Staff Biographies
Thomas Reid
Executive Director
Thomas is a musician, composer, and educator from Charlottesville, Virginia. He loves making all kinds of sounds, from electric guitar shrieks and squeals, synthesized beeps and boops, beatboxed boom-naps. His favorite thing is to make music with students, but he also loves comic books, video games, all things sci-fi, tacos, and jokes. Come chat about MIDI sequencing, loops and sampling, and anything else in the world of audio!
Vinny LaFrazia
Associate Director
I am thrilled to be at DEDP for my 30th year, each one of them a unique and exciting experience. I feel fortunate to be allowed to be a part of so many children’s lives. I will be forever thankful to all the families and coworkers - past, present and future, who have allowed me this incredible opportunity. In my other life I enjoy playing golf, cooking, and spending time with my wife and two children.
Preschool/Pre-K Team
Olivia Manzi
Preschool Group Leader
PS Classroom Coordinator
Olivia graduated from Drew University in 2014, after spending four years splitting her time between studying child development and experiencing it hands-on while working at the campus childcare center. She returned home to Massachusetts and has found herself surrounded by preschoolers ever since. She has worked in early education programs in Beverly, Cambridge and Jamaica Plain over the last ten years, and in her free time, you’ll probably find her either at the library, a concert, or sampling her way through all the different flavors at an ice cream shop.
Jada Mitchell
Preschool Group Leader
Jada is a Boston native who has always had a love for being around children! She is excited to be a part of DEDP. Seeing children she works with make big or small milestones is one of the greatest gifts of her life. Seeing the impact she can make within children’s lives brings her so much joy and fulfillment. When she is not working she loves to read, travel and hang out with friends.
Deysi LaFrazia
Preschool Group Leader
Etleva Gashi
Preschool Assistant Group Leader
Etleva has been a teacher for fifteen years starting at Preschool Experience in Newton Center, Sunshine Academy, and Tiny World in Brookline. There she helped children learn and experience new challenges that help build their confidence while they play. She values the importance of early literacy, art, and STEM activities. She has always loved children, baby sitting, and building relationships with kids. When she is not teaching she enjoys cooking and finding new recipes.
Kindergarten/Grade 1 Team
Jamie Stevenson
Kindergarten Group Leader K/1 Classroom Coordinator
Jamie started working at DEDP during January of 2025 and has loved being a part of the program! Jamie holds a B.A. in Psychology, a M.A. in Education and an Advanced Certificate in School Psychology. He has worked with elementary and middle school children for the last 8 years in behavioral and counseling roles. In his free time Jamie enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and spending time with close friends. He lives in Somerville with his wife and two lovable rescue pups.
Briana Johnson
Kindergarten Group Leader
Briana is excited to be at DEDP for a second year! She has always had a passion for childcare and loves being a part of helping kids reach those special milestones. When she’s not at DEDP, she enjoys watching movies and TV shows, finding a good book to read, and painting. She’s looking forward to a new school year and can’t wait to make some great memories!
Darnell Pierre
Kindergarten Assistant Group Leader
Darnell is starting his 2nd year here at Driscoll! He will be working as an Assistant Group Leader for DEDP and is excited to keep building connections through the program. Darnell is from Brookline and loves to see the growth in the students throughout the year. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, watching movies, and listening to music.
Lawson Miller
Grade 1 Group Leader
Lawson is a 22-year-old Brookline native. He went to Brookline schools and also attended the Lincoln School Extended Day program. He loved attending as a kid, and is excited to be back in that setting in an educator role.
Dan McCarthy
Grade 1 Group Leader
Daniel is an enthusiastic educator with experience at extended day programs, enrichment classes, and summer camps. His favorite part of working with kids is getting to participate in play while using the fun to facilitate learning. From inventing games at recess to trying new ideas for activities he revels in exercising his own creativity and looks forward to helping the students of DEDP do the same. When not in a school setting Daniel can be found dancing, taking photographs, doing puzzles, as well as playing both basketball and board games.
Valeriia Strunina
Grade 1 Assistant Group Leader
Valeriia is so excited to work with DEDP! She is originally from Russia. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Pedagogical University. She has been working with children of different ages for more than 5 years. She has many hobbies: drawing, knitting, beading, origami, and modeling. She loves spending time with children and making their day a little better with DEDP.
Grades 2/3 Team
Shantell Johnson
Grade 2 Group Leader
Grade 2/3 Classroom Coordinator
Hello! My name is Shantell. I am a Massachusetts native and have been an educator for 5 years now. I’m so excited for another fun year with our amazing kiddos. I am a passionate educator looking to spark creativity in the young minds of our future. My goal is to encourage students to be curious, innovative and independent by introducing them to diverse perspectives. When I’m not working alongside children I love dancing, going to the gym, cooking, traveling and exploring different cultures. My outlook on life is to be the change you want to see in the world and that’s how we make the world a better place!
Bana Janeway
Grade 2 Group Leader
My name is Bana and I have graduated from Boston University with a Psychology Degree. I am currently going back to school to get my Masters in School Counseling. I have had over 10+ years of working with children. During my spare time I like to spend time with my friends, read, make friendship bracelets, and hang out with my dog, but most of all getting Boba or making homemade Boba tea!
Logan Boyers
Grade 2 Assistant Group Leader
Northeastern COOP
Adrienne Keener
Grade 3 Group Leader
Adrienne is originally from the Philadelphia suburbs and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Library and Information Science at Simmons University. Having worked at summer camps for 5 years, she is passionate about providing kids with opportunities for learning and growth, and she can’t wait for the rest of this year with DEDP.
Odie Lemmel
Grade 3 Group Leader
Ryan Moss
Grade 3 Assistant Group Leader
Ryan is excited and eager to start his first year at DEDP! He loves working with kids and looks forward to everything this year will bring. In his spare time he enjoys reading and writing, watching sports, and listening to music. He is ready to have a great first year with DEDP!
Grades 4/5/6 Team
Amber Stahl
Grade 4 Group Leader
Grade 4/5/6 Classroom Coordinator
Amber is excited to be working at DEDP again. She has BA degrees in History and French from Wittenberg University and is currently working on a Master’s for teaching English. She has worked for 3 years as an English teacher in South Korea with Kindergarten and Elementary school students and has recently finished working for 2 years as a High School English Assistant in France. When not working or studying she likes to hang out with her family, friends, and cats. She enjoys reading, playing video games, watching films or tv shows, or even planning her next trip.
Temperance Wu
Grade 4 Group Leader
Temperance is excited for her first year at DEDP! She is a recent graduate from BU under the Educational Design for Transformative Social Futures major. Basically, this means that she loves play and everything that play is and does. Temperance is thrilled to bring this passion for play to a new community and is looking forward to learning and growing by doing. Outside of DEDP, you will find her sketching, sculpting, painting models, making music, and enjoying life.
Robert Johnson Jr
Grade 4 Assistant Group Leader
There is a pretty good chance that Robert “Rob” Johnson is named after the blues guitarist of the same name, but he can only (unfortunately) presume that you’re not here to hear all that. You, however, might be more interested in the fact that he used to work at a K-12 charter school in Dorchester (you might know which one through process-of-elimination!) as a member of the (potentially now defunct) Tutorial Department, wherein which he used to take students (or a student, singular) out of a hectic classroom environment and into a smaller room that is just around the corner from the class itself (but it did have soundproof glass, which was cool). It would also be worth noting that, at present, he acts as an Assistant Group Leader for the 4th Grade at DEDP, which is a role that they enjoy very, very much, if mainly for the fact that this gives him an excuse to re-learn the Pokémon Trading Card Game...which he didn’t learn at all, outside of looking at the cards and going, “ooh, pretty/cool/*insert other adjective here*!” While the bottom of his face is usually obscured, he is always ready to tackle any challenges with a smile! “It’s a pleasure to meet ya,” says Rob, conveniently at the end of this bio that he hopes you read. (Pro Tip: Talk to him about video games (especially rhythm games), music, and building things that involve technology! He likes those!)
Amber Stahl
Grade 4 Group Leader
Grade 4/5/6 Classroom Coordinator
Amber is excited to be working at DEDP again. She has BA degrees in History and French from Wittenberg University and is currently working on a Master’s for teaching English. She has worked for 3 years as an English teacher in South Korea with Kindergarten and Elementary school students and has recently finished working for 2 years as a High School English Assistant in France. When not working or studying she likes to hang out with her family, friends, and cats. She enjoys reading, playing video games, watching films or tv shows, or even planning her next trip.
Skeeter Joyce
Grade 5 Group Leader
Grateful to contribute to a nurturing and creative environment for young learners, Skeeter brings patience, energy, and passion to each day here. They aim to make arts, crafts, and fun accessible to all. Drawing inspiration from nature and music, they animate for hours each day in the calm of morning. After school, you may find them playing Minecraft, weaving, or pretending they know how to dance.
Spencer Benson
Grade 5 Assistant Group Leader
Spencer is starting his 9th year here at Driscoll! This year he will be working as an Assistant Group Leader in 5th grade. When he isn't at DEDP, or working upstairs as a paraprofessional during the school day, he can be found writing music on his guitar, reading a good book, taking a long walk with some good tunes, or giving his lovely cat Beanie some well-deserved tummy rubs.