| Erica Dakin Voolich (President and founder) is an award-winning middle school mathematics teacher. She won a Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in Secondary Mathematics (1999), an Edyth May Sliffe Award (1999) and an Above and Beyond Award (Massachusetts Software & Internet Council, 2002). The author of two supplementary mathematics texts: A Peek into Math of the Past: Mathematical Historical Investigations for Middle School and Pre-Algebra Students, (2001) and Investigating with Power Solids, (1997) and numerous articles on teaching mathematics, she has conducted local, national, and international workshops for mathematics teachers. She has also written two books on design in weaving: Parallel Shadow Weave, (with Elizabeth Lang, 1987) and Playing With Blocks: An Exploration of Multiharness Overshot, (1977). Currently she teaches seventh grade mathematics at the Solomon Schechter Day School (Newton). She has taught previously at Wheelock College, Cambridge Friends School, and in the public schools of Philadelphia and Arlington, Massachusetts. She is a fellow of the Teachers Leadership Academy of Massachusetts. Locally she has served as the Clerk of the Board for RESPOND, Inc (1998-2004), and as the Recording Clerk (2000-2002) and Finance Committee member (1997-2000) of the Fresh Pond Friends Meeting. |
Richard Graf (Vice President) is an award winning real estate and urban design professional. He is responsible for development of commercial and residential projects, an adviser to clients on development issues from urban to project scale, with specializations in historic tax credits and adaptive reuse. He was a Visiting Critic (1989-97) at Harvard University, concentrating on the relationship between real estate economics and urban design. |
Susan Weiss (Secretary and Webmaster) is an award-winning mathematics teacher with degrees in mathematics, education, special education, and instruction technology. Her awards include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in Elementary Mathematics (2000), a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship (1991), and a Compaq Technology Grant (1999). She has presented workshops in technology and discrete mathematics at local, regional, and national teachers’ conferences and served as an officer for many organizations devoted to education in mathematics and technology. She has taught mathematics in grades K-12, primarily in the lower grades. Currently she is the Instructional Technology Specialist and Math Support Provider at the Solomon Schechter Day School (Newton). |
Michael Voolich (Treasurer) |
Helen Alva currently resides in Charlestown, although lived in Somerville for six year prior to moving to the town "next door". She graduated from Wellesley College in 1998 with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Boston Securities Analysts Society (BSAS) and the CFA Institute. |
| Patricia Jehlen served on the Somerville School Committee from 1975 until 1990 when she was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature. She was re-elected to her seventh term in 2002. Rep. Jehlen holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She taught history at Brookline High School and supervised student teachers at Simmons College. She is the mother of three SHS graduates. Currently she serves as a State Senator |
Linda Falstein is a retired math educator who has been living in Somerville for 30 years. She created and directed the Academic Skills Math Program at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, where she taught for twenty years. She is the author of Basic Mathematics, You Can Count on Yourself, and Mastering Math Skills. She has also taught at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School, and the South Shore Coop (alternative) school in Chicago. |
Beth Porter serves as Technical Product Manager of Educational Markets for Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc., a private software development company in Cambridge. The firm creates math applications for professional engineers, researchers, and scientists, as well as members of the academic community. Beth taught high school mathematics for a few years after completing her undergraduate and graduate work at Cornell. She remains interested in all levels of math and science education, particularly in terms of what technology can do to help teachers and learners succeed. |
Sharon Rewerts |
| Advisory Board Peter Golden, The Golden Group Sharon Rewerts, Vibro Dynamics Alice T Schafer, Professor of Mathematics Emeritus, Wellesley College Richard D Schafer, Professor of Mathematics Emeritus, MIT Jeffrey Swartz, The Timberland Company |