At the opening of school, the Blair community welcomed several new faculty and staff members, whom we are pleased to introduce to the Blair community.

Scott Kushner, Advancement Office

Scott Kushner started in May as Blair’s Director of Annual Giving. As associate director of leadership and annual giving at Lafayette College previously, he oversaw giving societies and executed major fundraising campaigns. Before that, as assistant director of athletics at Centenary University, Scott played a key role in strategic planning, budgeting and securing over $1.4 million for the school’s baseball complex. His expertise includes grant writing, donor stewardship, event coordination and developing revenue-generating initiatives. He earned an MS in sport management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004 and a BA in sociology and anthropology from Swarthmore College in 2002. He lives in Hackettstown with his wife, Tiffany, and their children, Collin, 13, and Nyla, 10.

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Madeline (Kling) Thees ’13, Advancement Office

Madeline (Kling) Thees ’13 returns to Blair as Associate Director of Annual Giving. Previously, Madeline has served as an educational consultant for Marymount Manhattan College, as well as Marymount’s associate director for leadership and involvement. Her experience also includes designing leadership workshops at Boston College, guiding students through the ESCAPE program at Georgetown University, organizing logistics for summer conferences for the University of Chicago, and roles in fundraising, residential life, and orientation at Bucknell, Columbia and Suffolk universities. She earned her BA in psychology and education from Bucknell in 2017 and an MA in higher education administration from Boston College in 2019. Madeline and her husband, Matt ’11, live in Budd Lake.

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Linda Crump, Business Office

Linda Crump, our Director of Finance, began her tenure last fall on a temporary basis and joined Blair permanently in February. With more than two decades of experience in public and private accounting as a licensed CPA, Linda is a 2000 summa cum laude graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, where she earned a BS in accounting. Since starting her career as an auditor with Baker, Newman & Noyes, LLC, in Manchester, she has held senior finance positions in education, healthcare, energy and the consumer goods sectors, most recently serving as the chief financial officer for Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua, New Hampshire. In her role at Blair, Linda provides strategic direction, manages day-to-day operations and oversees the implementation of all financial matters. Linda and her husband, Tim, have three children and five grandchildren and live locally in Blairstown.

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Jonathan Seamans, Business Office

Jonathan Seamans brings nearly 30 years of experience in the fields of higher education, healthcare and state government and comes to Blair from Princeton University, where he served as associate dean of finance and technology at the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), working closely with the dean and vice dean in the development and management of a $130-million annual budget. In addition to leading the financial management office there, Jonathan oversaw SPIA’s Office of Information Technology. His previous experience includes leading the business office operations as Princeton’s associate director of athletics, finance and administration, and as the University of Hartford’s associate athletics director for business. His career in higher education began at Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, overseeing finance, human resources, information technology and facilities management. Earlier roles included working at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, the Rhode Island Department of Health and State of Rhode Island Budget Office. After completing his undergraduate work at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, where he earned a BS in economics in 1991, Jonathan went on to complete his graduate work at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, from which he received an MPA in public management in 1996. He is joined by his wife, Susan, and their children, Grace and Tucker ’28.

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Jodi Van Valkenburg

Jodi Van Valkenburg joined our business office in March as accounts payable and purchasing coordinator. Since 2004, she has served as a business manager at the Center for Technical Communication, where she managed bookkeeping, client care, email and internet marketing, and social media. With more than 20 years of experience in business management, marketing and customer service, Jodi holds a BA in communication and Spanish from Rutgers University and began her career with a hands-on experience as a production assistant at NBC Sports during the 1992 Summer Olympics. Jodi and her husband, Joe, live in Blairstown with their children, Jared, Jess ’19 and Jenna ’21.

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L’Oreal Carter, English & Theatre

Actor, director, vocalist and acting coach L’Oreal Carter joins our performing arts and English departments. L’Oreal earned her MFA in theatrical studies from Brown University/Trinity Repertory Consortium in 2019 and her BA in English from Franklin & Marshall College in 2015. She has served as a teaching artist at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and as a visiting adjunct professor of acting at Franklin & Marshall College and Florida State University. In addition to her work as a private acting coach, she has been a teaching assistant at Brown University and a workshop leader at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. A native of Newark, New Jersey, L’Oreal will live on campus with her husband, DeVaunt.

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Vicki Patterson, English

Vicki Patterson joins our English department, bringing to Blair 32 years of experience in the Allamuchy Township School District and extensive experience working with Blair students as a writing and reading tutor. Vicki holds a BA in English from Rutgers University and an MEd in special education from Penn State. She founded Allamuchy’s preschool disabilities program in 1993 and has taught a wide range of subjects across multiple grade levels. Her love for teaching also extends to higher education, where she served as an adjunct professor at William Paterson University from 2002 to 2006, mentoring future educators in instructional methods for math, English and science. Vicki lives off campus with her husband, Tom, in Allamuchy, and they are proud parents of Owen ’17, Gareth ’18 and Jack.

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Kendall Rice, English

Kendall Rice graduated from Williams College in 2025 with a BA in English and chemistry and starts her teaching career at Blair in our English department. She brings to Blair experience tutoring at the Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she designed and taught chemistry lessons to high school students, and at Williamstown Elementary School, where she taught reading analysis and writing skills to fifth and sixth graders. For the past three years, Kendall has served the community of Williamstown as a volunteer firefighter.

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Matt Smith, English

Matt Smith joins Blair’s English faculty. A 2007 graduate of Union College and passionate baseball coach, Matt began his career as a journalist at ESPN, where he created content for SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight, among other programs. Since transitioning from television to education, Matt has spent over 15 years teaching high school history—including AP World History, AP U.S. History and government—at boarding, charter, inner-city and parochial schools, most recently at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix. Matt will live on campus with his fiancée, Theresa, and their Boston terrier, Kona.

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Peter Cholnoky, History

With experience guiding students with diverse learning needs, history teacher Peter Cholnoky comes to Blair from the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut, where he also served as a dorm parent, coach and advisor. Prior to that, Peter taught world history at Milton Area High School in Pennsylvania, and conducted in-depth research on U.S. covert operations in Latin America through the Emerging Scholars Program at Bucknell University. He earned his BA in history with a minor in education from Bucknell in 2022, graduating cum laude.

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Kailey Smith, History

Kailey Smith, a 2023 graduate of Carleton College, will teach history at Blair. She majored in psychology, cofounded the Black Student Athletes of Carleton and played NCAA Division III volleyball. For the past two years, she served as a teaching fellow at the Harvey School in Katonah, New York, where she co-taught Modern European History and psychology electives and proudly led the school’s varsity girls’ volleyball team to the best finish in school history. She has completed a variety of intern- and externships at boarding schools across the Northeast, gaining experience as a teacher, dorm parent and advisor.

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Emily Lunger ’17, Language

Emily Lunger ’17 joins our language department as a French teacher. The daughter of Eric Lunger and Penn Graves Lunger, former chair of the classics department and English teacher, respectively, Emily grew up on campus and returns to Blair from Senegal, where she conducted research on sociopolitical issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that, she spent time in Paris as a teaching assistant and at The Pennington School as a teaching fellow, where she crafted a holistic French curriculum and played an active role in residential life. Emily earned her BA in French and anthropology in 2017 from Pomona College and an MA in French from Middlebury College in 2024.

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Keith Ridgeway, Language

Keith Ridgeway brings to Blair two decades of experience teaching French. Since 2018, he has taught the subject at McDonogh School in Maryland, following a previous role in Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia. Earlier in his career, he served in student affairs at Appalachian State University (ASU) and Lenoir-Rhyne College. He earned his BA in French, graduating summa cum laude from High Point University in 1998, and holds a certificate from the Université de Paris–La Sorbonne. In 2003, he earned his MA in college student development from ASU, where he graduated magna cum laude. Keith will live on campus with his partner, Blair math teacher George Watson.

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William Dollhopf, Mathematics

William Dollhopf, a 2025 graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, joins our mathematics faculty. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics and served as a university course assistant in both departments. In summer 2024, William completed a teaching fellowship with Generation Teach in Boston, where he taught two sections of engineering and led sports programming for middle school students. He also served as captain of Wesleyan’s varsity track-and-field team. William is no stranger to the boarding school world, having graduated from The Hill School in 2021. William is Blair’s 2025 Hardwick Teaching fellow.

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Timothy Patzelt, Mathematics

Math teacher Timothy Patzelt comes to Blair from Kimball Union Academy, where he taught Algebra 2 and precalculus, as well as led STEM initiatives and advised capstone projects focused on AI. Tim has coached water polo at Tufts and Northeastern University and has professional experience as an AI prompt and software engineer, specializing in machine learning, predictive analytics and software development. A 2018 graduate of the University of Connecticut, he earned a BS in mathematics.

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George Watson, Mathematics

George Watson, who joins Blair’s math department, began his teaching career at Mount St. Joseph’s High School in Baltimore, Maryland, after earning his bachelor’s in mathematics from Manhattan College, graduating summa cum laude in 1990, and completing his master’s in mathematics at Purdue University in 1992. Over 33 years, he has taught at a variety of secondary schools, as well as at the college level at New York University, Manhattan College, American University and Drexel University, covering subjects from algebra and calculus to statistics and computer literacy. George comes to Blair with his partner, Keith.

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Anna Glosenger, Science

Our science department welcomes Anna Glosenger from Rutgers University, where she completed her BA in physics with a concentration in natural sciences. Beyond her undergraduate work, Anna gained hands-on experience as a data analytics intern at The Bridge in West Caldwell, where she improved clinician productivity, reduced data errors and developed financial plans. She has also served as an IT technician with digital classroom services, testing and ensuring the functionality of classroom technology to support effective learning. At Blair, she will teach physics and environmental science.

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David Uhlig, Science

David Uhlig, a 2024 graduate of Temple University, joins Blair’s science department as a biology teacher and rowing coach. At Temple, David majored in psychology and minored in cognitive neuroscience, and he recently completed a teaching fellowship at the Hun School of Princeton, where he taught psychology and leadership seminars in addition to serving as an assistant strength and rowing coach. A four-year varsity rower at Temple, David also worked as a program leader for the Penn AC Rowing Association.

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Zafi Levy, Squash

Zafi Levy joins Blair as squash-professional-in-residence, offering individual lessons and serving as the varsity boys’ coach while Doug Compton is on sabbatical for graduate school. A top Israeli junior player who served as national junior coach, Zafi earned All-American honors at Williams and coached the men’s and women’s programs there for 21 years. In addition to coaching, Zafi has hosted camps for junior players at Williams and Blair. He earned his BA in economics and political science from Williams College in 2001 and his MS in sport science from Springfield College in 2007. Zafi and his wife, Dalit, have two children, Eli and Noah.

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Jewelya Bussi, Student Life Office

In late April, Blair welcomed Jewelya Bussi as executive assistant to the Associate Head of School. Jewelya brings to the student life office a background in administrative support and social media marketing. Previously, she worked at Defying Gravitea, Architekt Music Academy, Dave Heiner Associates and TrapZap. Jewelya earned an associate degree in business administration and marketing from Berkeley College in 2019. She lives off campus in Butler, New Jersey, with her dog, Cannoli.