Shelly Burgess Nicotra earned a dual B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. from Syracuse University. She taught Art History for several years at the Syracuse University in Florence, Italy program before embarking on a career in marketing and television production in New York City. She served as the Executive Producer of the Emmy-award winning Lidia’s […]
Tutoring & Instruction Team
Theresa White, MAT, C/OGA
Theresa White brings a rich blend of policy experience, classroom teaching, and specialized literacy instruction to her role at the Stern Center. She holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work from Providence College and a Master’s in Teaching from Brown University. Her career has been defined by a strong commitment to supporting children and families through […]
Sarah Grunwell, M.Ed, A/OGA
Sarah is currently in her 11th year in education and was previously a special educator. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal with a Masters in Special Education. She started her career teaching in and around Montreal where she grew up and where she worked as a special educator with students in pre-k through 8th grade. She […]
Kristen Bierer, MA
Kristen grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and has always enjoyed working with children. She is a licensed educator and recently moved to Vermont from New Mexico, where she taught in both public and private schools for 26 years. Kristen earned her BA in Elementary Education from University of North Carolina, Charlotte, MA in Special […]
Laurie Andrews, MSpEd, A/OGA
Laurie is an accomplished special educator and literacy specialist. She has a master’s degree in special education from St. Joseph’s College. She worked as a reading specialist in the Southwestern Vermont Supervisory Union for the past sixteen years. Laurie has training in Wilson Reading Systems and is in process to achieve her Certified level Orton-Gillingham […]
Emily Aswad, M.A.T., A/OGA
Emily graduated from Hobart and William Smith with a Master of Arts in Teaching in 2010. She started her career at a charter school in Massachusetts, where she worked as a special educator for students in grades 7 through 10 for five years. She then moved to Vermont in 2016, where she worked as a special […]
