Meet New St. Stephen’s Faculty and Staff and Team Members Transitioning Into New Roles

As St. Stephen's enters into its 2024-25 academic year, we want to introduce you to the new educational faculty and staff members who are now a part of our St. Stephen’s community. 

Julie Ronquillo joins us as the Modern Language Department Chair and Spanish Teacher from The John Cooper School in Houston, Texas where she taught French and Spanish and led the International Club and Global Programs. Ronquillo holds her master’s degree in Anglophone Worlds from the Université François Rabelais, Tours, in France. 

Michelle Andrews replaces Cynthia Bartek who recently retired, as Head Librarian. Andrews will continue to advise and teach Information Literacy classes in the Middle School. 

Shelby Devitt has been promoted from Library Assistant to Librarian, and is shifting into a day-time role. 

Hannah True joins St. Stephen's as the evening Library Assistant and is a campus resident. True is also completing her Master of Library and Information Science at Syracuse University. She previously served as Faculty and Dorm Parent at the Rumsey Hall School in Connecticut, teaching Latin to grades 5-9 and Spanish to grades 6-9.

Gilmer "Gil" Cook-Hoet, Ph.D., joins us as an 8th Grade English Instructor. Cook-Hoet previously taught students in a range of divisions, from the elementary to graduate level. Prior to his and his family’s return to the states this summer, Cook-Hoet taught in the English Department at Dominican University in Geneva, Switzerland. He has a Ph.D. in English from Purdue University, a Bachelor of Arts in English from Ursinus College as well as a Master of Arts degree. Additionally, Cook-Hoet holds his Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA). 

Jackson Yates joins us on The Hill to teach Latin, primarily in the Middle School, and will be a member of our residential team. Yates holds his bachelor’s from The University of the South (formerly known as Sewanee), and is wrapping up his master’s in Classics from Columbia University. He previously served as a coach, substitute and dorm parent at Rumsey Hall in Connecticut. Yates has also taught Greek along with Latin and has a real passion for the classics. 

Claire Zagrodzky ’16 is returning to The Hill as a Middle School English Teacher. She earned her bachelor's degree from Rhodes College with a double major in English Literature and Educational Studies. Zagrodzky rejoins St. Stephen’s from St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis and prior to that, she taught at Southwind High School in Tennessee and was a Teaching Fellow with Breakthrough Collaborative. During her time at Rhodes College, Zagrodzky played varsity lacrosse and is excited to coach Spartan Middle School student-athletes. 

Former Dean of Middle School Eileen Wilson is returning to the Learning Services Department to serve as the Interventionist and Learning Support and Testing Support Specialist. 

 

Former Middle School English instructor Miriam Murtuza, Ph.D., is serving as the Interim Middle School Dean of Students for the 2024-25 academic year. She first arrived at St. Stephen's in the fall of 1991 and left in 1999 to attend graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. Murtuza returned to The Hill in the fall of 2006, where she has remained ever since. During her nearly three decades on The Hill, she received numerous St. Stephen’s faculty excellence awards, served on major school committees, led student trips to Big Bend in West Texas and coordinated too many service learning experiences to count. Murtuza received her Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College, and a Master of Arts and her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

St. Stephen’s former Head of Upper School Kim Garey begins her new role as the school’s first Associate Head of School for Academics and Student Programs. This marks Garey’s 30th year on The Hill, where she has served in a number of administrative roles including Academic Dean since 1996. Head of School Chris Gunnin appointed Garey to lead a variety of academic and strategic projects and oversee critical areas of school life, specifically those with a 6th through 12th-grade scope. Garey and her husband, Clay Nichols, are part of the St. Stephen’s residential community. Nichols also works on campus serving as a Leadership Giving Officer on the Advancement team. All three of their children, Wilson ’16, Riley ’19 and Cooper ’22, graduated from St. Stephen’s.

Aaron Snyder replaces Kim as the new Head of Upper School. He previously taught Upper School English at St. Stephen’s, serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Team, was an assistant Varsity Football coach and is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of The AI and Humanities Conference. Snyder has worked in schools in California and Massachusetts. Prior to arriving on The Hill, he taught English and filmmaking at Bishop Garcia Diego High School in Santa Barbara. Snyder also spent 16 years at Thacher School–a private coeducational college preparatory boarding school outside Los Angeles, California–where he taught English, Latin and economics, coached varsity football, basketball and baseball, and assisted in the fine arts. Snyder earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, and holds a Master of Arts in English from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and a Master of Education in Independent School Leadership from Columbia University in New York. His wife, Theana, also works at St. Stephen’s as an Upper School Mathematics Instructor. Two of their three children, Gavin ’28 and Zoey ’31, are proud Spartans as well.

Anne Barry is joining St. Stephen's as an Upper School Math Instructor and will assist with coaching Upper School Cross Country. Barry holds a Bachelor in Economics from Stanford University and her master’s in Mathematics Education from St. John's University in New York. She previously served in Data Scientist roles and taught grades 7-12 math in schools in New York City and Austin, including at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin. 

Elaines Valera joins the Upper School faculty as a Spanish Instructor. She comes to The Hill with immense international experience teaching in Cyprus, Turkey, and Venezuela. Valera holds her Bachelor of Education from the Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela and her master’s in Educational Administration from Universidad Pedagogica Experimental. She has also completed master’s courses at Buffalo State University in Theory/Practice in English as a Second Language and Language Arts and Literacy. 

Margaret Clark will teach Latin, primarily in the Upper School. Clark holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury, a Master of Studies from Oxford, a Master of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin as well as a Ph.D. in Classics from UT Austin. She was previously an Assistant Instructor in the Classics Department at UT Austin and most recently worked at St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Ridgeland, Mississippi. 

Canon Ellis joins St. Stephen’s as a Computer Science Instructor. He was most recently the Director of Technology at Hunterwood Point Capital and served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, teaching cybersecurity. Ellis is pursuing his Ph.D. in Computer Science from SMU, where he previously earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and master’s in Software Engineering. Canon's sister, Aidan Ellis, was a graduate of St. Stephen's Class of 2019.

Susan Henry, who has served as a long-term substitute teacher, is advancing to a full-time role in the Science Department as a Chemistry Instructor. She spent more than 20 years teaching chemistry, physics and physical science in the Round Rock Independent School District. Henry graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree. 

Middle School French Instructor Valerie Kelly is moving to the Upper School. She has been teaching French for more than 24 years to language learners of all ages. Kelly is also an experienced and skilled French cook and pastry chef, and runs the popular French Baking Camp during Spartan Summer Camp.

Rebekah Murrell joins St. Stephen's as an Upper School Math Instructor. Most recently, Murrell worked at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, as a math and computer science teacher as well as a volleyball coach. She holds her Bachelor of Science in Math from Texas State University, where she worked after graduation while continuing her mathematics and computer science studies. 

Gabby Rajerison is expanding her role on The Hill. She will teach three sections of Upper School English, one section of Upper School Creative Writing, and sponsor the Student Council of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (SCODEI), and Proteus.

Jesús Cadenas joins St. Stephen's as an Upper School Spanish Instructor and the Espacios Compartidos Affinity Group Sponsor. He has taught Middle and Upper School Spanish and International Baccalaureate courses at International Schools in Turkey and his home country of Venezuela. Cadenas has a bachelor's degree in education from the Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela and a master's degree in Spanish Language and Culture from the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca in Spain. 

Click here for updates to the 2024-25 Spartan Athletics staff.