New faculty join Peddie for the 2022–23 academic year

Alexa Beckstein | English teacher

Beckstein graduated from Connecticut College, where she was a recipient of the Robley Evans Award for an Outstanding Junior English Major.  Alexa majored in English and Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies and minored in Psychology. While at Connecticut College, Alexa served on the Class Council and captained the club soccer program. She graduated from Groton School, where she played soccer and headed the Gender Sexuality Alliance. Alexa has been actively involved in multiple publications at school.

Nika Blank ’16 | Biology/Environmental Science teacher

Blank earned two degrees from Florida State University, a master’s in Biological Oceanography and a bachelor’s in Environmental Science. While at FSU, Nika excelled in the classroom and in athletics. Nika swam in the NCAA and ACC Championships, in addition to being an Olympics Trial Qualifier. Nika’s interest in science education was evident in college, as she worked as a STEM educator for three years at the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee. During COVID, she served as an online science teacher. Most recently, she has worked as a teaching assistant at Hun School. Nika’s expertise in oceanography extends to everything from plastics pollution to artificial reefs and fisheries management.

Drew Davis | English teacher

Davis joins Peddie after two years at Gilman School in Maryland. Drew earned a master’s degree in education in English from the University of Pennsylvania, where she participated in the Penn Fellows Program, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Economics from Lafayette College. Drew holds multiple records in track and field, including the Lafayette record for the indoors 500. Drew was named the Most Outstanding Lehigh Valley Track Athlete. Since graduating, Drew has taught at St. Paul’s School as a Penn Fellow, where she also coached, advised the all-female dance club, and oversaw an affinity group for students of color, and at Gilman.

Yuto Iwaizumi | French teacher

Iwaizumi recently completed a two-year teaching internship at Andover Academy. Yuto graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in French and from Carnegie Mellon with an M.A. in Applied Second Language Acquisition. In his two years at Andover, Yuto taught both French and Japanese. He worked with Andover’s Office of Community and Multicultural Development, serving as an advisor for the Asian Society.

Madelaine Shellaby | Arts teacher

Shellaby returns to Peddie as a sabbatical replacement. Madelaine is a practicing artist and has exhibited most recently at the Muse Gallery in Philadelphia, the SHOH20 New York City Virtual show, Ellarslie Open, Bucks County Community College, and Princeton Day School. She was Jersey Arts Featured Artist in 2016. A veteran teacher, Madeleine taught at Stuart Country Day School for twenty-seven years.

Taina Spicer ’11 | Arts teacher

Spicer returns to Peddie after working at Momofuku Ko, a Michelin-starred New York City restaurant. While working at Momofuku, Taina pursued her artistic interests, working primarily in inks and gouache. She has gained recognition for her work with three exhibits over the past year at Index Art Center, SMUSH Gallery, and Maintain Bespoke Barbering.

Amanda Vos Strache | History teacher

Vos Strache comes to Peddie from Nth Round, a Philadelphia start-up company. Prior to Nth Round, Amanda taught at Haverford School, St. Francis High School, and St. Mark’s School, where she was the Assistant Athletic Director. Amanda has coached multiple sports, including field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and basketball. She has also served as a dorm parent. Amanda graduated from Stanford, where she played field hockey, with a degree in history and earned her master’s degree in History at Villanova University.

Bronwynn Woodsworth | Mathematics teacher

Woodsworth graduated in 2021 from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Mathematics. She received the Distinguished Senior Award for her campus leadership and was the founding president of the St. Olaf College Chapter of the Association of Women in Mathematics. She co-founded Hostile Terrain at St. Olaf, a global art initiative to bring awareness to migrant death at the US/Mexico border. Most recently, Bronwynn worked at the Santa Fe Institute Press.