Meet Blair’s Dorm Heads
The residential experience at Blair is an integral part of each student’s life. Whether a boarding or day student, on-campus spaces become your home away from home. For the faculty that lead our dorms and oversee our day students, cultivating homes where students feel included, respected and valued is the top priority.
Working with prefects, dorm and day student heads help develop habits of responsibility in our students as they learn to be considerate of others and to care for personal and shared spaces. Through residential activities, both planned and spontaneous, students cultivate meaningful relationships with their classmates and faculty alike. On any given afternoon or evening, you will find faculty and students having meaningful conversations in the common rooms, enjoying snacks both inside and outside the dorm, celebrating birthdays and engaging in everything from Ping-Pong battles and raucous dance parties to debates about the meaning of life.
Annie Hall | Anna Raley
I love the energy and enthusiasm of the junior and senior girls who are beginning to think about the high school to college transition. Their excitement for this pivotal point in life makes Annie a place where everyone is making the most of their Blair career while also priming themselves for life after Blair. Their ability to live in the moment, while also reflecting and looking forward, is so awesome!"
History teacher Anna Raley holds a bachelor's degree from Huntingdon College and a master of arts degree in liberal studies with a concentration in cultural studies from Dartmouth College. A former resident of Insley Hall, Ms. Raley is now head of Annie Hall, a dormitory for 42 junior and senior girls. She also coaches the girls' volleyball and basketball teams and resides in Annie with her wife, Ashlyn, a Blair college counselor.
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Flight Deck | Nadia Abascal
On the Flight Deck, we like to say that we’re getting our boys ‘ready for takeoff.’ With our absolutely top-notch dorm staff and cream-of-the-crop prefects, Flight Deck makes a home out of a hallway and family out of a group of boys from all over the world. It really is an honor being a part of that transformation.”
Dr. Abascal joined Blair’s science faculty as a chemistry teacher in 2018. A crossfit enthusiast, she coaches softball at Blair. This is Dr. Abascal’s fourth year living in a Blair dormitory and her first as dorm head of Flight Deck, where 18 first-year boys reside.
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Freeman Hall | Joe Wagner
What I enjoy most about residential life is being able to connect with students about aspects of their lives and their identity that might not be fully explored in the classroom. In particular, I love hearing kids’ perspective on movies and music that have been influential to them.”
Mr. Wagner has been a member of Blair’s science faculty for ten years. He teaches honors and advanced courses in biology and coaches varsity baseball, in addition to serving as dorm head of Freeman Hall, where 33 junior boys reside, for seven years.
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Hoffman House | Caitlin Dunne
Hoffman House is an all-gender dorm on campus, designed for students who want to live in a space that isn't defined by the gender binary. As a small dorm that students opt to live in, Hoffman House is a place where residents get incredibly close. After study hall, you can find all 11 residents baking cookies in our shared kitchen, singing Taylor Swift in the hallways or playing Mario Kart in our cozy common room! I love the community that this dorm has—it really feels like we are one big family sharing a home together!"
Caitlin Dunne joined Blair’s English department with a decade of experience from Robert College in Istanbul, where she served as high school prep English coordinator and deputy head of social entrepreneurship. She holds a BA from Manhattan College and a master’s in English education from Columbia University Teachers College and is currently pursuing a doctorate in education from the University of Bath. She looks forward to coaching winter track and crew at Blair.
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Insley Hall | Chase Palanca
Insley Hall fosters a warm and welcoming community. It is so unique to have the opportunity to live with students and share the fun of life together. Students grow more independent and have the chance to form deep connections with their peers, prefects and dorm heads. I cannot wait to welcome the newest members of the Blair community to Insley!”
A member of the Blair community for three years, Chase Palanca ’15 currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Admission and an assistant wrestling coach. He earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021. He lives in Insley Hall, a ninth and tenth-grade boys’ dorm, with his wife, Haley Chrobock-Palanca ’15, who coaches the field hockey and ski teams, and their chocolate Labradoodle, Yogi.
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Kathryn Hall | Dave Facciani & Lian Wang
Being dorm heads has been one of the best parts of our time at Blair. Our students face new and different situations every day, and helping them navigate those situations is truly rewarding work.”
Mr. Facciani and Ms. Wang joined Blair’s faculty in 2007 as Chinese teachers. In addition to their work in Blair’s language department, Mr. Facciani teaches an advanced course in Microeconomics and Modern European History classes and serves as Blair’s international monitor. Ms. Wang is also a yoga instructor and advisor to the after-school dance activity. Since its opening seven years ago, they have served as dorm heads of Kathryn Hall, where they live with 45 junior and senior girls, their daughter, Angela, and dog, Buddy. Prior to moving to Kathryn Hall, Mr. Facciani and Ms. Wang spent six years as dorm heads of Locke Hall and a year as heads of Davies Hall, which formerly stood on the site of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration.
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Lakeside Hall | Doug Compton
What I love about being a dorm head is creating culture. Getting kids engaged in figuring out how to have fun and break up the routine is the part of the job that gives me the most satisfaction.”
A member of Blair’s English faculty, Mr. Compton has lived in Blair’s dorms for ten years. He serves as dorm head of Lakeside Hall, where 45 sophomore and junior boys live. In addition to teaching English 1, 2 and a variety of advanced courses, Mr. Compton coaches the boys’ varsity squash and girls' golf teams.
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Locke & Ivy Hall | Mackenzie Maguire
Blair’s warm community is best exemplified in the hallways of its dorms. Every interaction involves a smile, a greeting and genuine curiosity about others. In Locke, specifically, I have the chance to see all types of students interact. No matter their academic interests or athletic teams, everyone has a chance to connect and get to know one another better.”
Mackenzie Maguire joined Blair in 2022 as an admission associate and head girls’ varsity lacrosse coach. Prior to working at Williams College as an assistant women’s lacrosse coach, Mackenzie earned her BS in business marketing from the University of Mary Washington in 2019. During her time as a student-athlete, she served as a collegiate team captain, made four NCAA appearances and was named a 2x All-American. Mackenzie will serve as dorm head in Locke Hall this year.
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Mason Hall | Anders Fogel
Living in the dorm not only gives students a life experience full of memories, laughs and challenges, but it sets them apart as students who are ready for the next step in their educational journey. In college and beyond, it becomes clear who has the skills to balance the daily schedule of class, activities and independent living. Dorm life defines what it means to be a teammate, peer and member of the community.”
Mr. Fogel teaches history and coaches boys’ varsity lacrosse and thirds boys' basketball, in addition to serving as dorm head of Mason Hall. He lives in Mason Hall, which houses 35 senior boys, with his partner, Cency, who serves as the chair of Blair's self and society department, and their son, Magnus, 1.
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South Cottage | Valerie Lohr
In South Cottage, our goal is for every student to feel seen, heard and supported; we’re in a unique position to accomplish that goal, given the small size of our dorm. Dorm staff and prefects are able to have individual relationships with every resident, which really makes the group feel like a family and turns our dorm into a home. When you come to South, you come home.”
History teacher Valerie Lohr came to Blair from San Antonio, Texas, where Valerie pursued her doctor of education degree at Baylor University. She currently holds a JD from Pennsylvania State University's Dickinson School of Law and BA in political science from Lehigh University. Over the course of her career, Valerie has coached a number of highly ranked field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams, and at Blair, she will and serve as head coach for varsity girls' field hockey and assistant coach for varsity girls' lacrosse. She joins the Blair community with her husband, Corey, and daughter, Catie '28.
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West Hall | Will Harvard
Living in a common space with other people your own age is such a unique thing that most high school students don’t get to experience, and I am glad that I can help the residents of West make Blair feel like a home away from home.”
Language teacher Will Harvard earned his bachelor's degree in Greek and Latin from The University of the South in Tennessee in 2005 and completed a master’s in classical studies from Villanova University (2013) and second master's in liberal arts at St. John’s College (2020). At Blair, he will coach JV boys' squash.
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Day Student Coordinator | Kaye Evans
It is so fun working in the student life office and interacting with students outside the classroom. Since my own children were day students at Blair, I know how integral the day students are to the Blair community, and I love working with them, advocating for them and helping them feel as if they are an important part of life on campus (because they are!).”
Mrs. Evans serves as Blair’s day student coordinator, in addition to being a member of the English faculty, an assistant drama director and a community service coordinator. She lives on campus in Hanson House with her husband, Craig, who also teaches theatre and English. She has two children who attended Blair, Faith ’05 and Dylan ’08, and two grandchildren, Madeline and Isla.
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