Elaine Loft, Staff Writer
Every year the Derryfield School honors faculty and staff who have been at the school for 10 years or more. At Community Meeting on October 7, Head of School Andy Chappell honored faculty and staff who have dedicated 10 or more years of their professional lives to The Derryfield School.
“Derryfield is very fortunate to have eight dedicated men and women who believe in the mission of the school, and who have given so fully of themselves to this community. We celebrate these men and women not only because of what they have contributed to Derryfield during their time here, but also because of their commitment and dedication to this school which both speaks volumes about them as individuals as well as their belief in all of you students, their colleagues, and the mission and core values of Derryfield.
The following faculty and staff members have given 10 years of service to Derryfield.
Becky Barsi has been an influential and innovative teacher of visual arts as well as manager of the Lyceum Gallery, Individual Senior Project (ISP) Coordinator and so much more. Since arriving at Derryfield, Ms. Barsi has elevated the visual arts program significantly, and has been a guiding voice for all things creativity and project design. Ms. Barsi’s efforts have been recognized beyond Derryfield as well, most recently as the New Hampshire Art Educator of the Year in 2022.
Every independent school such as Derryfield needs adults who are willing to do and enjoy doing lots of different things. Shannon Best is an exemplar of that model, leading and doing so many things well: head varsity cross country coach, global trips coordinator, admission team member, and so much more. Those who work with her closely know that she is a terrific collaborator, always willing to think and often even “overthink” through a problem to come up with a good solution.
Louisa Burdette began her career at Derryfield as an English teacher, and through various iterations she now serves as our Director of Research and Opportunities, which includes among other things running the DS library, coordinating our Day of Service and various ongoing service initiatives, connecting students with various programs and internships, and so much more. Ms. Burdette has continued the strong legacy of making the Derryfield library the heartbeat of our school.
Dawn Lohmann, our Director of Marketing and Communications, is the brains behind our communications and marketing strategy as a school. She is responsible for telling our story, and deciding where and when we are going to tell it. Ms. Lohmann takes great pride in her work, and it’s hard to miss the breadth and depth of the DS material that she is responsible for producing with her team.
Anna Moskov works closely with members of our community to give of their “time, talent and treasure” to help Derryfield become the school we aspire to be. Over the past ten years at Derryfield, Ms. Moskov has led our efforts to raise a total of roughly $19.7 million dollars through two Capital Campaigns, which led to the creation of new facilities, such as Berk Tennis complex, A&W, S&I, and Commons, all at the same time as she kept us on track to support the daily operations of the school by steadily increasing participation and dollars raised for The Derryfield Fund.
A consummate professional, humble and understated, Mary Ann Watt is an effective teacher, advisor, chair of the science department, and Head Class Advisor for the junior class, Ms. Watt is known for being calm under pressure, always being there for her colleagues and students, and providing critical insight to important discussions. She was the assistant coach on the girls varsity lacrosse program when they last won a State Championship, and she helped to design the Science and Innovation Center. Derryfield is very fortunate to have a teacher, advisor, and leader of the quality of Ms. Watt.
Senora Reynolds has called Derryfield her professional home for a total of 15 years. Her students know that she is as passionate about her Espanol as she is for each of them. She brings that same dedication to her work as Assistant Dean of Academics, where she has been invaluable to the Academic Administrative team, leading us flawlessly through the NEASC Accreditation, the course signup process, the Add/Drop period and many, many other initiatives and thankless tasks. Today, Senora Reynolds, your students and colleagues celebrate you for not only dedicating 15 years of your professional life to Derryfield, but for how you do it.
Before Bill Westenberg dedicated his professional career to Derryfield 15 years ago, he was a working actor in New York City, and had roles in various shows and performances. Since arriving at Derryfield in 2010, he has done a wide range of very important jobs, including serving as the coordinator for two Heads of School, teaching English and drama, advising countless students, serving as co-chair of the Creative Arts Department, and directing Upper School plays and musicals. Mr. Westenberg has built a program that changes lives, that helps students recognize that they can do something they didn’t think was possible. Therefore it’s not surprising that there are numerous alumni who are currently acting at the collegiate level as well as professionally, all due to Mr. Westenberg.”
