Our Staff
Meet the passionate educators who make Templeton Academy a place where every student is Seen, Supported, and Challenged.
Calvin L. Foster was born in Brooklyn, New York, and became interested in Calculus as a senior in high school. This interest grew to a passion, propelling him to receive his Master's Degree in Pure Mathematics. Always drawn to tutoring in high school and college, Calvin was hired by his alma mater as an adjunct professor upon his graduation.
As the years passed, he found that his passion for math within the classroom drew him to work with elementary, middle, and high school students as well. With profound respect for the pedagogy of the classroom and a true connection to the math courses that he teaches, Calvin strives to facilitate and foster understanding, enthusiasm, and mastery of the math topics he teaches.
Bret Levesque was born in Arizona but due to his father's military service lived all over the world growing up. He received his bachelor's degree in history from Ottawa University. He has spent the last 20 years working in higher education admissions, including as the Executive Director of Enrollment Management at the University of Miami.
Bret is passionate about helping students succeed and is excited to share Templeton's unique model with prospective students and families. In his free time, Bret loves exploring Washington DC with his husband and 2 amazing dogs, Alfie and Mabel.
Lily Kern is thrilled to bring her eight years of experience in therapeutic and educational settings to serve students, parents, and staff at Templeton. She received her Master's in Clinical Social Work from Catholic University and her Master's in Special Education from George Mason University.
Lily believes in the interconnectedness of socio-emotional well-being and academic success and seeks to create a learning environment where students feel both challenged and supported. When she's not at school, Lily loves singing classical music and thinking about interior design.
Caitlin Towers is a lifelong lover of literature and language who teaches English and French at Templeton Academy DC. She received her undergraduate degree at Middlebury College in Vermont, where she double majored in Comparative Literature and Russian Language while also minoring in Education. She received her Masters Degree at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, where she specialized in language education and taught graduate-level French courses.
Previous to joining the team at Templeton, she taught and served as an English and Foreign Languages Department Head at a middle and high school in Washington DC. Caitlin seeks to integrate interdisciplinary elements and student interests into her teaching, and encourages all of her students to bridge the gap between classroom learning and their own passions and goals.
Bobor Jones has been at Templeton Academy since 2020, originally hired as a Humanities Teacher leading courses in both history and art. As an avid explorer of museums and historic sites, he is also Templeton DC's Fieldwork Coordinator. He began teaching history in the DC area in 2015.
He earned his B.A. in History from Colorado College, where he also minored in Studio Art, and obtained a Master's in History from Georgetown University. Outside of school, he spends his time reading, hiking, traveling, listening to podcasts, and making art.
Rachel Stagner is STEM Coordinator for Templeton Academy-DC and also teaches high school science. Rachel has a B.S. in Fisheries & Wildlife Management with a minor in Environmental Studies from Michigan State University and dual Master's Degrees in Science and Education from Portland State University.
Previously, she taught science for over 10 years in Portland, Oregon before moving to DC to serve as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at NASA headquarters during the 2018-2019 school year. She has been teaching at TADC since the 2019-2020 school year and is most proud of having started a STEM Project Development course that has allowed students to win awards at a national level. She was also recognized as a 2023 Presidential Award of Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST) finalist in science for DC.
Nerina Meli teaches Math, Science, and Technology at Templeton Academy DC. Originally from New Jersey, Nerina came to Washington, DC to attend the George Washington University. There she majored in Computer Science and minored in Sustainability. Since then, Nerina has been teaching STEM concepts to students all around the DMV area.
Her experiences tutoring, leading summer groups, and teaching have led her to fall in love with helping students learn. Nerina's passion is to explore how math and technology can be integrated into creative projects. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, playing volleyball, reading, and crafting.
Vernon Meidlinger teaches Science and STEM courses at Templeton Academy DC. He received his BA in Geology from Augustana College in Illinois and his MA in Teaching from the Richard Gilder Graduate School at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Before working at Templeton Academy, Vernon taught in the New York City public school system.
In addition to working to make Science accessible and compelling to Students, Vernon also draws comics and produces music.
Linda duBuclet is the Writing Instructor at Templeton Academy DC After a career in journalism that included stints with NBC television, The Washington Post, and Pacifica Radio, Linda went into teaching—what she calls "the family business." To transition from news to school, Linda earned an M.A. degree in Education and Human Development at George Washington University and became a certified teacher.
With more than 30 years of instructional experience, Linda has taught writing on elementary, secondary, and university levels in both the public and private sectors. Linda is dedicated to having students see value in the writing process and gain confidence in their ability to use written communication to influence real-world outcomes.
Monica Rizzo, MS.Ed. is credentialed in both English and social studies and has experience teaching high school and middle school. She enjoys guiding students through project based learning and collaborating with colleagues across curriculum.
Ms. Rizzo was selected as a Fulbright-Hays honoree by the United States Department of Education in 2018. She is delighted to now be a full time educator at Templeton Academy after 10 years of full-time teaching in public schools.
"Hayle Russell is originally from Donalds, South Carolina and earned her B.A. in History from the College of Charleston in 2018 where she interned with MUSC's Historic Waring Library. As a Navy wife, she has lived all over the country, including Charleston SC, Seattle WA, Manchester NH, and Gulfport MS before settling in the DMV area. Before coming to Templeton in 2024 to teach history and German, she taught 7th grade U.S. history in Mississippi and also served as a college writing consultant. She has also spent time in Poland, Germany, and Ukraine studying the Holocaust and the impact of radical ideas on marginalized communities. She loves helping students use historical analysis and the stories of the past to better understand the world around them. Outside the classroom she enjoys traveling, exploring historic architecture, baking, crocheting, reading, and spending time with her husband, their three children, and her cat, Trixie."
Sol Eure graduated from Appalachian State University in 2019 with a BS in International Politics and Arabic and has been working in education ever since. Following school, he worked for AmeriCorps VISTA, the Middle East Institute and most recently was the director of the specialty summer camps at Sidwell Friends School in DC.
Sol has always believed in life-long learning and is excited to help make it happen at Templeton Academy.