Faculty and Staff Directory

Always looking to capture that authentic "Northwood Moment" on camera, Michael brings the Northwood Experience to life. Prior to joining Northwood, Michael worked as a freelance photographer / graphic designer. His client list included: Hilton Resorts, Miller Sports Group, IMG, SBC Media, Aruba Publications, Golf Digest, P3 Vodka, Olympic Regional Development Authority, Crowne Plaza Resorts, and New York ByWays. Capturing all aspects of the Northwood family through images and video remains as challenging and fun today as it was when he joined Northwood in 2002. 

For Christine, it is all about stories and connections.  From hearing memories of a funny antic or seeing a well of emotion surface when speaking about that teacher who made all the difference to their teenage self, she feels privileged to learn about Northwood through the very real and emotional stories of our alumni and parents.   The Northwood experience transcends all those fashion trends and haircut styles tucked away in the Epitome yearbooks lining the shelves in the advancement office — it is the common thread of teenagers discovering who they are in this beautiful Adirondack setting that connects the greater Northwood family over the decades. Watching this Northwood family come together to generously support the experience for teens here today is what makes her job as director of The Northwood Fund so rewarding. After graduating from UMass Amherst, Christine lived out west working for an independent bookstore in Denver for nearly two decades before joining the advancement team in 2008.

Sandy Baker brings over thirty years of administrative office experience to her position as Administrative Assistant to the Head of School and Registrar.  She is a native Adirondacker, born and raised in Saranac Lake, where she lives with her husband, Bruce, and Willow and Bob, their Jack Russell and Rat Terrier/Pomeranian dogs.  

Assistant Head of Shool, Thomas (Brody) Broderick has been in the school business for almost thirty years, all at Northwood School. Educated at Hamilton College, he received a bachelor's of arts degree in political science that focused on American Democracy. Mr. Broderick is instrumental in the continued development of the Northwood on Main project. He is married to Nicole, and they have two children, Morgan '19 and Kate '22. The Brodericks love Lake Placid and enjoy spending their time skiing, skating, swimming, hiking and biking.

Chadd Cassidy begins his third year as the Head Coach of the Northwood School Boys Junior Team.  A Lake Placid native, Cassidy spent four years with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League before coming to Northwood School in 2015.  In his four seasons with Rochester, he led the team to the AHL playoffs three times.  He joined the Rochester organization following five seasons as an assistant coach at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP), culminating in a gold medal at the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-18 World Championship in Germany. During the 2010-11 season, he also led Team USA to titles in the 2011 Five Nations Tournament and the 2010 Four Nations Cup. In addition, the U.S. National Under-18 Team posted a 12-9-1-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record in United States Hockey League (USHL) play in 2010-11, helping the NTDP reach the USHL postseason for the first time. Chadd earned his Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland in 1995.

Pairing Northwood’s alumni, families, and grant-makers with the programs, projects, and people that inspire their support — that’s how Stephanie Colby, associate director of development, views her role at Northwood School. It’s a form of matchmaking that is incredibly rewarding. Stephanie joined Northwood’s advancement team in 2010 after 10 years in development and communications at nearby Paul Smith’s College.  A native of the Adirondacks and graduate of Middlebury College, Stephanie is passionate about education and also loves the comfort and familiarity of small towns like Lake Placid and Middlebury, making Northwood a perfect fit. Having grown up on the ice, Stephanie can’t wait for Mirror Lake to freeze each year, so she can skate the perimeter with her family -- and welcome alumni and parents back for Northwood’s Annual Pond Hockey Tournament!

A Connecticut native, Brad attended Brunswick School for ten years before deciding on boarding school. He is a 1999 graduate of the Taft School, where he was a classmate of Associate Director of Admission, Evan Nielsen. Brad graduated from Colgate University in 2003 with a B.A. in History and a minor in Education.

After a brief stint in the corporate world following college, Brad began his career in education in 2004 as a teacher and coach at Brunswick. In 2005, Brad joined the boarding school ranks at Berkshire School where he worked under Northwood's current Head of School Mike Maher. At Berkshire, Brad was the Director of Financial Aid/Associate Director of Admission in addition to teaching in the History Department, coaching, serving as an advisor and dorm parent. In 2013, Brad was appointed the Director of Admission and Strategic Initiatives at The White Mountain School in Bethlehem, NH and served in that role until joining Northwood School in the summer of 2016.

Brad lives in Jay, NY with his wife Linda and their two children, Mia and Landon.

 Coach DelliQuadri enters his second year at Northwood. Already his experience, vision, and coaching expertise have had a profound impact on the Northwood Ski Team and the school community. Terry comes to Northwood from the Ski and Snowboard Club in Vail, Colo. where he was most recently head coach of the program’s U14 team and oversaw 60 athletes and eight coaches.  In addition to being an USSA certified coach, he has been teaching level 100, 200 and 300 coaching seminars for the past 12 years as well as instructing at USSA’s National Academy.  While at the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, DelliQuadri was named Coach of the Year for all disciplines for the 2014-15 season. Terry lives on campus with his wife and three children. His two sons, Cisco '20 and Peppi '22, are both at Northwood.

As an independent school teacher and coach for over 30 years, Jim has taught in prep schools in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Colorado. While working as a professor at the University of Denver, Jim published teaching curriculums on Latin America and Africa.  Throughout his career Jim has led numerous student trips including South Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean.  He attended Hamline University and earned an M.A. from the University of Denver.  He has been teaching at Northwood School for the past decade and has taken students on adventure travel excursions to Belize, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas.  Jim currently teaches in the social sciences department and works with the outdoor program.  When he is not teaching he spends his free time hiking, biking, climbing, and paddling in the Adirondacks.

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Andy attended the University of New Hampshire in Durham where he received his Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology with a specialization of Athletic Training.  He received his masters from Indiana State University in Athletic Training. Andy worked at Lake Placid Sports Medicine for two years before coming to Northwood School in 1997. Andy is the Assistant Athletic Director, Athletic Trainer, and Health teacher.  He resides in Lake Placid with his wife Carrie, daughters Sara ‘18 & Haley ‘21 & son Drew ’23. He loves all outdoor activities with golf, paddleboarding, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing being his among his favorites.

Tyler Eaton ’00 lives down the valley in Jay, New York with his wife Shannon, son Wyatt, and their two mutts, Blue and Pepper.  With a BA in Ecological Sustainability from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and a Masters in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, Tyler rejoined the Northwood community in early 2010 to share his passion and understanding of the natural environment.  He teaches Environmental Science as well as AP Environmental Science and also is faculty advisor for the Northwood Sustainability Committee.

Marcy Fagan graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.S. in Biology and then completed a M.A.T. at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Marcy is the Science Department Chair and Director of Northwood's LEAP Program. She teaches Biology and Geology and enjoys exploring the outdoors. You'll see her on her mountain bike in warmer months and on the ski slopes in the winter.

As Dean of Academic Affairs and a member of the social sciences faculty, Laura Finnerty Paul joined Northwood after ten years of teaching in higher education, including eight at Skidmore College.  She majored in political science/economics at Fordham University, where she also received her M.B.A.  Dr. Paul went on to complete her Ph.D. at the Stevens Institute of Technology. She lives on campus in Bergamini with her  two children, Olivia '21 and Matthew '22, and dog, Millie.

Originally from Clifton Park, New York, Leigh graduated from Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut in 2011. She then played four years on defense for the Connecticut College Camels where she won the Erica M. Vos Award of Valor in the spring of her senior year. After her collegiate career, Leigh spent two years as Canterbury's Associate Head Girls' Hockey coach and as an instructor in history and math.  She helped guide the Saints to two New England championship tournament quarterfinal appearances.  In the summers Leigh has worked for USA Hockey at Eastern and New England development camps.  In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Leigh will be a dorm parent and a member of Northwood's history department.

Trevor Gilligan '03 hails from Saranac Lake, NY and is in his second stint at Northwood School. He spent 2008-2013 working on the Northwood hockey coaching staff before taking over as the head college hockey coach at SUNY Canton where he took over their club program and led the transition of the SUNY Canton men's hockey team to the NCAA Division III level. Gilligan has extensive experience at Northwood School as a dorm parent, coach, advisor, and a member of the Class of 2003. He earned Bachelor of Education degree at SUNY Oswego, and was a member of the Lakers 2007 National Championship hockey team.

Originally from Woodstock, NY, Katie graduated from Northwood School as a member of the Class of 2009. Katie continued her ski career and education at Plymouth State University where she majored in Art and graduated in 2013. She returned to Northwood as a coach, dorm parent and advisor in 2014 after serving as an assistant coach w/ the Ski and Snowboard Club in Vail, CO. Katie is USSA Level 200 certified and lives on campus.

A recent graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio , Woo received a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and played on their highly decorated varsity soccer team. He will be joining Northwood as an instructor in the math department and as an assistant coach for the boys’ soccer team. 

 Michael Maher’s career in boarding schools began at the Taft School in Watertown, CT where he served as a history teacher, dorm parent, advisor, and Dean of Students. After eighteen years at Taft, Mr. Maher was appointed Head of Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA in 2004, a role he held until 2013.

Since arriving at Northwood in July 2015, Mr. Maher and his administrative team have added several new signature academic programs such as Innovation and Design, Entrepreneurship, the L.E.A.P. Program and the Learning Center.  Additionally, Mr. Maher has spearheaded efforts to expand performing arts opportunities, co-curricular and athletic options and improve and grow Northwood’s physical plant.

Mr. Maher, an accomplished musician who is highly proficient on several instruments, performs regularly in the local community as well as in the school’s living room.  He is also a successful entrepreneur, having created and owned several companies most notably The Kerry Cup, an elite education and golf program for high school students from around the world that is held annually in Waterville, Ireland.  Mr. Maher has a BA from the University of Vermont in Political Science and Russian Studies, and a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies (MALS) from Wesleyan University.

Born in Puerto Rico, as a military dependent, Elenor grew up enjoying the travel that is part of a military family’s life. She graduated from high school in Germany and attended OLVA in Plattsburgh, NY.

Elenor's work experience is as varied as her outside interests from having owned a children's clothing store while her children were young to working in accounting and also selling real estate part time. Elenor joined Northwood School in 2001 and has been part of the admission office since that time. Three of Elenor's children attended Northwood School, Jerica Young '05, Fergie Young '09 and Richele Young. Elenor lives in the scenic town of Jay, NY with her partner Chris and son, Jaron.

Jeff Martin received his M.S. from Alfred University and has been a teacher, coach and dorm parent at Northwood School since 1995.  Jeff has taught physical science, chemistry, geology, astronomy, algebra II and algebra III and coached tennis, soccer, hockey and wilderness skills during his time at Northwood.  He serves as chair of the Innovation, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship department and coaches Northwood's Robotics Team.  Jeff, his wife Sytske and their daughter Anja enjoy the many outdoor activities of the Lake Placid area and spending quiet time at their home in Wilmington.

Sytske Martin has been a part of the Northwood Community for close to two decades.  Educated at Alfred University, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1990 and later received a degree in Massage Therapy from NCCC.  Sytske currently works as a Northwood Library ServicesCoordinator.  She is married to Jeff Martin, the school's Innovation, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship department. They live in nearby Wilmington, NY with their daughter Anja.  Sytske enjoys being outdoors in the Adirondacks and staying active with her family and pets.

Kelvin Martinez joins Northwood from the Fay School in Southborough, MA.  Kelvin will be taking on the role of Dean of Multicultural Affairs and Recruitment. He will also be an instructor of Spanish and an assistant coach for the boys’ soccer team. He is currently working on his Ph.D. at the University of Albany in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.  Kelvin will be joined on campus by his wife Nora and their two children.

Don Mellor ’71 serves as English teacher, and Rock Climbing coach.  He attended the University of New Hampshire and received his M.A. from St. Lawrence University.  Don is an avid climber, with ascents of El Capitan, Half Dome, and most of the other major rock faces in the USA.  He is the author of eight books, including area guidebooks, American Rock, Alpine Americas, and Rock Climbing: A Trailside Guide. 

Born and raised in the Boston area, Jeff attended Reading Memorial High School before embarking on a post graduate year at Phillips Andover Academy.   Jeff went on to attend Dartmouth College, where he was a four-year letterman and assistant captain of the ice hockey team. Jeff graduated in 1990 with a B.A. in History.

After playing professional hockey in Europe, Jeff pursued a career in finance where he worked for JPMorgan, FBR Capital Markets, and Guggenheim Partners.  Jeff also coached hockey as the assistant coach for Reading High School and as a head coach in the New England Fall Prep School League. Jeff joined the Northwood School staff in the fall of 2018, and will be working in the admissions and math departments, as well as coaching the boys' prep ice hockey team.

Prior to joining Northwood, Tony’s career in higher education spanned nearly 20 years coaching men and women at the collegiate level. He has worked at St. Lawrence University, Vassar College, Carnegie Mellon University, and most recently Wellesley College.  In 2016, Tony became the boys’ varsity soccer coach and Assistant Director of Admissions at Berkshire School.  He holds a master’s degree in Education and a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Diploma. 

Prior to joining Northwood, Jon served as founder and CEO of Black Rock Football Club. Before that, he served as the head soccer coach at Berkshire School for 11 years, where the won three National Prep Championships. While at Berkshire, Jon was also an Associate Director of Admission and member of the English faculty.  Jon brings over 20 years of experience in coaching and education to Northwood School.   Jon is married to Martina Moodey, a former member of the Spanish faculty at Berkshire School.  They have two children and reside on campus.

Alex believes that supporting education can be a truly transformational experience for both the recipient and the donor. A native of western New York, Alex received his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and his master's degree from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass, Amherst. After spending a decade in various fundraising roles at the University of Massachusetts and the College of Charleston, Alex joined the Northwood advancement team in July of 2015 to help connect alumni and parents with Northwood programs and projects that change lives. Alex and his wife Mara live in Lake Placid with their two young children, Ryan and Anna.

Mara loves the excitement and anticipation of a great event - especially an event that includes Northwood alumni and parents. After a career as an equestrian coach and trainer, Mara joined the advancement team as event coordinator. Responsible for events both large and small, such as Annual Reunion, Winter Weekend, and Family Weekend, Mara enjoys the challenge of keeping each event organized, fun, and always growing. Mara lives in Lake Placid with her husband, two children, and two dogs.

Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Evan attended public schools in his hometown before continuing his education at the Taft School in Watertown, CT for the final two years of high school. Evan graduated from Taft in 1999 as a classmate of Director of Admission, Brad D'Arco. He went on to attend the University of Notre Dame where he graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in Political Science.

Following a career in professional hockey, Evan worked at Morgan Stanley and for the New York Yankees before returning to boarding school as part of the faculty at Berkshire School. At Berkshire, Evan worked under Northwood School's current Head of School, Mike Maher. In his six years at Berkshire (2010-16), Evan taught in the History Department, spent four years as 11th Grade Dean, served as a dorm head and advisor, and coached in the football, hockey, lacrosse, and outdoor programs. Evan joined the Northwood School admission office in the summer of 2016.

Evan lives on campus in the Balsams.

After graduating from Bowdoin College in 1969, Mr. Reed joined the staff of Kingsley Hall School in Westbrook, Connecticut where he taught English for two years and served as athletic director and baseball coach.  In 1971 he became a member of the Northwood faculty.  Over the past four decades, he has served Northwood in a variety of capacities:  Chair of the English department, head of college guidance, assistant headmaster, and coach of various sports.  Steve is actively involved in the Lake Placid community, he has been elected a town justice and chairman of the public school board as well as being on the boards of The Adirondack Medical Center, The Deo Coburn Foundation, The Essex County Mental Health Association, The Lake Placid/North Elba Historical Society, and The Adirondack Experience.

A 1992 graduate of the University of Vermont, Gino has been a successful coach, school administrator, and athletic director since becoming an educator in 1998.  In his nine years as Head Boys' Coach at Kimball Union Academy, he recruited and mentored 18 Division I players, four of whom were NHL draft picks. Two of his teams won the NEPSAC Small School Championship. From KUA he returned to his high school alma mater, Rice Memorial in Burlington as Associate Principal for Student Life and Athletic Director. In his three years at Rice, the school won 19 state championship titles.  He arrived at Northwood in 2015 as a math instructor and assistant to Chadd Cassidy with the Boys' Junior program.  Last year he became Northwood's Dean of Students and Athletic Director.

Matt Roy has taught Physics, Physical Science, and Biology at Northwood School since 2004.  He has also coached various sports including soccer, crew, and whitewater kayaking..  Before life at Northwood, Matt was the Executive Director of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and a member of the 1988 Olympic Bobsled team.  He is a 1982 graduate of St. Lawrence University where he majored in Biology and Environmental Studies.  Matt is married and has four children – Emily ’08, Kate ’06, Chris ’15 and Robbie.

Ben Runyon began teaching math at Northwood School in September of 2002.  Currently he teaches in the math department, works in the learning center, and coaches crew. Prior to working at Northwood, he spent thirteen years teaching a variety of subjects and serving as the Dean of Students for two years at North Country School in Lake Placid.  He is a graduate of the Middlesex School and Bucknell University.  He lives in Wilmington with his wife Susie and has two children, Meg and Hannah.  His interests include hiking, skiing and taking camping trips on his motorcycle.

Howard graduated from Middlesex School, where he ran, skied cross-country and rowed.  He graduated from Yale University with a degree in philosophy and earned an M.F.A. in film at Columbia.  He spent some years working in the film industry as a freelance copy editor.  Howard in the Chair of the Languages Department, teaches in the English Department and coaches crew.

Martine Schachenmayr was educated at l'Universite Catholique de l'Ouest in Angers, France.  She joined the Northwood faculty in 1994.  She teaches French, ESL and serves as an international student liaison.  Martine has two children, Philipp ‘07 and Beatrice ‘09.  She enjoys walking/hiking and cross country skiing in her free time.

John Spear ’88 has been the director of college guidance since 2011; he also teaches journalism and AP Psychology. After graduating from Northwood, he attended Williams College, where he captained the varsity hockey team. He returned to Northwood from 1992-94 to teach English and psychology and coach hockey and lacrosse. Prior to returning to Northwood 2011, John was the Director of College Guidance and Assistant Head of School at National Sports Academy. John lives on campus in 2nd East with his wife Martha and son Yosef.

Ingrid is a teacher in Northwood's visual arts program. She is an accomplished pastel painter and has shown her work in national shows throughout the country.  Married to Paul, they have two children, Maris ’15 and Andrew '21, and enjoy skiing in the winter and spending summers on Big Moose Lake.

Vonn has had success at the highest levels internationally for the past decade as both an athlete and a coach. He graduated from Northwood School in 1994 and is a member of the school's Fullerton Wall of Recognition. From 1997 until 2005, Vonn was a member of the U.S. Ski team competing on the World Cup circuit and in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Following his retirement from competition, Vonn served as the primary coach for World Cup and Olympic Champion Lindsey Vonn. During his time coaching, Lindsey won multiple World Cup titles and Olympic medals including a Gold Medal in the downhill at the Vancouver Games. Additionally, Vonn served as a consultant with the U.S. Ski Team and coached aspiring World Cup and Olympic athletes from the United States and several other nations.

Jill Walker, Dean of the Faculty and instructor in the science department, has been at Northwood School since 2004. Prior to arriving at Northwood, she taught at the University of South Carolina and at a private all-girls school in Rochester, N.Y.  Mrs. Walker earned her B.A. in Biology at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and her M.S. in Biology at the University of South Carolina.  Her teaching duties include biology, human biology and AP Biology.  She is married to Jim, a managing editor at a small publishing company, and they live with their dog Roscoe in Elizabethtown, NY.

Carrie Grady Wardlaw was born and raised in Lake Placid. She is 1988 graduate of the ski racing academy Mountain House School and earned her B.A. in Education at Plattsburgh State University. Carrie is three time Ironman finisher and a competitive water-skier. This is her second time as part of the Northwood School faculty and staff. From 1997-2005, she was a history teacher, ski and conditioning coach, advisor and dorm parent. After spending seven years and having three children in Park City, Carrie and her husband Tait, decided to move back to Lake Placid to be closer to family. Carrie began working at Northwood School again in the fall of 2013 as part of the Admissions Team.

Tait and Carrie live in Lake Placid with their children, Wyatt, Teegan and Luke.

Tim Weaver has been at Northwood since 1991. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Lafayette College and his Master's Degree in Education from University of Massachusetts.  Mr. Weaver is also a girls’ lacrosse coach in the spring.  He is married to Katie Weaver, Studio Art Teacher at North Country School, and has two daughters, Amy ’11 and Erin.  He is an avid skate skier in the winter time and enjoys competing in the local mini-tri's in the summer.

Jamie graduated from Northwood in 2003 and St. Lawrence University in 2007, where he majored in History, with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th century United States and American art.  Jamie recently completed his M.S. Ed. at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Social Science Department Chair and Director of Faculty Development. Jamie lives on campus in 2nd East with his wife Gracey and coaches Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse.  He grew up in the Adirondacks and enjoys spending time outdoors fly fishing, playing golf, and skiing.

Tara grew up on Long Island, attending public school.  She holds a Masters of Science in School Psychology from The College of Saint Rose and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Messiah College.  Tara's early career was spent as a School Psychologist in the Baldwinsville Central School District in Central New York.  Additional early work included measuring gray matter in brain MRI's at SUNY Upstate, psychological test development as a consultant with multiple national test publishers, and grant evaluation with Syracuse University and the RED Group.  Tara joined Northwood in a part time capacity this year while continuing her grant evaluation work in Northern New York.  She works as a Learning Center Coach, as well as a School Psychologist providing counseling and assessment services.  Tara lives in Lake Placid with her husband and four children.