Ben Bauer joins the Upper School in the new role of Science Lab Tech. He earned a BA in Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College where he also worked as an undergraduate research assistant. He has taught high school mathematics at Tilden Preparatory School, served as a tutor, and previously worked as a geochemical lab technician for a mining company. He loves anything outdoorsy—hiking, mountain biking, skiing—and is avid rock climber.
Prior to joining Menlo, Upper School English teacher Laura Davidson taught English at Sequoia High School in Redwood City. She says teaching in the International Baccalaureate program deepened her passion for media studies and popular culture. Laura holds a master’s in education from the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) and a bachelor’s in English and American Studies from Princeton University. Before becoming a teacher, Laura worked in the public relations and advertising industries. She enjoys spending time with her sons, Luke and Ben, and husband, Jamie (a Menlo grad). She likes to hike in and around Redwood City, dance in Zumba class, get zen in yoga, and, of course, read.
Denise Dowsett joins the Upper School to teach conceptual physics and academic support. Originally from Singapore and a long-time Menlo Park resident, Denise has previously taught middle school Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. She earned a BS in Biology from Yale University and a master’s degree from the J.L. Kellogg School of Business. After many years as a marketing professional in the Bay Area, she obtained a teaching credential from Notre Dame du Namur University and returned to science. She has two teenage children, who attend Nueva School, and she loves the ocean as well as snorkeling, diving, and ecotourism.
A Los Angeles native, Leo Kitajima (“Mr. K.”) will lead the Upper School orchestra and jazz programs as well as the Middle School Chamber Ensemble. He comes to Menlo from the Westridge School where he was the Orchestra Director and Music Department Chair. He also has served on the violin faculty of the Colburn School of Performing Arts and the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. He earned his master’s in music education from Northwestern and received a bachelor’s degree from USC. Fascinated by the diverse musical genres he was exposed to as a youngster in L.A, Leo spent his undergraduate years exploring and studying multiple genres through analysis, composition, and performance. Over the summer, he had the opportunity to shoot his first music video, a collaboration with the Los Angeles-based singer MILCK. Beyond music and teaching, Leo enjoys frequenting coffee shops and taco trucks and working on vintage cars.
Quinton McAurthur comes to Menlo after spending the past nine years working in admissions at MIT, and before that, four years at Rowan University. During his tenure at MIT, he directed the multicultural recruitment efforts that saw an increase in the depth and quality of the applicant pool at MIT. He also helped develop innovative programs to attract for underrepresented students of color into MIT’s STEAM pipeline. He moved to San Francisco this summer with his wife, a clothing designer, and their young daughter.
History teacher Esther Mansdorf comes to Menlo from Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York. After earning BA in History from the University of Chicago and a master’s in philosophy in modern south Asian studies from University of Cambridge, she began working for a non-profit organization in the Bronx where she realized her passion for education. She went on to complete an MS in education and then began her teaching career at a public school in Manhattan. Having just moved cross country over summer with her fiancé, she is enjoying acclimating to the Bay Area, and can be found under a pile of books, cooking up a storm, or taking in California’s weather on a hike.
Tyson Morgan will be teaching Upper School English, including two senior electives, one on magical realism and the other on fiction writing. Raised in the military, he grew up in Hawaii, California, and Maine. He comes to Menlo from the Kinkaid School in Houston, TX. He earned a BA in English from Macalester College in 2009, and an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Houston in 2014. He has also served as an assistant fiction editor for the Gulf Coast: Journal of Literature and the Fine Arts. One of his summer highlights was making the trek to California with his wife and stopping along the way to visit the artist colony in Marfa, TX.
English Teacher Jane Ridgeway spent her early post-college life in Los Angeles working in the film industry before returning to graduate school and becoming a teacher. Prior to Menlo, she taught undergraduate creative writing and composition at University of Oregon, where she also earned her MFA in creative writing. She has also taught English, creative writing, and journalism at ‘Iolani School in Honolulu. Upon moving to the Bay Area, she served as the education editor at the Los Altos Town Crier, writing about Silicon Valley schools. When out of the classroom, she loves writing fiction and getting outdoors.
Nick Romeo, Upper School English teacher, has worked as a journalist writing features and cultural criticism for national publications such as The New Yorker, The Washington Post, National Geographic, The New Republic, The Atlantic, Slate, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, NPR, The MIT Tech Review, and many others. His work has explored everything from looted antiquities and drug trafficking to underwater archaeology and the meaning and purpose of a good education. Nick taught undergraduates at UC Boulder for all five years of his graduate training. He spent this past summer teaching writing to students in Kazakhstan and has also tutored high school students and taught for Stanford University’s Pre-college Studies Summer Institute.
Katherine Sanden joins the Upper School to teach math and computer science and work in academic support. Most recently, she taught at Gateway High School in San Francisco, and she has extensive experience tutoring students in math. She has also served as a math columnist for Girl’s Angle. Katherine, who holds a master’s in education from Stanford and BA in math from Princeton, attended 7th grade at Menlo. She has fond memories of how welcoming and kind students were to her. For fun, she plays the piano and listens to all kinds of music. She also enjoys playing basketball, soccer, and tennis.