Kindergarten & Beyond

Todd Shy joined Avenues in 2012, the school’s first year of operation, as a humanities instructor for the middle grades. He went on to become the director of the Mastery Program and the program director of High Intensity Practice in writing. During the 2017–18 school year, Todd served as an upper school head at Town School for Boys in San Francisco, California. Avenues had the pleasure of welcoming Todd back in Fall 2018 to assume the role of head of Upper Division.

Prior to Avenues, Todd taught social studies at Cary Academy in Cary, North Carolina; philosophy at North Carolina Governor’s School in Raleigh; and history at Rocky Mount Academy in Rocky Mount, NC.

Todd received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, completed graduate coursework at King’s College London and obtained a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Melody Meade is head of the Early Learning Center.

Melody is a highly experienced and innovative school leader whose rich career has included a mix of leadership roles overseas and in the United States. She has focused on successfully implementing dual language and immersion programs, in the US, Brazil, France and Belgium, in nursery through grade 12 independent schools. Before joining Avenues, she served as principal of the Early Childhood division at Cayman International School in the Cayman Islands. Prior to this, Melody spent 17 years at Washington International School, including over 10 years as the primary school principal, covering early childhood through grade 5, in a trilingual environment.

Melody earned her B.A. from the University of Rhode Island and her M.A. from the Klingenstein Center for Independent School Leadership at Columbia University Teachers College.

An experienced educator and school leader with a career spanning three decades, Kim Lewis joined Avenues as the head of Lower Division (grades 1–5). Kim brings more than ten years of experience as a lower division head—the past seven at Dwight-Englewood (NJ) and prior to that eight at Germantown Friends School (PA), where she also served as the lower division dean of faculty before being promoted to division head. Kim's experience also includes 16 years in the classroom as a 5th and 6th-grade math teacher, curriculum specialist and instructional lead. As a leader, Kim focuses on building and maintaining a nurturing community among students, faculty, parents and colleagues; while also striving to strengthen professional learning and create an atmosphere conducive to excellent educational outcomes.

Matt returns to Avenues New York after serving as the founding head of the Secondary Division at Avenues Shenzhen. Prior to that, in 2017, he held the same position at Avenues New York and previously worked as the director of education design at Avenues' headquarters. Before joining Avenues, Matt spent a decade at Harlem Village Academies (HVA), where he played a key role in expanding 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. Outside of work, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and two young daughters.

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.

Allison (Ali) Snell first joined Avenues in 2017 as a learning specialist and later as an associate division head for the Upper Division at the New York campus. From 2020, she served as an assistant principal at Edwin Markham Intermediate School in Staten Island, before returning to Avenues New York in 2022 as director of student wellbeing. To this role, she brings a deep understanding of how to promote the wellbeing of young people and a passionate commitment to helping students find their purpose in the world.

Ali has an extensive background in education, including as a founding assistant principal at PS/MS 8 in Brooklyn and as a literacy coach for the NYC Department of Education. She has 12 years of experience as a middle school teacher and also served as an adjunct instructor at Bank Street College of Education. Ali holds a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College, a master’s degree in learning dis/abilities from Teachers College at Columbia University, and a master of education in leadership for educational change from Bank Street College of 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.

Dave first joined Avenues in 2018 as director of admissions and enrollment management for Avenues New York.

Over the course of a nearly 25-year career in admissions, Dave has served as a director of admissions or chief enrollment officer at a range of respected post-secondary institutions, including Columbia University, Bates College, and Bennington College. He brings deep expertise and experience in building strong enrollment pipelines and helping schools achieve their ambitious growth and enrollment goals.

Dave’s career highlights include: recruiting in more than 40 states and three dozen countries during a 12-year tenure at Columbia; enrolling the most diverse class in Bates’ history (at the time) and the most academically accomplished class in Bennington’s history; and serving on the leadership team that helped Avenues New York become one of the largest and most distinctive private schools in the United States.

Dave began his admissions career at his alma mater, Fordham University. He also has a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Ted Ogden joined Avenues as an associate division head in the Upper Division for seven years before stepping into his current role as Director of Teaching and Learning in 2024.

Prior to Avenues, Ted spent fifteen years working at the middle and high school levels, first at Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, and later at Landon School in Bethesda, MD. During these years he designed courses ranging from middle school English and non-Western history to advanced electives in American Studies and Creative Nonfiction; coached five sports; and served as an advisor and 6th-grade dean.

Ted earned a B.A. in English Literature from Middlebury College; M.A. degrees in the humanities from The University of Chicago and educational leadership from Teachers College at Columbia University; and an M.B.A from Columbia Business School. He has also completed graduate work in film, storytelling, and theater through Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.