Jenna Gabriel: Jenna joins the Lower School faculty as a Kindergarten teacher. Jenna’s teaching experience includes posts at Adam J. Lewis Academy in Bridgeport and Fairfield Country Day School in Fairfield. Jenna earned a B.A. from Stonehill College and an M.A. from Sacred Heart University. 

Kristopher Henaire: Kris joins our College Counseling Team after serving as Director of College Counseling at Chase Collegiate School for several years. Kris earned a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut. 

Steve Listro, Ph.D.: Steve will teach math in the Middle and Upper Schools and serve as our Standardized Testing Coordinator. Steve comes to us after many years teaching at Quinnipiac University. Steve has extensive experience helping high school students improve their standardized test-taking skills. Many current and former Hamden Hall students have previously worked with Steve. Steve’s academic credentials include a B.S. and M.S. from Southern Connecticut State University, an M.F.A. from University of Miami, and a Ph.D. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Jill McLeavy: Jill will teach Spanish and English in the Middle and Upper Schools. Jill’s teaching experience includes The Williams School in New London and Windham High School in Willimantic. She also spent two years as a corps member for Teach for America. Jill earned a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and has also completed graduate work at Johns Hopkins University. 

Shannon McMahon: Shannon joins us as a Communications Associate in our Advancement, Communications, and Alumni Relations Department. Shannon previously worked as a public relations practitioner at Subway World Headquarters. She is a graduate of Iona College and Sacred Heart Academy.    
  

Molly Meka: Molly will teach PreSchool and PreKindergarten. Molly has taught at both the Early Childhood and elementary school levels in New York in the Grand Island community. She earned her B.A. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and an M.A. from State University of New York College at Buffalo.

Beth Messina: Beth will teach first grade. Beth’s most recent teaching assignment was at Ezra Academy in Woodbridge where she taught Kindergarten and first grade for the past decade. She earned a B.S. from Mount Ida College and an M.A. from Lesley University. Beth is also a 1996 Hamden Hall alumna!

Brendan Moran: Brendan joined our community last year in a part-time capacity after having worked in our Summer Camp program. This year, he joins our Lower School physical education faculty and will coach. Brendan earned his B.S. in sport and leisure management from Eastern Connecticut State University.

Dean Murphy: Dean will teach math in the Middle and Upper Schools. Dean’s most recent teaching post was at Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury, where he spent 15 years teaching math and serving as department chair. Dean earned his B.A. from Williams College and an M.A. from George Washington University. 

Claudia Murtagh, RN: Claudia joins our Nursing staff this year after spending many years as a nurse health consultant for DDN Consulting Services. Prior to that, she worked for the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven. 

John Scaife: John will teach math in the Middle and Upper Schools. John’s experience includes teaching math and science at Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk as well as working in the data science/analytics field for many years. John earned a B.S. in mathematics from Fairfield University.