USN welcomes two new staff

Meet Athletics coordinator Ellen Crosby and Admissions Administrative Assistant Madigan Wheelock '16 and take a glimpse at the other new faces you'll soon see in classrooms, hallways, and offices.
Ellen Crosby is the new athletics coordinator. She has worked with USN’s aquatics programs since 2016 coaching Middle School swimming, Lower School PE swim classes, After School swim lessons, and Horizons swim lessons. Since 2012, Crosby has held administrative positions for three year-round swim teams in addition to coaching. Her experience includes working with swimmers who have special needs of all ages and abilities. Crosby is a Nashville native and attended Battle Ground Academy and Lipscomb University.

Madigan Wheelock ’16 returns to USN as the administrative assistant to the Admissions Office. She will be among the first faces to welcome prospective families. Wheelock earned a B.A. in communications with minors in writing and art history from Wake Forest University; her work and volunteer experience include nonprofit leadership in groups deeply engaged in food insecurity and economic development. She’s a great organizer, writer, and tech whiz. Two fun facts: her mom, Margee Brennan, is one of our amazing USN Health Room doctors, and she makes a wicked cheesecake.

Lynn Schroeck is the new lead kindergarten teacher in the Blue Door classroom. Schroeck has been an important part of USN’s Lower School for the past two years, where she served as a teacher assistant in kindergarten, second, third, and fourth grades. Schroeck received a bachelor’s degree in Montessori early childhood education from Xavier University, and a master’s degree in Education with a reading specialty from Lipscomb University. Prior to coming to USN, Schroeck was a lead primary teacher at Bambini Montessori in Nashville, as well as a lead kindergarten teacher at Franklin Road Academy. 

Ellen Haber ’00 returns to USN as a fourth grade teacher. After graduating from USN, Haber made her way to Washington University to study History and earned an M.Ed. from Belmont University with a focus in elementary education. Haber brings experience having taught kindergarten at Ensworth and fifth grade at Cameron Middle School. She is a veteran teacher and knows this community from multiple vantage points; as an alumna, a current parent, a summer camp leader, and partner to Senior Class Dean & High School History Teacher Matthew Haber. Haber has recently been one of our first calls when looking for a substitute. If you don’t yet know her, you will come to love her. The joy she has from being with children is contagious and she will be a great addition to the already stellar Avington/Covington/Washko team. 

PE Teacher & HS Track Team Head Coach Lindsey Bachman joins USN from University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. During her time at Liggett, she served as a PE and wellness teacher before becoming the Dean of Faculty and Student Wellness. As a track & field coach, Lindsey helped grow the team from six to 50, including multiple state finalists. She was the 2015 MIAC Coach of the year for her outstanding work in cross country. Prior to her professional career, Bachman attended Michigan State University Honors College.

Sierra Smith joins the Communications Office as the communications specialist and will focus primarily on the school's digital marketing efforts, including social media strategy and management and e-newsletters. She comes to USN from Nashville Ballet, where she worked as the public relations manager, earned noteworthy editorial placements, issued its first style guide, and developed a knack for crafting copy and curating content that met the communication needs of multiple departments reaching a wide range of audiences. Smith was previously the public relations & marketing assistant at Surry Community College. Originally from southern Virginia, Smith received a B.A. in Communication Studies from Campbell University.

Systems Administrator Kevin Sanderson has been in information technology for almost 20 years, having spent significant time at the Tennessee Lottery and more recently The Frist Art Museum. An infrastructure specialist by education, he quickly learned that the end-user experience and relationships mean just as much if not more than technical knowledge. Sanderson thoroughly enjoys musical theater and is excited to attend USN shows in the future. He started just before the Spring Break in March and has already proven himself to be a wonderful addition to our Tech Department and the USN community.  

Carly Stafford, for some of us, is a familiar face. Joining us as the Assistant Director of College Counseling, Stafford spent a semester at USN as an intern in the College Counseling Office. Stafford maintains an active research practice, studying how colleges make decisions about applicants using the committee-based system. In her spare time, Stafford is an avid gardener (she’s growing 18 different types of plants on her porch) and loves spending time in the outdoors. She’s also an aspiring polyglot — fluent in Ancient Greek & Latin and proficient in Spanish & Norwegian. Stafford holds degrees from Colorado College and Vanderbilt University.  
 
Beatriz Morales is joining the USN community to teach two High School Spanish courses this year. A Madrid, Spain native, Morales moved to the states to work in advertising in New York City. She says her love for Spanish began the moment she became a mother as she realized the need and import of teaching her own children her native language. After a stint in advertising and marketing, Morales moved into education, working with students who struggled with learning Spanish. From her time there, she learned that individualized approaches and relationships are the key ingredients to successful learning for students. Her hobbies include maintaining an active yoga practice, spending time with her family, and taking care of the family dog. Morales studied communications and public relations at the University Complutense de Madrid.  
 
Chris Cheney joins the High School arts faculty. He is a former instructor of drawing and printmaking at Watkins College of Art Design and Film and Vanderbilt's Sarratt Art Studios. Cheney has also been a practicing artist, co-owning and operating Sawtooth Print Shop in Nashville for five years. He’s very much looking forward to getting to know the faculty and students at USN. The community drew him to the school and he hopes to add to that community. In his spare time, he spends hours on Nashville’s greenways cycling, dodging dogs and the occasional snake. Cheney studied at Tennessee State University.  
 
In other USN transitions:
  • Wilson Hubbell returns from New Zealand to teach HS science and coach the Chess Team.
  • Lauren Gage moves from fourth grade to teach fifth grade English.

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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.