Faculty & Staff Updates

Lower School

Leah Balkoski
Kindergarten Homeroom

Leah joins our Lower School Kindergarten team, partnering with Bonnie Frost. Most recently, Leah was an assistant director and lead teacher at Notchcliff Nature Programs, teaching K-2 students in an immersive outdoor setting and directing summer camps. Leah was also a hands-on learning coach for FutureMakers, where she designed and taught project-based STEAM curricula for grades K-6 and facilitated challenging course workshops for K-12. Leah holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Religious Studies, with a minor in French from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Middle School

Nathalia Chavez Romo
Middle School French and Spanish

The Middle School modern language department welcomes Nathalia as our new French and Spanish teacher. Nathalia recently completed her M.A. in TESOL and Linguistics from Southern Illinois University. She also holds a B.A. in English and French (education) from Nariño University in Pasto, Colombia. Nathalia most recently served as a student teacher at Thomas Elementary School in Carbondale, Illinois, where she assisted second and third grade students during their reading, math, science, art, and social studies classes, and provided English reading tutoring sessions to Spanish-speaking students. She was also an ESL composition instructor at Southern Illinois University, helping ESL students become more comfortable with and proficient in writing for academic audiences.

Julia Strouse ’20
Middle School Math

Welcome back to Julia, Class of 2020! Julia joins our Middle School math department. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Elon University with a B.A. in Middle Grades Education and Policy Studies. While at Elon, Julia was able to complete her student teacher commitments at two middle schools in North Carolina, most recently teaching 6th Grade math at Western Alamance Middle in Elon. Julia was also involved in several on-campus initiatives, including working at the Office of Disabilities Resources, serving as a tour guide for the Office of Admissions, and acting as a peer tutor. 

Upper School

Laura Brade
upper school History

Laura joins the Upper School history department this fall. Most recently, she was an Assistant Professor of History and the Holocaust Studies Service Learning Project Director at Albion College in Michigan. In these roles, Laura supported students in analyzing primary and secondary sources, and helping them find their voice and perspective. Laura holds a B.A. in History & German, Minor in Mathematics from Pacific Lutheran University, an M.A. in History, and Ph.D. in History, both from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Jay Golon
upper school History

The Upper School history department welcomes Jay, who will be joining us for the fall semester to teach two sections of 9th Grade history. Jay has two children in Park’s Lower School. Most recently, he worked for Pollyana DEI, Inc. as a facilitator/educator, leading workshops in Baltimore. Prior to that, Jay was the Middle School principal at the Friends School of Baltimore and Middle School Assistant Director for Curriculum and Teaching & Dean of Students at the Dalton School in New York. He holds a B.A. in American Studies and Theater from Wesleyan University and an Ed.M. in School Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Alex McNulty-Romaguera
upper school science

Alex joins our Upper School science department as our new physics teacher. Alex recently moved to Baltimore from Buffalo, New York, where he received a B.S. in Biology and Physics and an M.S. in Biophysics, both from the University at Buffalo. While in school, Alex tutored high school students in physics and math, was a research assistant in the Department of Physics, and was a two-sport Division I athlete, playing kicker on the football team and throwing javelin for the track and field team. 

Riley Peacock
UPPER SCHOOL Science

Riley joins our Upper School science department as our new chemistry teacher. Previously, Riley was a discovery scientist at NextCare Immunotherapeutic Company, where he performed preclinical and translational research to design, develop, and define novel anti-cancer therapeutics using research techniques that integrated chemistry, physics, cell biology, immunology, and computer science. Prior to that, Riley was a postdoctoral research scientist at University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy. He was also an assistant teacher for a number of undergraduate courses at University of California San Diego. Riley holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Gonzaga University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from University of California San Diego.