Staff Biographies
Executive Directors
Susan Hoffman, A.B. Smith College, Ed. M. Harvard, Ed. D. Johns Hopkins University, has more than four decades experience as an educator, a classroom teacher, and a mathematics resource teacher. She participates in Belle Meade School as the administrator, as a teacher, as a mentor and by going on field trips.
Michael J. Biniek, B.S. in biology, George Mason University, has both a theoretical and a practical interest in farming. He studies and practices ecological growing of food and animal husbandry. He created a heating system for the schoolhouse and the farmhouse using locally available wood. Mike is involved with the students as a teacher, as a mentor, and through going on trips with the school.
Lead Teacher
Greg Garrison has a B.S. from Arizona State University, a Masters in Education, a Masters in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Philosophical Ethics. His dissertation is a deep-ecology defense of the environment against human abuse of our world. Greg was Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, an Instructor of Ethics at both Georgetown College and Lord Fairfax Community College, GT Science teacher at Marshall Middle School, Marshall, Virginia, and Lead Research Teacher at Mountain Vista Governor’s School before coming to Belle Meade. Greg lived overseas when he studied at Oxford University and brings a varied background of experience to the Lead Teacher position at Belle Meade School.
Staff Teachers
Teresa Boardwine was called to teach at the age of six. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics and Science and many post-graduate hours in education. The most fun she ever had was teaching in Germany for seven years. Europe was a great place to take field trips so Teresa took her class to Paris every year, put on fashion shows and dinners, and sponsored the student union. She taught earth science in Munich and was the eighth grade class sponsor. Her years in between have been spent teaching the medicinal use of herbs and she is a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild. She has always been a teacher and is so pleased that she is back in middle school combining both her love for the students and the holistic approach to life that includes being close to the Earth, nature and our food source.
Tanya Amrhein Paull has a B.S. in biology from Virginia Tech and a M.S. in biology from George Mason University. Tanya has taught a variety of subjects to students of all ages in formal and informal settings. She has taught classes at George Mason University; as the naturalist at Bull Run Mountains Conservancy; and to residents and staff as a Fairfax County employee. She brings her wide range of teaching experience to Belle Meade School’s science, Spanish and art classes as well as its horseback-riding program. Tanya is also managing the school’s vegetable garden and is a self-described “garden-aholic.”
Kristin Hauger has been an English and drama teacher of students from pre-school to college for over a decade. Her passion for teaching stems from her passion for students and literature—both of which reflect a fascination with people and how they live, interact, communicate, and grow. She is a life-long performer with a knack for putting on shows, bringing people together to discover and share their talents for writing, design, acting, music, production, and directing. Every summer, Kristin leads a drama camp in which children of all ages produce and perform a complete Shakespeare play in one week. Recent productions include Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, and A Winter’s Tale. Kristin’s Norwegian heritage lends a bi-cultural perspective to her teaching and gives her a strong appreciation for the values of Belle Meade School, where students wear rubber boots and spend a good deal of time being active outdoors.
Dontez Harris is a musician and a master teacher. He has taught music in public and private school in Washington, DC and Rappahannock for 19 years. He has an uncanny ability to relate to a wide range of students, stimulate their interest, and get them to perform well. He teaches music with gusto and joy. He received his formal education at Howard University and University of District of Columbia. He performs with several groups in a variety of styles: jazz, bluegrass, world beat, gospel, reggae, classical.
Iris Flores is a native of San Miguel, El Salvador. She moved to the US 14 years ago. She and her husband, who is also from El Salvador, have three children.