Our Faculty

Kelly brings a decade of teaching and administrative experience to Hawthorn. Most recently she taught history and theology for four years at Cardinal Kung Academy, a classical Catholic high school in Stamford, CT. She enjoys bringing primary texts to life in her classroom and exposing students to the rich culture, arts, and wisdom of the past. Kelly previously taught international students at the Yale Young Global Scholars program, undergraduates at The University of Chicago, juvenile felons at the Manson Youth Correctional Institute in Cheshire, CT, and young women facing poverty and instability at the Akilah Institute in Kigali, Rwanda. Kelly’s work in the nonprofit sector has focused on start-up organizations in education, mentorship, and public discourse. Kelly holds a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University and an M.A. from The University of Chicago. She lives in Stamford with her husband and children.

Dr. Eric Liverance is a mathematician and teacher whose lifelong love of numbers led him to a highly successful career as a quantitative analyst. Eric has also served as a scoutmaster for his son’s scout troop in Westchester County and led numerous hiking, canoeing, and wilderness trips in some of our country’s most beautiful national parks. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in mathematics from Reed College and earned master’s degrees in computational finance from Carnegie Mellon and mathematics from Yale University, and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Maryland.

Gabrielle comes to Hawthorn after over a decade spent teaching students from kindergarten through eighth grade in the Bronx, Queens, and Westchester County. She holds NYS teacher certification in Childhood Education (1-6), Students With Disabilities (1-6), and Dance (PreK-12). She has taught elementary school grades K through 3rd, 6th grade special education and middle school as a dance educator. She has extensive experience choreographing school theatricals and concerts, and has a professional performance background in modern dance, having danced across the US and abroad. She holds a B.A.in Arts and Education from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an M.A.in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt. Gabrielle, her husband, and three young children live in White Plains, NY. Their son, Jacob, is a current Hawthorn first grader.

Pauline most recently taught middle school classes in literature, math, science, drama, language arts, and religion at Regina Pacis Academy in Norwalk, CT. Her additional teaching experience includes several years as a high school theology teacher at Maria Regina High School in Hartsdale, NY. When not in the classroom, Pauline has directed summer camps, performed as a soprano soloist in a variety of venues, and served as the director of a high school girls’ choir. Drama and music are major areas of interest for her, and she looks forward to helping with Hawthorn’s performing arts programs. Pauline is an honors graduate of Ave Maria University, where she earned a B.A. in Theology with a concentration in Vocal Music. She and her husband, Kyle, currently reside in Danbury, CT.

Danielle comes to Hawthorn after teaching fifth grade at St. Aloysius Catholic School in New Canaan, Ct. While at St. Aloysius, she taught a variety of subjects, including language arts, math, science, literature, and history. Previously she taught middle school English and language arts at Our Lady of Fatima School and third and fourth grades at Cider Mill School in Wilton, CT. She also taught fourth grade in the Darien public schools. Danielle holds a B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University and an M.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Bridgeport. She also pursued legal studies at Penn State-Dickinson School of Law. She has three adult sons attending college, and lives in Wilton, CT.

Tim has taught English, Latin, and math for over four years at Brilla College Prep and Classical Charter Schools in the South Bronx. He was promoted to instructional coach in 2021, managing the school's character education program. A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Middlebury College with a double major in Classics and Literary Studies, Tim was named winner of the Middlebury Kellogg Prize for Latin Translation in 2018. He was also a varsity athlete, running track and cross country at college. Tim holds a B.A. from Middlebury, an M.A. from the Relay Graduate School of Education, and is pursuing an M.A in Character Education from the University of Birmingham in England. He and his wife Lena have two children Marie-Elise and Joseph.

Louise comes to Hawthorn with experience at several non-profit environmental organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, The Westchester Land Trust, and most recently Teatown in Ossining, NY where she taught natural science to preschool and kindergarten children. She has a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Louise was also a varsity athlete at Cornell, competing on the women’s gymnastics team. She and her husband live in Cortlandt Manor, NY and have five children. The two youngest attend the Hawthorn School.

Peter has taught third and fourth grade math, history, language arts, science, religion and Latin in both Westchester and Fairfield county. He has also coached soccer, tennis, and basketball and staffed several summer camps. He earned a B.A.in History with a minor in medieval and Renaissance studies from Marist College and is currently completing an M.A. in education from Franciscan University of Steubenville. When not in the classroom, Peter enjoys playing basketball and ice hockey, studying history or theology , and spending time with his family. Mr. Simonetti lives in Stamford with his wife and ten month-old daughter.

Maryel comes to Hawthorn from an extensive career teaching Latin to a range of students in the New York metropolitan area. Previous assignments include teaching classics at the Hackley School, The Masters School, New Canaan Country School, and the Marymount School of New York. Mrs. Schneider earned a B.A. cum laude in Latin and Greek from Tufts University and is active in the American Classical League. When not teaching, she pursues her interests in gardening and architecture. She has two grown children and lives with her husband in Bedford, NY

Matthew Hickman is a native of England and a graduate of Cambridge University, where he studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity Hall College. After spending many years on Wall Street as an Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager, Mr. Hickman recently began a second career teaching languages to high school students. An enthusiastic supporter of Hawthorn's mission, Matthew will serve as our Director of Admissions, helping to introduce families to the school. He will also teach language and literature. Matthew and his wife Andrea have 5 children and live in Stamford, CT.