WESS Social Studies Team

Teams

• Leadership

• Arts

• Counseling

• ELA

• Foreign Language

• Math

• PE & Health

• Support Staff

• Science

• Social Studies

• Learning Specialists

• College Readiness

Amber B.

Amber was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. After college she ventured off to San Francisco for graduate school where she continued to fall in love with learning as well as city living. She continued her teaching career in San Francisco before recently moving to New York City. Teaching is Amber’s passion and she strives to make her classroom a safe, fun and engaging learning environment. In Amber’s spare time she enjoys being out in the sunshine, reading a good book, trying all the yummy restaurants, watching sports and traveling. 

Gabrielle

Gabrielle was born and raised in New York City. After high school, she moved to Brunswick, Maine where she studied Education, Psychology, and History at Bowdoin College. Feeling a bit over the cold Maine winters, her next move was to Spain where she lived in the Canary Islands and Madrid and worked in local secondary schools teaching English while she perfected her Spanish. After a couple years abroad, Gabrielle moved back home to get her masters in Social Studies Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Throughout all her educational and professional experiences, Gabrielle has always been eager to collaborate with students and coworkers to ensure a positive, innovative, and productive learning environment. Gabrielle is an energetic and empathetic educator and plans on bringing her passion for history to the classroom every day. Outside of the classroom, Gabrielle enjoys playing soccer, singing, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends. She is really excited to join the WESS community and is looking forward to meeting her students and their families!

Michele

Michele has roots deep in New York City education; born and raised in lower Manhattan, she grew up with a passion for the city and its history, nurtured by her experiences in both progressive and traditional education. Michele is in her eleventh year of teaching in New York City public schools. She received her Bachelor's degree from The George Washington University in both History and Political science, her first Master’s degree from Hunter College in Adolescent Social Studies Education, and her second from Columbia Teachers College in Educational Leadership. Throughout her educational career, Michele has studied abroad in Madrid and London, as well as traveled the world with her choir from the cape of South Africa to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Michele loves bringing the exhilaration of world travel to the classroom through inquiry and authentic experiences. She also brings a longstanding love of theater to her work, both in the classroom and in her capacity as a director of student theater. As a native Manhattanite, she knows what an engaging and deep learning environment the city is, from museums to historical sites, and loves to make history come alive with her students! Since 2015, she has used her position as grade and department team leader to write and implement antiracist American History curricula. She seeks to ensure that all students have access to compassionate and humanizing public schools. She currently lives in Manhattan, NY, with her wife. Michele is looking forward to a great year of teaching and learning at WESS!

Robert

Robert grew up in the suburbs of Long Island, New York. He earned both his B.A. in History and Secondary Education and an M.A. in History from SUNY-Cortland. His studies there concentrated on American working-class history and global imperialism. For ten years, he worked in upstate New York as an adjunct lecturer, teaching assistant, and coach before returning to the New York City area. Upon returning, he taught Global Studies, US history, and Constitutional Law at a high school on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. He also advised the moot court team, coached cross country, and mentored new teachers. Robert loves teaching social studies because it helps students understand our world and empowers them with the skills necessary to be engaged citizens. He loves when students become passionate about economic and social justice issues and engage in healthy, open-minded discussions of contemporary issues. Robert is the founding head coach of the WESS cross country and track program. He loves spending time outdoors with his runners, taking them on crazy adventures to Wisconsin for nationals and winning championships. He’s a lifelong runner who hopes to pass down the lessons he learned about humility, sacrifice, and accountability through running. Outside of school, Robert loves to spend time with his thirteen-year-old daughter Halia. They enjoy going on food adventures, playing video games, and discussing anime and Star Wars. He also enjoys sci-fi, playing grand-strategy PC games, running, trying new recipes from YouTube, and rooting for the Yankees.

Tess

Tess grew up on Long Island, but has always been a city girl at heart. Although she graduated from Bard College with an undergrad degree in Political Studies, the grind of politics was not her calling. So she went into hospitality instead, and worked every job imaginable in a number of New York City bars and restaurants–from runner, to bartender, to manager. After seeing the original cast of Hamilton on Broadway, she had a lightbulb moment–teach social studies, duh. She enrolled in a secondary education masters at City College that January and never looked back. Her other passions include traveling, cooking, riding her Vespa around the city, and riding roller coasters at Six Flags.

Wendy

Originally from NJ, Wendy now lives on the Upper West Side with her toy poodle, Brody. Wendy is excited to be at WESS! Previously, Wendy taught 9th/10th grade Global Studies in Harlem. Wendy holds a BA in History (with a minor in African Studies) from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and a MA in Social Studies Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. An avid traveler, Wendy has been to 40 countries and hopes to make it to 60 within the next few years! Wendy loves to incorporate her travels into her lessons. Besides traveling and teaching, Wendy enjoys workouts on her Peloton bike and walks with Brody exploring NYC.

Widnel

Widnel is a New York City native from Harlem who attended Brooklyn College for his undergraduate. During his time as an undergraduate, he studied abroad in Germany and South Africa, where he completed an apprenticeship with The TELF Academy. It was during this time that he discovered his passion for history and videography. Upon his return to New York, he launched his teaching career and enrolled in a graduate master’s program at City College of New York for Students with Disabilities with an extension in bilingual Spanish. Following the completion of his master’s degree, Widnel obtained another bachelor’s in film production. Today Widnel has completed 7 years of teaching and lives at home with his 2-year-old son. He enjoys watching soccer, editing videos, flying his drone, and traveling. He is excited and looking forward to teaching 8th-grade U.S History.

Jason

Jason completed his bachelor’s degree in Expeditionary Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh. After graduating, he worked for an international mountain guide company leading climbs and courses in rock climbing and mountaineering all over the country. This is where his passion for teaching began. In 2014 he attended Teachers College at Columbia University, where he received his Master’s degree in the teaching of social studies, and has been teaching ever since. He believes it is important to explore the past while making connections to our society today and enjoys challenging his students while building meaningful relationships with them. When not teaching, he can usually be found at nearby parks and playgrounds on an adventure with his two sons.