There are thirteen new faculty and staff members who joined the NDB community for the 2018-2019 school year.  Of the thirteen, there are nine teachers throughout six academic departments and four staff members in Advancement and Counseling.  And, there are three NDB alumnae from the Class of 1996, 2007, and 2011.

Last Thursday, Associate Head of School for Academics Anne Schaefer gathered the newcomers in the Conference Room for a daylong orientation to the in’s and out’s of NDB

When asked what was the most important thing that the new teachers should know before the year starts, Schaefer says, “There is so much, but the one thing that I asked of them actually is to treat this year as their one and only time to look at our school with fresh eyes.”

During their lunch break, the Catalyst met with several of these new members of the community.

Brenda Barry is the new Spanish I and Spanish III Honors teacher.  She has taught in the Bay Area as well as Ireland and the United Kingdom.  She looks forward to NDB’s all-girls environment because she attended an all-girls school herself.

Catherine Licht is the new American Sign Language teacher.  She has been an advocate for the Deaf community working at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont as a career awareness teacher for five years and as a founder for the non-profit organization, Deaf Hope, for ten years.

Dr. Mallika Srinivasan will teach Biology and Chemistry.  When asked what she is looking forward to most about teaching at NDB, she said, “The first thing is all girls — I’m coming a full circle. In India, I got my high school education at an Italian Catholic convent for all-girls, and I really had a blast. And so, when I was interviewing here, this was one of the major attractions, was all girls, and I can focus more and have fun, instead of watching.”

Overall, the NDB community’s sense of community and spirit were the most common reasons that the new faculty and staff members gave when asked what attracted them to working at the school.

The new faculty and staff include: Christine Madrigal (‘07) in Advancement; Kari Allegri (‘96), Allan Gargaritano, Angela Moore in Counseling; Jennea Glenn (‘11) in Mathematics and Science; Dr. Mallika Srinivasan in Science; Audra Batter and Wendy Connolly in Social Sciences; Sister Marie Lindemann in Spiritual Life; Abby Alger and Joel McDonell in Visual and Performing Arts; and, Brenda Berry and Catherine Licht in World Languages.

The Catalyst will feature interviews with each of them over the next several issues.