Team

Overview
Team
Board
Partners

Dana Borrelli-Murray

Executive Director

@DBorrelliMurray

Dana Borrelli-Murray

As the Executive Director, Dana is responsible for overseeing all areas of service and specialty within the Institute, as well as strategic planning and organizational effectiveness. Dana is driven by social justice and a deep interest in dismantling convention to meet the changing needs of all learners in this digital age. Dana worked as an administrator at Highlander Charter School, where she created and implemented a comprehensive Expanded Learning Time movement. Active in the community, she sits on multiple state and local boards, committees and working groups. She holds graduate degrees in Anthropology (UMass-Amherst) and Urban Education Policy (Brown University) and lives in Cranston with her husband and two children.

Cathy Sanford

Director of Research and Communications

@csanford42

Cathy Sanford

Cathy Sanford is an experienced educator, education consultant, and nonprofit administrator. She has consulted as an adjunct faculty member of the Brown University Graduate School of Education, and has participated as a Board member of the RI Branch of the International Dyslexia Association and of Breakthrough Providence. She is a founding board member of Decoding Dyslexia RI. Cathy leads Research & Development efforts at Highlander Institute. As the first Director of Programs for the Institute, she launched programming and strategic priorities for the organization, and built a regional network of educators spanning four states and dozens of communities and districts. Before her move to the Institute, Cathy coordinated curriculum at Highlander Charter School, a Pre-K-12 urban school that specializes in supporting students with diverse learning styles. Prior to this role, she taught math at the Oundle School in Northamptonshire, England, and the Wheeler School in Providence, RI. Cathy holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia and an MA in Education Policy Analysis from Stanford University. She lives with her husband and two daughters in southeastern Massachusetts.

Kara O’Connell

Director of Implementation

@karaloconnell

Kara O’Connell

As the Director of Implementation at the Highlander Institute, Kara oversees the Institute’s consulting work with schools and districts. Kara coordinates professional learning services, manages a team of Educational Strategies Specialists and works closely with partners to ensure the successful implementation of blended and personalized models. With a background in Special Ed. Administration and 6 years as a technology implementation specialist, Kara has experienced first hand the transformative impact of high quality, technology- enhanced classroom instruction. Kara lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Malika Ali

Director of Pedagogy

@Malika_Ali

Malika Ali

As the Director of Pedagogy, Malika is passionate about working to develop educators to be change agents of instructional and systemic equity and to nurture students’ cognitive development through culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy. Prior to working at the Institute, Malika served as an Innovation Specialist and a high school science teacher. She was a Rhode Island District Teacher of the Year and served on Governor Raimondo’s STEAM and Equity in Educator Preparation Working Group. Malika holds an M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Public Health from Brown University. As a daughter of strong and brilliant Eritrean refugees, Malika has spent her life critiquing the systems that perpetuate educational inequity, and she is proud to be a part of the struggle to ensure that all children have access to, and can take advantage of, an empowering education.

Shawn Rubin

Chief Education Officer

@ShawnCRubin

Shawn Rubin

As the Chief Education Officer, Shawn manages the Institute’s personalized and blended learning initiatives. Shawn also leads the FUSE RI fellowship and co-founded various programs including the EdUnderground, EdTechRI, and Metryx, a start-up software company building flexible formative assessment tools for educators where he serves as CEO. Shawn earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and his Master’s in Education at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and served as a founding faculty member of the Highlander Charter School before joining the Institute in 2011.

Erin Brouillette

Director of Finance

@ebrouillette36

Erin Brouillette

Erin is responsible for overseeing accounting functions at the Institute. She ensures that the organization is using best practice in monitoring and reporting on income and expenses, with a keen eye on the bottom line. Erin, her husband, and their three children live in MA.

Stephanie Castilla

Director of Strategy

@stephmcastilla

Stephanie Castilla

As the Institute’s Design Director, Stephanie is responsible for identifying design opportunities that help further the work of the organization and for bringing these opportunities from concept to reality. Her specialities include product development, business & marketing strategy, visual design for print & web, and implementing design thinking to drive innovation. She joined the Highlander Institute in 2011 as a co-founder of the organization’s first incubated startup software product, Metryx.

Danielle Blasczak

Research and Evaluation Manager

@data_is_magic

Danielle Blasczak

Danielle is the Research and Evaluation Manager at Highlander Institute. Before joining the Institute, she worked as the Assistant Director of Data and Research at the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity and as the TSLP Data Coach in the Providence Public School District. Previous to her career in educational data systems she worked in fundraising at Brown University and Rhode Island Public Radio. Creating accessible data is her passion and she is excited to work with even more educators in the state now that she is at Highlander.

Karina Rodriguez

Research and Evaluation Analyst

@_TalkDataToMe

Karina Rodriguez

Born and raised in New York City, Karina graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Anthropology and received her masters from Brown University in Urban Education Policy. Karina has had great opportunities working and teaching students from the south side of Chicago and from her hometown in Brooklyn. She previously interned at PPSD with the Ethnic Studies program assisting with the development of the program and its curriculum during their pilot year. She also worked with the New York office of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform as their Data and Research Analyst and worked alongside community organizations across the United States on projects around equity and culturally responsive education. As part of the impact team, Karina aims to support, monitor, and learn from the different programs led by Highlander in order to strengthen her team's influence and impact on the schools and teachers. With this position she hopes to learn and grow with the educators in Rhode Island and support the different programs and efforts led by Highlander to support the teaching work-force while promoting blended and personalized learning.

Zachary Charette

Continuous Improvement Coordinator

@ZackCharette

Zachary Charette

As Continuous Improvement Coordinator, Zack co-manages on-the-ground data collection efforts in schools partnering with the Highlander Institute. Zack applies various methods in interviewing, focus group facilitation, survey design, and classroom observation to build intuition and knowledge bases that support sustained growth in school communities. Prior to joining the Institute, Zack was a Middle School Social Studies teacher and Summer Programs Associate in the Fall River, MA Public Schools. He earned his B.A. in History and Secondary Education from the University of Rhode Island and his M.A. in Urban Education Policy from Brown University. In addition to education research, Zack also passionately enjoys the guitar, golf, and his collection of rare basketball sneakers.

Meg Smallidge

Program Manager

@megducation

Meg Smallidge

Megan is the Program Manager for Fuse MA, a partnership with The Education Cooperative (TEC) to bring the Fuse Fellowship to its Massachusetts districts. Prior to joining the Institute, Megan taught Special Education and ELA, created educational resources at WGBH Educational Foundation, and worked to leverage technology to enhance communication and curriculum for Newton Public Schools. Most recently, Megan directed the MassNET Program for LearnLaunch Institute, providing support for Boston Public School teachers in the design and implementation of blended and personalized learning strategies. Meg is thrilled to be joining the Highlander team and looking forward to collaborating with TEC, their districts and teachers. She has a BA in English from Northeastern University and an M.Ed from the University of Massachusetts. Meg lives in Waltham, MA.

Michaela Comella

Continuous Improvement Coordinator

@MichaelaComell1

Michaela Comella

Prior to joining Highlander, Michaela taught third grade at a private school in Warwick for 12 years. Michaela is most looking forward to utilizing the organizational and planning skills she developed through her teaching career in a new opportunity, while still keeping her hand in education. She lives in Warwick with her husband and daughter.

Roshni Lakhi

Program Manager

@roshnimirchi

Roshni Lakhi

Roshni Lakhi is the EdTechRI and Syrafuse Program Manager, leading the organization’s operations in New York. She is a former Teach For America corps member, during which she taught 7th and 8th grade math and was the Director of Technology Integration in Providence, RI. She is a founding member of the EdUnderground and EdTechRI initiatives, bringing the best of educational technology to educators to enhance student learning.

Maeve Murray

Services Manager

@maevefmurray

Maeve Murray

Maeve is the Services Manager overseeing the Fuse RI Fellowship and the coordination of the Personalization 2020 Conference. Before starting at the Institute, Maeve was a founding high school math teacher at Village Green Virtual Charter School in downtown Providence, and also taught English as a Second Language through Fulbright Bulgaria. She lives in Providence, RI.

Christina Corser

Educational Strategies Specialist

@corserossi

Christina Corser

As a member of the Educational Strategies Specialist team, Christina has the privilege to work with administrators, teachers, and students to realize their visions of personalization. Christina believes that Blended Learning is the lever for radical change in education and supporting student agency and equity. Before working at the Highlander Institute, Christina supported students and teachers as a behavioral and academic interventionist, taught 4th grade in an intentionally diverse charter school, and taught K-12 in a residential behavioral health facility in Honolulu, HI. Christina holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Rhode Island, and a Master’s in Teaching from Rhode Island College. She lives in Portsmouth, RI with her husband, Matt, and her twin boys, Daniel and Benjamin.

Melinda Lopez

Team Lead - Educational Strategies Specialist

@brownhunter24

Melinda Lopez

Melinda was born and raised in New York City and moved to Rhode Island to attend college. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and then her Teacher Certification from Roger Williams University. She has been an educator since 1994- working in both early childhood and elementary school settings. She is passionate about meeting all students where they are and supporting teachers in her new role at Highlander as an Educational Strategies Specialist. She lives in Johnston, RI and is blessed with her wonderful partner, her two sons, and her dog.

Dawn Manchester

Educational Strategies Specialist

@dawnman14

Dawn Manchester

After 20 years as an elementary classroom teacher in Warwick, Dawn has decided to follow her passion and join the Highlander Institute as an Educational Strategies Specialist. She appreciates problem solving and collaborating with colleagues, always finding ways to positively impact the learning of all students. She currently lives in Coventry, RI with her partner, three step-children and three dogs.

Maureen Sigler

Zone Manager

@mkaysigler

Maureen Sigler

Maureen started her career in Washington, DC as a Teach for America corps member. She taught 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th grade in both a traditional public school and at DC Prep, a charter school. While teaching at DC Prep Maureen also served as a Mentor teacher for new and veteran educators. After leaving the classroom, Maureen directed the Brown History / Social Studies MAT program and did national consulting around teacher coaching and professional development. Most recently, Maureen directed federal early childhood poverty programs in Providence, including a Kindergarten Prep program in the OIneyville community. Coaching, teacher development, and working for equity in education are Maureen’s passion. Maureen has a BA from Trinity College and a Masters in Education from Harvard University. Maureen lives in Cranston with her husband, son and daughter.

Jeanette Batista

ESS Administrative Assistant

@Jeanettebatista

Jeanette Batista

As Highlander Institute’s Administrative Assistant to the Implementation Team, Jeanette supports the Implementation team by providing the backbone functions. Prior to joining the Institute, Jeanette was working with First Graders at Highlander Charter school.

Vera De Jesus

Educational Strategies Specialist

@VeraElianna

Vera De Jesus

Vera is an Educational Strategies Specialist at the Highlander Institute. Before joining the Institute, she taught 8th grade math in Central Falls, where she had previously worked as an AmeriCorps Education Fellow. Vera's fellowship experience made it clear that education was where she belonged, leading her to pursue a Masters in Teaching at Brown University. Prior to her career in education, Vera lived in Boston where she worked in corporate communications and community relations. Born in the Philippines and raised in Rhode Island, Vera is thrilled to now be working with teachers across the ocean state.

Nicole Lanni

Educational Strategies Specialist

@mslanni

Nicole Lanni

Nicole joined the Highlander Institute as an Educational Strategies Specialist in January of 2018 where she works with administrators and teachers to further support students on their individual journey through personalized and blended learning. Nicole brings passion, talent, and a great deal of experience to the team. As a former educator for the Cumberland School Department, she focused her instruction on enhancing personalized learning for her students. During that time, she also worked as an Instructional Technology Coach alongside teachers, to promote purposeful technology integration in the classroom. Nicole received a Bachelor’s Degree from Rhode Island College in Secondary Education with a Middle-Level Endorsement. She is excited to work with innovative educators both on the ESS team and other educators around Rhode Island to spread the great work of personalizing and blended learning for all students.

Mike Miele

Educational Strategies Specialist

@MikeMiele836

Mike Miele

Mike is extremely excited to be joining the Highlander team as an Education Strategy Specialist. As an ESS Mike is focused on helping to bridge the equity gap in student learning through personalized, blended, and data-driven instruction. Prior to working at Highlander, Mike taught both 1st and 5th grade, as well as working as the Science and Technology Coach for Foster Public Schools in Foster RI. Mike holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Rhode Island, and Master of Arts in Teaching with a focus in Elementary and Elementary Special Education from Johnson & Wales University. It is at JWU that Mike received training in P-BL (project-based learning) & UbD (understanding by design). Mike is looking forward to learning, collaborating, and making connections with like-minded educators and districts. Mike lives in Warwick, RI with his wife, Megan, and their daughter, Julia.

Heidi Vazquez

Educational Strategies Specialist

@hvazquez14

Heidi Vazquez

Heidi is an Educational Strategies Specialist on the Highlander Institute Team. She’s thrilled to be collaborating with educators and organizations in pursuit of an equitable, joyful, and authentic learning environment for students and teachers. Heidi previously taught at the Charles River School and The Compass School. As a teacher for 19 years, she aspired to teach the whole child through a student-centered learning environment that adjusted for the individual and connected to the real world through projects. Heidi received her BA in Elementary Education and Sociology from Stonehill College and her Masters in School Counseling from the University of Hartford. She lives in Providence with her husband, daughter, and son.

Nick Dinardo

Meet Education Project Director

@nickdinardo33

Nick Dinardo

Nick has worked in higher education technology for the past seven years for two Fortune 500 education companies, founded (and closed) a startup, and been a part of the executive team of a seed stage ed tech startup based in Cambridge, MA. He is a founding board of trustee for Argosy Collegiate Charter School, a proposed grade 6-12 college preparatory school focused on serving low-income families in Fall River, MA. Nick is also a City Year Boston mentor and an adjunct professor at the Johnson & Wales University College of Business in Providence, RI. Nick is a graduate of Wesleyan University (CT), and also holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.