Welcoming New Professional Community Members

With a B.A. in Chinese from Bates College and an M.A. in Chinese from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Julie Avery has many years of experience teaching Chinese and English as a second language. Her classroom experience includes teaching in China and working at The Derryfield School, where she also served as the international student coordinator and Grade 10 advisor.

Jean joined the Rivers community in 2024. She teaches Upper School mathematics and serves as the assistant coach for the JV girls’ ice hockey team. She has a B.A. in mathematics from Hamilton College and an M.Ed. in secondary school mathematics from Boston University. Before moving to Boston to earn her master’s degree, Jean taught mathematics and coached at New Canaan Country School in Connecticut. While at Hamilton, Jean was a member of the varsity squash team. She enjoys reading, cooking, skiing, and being outdoors. 

Caroline Boston holds a B.A. in history and English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She began her teaching career at German International School and has also worked as an apprentice teacher at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, where she created history and literature units for fifth and eighth grade students.

Meghan Brown is returning to Rivers this year after two years away teaching in London. She completed her undergraduate studies at Cornell University and received a doctorate in English literature from the University of Connecticut. She previously taught English at Boston University Academy and Langdon Park School in London, UK.  Outside of the classroom, she coaches Rivers girls’ cross country and track & field.

Melanie Stier Burke earned a B.A. in biology from Amherst College and an M.A. in teaching and teaching leadership from Mt. Holyoke College. During her time at Amherst, she was a four-year varsity soccer player and spent a semester abroad in Turks and Caicos at the School for Field Studies, studying marine science. Mel worked at Governor’s Academy for four years, teaching biology and marine science and coaching varsity soccer and softball; she has also taught and coached at the Charlotte (North Carolina) Latin School. In her free time, she enjoys spending time at the beach, running, and traveling. 

Javier Caballero joined the Rivers community in August 2024 as the inaugural executive director of performing arts. In this new role, Javier is responsible for strategic vision and administrative oversight of The Rivers School Conservatory (RSC) and the Performing Arts Department at The Rivers School, including its signature Conservatory Program. Javier holds graduate degrees in cello performance from the Boston Conservatory and undergraduate degrees in music education and cello performance from the University of South Florida. He is a seasoned performer with a strong professional network throughout New England. Javier recently served as the executive director of the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire, where he strove to create a welcoming, inclusive community for chamber music players at all levels and from all backgrounds. Before taking on the Apple Hill role, Javier was artistic director of Project STEP, a string training program for students from communities underrepresented in classical music. He also served as scholarship and recruitment manager for From The Top, the NPR showcase for young classically trained musicians.

Mary Carroll graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in mathematics and earned an M.L.S. from Reed College. She has taught in Costa Rica, Turkey, Spain, and the Dominican Republic as well as the United States. After several years abroad, Mary returned to her home state of Massachusetts in 2015. Prior to joining Rivers in 2024, she worked at CATS Academy Boston, where she taught across the curriculum and served as department chair. 

Erica joins the Rivers community in September 2024 as director of human resources. In this role, Erica is responsible for leading talent management and partnering with other school leaders to ensure that members of the professional community at Rivers are empowered in every facet of their careers. During her 25 years as an HR professional at a marketing and communications agency, Erica was devoted to supporting her company’s culture of innovation and integrity, building a more inclusive environment in which everyone has an opportunity to belong and thrive. Originally from the Boston area, Erica received a B.A. from Tulane University in art history and classical studies.

Kevin Faherty is an experienced educational leader and licensed math and science teacher who joined Rivers after teaching middle school mathematics at Wellesley Middle School for five years. Prior to teaching in Wellesley, Kevin spent seven years at St. Joseph Prep, where he taught mathematics and held the additional roles of director of marketing and communications, as well as assistant director of admission. Kevin also brings industry experience that includes managing marketing for major brands such as ESPN and Verizon. He holds a B.S. and an M.Ed. from Boston College and an M.B.A. from the University of Oregon.

 

Lourdes Fernández graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in Spanish. Her 14-year teaching career began at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, where she taught both Spanish and French. Since then, she has taught at Tower School in Marblehead and Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, where she again taught Spanish and French, in addition to leading the Middle School Languages Department for five years. Lourdes loves traveling, learning about different cultures, nerding out on linguistic and grammatical structures and patterns, and sharing these with her students. In June 2024, Lourdes graduated from Memoir Incubator, an MFA-level writing intensive, at GrubStreet, during which she completed and polished her first book. When Lourdes isn’t teaching or writing, she is practicing real estate, dancing, or adventuring outdoors. 

 

Rebecca joined the Rivers community in the fall of 2024. She earned a B.S. in biology at Emmanuel College and holds a master’s degree and doctorate from UMass Medical School. She has worked in public and private schools for several years, as well as a number of summer camps in Massachusetts. 

 

Carol Lyons, Payroll and Benefits Coordinator
Carol Lyons comes to Rivers with over 20 years of payroll and benefits management experience.  After earning a B.A. in psychology from the University of Maine Farmington, Carol spent much of her career helping nonprofit organizations with their human resources functions, including Cambridge Cares About AIDS and, more recently, as financial/HR manager and then director of operations and human resources at YWCA Cambridge. 

Prior to joining Rivers, Keith McLean coached at Tilton School and Noble & Greenough School. He holds a B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. In addition to coaching, he has had a long career as a lawyer. Keith played high school hockey at Nobles and went on to play in college. Along with leading our girls’ hockey team, Keith serves as assistant athletic director and head coach of the Middle School boys’ lacrosse team.

Janet McKeeney, director of alumni engagement, joined Rivers in September 2023. She has extensive experience in higher education, including engagement program development and volunteer recruitment and training, as well as event execution and logistics management. Janet has a B.A. from Wellesley College and spent 11 years at the Wellesley College Alumnae Association. She most recently held the position of senior director, leading a team responsible for recruiting and cultivating volunteers, creating and executing new alumnae engagement programs, and working closely with the Wellesley Development Office to support the annual fund. Janet is also a graduate of the Winsor School in Boston.

Krissy Skare joined The Rivers School in the fall of 2024 as the Upper School and Middle School choral director. She teaches Middle and Upper School Chorus and also serves as advisor to the a cappella club. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music with a double major in psychology at UMass Amherst, where she won a Downbeat Student Music Award for vocal jazz ensemble; an M.M. at New England Conservatory of Music; and an M.Ed. in arts education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Krissy leads Neighborhood Rocks, a Brookline-based intergenerational pop/rock chorus, and the Boston Latvian Choir, New England’s only Latvian-language choral ensemble. She has conducted choirs of up to 1,000 singers in the US, Canada, and Latvia. She enjoys forest walks and making music with friends.

Ryan Urato graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Hispanic literatures and cultures and music. He has taught Spanish in a wide variety of settings, including as a long-term substitute teacher at Wayland High School, an adult Spanish teacher through the ROLA Language School, and a teacher’s assistant in language immersion programs such as the Wayland Public Schools’ Spanish immersion program and Progreso Latino’s bilingual preschool program in Central Falls, RI. Ryan is also a freelance interpreter and has a love for language learning, which has led him to pick up Portuguese, French, and ASL. Ryan is also a classical violinist and conductor, and a big fan of Boston sports.

As the director of annual giving, Julia Wills is the primary point of contact for The Rivers Fund. Before joining Rivers, Julia served as director of leadership annual giving at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and previously held roles focusing on alumni engagement and giving for Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and in development marketing at Wellesley College. She began her career in development at McLean Hospital. Julia holds a B.A. in sociology from Northeastern University.