Leadership

Evan joined Avenues in 2017, bringing a wealth of education experience at both the secondary and university levels. Prior to joining Avenues, Evan spent more than ten years as principal of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), a state-chartered magnet high school in Alexandria, Virginia. Under his leadership, TJHSST received the Star Innovator for Science award (2010) and was named the number one high school in the country by U.S. News and World Report (2014) and by Newsweek (2015). Passionate about teaching, Evan also made time to teach math class and offer leadership seminars to students while at TJHSST. Evan’s earlier school leadership experience includes serving as the director of Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology (Roanoke, VA). He began his career in education at his alma mater, Glenbrook South High (Glenview, IL), where he taught math. Evan received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Illinois (Champaign, IL). He went on to earn a Ph.D. in instructional technology from the University of Georgia (Athens, GA). Evan has published two books, Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking and Everyday Use of Mathematical Concepts: A Reference Guide.

Nancy Schulman is one of the country’s most prominent and highly regarded early childhood educators, leaders and authors. She was the director of the 92nd Street Y Nursery School from 1990 to 2011 and has been involved in independent schools in New York City for more than 30 years. Under Nancy’s leadership, the 92nd Street Y Nursery School was consistently regarded as one of New York City’s very finest nursery and pre-k programs, building a national and international reputation in the process. Before the 92nd Street Y, Nancy was the admissions director and a teacher at Horace Mann Lower School in New York from 1973 to 1990. Nancy received a B.S. in elementary education from Syracuse University and an M.A. in early childhood and elementary education from New York University. She is the co-author of Practical Wisdom for Parents: Demystifying the Preschool Years (Knopf, July 2007).

Wendy Chang has more than two decades of experience in the college admissions field within schools across the United States and Africa. She joined Avenues in 2018 from St. John’s School in Houston, Texas, where she served as the director of college counseling. Prior to St. John’s, Wendy was the inaugural director of U.S. college counseling for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, where she created and managed all the first U.S. college guidance program at a boarding school for South African girls. She also served for six years as the director of college guidance at the Collegiate School in Manhattan. Previously, she worked for six years as a senior admissions officer at the Harvard College admissions office. Wendy received her B.A. from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, with a concentration in biological sciences. She later went on to obtain an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Daniel Greenblatt joined Avenues in the fall of 2018 as the director of operations and administration at Avenues New York. Prior to joining Avenues, Daniel was the chief operating officer for iMentor, an organization that empowers first-generation college students from low-income communities to graduate high school and succeed in college and beyond. Daniel also has a decade of experience with the NYC Department of Education, having served in a variety of leadership roles. He began his career as a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching math at a Title 1 middle school in Brooklyn and later went on to work with the Superintendent of schools to support the academic achievement of 100,000 students across the borough. Daniel graduated from Connecticut College with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and obtained a Master of Science in education from Brooklyn College, where he was the vice president of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education.

Becca Howlett brings a lifelong commitment to education and more than a decade of talent experience to her role as the director of people and culture at Avenues New York. Becca started her career as a social studies teacher in New York City public schools. After six years of teaching, she joined Achievement First, a high-performing charter school network. During her 11-year tenure, she advanced from the organization’s first teacher recruiter to vice president of recruitment, while the organization expanded from five schools to 31 and from 50 to 1300 colleagues. Becca is also the founder of a non-profit organization, Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, aimed at building libraries for incarcerated youth. She earned a B.A. in history at the University of Connecticut and an M.S.Ed from Bank Street College.

With 15 years of experience in highly selective college admissions, Dave joined Avenues in summer of 2018. Most recently, Dave served as a director in the undergraduate admission office at Columbia University. In his 12 years at Columbia, Dave’s responsibilities ranged from directing recruitment for engineering to reinvigorating a joint program for students between Columbia and The Juilliard School. Notably, he was a seasoned chair of an admissions committee with final decision authority on tens of thousands of applications. Previously, Dave served as director of admissions at Bates College in Lewiston, ME, helping to bring in the most selective and diverse incoming class in Bates’ history (at that time). He started his admissions career at his alma mater, Fordham University in Bronx, NY. In addition to graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Fordham College, he also earned a Master of Arts in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

John Ciallelo is an internationally distinguished leader and educator with a career spanning more than 35 years in prestigious schools in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, including 25 years in São Paulo at Chapel School, one of the leading international schools in Brazil. After serving as division head in both the primary and secondary divisions of Chapel, he became head of school, spending 10 years in that role. During his tenure at Chapel, John led numerous curriculum revisions and professional development initiatives that increased student performance across all grade levels. Additionally, John successfully spearheaded efforts to better prepare secondary students for the highly selective international universities and the Brazilian Vestibular. John joined Avenues: The World School in 2013, and directed the academic development and design for Avenues São Paulo from the organization’s headquarters in New York. He is now head of Secondary Division of the São Paulo campus.

Anne Taffin d’Heursel Baldisseri is passionate about building community; motivating people; and sustaining a culture of quality where teachers and students are encouraged to learn alongside one another. Before becoming a teacher, Anne completed an M.S. and Ph.D. in zoology from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Anne is currently part of a research group at Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), where her aim is to complete a post-doctorate degree related to bilingualism, reading and motivation. Anne served as head of pre-preparatory at St. Paul’s School in São Paulo from 2007 to 2016. During her tenure, she instituted ideas from Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero. Under her leadership, a phonics program was introduced to provide children with the best strategies for reading and writing. In addition, Anne instituted changes to policies and programs that gave greater emphasis to students’ social-emotional development. Anne runs national and international workshops centered on differentiated instruction and formative assessment, as well as courses to help teachers and parents to build a sustainable culture of high performance.

Luciana D’Angelo brings 30 years of financial and administrative experience to Avenues São Paulo. In senior positions with Pearson and Rosetta Stone in Brazil, she built and managed multidisciplinary teams, oversaw strategy and directed sales with a focus on company results. As COO of Rosetta Stone, Luciana implemented business goals and strategies, participated in leadership discussions affecting all areas of the business and served as an expert on operational matters. Prior to Rosetta Stone, Luciana spent 13 years at Pearson Education do Brasil, serving most recently as CFO and interim CEO. At Avenues São Paulo, Luciana is responsible for campus operations, acting as a strategic advisor, functional expert and thought partner to the CFO and members of the school leadership team. She is passionate about education and delighted to be working in a school setting. A native Portuguese speaker, Luciana is also fluent in English and Spanish.

Juliana Salles joined Avenues São Paulo in 2017 as director of people and culture. She brings more than 15 years of experience in talent management and development gained at leading schools and multinational corporations. Juliana previously served for five years as human resources director at Colégio Santa Cruz. At Santa Cruz, she implemented end-to-end talent management plans that optimized school organization and strengthened campus culture. Prior to her time at Santa Cruz, Juliana worked in the energy sector. As human capital executive manager at EDP Energias do Brasil, she developed global human resources programs and oversaw leadership development and succession planning. Juliana earned her bachelor’s degree in business management at Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and her executive MBA at Fundação Dom Cabral. As director of people and culture for the São Paulo campus, Juliana is responsible for recruitment, onboarding, engagement, culture, performance management, compensation and benefits, non-financial rewards and recognition, human resource administration and leadership development.

An expert in language immersion with a passion for teaching, Angela joins the Avenues Shenzhen team after six years at the Avenues New York campus, where she was a founding faculty member. Most recently, she served as the coordinator of Avenues New York’s Chinese immersion program, with responsibility for curriculum, implementation and student assessment, as well as the professional development of 40 Chinese-speaking faculty members. Angela was born and raised in Xinjiang Province before she moved to the United States for higher education. She is married with two children, the youngest of which is a student in the Small World program. From fall 2019, Angela will serve as the head of Avenues Shenzhen Kindergarten.

Matt brings a wealth of education and administrative experience to Shenzhen, where he is responsible for the non-academic operation of the campus. Since 2017, Matt served in the same role at Avenues New York; prior to that, he worked as director of education design at Avenues’ headquarters. Before joining Avenues, Matt spent 10 years with Harlem Village Academies (HVA), helping to grow the organization from one to five schools. He began his career as a teacher with Teach for America in Chicago and holds a B.A. in religious studies from Indiana University. Matt is married and has two daughters aged 2 and 7. In his spare time, he enjoys running in Shenzhen Bay Park and exploring the regional cuisines of China.