Faculty & Staff

Co-Head of School, Math

Mark Norwood

Mark has been working in independent schools for more than 30 years, 15 of them at Crossroads. Mark lives in St. Louis City in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, now often called The Grove. Mark was a double major in philosophy and theology at Saint Louis University and went on to get a Masters in Education at Washington University. Mark is married to Beth Obertino, and their two children are Crossroads graduates. Hannah (class of 2009) is getting her PhD in social work at the University of Chicago and is interested in immigration, youth, and education. Josh (class of 2011) is a weekend woodworker and a weekday mechanical engineer starting at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. Mark loves tea and will happily make a cup for you if you stop by his room or the office.

Co-Head of School, English

Sarah Pierson Wolff

Sarah has been at Crossroads for almost 30 years, moving here from New York City where she also taught English in an independent school committed to academic excellence in a diverse and inclusive community. Sarah earned her BA in English and Education from Colgate University and her MA in English Education from New York University (valedictorian in 1990). She has taught many English courses, from 7th through 12th grade and served in a variety of administrative positions. Her first love is the classroom and anything to do with kids, books, writing, and ideas (though time spent on the coast of Maine is a close second). She chose to settle with her family in St. Louis right around the corner from Crossroads, making her commute a quick five-minute walk, and making this community more than just her workplace.

Math

Sarah Aljohani

Sarah A. comes to Crossroads with seven years of experience teaching university-level courses. She earned her PhD from Saint Louis University with a dissertation on Leavitt Path Algebra. She earned her Masters degree in Mathematics from University of Missouri-St. Louis and her Bachelor’s degree of Mathematics from King Saud University in Riyadh. Sarah loves hiking and bike riding.

Athletic Director

Bob Beatrice

Bob has been at Crossroads for more than 20 years and is the parent of three Crossroads alums. His teams have won five conference championships and have been the runner-up in a number of District Championship games. The teams that he puts on the court and field have a reputation for being aggressive and fast-paced, and play with a great deal of passion and energy. Bob played college baseball at The Catholic University of America. He served as the Assistant General Manager of the New York Yankees Class A affiliate in Virginia and coached college baseball at East Stroudsburg University. He spent nine years at the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC, where he served as a football, basketball, and baseball coach. He currently is the Commissioner of the South Central Athletic Association.

Registrar and Enrollment Specialist

Brooke Beatrice

A Crossroads alumna from the class of 2015, Brooke loves being in the Crossroads community and getting the chance to make an impact with students and in the education system in her role as registrar. Previously, she worked for Congressman Cleaver in Kansas City where she created a platform, Young Voices Vote, to help younger generations get involved in their communities and in local government. When she’s not working, Brooke loves spoiling her niece, learning new skills, and enjoying her 20s! She’s passionate about supporting local businesses and hopes to start her home design business in the near future.

Guidance Counselor

Celeste Chappuis

Celeste has been joyfully and gratefully working with students and their families for more than 25 years as a teacher, coach, and counselor. While attending a small liberal arts college in West Virginia called Davis & Elkins, it became clear that working with children and adolescents would be her life’s work. It was later at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work that she learned the skills to be helpful. Most recently, Celeste served as the counselor at Villa Duchense Oak Hill school – her alma mater. She is a cook, baker, and novice beekeeper; loves to play and watch all sports; and lives with her partner and two rescue golden retrievers.

Director of Business and Operations

Michelle Chlebowski

Michelle supports the Crossroads team as the Director of Business and Operations. Her career started in public accounting, but her passion was always to serve in a not-for-profit. She holds her CPA license, as well as a Masters in International Accounting from City University in London. Seeing the world and experiencing different cultures is a true passion, but St. Louis will always be home! Michelle lives just a few blocks from Crossroads with her husband, two children, and two dogs. Exploring the neighborhood, walking in Forest Park, and finding the best places to eat help keep the whole family busy!

Business Manager

Sara Chrisler

Sara has been at Crossroads for more than 34 years and has seen many transformations of the school, including working for every Head of School since the founder, Arthur H. Lieber. Sara received her BS in Business Administration from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She loves to spend her free time with her nieces and nephews (her “babies”), go to movies, and listen to books. Sara spends every summer vacation in Rhode Island, the most beautiful place on earth.

World Languages

Diana Corey

Diana has a passion for people, language, and music. She’s a former member of the KU Symphony Orchestra and chamber ensemble, has studied, worked, and traveled throughout China, and has taught full immersion Chinese at the Middlebury-Monterrey Language Academy summer program. Diana lives in North St. Louis with her husband, Michael, and three children. Diana gets excited about world travel, theme parties, hors d’oeuvres, karaoke, board games, and cello covers of popular music.

Fine Art

Christa Denney

Christa is a member of our Fine Arts Department with more than 25 years of experience as an art educator. Christa earned her BFA in photography and Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and her MFA in Photography and Ceramics at Rochester Institute of Technology. Christa has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and Maryville University. She has also taught at Craft Alliance and at COCA, working with a wide range of students from kindergarteners to adults. Christa has received a number of awards and grants for her artistic endeavors and her work has been included in various exhibitions regionally and nationally.

Math

Erin Duvall

Erin began teaching in 2007 and prior to joining Crossroads, she taught in Chicago, Kathmandu, Nepal, and Champaign, IL. Mistakes are her favorite part of the problem-solving process in math class; she encourages her students to appreciate the beauty and the struggle of learning something new. Erin is passionate about finding excuses for herself and her students to leave their comfort zones. Whether that is volunteering to share in class, camping in bear country, or navigating a crowded overnight bus in rural Asia. International travel, yoga, and spending time in the outdoors feed her soul. She lives with partner, Mimi, and a handful of semi-thriving houseplants.

College Counselor / English

Becky Ford Haffner

Becky is a dedicated reader, writer, and learner. A Missouri native, she went to college at Notre Dame, studying English and psychology. She returned to St. Louis for graduate school at Washington University, where she taught in the Writing 1 program and studied American Literature, focusing on literature for children. She began her career as a high school teacher in 2011, coming to Crossroads in 2013, and becoming College Counselor in 2019. When she isn’t reading, she might be writing, knitting, walking, camping, or spending time with family.

Science

Howard Granok

Howard has been teaching biology at Crossroads College Prep since the 2000-2001 school year. Before that, he taught at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri. Howard earned a BS in biology from Emory University in 1988, and a PhD in molecular genetics from Washington University in 1996. In addition to chairing the science department, Howard also coaches the state- and nationally-ranked chess team. Howard loves to share his passion for the sciences with his students, many of whom have gone on to careers in STEM fields (the greatest reward for a career science teacher). Howard also loves to fly fish, and ties his own flies. He is married to Jodi Granok, a professional organizer and Saint Louis native.

Innovation Strategist

Ken King

Ken comes to Crossroads after a long career in business, most recently as a principal at a large, national financial services organization. He has taught a variety of subjects at Crossroads, including Leadership, Personal Finance, and Sociology. He coaches Girls Varsity Tennis, Boys Varsity Baseball, and Boys Varsity and JV Basketball. Ken has recently taken on an expanded role in Middle School athletics, with an eye toward introducing new activities, and building for the future. The parent of three Crossroads alums, Ken has had a lifelong passion for and connection to education. He served as Executive-in-Residence at Eastern Illinois University, Adjunct Instructor at Maryville University, Advisory Board Member at Baylor University MBA Program, and frequent lecturer at Saint Louis University, WashU, and Mizzou. A Navy veteran, he lives with his wife and best friend Linda, and pups Beau and Juno.

Math

Ethan Lightfoot

Ethan teaches Math at Crossroads, but has previous experiences ranging from teaching in the public sector to writing standardized test items for high stakes tests. He holds a Masters degree in Mathematics from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale along with two Bachelors degrees from Southeast Missouri State University in Secondary Education and Applied Mathematics. Ethan is a hobbyist who spends his free time developing games, losing at chess, and tinkering with new dinner recipes. The majority of his time is spent with his beautiful newborn, Valerie, his wife, Mariah, and two dogs Ramsey and Teddy.

World Languages

Kristen McCullough

Kristen graduated from the University of Missouri – St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. She taught Spanish at Crossroads from 2008 to 2017 and then returned during the 2018-2019 school year. She enjoys traveling internationally. In addition to teaching, she also serves as a volunteer minister as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

World Languages

Jad McDaniel

Jad followed in his wonderful mother’s footsteps of becoming a teacher and has more than 21 years of experience teaching Spanish. He has a passion for traveling the world, learning about different cultures, and speaking Spanish and French. Jad majored in Spanish at Washington University in St. Louis, studied for a year at the University of Salamanca in Spain, and later took Masters courses in Madrid. He enjoys volunteering and visiting family and friends in other countries. Jad is very interested in learning traditional dishes from around the world to cook with his students and for friends. He often teaches a life skills class to assist high school students learn the art of independent living by infusing together real-life activities, such as cooking, organic gardening, budgeting, and meditation. He enjoys supporting the city of St. Louis, helping to organize fun events at our school, eating at new restaurants, listening to music, walking, film, art, animals, collecting unusual objects, campfires, and admiring Stephen Colbert.

Music

Justin Nelson

Justin Nelson is a pianist, educator, and multi-instrumentalist born in Gainesville, Florida. He began studying the saxophone at age 12 and ever since has had an intense passion for music. He received his AA degree from Florida State University, with an emphasis in jazz saxophone performance and philosophy. Upon deciding to switch instruments to the piano, he then transferred to the University of Florida to finish his degree. He is a certified teacher of the Lister-Sink Method – an injury-preventive keyboard technique created by Barbara Lister-Sink and made famous by her DVD, Freeing the Caged Bird – and a fervent proponent of its principles. He works as a performing jazz pianist, teacher, and arranger in Saint Louis and enjoys playing drums and guitar in addition to piano and saxophone.

Director of Enrollment

Shernina Nichols

Shernina oversees all aspects of admission and recruitment at Crossroads. Before returning to Crossroads in 2021 (she taught Spanish and was Director of Admission earlier in her career), Shernina taught Spanish at The New City School for 16 years. She is also a National Geographic Certified Educator. Shernina brings a multicultural perspective to Crossroads. She grew up in Malaysia, attended high school in Santiago, Chile, and was drawn to St. Louis to attend Washington University. Shernina enjoys fitness, the outdoors, and creative arts.

English

Brian Parsons

Brian came to Crossroads in 2018 after bouncing around the Midwest. After spending a year in the public affairs department at Monsanto, his family relocated to Cincinnati where he earned his Master’s degree in Secondary Education. He taught high school English and coached golf and tennis for almost six years. Following another move to Grand Rapids, MI, he spent the next seven years working as an advisor for the TRiO program and teaching first-year writing seminars at Aquinas College. Now back in St. Louis, Brian and his family have settled in Webster Groves. He is married to his college sweetheart, Jillian, and they have two wonderful kids, Megan and Colin. When not teaching, he is an avid reader of non-fiction and tries to play as much golf and tennis as his family’s schedule allows. He dreams of one day playing in Scotland and Ireland.

Director of Curriculum, Social Studies

Shadi Peterman

Shadi began teaching social studies at Crossroads in 2010 and has served as the department’s chair since 2013. Shadi has always lived in St. Louis, including during her time attending Washington University for undergraduate and graduate school, but she has family across the country and globe and enjoys travelling to visit them and to explore other cultures. Her other hobbies include calligraphy, cooking, and trivia, and she was a two-time Jeopardy! champion in 2017.

Social Studies

Mike Pomatto

Mike is in his ninth year at Crossroads and his 30th year as an educator. He has taught many subjects in his time in the classroom, primarily World History, Economics, and subjects related to political and economic ideas and philosophy. He also teaches two courses in the Makerspace at Crossroads. He earned a BA in History and Economics from Knox College where he also lettered in football and baseball. He earned an MA from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in History. Part of his graduate work was done at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where he studied the Polish language and history. He is currently a PhD student in Historical Studies researching Race, Ethnicity, and Ideology at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His wife DeAnn is also an educator and, with her, he has two children, Nicole and Ella (class of 2018). When not at school, Mike is reading, in his home shop building something, or enjoying a middle-aged hipster life in the Cherokee neighborhood of the city.

Theater

Debra Mein

Debra brings more than 20 years of professional and educational theater experience to Crossroads. Passionate about quality theater programming for students of all ages, she has worked as an actor, director, and teaching artist throughout the country with Literally Alive NYC, Missoula Children’s Theatre, Historical Perspectives for Children, and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte as highlights. After moving to St. Louis, Debra created multi-disciplined theater, music, and movement classes designed for infant to middle-school students. Debra lives in the Southampton neighborhood with her spouse, two children, and two hairless cats.

Middle School, Humanities

Gretchen Roberts

Gretchen rejoined Crossroads after a year away in Colorado. This year is her 25th year working with middle school students. As the Middle School Coordinator, she feels grateful and proud to be a part of educating our youngest students. Gretchen holds a Masters degree in Instructional Strategies, as well as an administrative certificate. Her undergraduate work includes a Bachelors degree in Political Science and another in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Middle School. Outside of school, Gretchen loves to cook, read, and be in close proximity to water.

Learning Specialist

Mimi Ruthaivilavan

Mimi began her teaching career in 2003 in Chicago and has enjoyed wearing many hats throughout her educational journey. As an endorsed Learning Behavior Specialist, she enjoys working with students to develop new ways to think outside the box. Mimi grew up overseas and enjoys international travel, engaging conversation, and a good sense of humor.

Science

Cliff Sodergren

Cliff first discovered a love for physics as a high school student at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. He enjoys hands-on activities, whether assisting others with car maintenance or attempting repairs on their well-aged house in south St. Louis, where he lives with his beautiful wife, Jen, his adorable daughter, Lizie, and their two dogs. He also enjoys working with teenagers and has spent most of his career working with students in various capacities, including at Crossroads since 2009. When he has spare time, he enjoys exploring the outdoors, watching good movies, and helping with his church’s youth group. He attributes growing up as a Cubs fan for giving him the ability to hope against all odds, and he says he is still in blissful shock that the Cubs actually won the 2016 World Series.

Science

Sarah Tolch

Sarah began teaching while in graduate school. She quickly realized that she loved sharing science with her students and decided to go into the classroom rather than the research lab. Sarah moved to St Louis in 2002 to teach 7th-12th grade at Thomas Jefferson School. After six years at Thomas Jefferson, she moved to MICDS. While at MICDS, Sarah taught Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in the Upper School and was the Director of the Summer Academy. She realized that she missed the energy of a middle school classroom, so she was excited when the position opened at Crossroads and she could join such an active and energetic community. Sarah is married and has a daughter and three dogs. As a St. Louis transplant, Sarah loves the zoo and the many restaurants the region has to offer. Cooking is one of Sarah’s favorite hobbies. In fact, her macaroni and cheese has won awards at competitions!

Technology Coordinator, Computer Science

Tom Walsh

Tom has more than 30 years of teaching experience, much of it at Crossroads College Prep. He currently serves as Technology Coordinator and Network Administrator for the school as well as teaching AP Computer Science Principles and Computer Programming. He began his career at Crossroads teaching in the History Department, and taught many courses including AP US History, Modern World History, United States History, and US Government and Politics. Tom and his wife Tammy have three grown children – an intensive-care nurse, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, and a college student, and two grandchildren.

Director of Advancement

Angie Winschel

Angie leads the Advancement team, which works to move the school forward by building relationships with current and prospective families, alumni, corporations, foundations, and the St. Louis community. The Advancement team is responsible for the marketing, fundraising, and community engagement functions at Crossroads. Over the years, Angie has led branding, digital fundraising, and marketing efforts at educational institutions ranging from early childhood to higher education, and at hospitals, foundations, and large social-service organizations.

Facilities Manager

Greg Noble

College Counselor

Barbara Sams

Barbara Sams is the college consultant. As a partner at McNeal Sams College Consulting, Barbara provides college counseling to Crossroads College Prep juniors and seniors and their families. Barbara had an extensive career in university admission and high school college counseling prior to partnering with Cornelia McNeal to form McNeal Sams College Consulting. She has expertise in advising on admission to universities worldwide, advising future college athletes, advising international students seeking a US education, the US military academy process, and advising students with learning differences. Throughout her career, Barbara has earned local, regional, and national praise for her professionalism and commitment, and in 2019 the Princeton Review recognized her as one of the “20 School Counselors Who Make a Difference”.

Music and Cheer Coach

April Lowe Whitehead

April is a teaching-artist, and has been teaching and performing since 2013. Her professional career began shortly after graduating from the University of Missouri- St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in both Music and Theatre/Dance. Her performance experience ranges from Opera theater to Jazz Ensemble, Praise and Worship Services, to performing with the St Louis Symphony Chorus. We are excited to have her share her knowledge & passion for the performing arts.

English

Bryan Pannill

Bryan joins Crossroads after teaching at a new charter school in Dutchtown called Kairos Academies. Before that, he taught English at Salisbury School in Connecticut and at Sherborne School in the UK. He’s passionate about the transformative power of reading and writing, social-emotional learning, and design thinking. He’s an active writer and artist, and he also spends his free time playing board games, meditating, and doing anything outside, especially camping, biking, and canoeing.