George Bland
George comes to Steward this year from Christ School in Asheville, NC, where he was the Assistant Director of Student Life, Assistant Head Football Coach, baseball coach, and dorm parent. George graduated from Randolph-Macon College with a degree in Business/Economics and received a Master of Liberal Arts Degree from The University of Richmond. He is our new Assistant Dean of Students in the Upper School; additionally, he will teach Economics and coach baseball and basketball. George and his wife, Clare, have two boys Andrew (age 4) and Ryan (age 2). Fun fact about George: Before he entered the world of education, he was the Sunday Cook at Roy’s Big Burger in Middle School and High School (looks like we found our new Field Day grillmaster).

Michael Buchanan
Michael is a native of Richmond and has lived here all his life. He received his bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College in math and his master’s in education from Virginia Commonwealth University in math education. Michael most recently taught full-time at Heritage Christian Academy and adjunct at J.S. Reynolds Community College. He has been married for five years to Tatiana, who is from Brazil and is fluent in three languages (Portuguese, Spanish, and English). They have a “dynamic” 2.5-year-old boy. Michael joins the math department and will teach precalculus, finite math, honors algebra II, and two sections of algebra II. Fun fact about Michael: His wife is gradually teaching him to speak Portuguese.

Maddie Chasen
Maddie will serve as our new Middle and Upper School Counselor for 2007-08. She has an undergraduate degree from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a graduate degree from Northeastern University in Boston. Maddie has spent the past six years as a counselor for local public schools and is excited to be with us this year. She is married with two sons, ages 8 and 6. Fun fact about Maddie: Her dog is named Neuman, after the infamous Seinfeld character.

Dan Frank
Dan joins us as our new Head of the Upper School. From 1999-2007, Dan worked at Cushing Academy, a 9-PG independent coeducational boarding school an hour outside of Boston. Prior to that, he worked at several schools both domestically and overseas. Dan received his master’s in teaching from the School for International Training and has been a Fulbright and E.E. Ford Fellow. Now in Richmond, Dan, his wife Robin, and their three children (Glenn, Mike, and Will) make as much use of the neighborhood pool as possible! Fun Fact about Dan: In the course of a single calendar day, he was able to walk on the Great Wall of China, explore the Forbidden City, and be at home in time to put his kids to bed.

Susan Johnston
Susan is originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and has recently moved to Richmond from Danville, Kentucky. She received her bachelor's degree in history from Wake Forest University and a master's degree in Classics from U.Va. Susan will be teaching Latin part-time at Steward while her daughter attends Atlee High School and her husband serves as the dean of Randolph-Macon College. Fun Fact: Susan loves old movies, and Ben Hur is one of her favorites.

Sara Montgomery
Sara Montgomery joined The Steward School in May 2007.  Native to Richmond, Virginia, Sara attended The Collegiate School and College of Charleston. She received a B.S. in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. After college, Sara moved to Manhattan where she worked in the fashion industry. Fun Fact: The youngest of 24 grandchildren, Sara spent her childhood weekends on the family farm with no television or phone.

Mark Nugent
Mark comes to Steward from Discovery School in Dillwyn, an Outward Bound-style school for troubled Middle and Upper School students. Mark has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and is working on his master’s degree in Education, concentrating in mathematics. Fun fact: Mark joins us straight from his honeymoon (he was married in the middle of August!).

Debbie Robson
Debbie comes to a middle school math teaching position after eight years of tutoring at The Steward School. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in psychology and education. Debbie’s family has lived in Richmond for 13 ½ years and moved here after living in southern California for 12 years. Debbie is married with two sons, Kip (18) and Andrew (16). Fun fact about Debbie: A favorite past-time of hers is playing tennis with Dr. Rob (our very own Louise Robertson).

Allison Spiller
Allison joined Steward as our Special Events Coordinator in January 2007. Allison also serves as the liaison to the Parents’ Association. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College with degrees in history, art history and Asian studies. For 2 years, Allison taught Virginia history programs to elementary, middle, and high school students all over the state with the Virginia Historical Society. This summer, she celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with her husband, Brent. Fun facts about Allison: She loves to cook, garden, travel . . . and plan parties!

Nicole Thurston
Nicole graduated magna cum laude this past spring from Virginia Wesleyan College with a double major in Political Science and Spanish. All four years, Nicole played basketball. A self-confessed “military brat,” she spent most of her time growing up overseas living in Germany and Spain. Nicole will be teaching Spanish in the Upper School this year, as well as coaching Middle School volleyball and Upper School basketball. Fun fact about Nicole: The base I grew up on in Germany was in the movie Air Force One.

Jennifer Walker
Jennifer is Steward’s new Lower School Spanish teacher. She joins us from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she earned a bachelor of arts in Spanish and Political Science, as well as a master of arts in teaching. Jennifer spent a year teaching first grade at a bilingual school in the Dominican Republic, and last year she taught Spanish at Southwest Elementary in Durham, North Carolina. Fun fact about Jennifer: She climbed and jumped down 27 consecutive waterfalls in the Dominican Republic.