Meet the Student Life Office

Associate Dean of Students; Science
gerdsr@blair.edu
(908) 362-6121 Ext. 5668

Since joining Blair’s faculty in 2004, Rod Gerdsen has served in virtually every area of the School and in a variety of roles, including biology and marine science teacher, academic monitor for ninth- and 11th-grade classes, Director of Annual Giving, admission associate, and dorm head for 60 10th- and 11th-grade boys in East Hall, the dorm that formerly stood on the site of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration, and for Insley Hall, a dorm for 36 9th- and 10th-grade boys. In 2020, Rod joined the student life office as the Associate Dean of Students, working closely with the team to provide the best campus experience for students during the week and on weekends, and overseeing the student attendance system. One of his passions is his annual marine science trip over winter long weekend to the Cayman Islands, where he snorkels with stingrays and turtles and coordinates a volunteer program with a local island elementary school. Rod’s wife, Cassi, is Blair’s Director of Admission Application Management. They are the proud parents of Kate ’20 and Jack ’24. 

Student Life Office; Director of the Romano Gallery; English; Fine Arts
linke@blair.edu 

Blair welcomes Eliza Link as an adjunct teacher of ninth-grade seminar and English, as well as Director of the Romano Gallery. Her previous experience includes remotely designing ninth-to-12th-grade curriculum and creating workshops for the advocacy program at Saint Edward’s School in Vero Beach, Florida. As a member of Saint Edward’s fine arts faculty from 2020 to 2022, Eliza designed and taught studio art, design and art history. She also sponsored the Social Justice Club, which involved leading a diverse group of students in work relating to equity and privilege. A graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Eliza began her teaching career in 2016 at The Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, where she served as a dorm parent, oversaw the yearbook, and taught two- and three-dimensional media, as well as English. She is joined by her husband, Patrick, who teaches mathematics at Blair.

Chair Self & Society, English Teacher
middlc@blair.edu

Cency Middleton serves as a member of the English department and as chair of the self and society department. Cency completed her undergraduate work at Washington & Jefferson College in 2011 and earned a master’s degree from the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English in 2020. She brings 11 years’ experience to the classroom, working previously as an English teacher at the Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Northwood schools in New York and the Berkshire School in Massachusetts. Coaching the girls’ soccer team remains one of her proudest roles. Cency, her husband, Anders, and their son, Magnus, live in Mason Hall.

Administrative Assistant
otinsk@blair.edu
(908) 362-6121 Ext. 5600

Kathy Otinsky has been a fixture in the Blair community since she began in the summer of 1976 as part of a work program with North Warren Regional High School. Now serving as administrative assistant in the student life office, Mrs. Otinsky has held a variety of positions in the School, running the machine/mailroom before copiers and computers were commonplace, and holding the titles of admission office assistant, switchboard operator, business office assistant and school office secretary throughout her nearly 50 years here. In the student life office, Mrs. Otinsky serves as the School’s primary phone receptionist, produces and posts the “Daily Bulletin” of student absences and School activities, assists the Dean of Students with attendance, manages incoming mail for all faculty and staff, and a variety of other tasks that ensures the School runs smoothly. She attended the former Churchman Business School in Easton, Pennsylvania, and North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown, New Jersey. Mrs. Otinsky has two grown sons, Tom and Jonathan, and two grandsons. A Blairstown native, she moved to Hardwick in 1995 with her husband, Mike, and they share their home with their two rescue dogs, Wonky and Bratty Bear.

Associate Head of School, History Teacher
pagotr@blair.edu
(908) 362-3106

Associate Head of School Ryan M. Pagotto ’97 joined Blair’s faculty in 2002 and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the School on matters related to student and residential life, including health and counseling services, athletics and cocurricular programs. He runs Monday School Meeting and is known for greeting students in the morning at the Clinton Hall doorway and offering freshly picked apples from his office during the month of October. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Ryan serves as a member of the history department and teaches Global Issues. He also authors the monthly e-newsletter From Hilltop to Home, a communication designed to help new boarding-school parents navigate the ins and outs of the Blair experience.

Over the course of his time at Blair, Ryan has served as a history teacher, head tennis coach, a dorm head and Dean of Admission. He completed his undergraduate work at Dickinson College, where he captained the men’s tennis team, and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Columbia University. Before joining the faculty at Blair, Ryan taught at the Taft Summer School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He also spent three summers as program director of the Cambridge Prep Experience at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University.

In addition to his roles in school, Ryan has served as a faculty member for The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) Summer Session. He presently serves as a faculty member for the TABS Residential & Student Life winter program, and he is a regular presenter at national boarding and independent school conferences. Ryan is a strong proponent of residential communities like Blair as an ideal environment for young people to find lifelong mentors, to feel a deep sense of belonging, and to gain superior preparation for college and beyond.

Ryan and his wife, Jennifer, performing arts department chair and Director of Instrumental Music at Blair, live in Grullon House with their children, Jack, Will, Ella and Addison, and their dog, Teagan. The Pagottos enjoy opening their home to Blair students, faculty and staff members throughout the year.

Dean of Students
ryersa@blair.edu
(908) 362-6121 Ext. 5654

Dean of Students Andee Ryerson works in Blair’s student life office and continues to serve as the faculty advisor to the Senior Class Council and a member of the School's Inclusivity Committee. Mrs. Ryerson is a 2021 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where she completed their School Leadership Program and a 2011 graduate of Amherst College, where she double majored in geology and art and the history of art. Previously, Mrs. Ryerson has served as Blair's Director of Communications, Associate Dean of Students, Assistant Dean of Admission, taught in the fine arts department, and enjoyed numerous other roles supporting Blair students and activities. She and her husband, physics teacher Mike Ryerson, live in Parsonage House with their three sons, James, Teddy and Charlie, and their yellow lab, Rey.