Thacher Welcomes New Faculty Members to the Community

And just like the students, they start off with a backcountry trip in the Golden Trout Wilderness.
For new faculty, a trip to Golden Trout serves as an initiation into the Thacher community. This experience, similar to the one the freshman experience a couple of weeks later, helps the new cohort bond, just as it does for the students. This year, some of the new faculty joined the rest of the faculty around the barns mucking, grooming, riding, and participating in a three-day taste of the Horse Program. 

This year we welcome nine newcomers, three of whom are alumni, and one who has been with us before. Here is a little about them:

Liz Honorato Carvalho  - Math Teacher
Along with teaching  Math II and IV, Liz supports sophomore girls in the Middle School dorm. Liz spent most of her childhood in Los Angeles before heading to school in the Northeast, where she studied at Phillips Exeter Academy. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and studio art. 

Studio arts are still an important part of Liz’s life. She is a sculptor and says that people are surprised when they find out that she can weld. Liz has taught geometry and painting at Exeter Summer School and a range of mathematics courses at The Governor's Academy. She also worked with underserved communities in Lawrence, Massachusetts. While in Massachusetts, Liz shared her love for dance as a social dance performer and instructor. Some of her other pastimes include painting, exploring new cities and towns, and visiting national parks with her husband, Alex. Liz said that she knew she wanted to work at Thacher when on her first visit to campus she “had to slow down at the curves around the mountains, park my car, and witness the spectacular views.”

Grace Lowe CdeP 2011 - Assistant Director of Admission 
Alumna, Grace Lowe, is excited to be returning to Thacher as a member of the admission team and an advisor of freshman girls in Casa dorm. She says that the backcountry camping trips are her favorite job perk. 

After graduating from Thacher, Grace studied at the New Studio on Broadway (NYU Tisch School of the Arts) and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She graduated from Goddard College with a bachelor’s degree in urban geography. Grace then returned to her home state of Minnesota and had the privilege of working with the City of Minneapolis and Intermedia Arts on passing the Blueprint for Equitable Engagement—a policy designed to ensure that the city hears and values all voices. When not in the Admission Office, Grace can be found at the piano or on a trail.

Lisandro Malissia - Director of Technical Theater 
Born in Argentina to a large family of Italian immigrants and commercial farm owners, Lisandro grew up there with a healthy respect for how to live in harmony with the land. He remained in Argentina for college, studying medicine at the University of Cordoba. But, while fulfilling his internship, he realized his passion for music and made a career change into the world of sound and recording arts. From there he opened a recording studio, hosted his own radio program, and mixed sound for a plethora of live venues.

Lisandro’s passion for music and sound led him to documentary film-making, which opened the doors to a fantastic journey to over 25 countries around the world. On his international adventures he met his wife, a California native and Ojai local. They settled in Upper Ojai six years ago to raise their two daughters. During this time, he continued to mix live shows and build and repair sound equipment.

Next to music, his deepest passion is his family and his community, which is why he has chosen to work at The Thacher School—so that he may be close to home and in the heart of a community that supports the development of its young people. In his spare time, he enjoys camping, swimming, live music and theater, barbecues with friends, and any opportunity he gets to add new places to his extensive list of travels.

Tracy Miller - Director of Studies
The role of the director of studies is integral in our move away from the AP program into our own advanced study courses. This is not the first time that Tracy undertaken such a task. In fact, when asked about the professional accomplishment she is most proud of, Dr. Miller answered, “playing a role in creating a diverse, experiential, rigorous, and bold curriculum at my previous school.” 

Tracy is from north of Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated from Mount Holyoke College. She moved to New York City immediately following college to pursue a PhD in English at NYU. While in graduate school Tracy taught for NYU’s English department and wrote her dissertation on place, memory, and literature in the Victorian period. She also worked in the summer programs at The Northfield Mount Hermon School and Phillips Academy, which solidified her interest in teaching at the secondary level. Tracy began teaching at The Webb Schools in 2010, where she held a variety of roles, including most recently, director of studies. In her free time Tracy loves the outdoors, exploring LA, and spending time with her 4-year-old son, Joseph, and husband, Jay. She is also advising sophomore girls as part of the Middle School dorm team.

Jeff SeelyAssistant Director of the Horse Program
Jeff Seely, our new assistant director of the Horse Program has spent his life riding, ranching, and flying airplanes. He describes himself as a cowboy and rancher. Jeff hails from Utah, but prior to coming to Thacher, he and his wife Trinity CdeP 1999 raised their family in Montana. Here at Thacher, he loves “working alongside my wife and putting my foot in a stirrup everyday.” Jeff, Trinity, and their four children are temporarily living in one of the new faculty homes while the Facilities Department prepares a home for them closer to the barns.

Trinity Seely CdeP 1999Interim Director of Horse Department Communications and External Affairs
From the time Trinity graduated from Thacher, she “thought about how wonderful it would be to have the opportunity to return to Thacher and teach in the Horse Department, giving back to a program that had so much influence on my life.” This past summer, she arrived back on campus with her husband, Jeff, to do just that. 

After her graduation from Thacher, Trinity attended Utah Valley University on a cross-country scholarship and majored in music. She met and married Jeff while at Utah Valley. She has since enjoyed a successful career as a country music touring and recording artist. Trinity released her debut album, produced by fellow western artists Brenn Hill and Ryan Tilby, in December of 2011. This self-titled CD has received multiple outstanding reviews: Trinity was named one of True West's favorite western artists for 2012; received nominations for several awards by the Western Music Association; and her song “Cowboy Hat” was awarded song of the year for 2014. Cowboy's Wage, Trinity's third release, was archived into the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum in Oklahoma City, and the song “The Hand" was named best song of 2016 by the Western Writers of America.

The Seelys have spent the past 15 years on ranches throughout the country. Trinity says, “Ranch life prepared me for living and working at Thacher. There are similarities between ranch life and Thacher life. Your heart has to be in it. You have to love it. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle.”

Raúl Soto CdeP 2014 - Fisher Fellow 
Raúl returns to Thacher as the School's third Fisher Fellow. Raúl serves as the assistant to the dean of students while also helping in admission and the athletic departments. He is an advisor in Lower School. Born in New York City, Raúl "fell in love with Thacher and Southern California weather" as a teenager. After graduating from Occidental College and spending last year teaching in the Bay Area, he has enthusiastically rejoined the Thacher community. Of his goals for his time here, Raul wrote, “I look back and reflect on all the mentors I have gained through my education. They’ve had the most profound impact on my growth. So I really want to do all I can to be a good influence on the students.”

Russell Spinney - History Teacher 
Our new history teacher, Mr. Spinney, will teach U.S. and world history and coach boys’ JV soccer. 

Russell is from New York City and spent most of his childhood in the mountains of North-Central Pennsylvania. He graduated from Colgate University with a bachelor’s degree in history, German, and Japanese studies. He then earned his master’s degree from Middlebury College in German studies and his Ph.D. in modern German history from Pennsylvania State University with additional academic work at the Humboldt University in Berlin, a research fellowship at the USC Shoah Foundation, and teaching fellowships at the U.S. Holocaust Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies

Russell began his teaching career in 1995 at his high school alma mater, Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he taught history and English. He has also lectured at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maryland, taught in the Berlin German public school system, and worked with at-risk youth in the Baltimore public schools and juvenile justice systems. For seven years, Russell taught at Santa Fe Prep in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and for the past three years, he chaired the History Department. 

He co-founded the Emotion Studies Network for the German Studies Association, and his newly co-authored book on the history of emotions in German studies will appear this coming year. In his free time, Russell loves gardening, singing, playing guitar, biking, hiking, camping, almost any sport, yoga, and spending time with his wife, Nicole, his son, Sequoia, and daughter, Maya.

Spencer Stevens - Science Teacher
Spencer Stevens returns to Thacher on a part-time basis teaching one section of science. He worked at Thacher for three years ending in 2005. In the intervening years, he has taught at a new independent school in the Bay Area, led language immersion programs in Spain, and tutored high school students in science, math, and standardized test prep. He and his family recently returned to the Ojai Valley and Spencer looks forward to reuniting with familiar faces and befriending many new ones. His spare time is adequately occupied with the family: “a teenager plus three young 'uns.”
 
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