot articulate why flying appeals to her, she can trace it back to seeing her favorite movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ever since she has “always wanted to fly above the clouds,” she said.

Dr. Stanley Neuder grew up in New York City. He attended the University of Maryland where he majored in physics and math.

He has taught math, physics, statistics and astronomy at Union College.

He likes sports, especially the Yankees, building the interiors of houses and reading scientific articles.

His favorite artist is Claude Monet, the nineteenth-century impressionist painter, because his paintings’ soft image conveys a sense of movement not present in other styles.

Neuder’s role model is Albert Einstein: “He had the most unusual mind and revolutionary ideas for the time. He redefined physics and brought us into the modern age,” he said.

Grace McMillan received her B.A. from Oberlin College and majored in religion. She earned a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, with a focus on Judaism.

The courses she is teaching are Israel, Themes from Jewish History II and Denominations.

In the last 18 years McMillan has lived in 10 cities, including four years in Jerusalem where she worked as a copy editor for The Jerusalem Post.

She likes folk music and popular rock from the 1980s. Her favorite books are A Prayer for Owen Meany and Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Jennifer Gertman, a structured study hall teacher, was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Rochester with a major in religion and a minor in history. She enjoys reading, traveling, playing with her nieces and biking.

Gertman likes country and pop music, and her favorite books include The Red Tent and The Once and Future King.
If she could be any other profession, she would be a rabbi and if she could meet any historical figure, she would pick Golda Meir.

“I would love to discuss her experience as a female Prime Minister,” she said.

Gertman tutored middle school students at the Rochester Leadership Academy as well as local community centers and synagogues.

Jamie Harris-Gershon grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. She went to Indiana University where she majored in Jewish studies and geography.

She is a big fan of Ani DiFranco and listens to anything that she can dance to.

Her favorite books include A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible.

One of her role models is Bruriah, the wife of Rabbi Meir, who was famous for her intelligence.

Steven Forestieri was born in Delaware. He went to the University of Delaware where he studied Exercise Physiology and Fitness Management.

His passions include traveling, martial arts—Karate-do, Aikijutsu and Kenjutsu—and writing and playing music on guitar and trumpet.

He appreciates all types of music; however, his favorite musical artists are Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter.

He coaches boys JV soccer and assists boys varsity soccer.

Dr. Dara Spey comes from a family of animal lovers. Her parents bred Alsatians and her in-laws bred Borzois. She owns four pets: a dog, Dubi; two parakeets, Mazel and Kachol; and a fish, Cinderella.

Spey grew up in Manhattan and Warwick, New York. She attended Union College where she majored in psychology and Health Care Administration. She is a middle school counselor.

If she could be in any other profession, she would be a lawyer because she likes problem solving. “In guidance there is not always an answer,” she said.