Meet the Newest Members of The Hill Family

Jared Courtney serves as Dean of the Shirley Quadrivium Center. A graduate of Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts and the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., Biological Basis of Behavior), Jared recently completed his Ed.M. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Boston University. He had served as the Director of Advanced Science Research at Belmont Hill since 2010 and led the school’s six-week summer sports camp for three years. Jared is a highly experienced boarding school professional with 15 years serving as a science teacher, dorm parent, coach, adviser, and administrator. He and his wife, Dr. Maureen Courtney, reside in Senter Dormitory in Dell Village with their sons, Fitz, Pierce, and Lloyd. He also serves as an assistant crew coach.

Maureen Courtney, Ph.D. joins The Hill as a part-time Instructor of History and Social Sciences. Maureen attended Boston University where she received her B.A. and M.A. in Psychology, and Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Since 2011, she has worked as an Instructor of Science at The Rivers School in Weston, Mass. where she also served as the Science Department Chair from 2016 to 2019. Maureen and her husband, Jared, will reside in Senter Dormitory in Dell Village with their sons, Fitz, Pierce, and Lloyd. She will be the dormitory head in Dell Village.

Liz DeOrnellas joins The Hill faculty as a Senior Instructor of English and Journalism and adviser to The Hill News. As an English major at the University of North Carolina, Liz was an active reporter and editor for The Daily Tar Heel, interned at the Winston-Salem Journal, and she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Liz has taught English and Journalism and advised student newspapers for more than 10 years in Tulsa, Okla. with Teach for America; in Durham, N.C.; and most recently at Summit Public Schools in San Jose, Calif. She holds an M.A. in Secondary Education from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Liz will serve as the dorm parent in Hillrest House and she will coach swimming.

Nick Malinak joins The Hill community as Teaching Intern and Head Forensics Coach. A native Montanan, Nick holds a B.A. in Economics and will soon complete his Master of Public Administration, both from the University of Montana. He has extensive experience coaching high school debate in Montana, where it is a sanctioned interscholastic “sport.” Nick will teach two sections of Speech as well as AP Government in the fall as a maternity leave substitute. Nick will reside in McCune Lodge.

Steve Notebaert, the School’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach since 2016, has been promoted to Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Performance. Steve earned his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and after beginning a career in the corporate world he enrolled in the Exercise and Sports Physiology Master’s Program at West Chester University. After achieving his certification, Steve returned to St. Joe’s as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach in 2012. In 2014, he became the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland, a capacity he held until he came to Hill in 2016. Steve is the head of Rolfe Dormitory, where he resides with his wife, Kayleigh, who is the School’s Clinician, and their son, Cal.

Chuck Reid comes to The Hill as an Instructor of Mathematics, Head Football Coach, and Admission Counselor. Holding a B.S. in Education from Framingham State University and an M.S. in Education from Old Dominion University, Chuck has taught math and coached football for more than 30 years. Chuck resuscitated and led highly successful, championship football programs at Proctor Academy (2005 – 2009) and the Loomis Chaffee School (2009 – 2017) and he spent the past three years as a math teacher and assistant football coach at Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, Tenn. In the summers, Chuck is the director of U.S. Sports Camps – Contact Football Camp and he is the founder and director of Confluence Football Camp. Chuck will reside at 915 East High St. with his wife, Terri, who will serve as a part-time Learning Support Specialist and teach a section of English.

Terri Reid is the School's part-time Learning Support Specialist and Instructor of English.  Terri is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire (B.A., Communication) and Plymouth State University (M.Ed., Reading and Writing Specialist, K-12).  Previously an English Teacher at Currey Ingram Academy, a school for students with learning differences and unique learning styles in Brentwood, Tenn., Terri has also worked as a learning specialist at the Loomis Chaffee School, Sutton Central Schools (NH), Proctor Academy, Pembroke Public Schools, and Newport News Public Schools.  Her husband, Chuck Reid, also joins the Hill faculty in 2020 as an Instructor of Mathematics, Admissions Counselor, and head football coach. 

Mark Rhodes, Ph.D. will join The Hill as a Senior Instructor of Mathematics. For the past eight years, Mark has served as a math teacher at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM), a public boarding school in Limestone, Maine. He has served as Department Chair at MSSM since 2018, and he also oversaw a highly active Math Team and advised the Student Senate at the school. Previously, Mark taught mathematics at Colby College, Bowdoin College, Lafayette College, Colgate University, New Mexico State University, and the University of Kansas. Mark earned his B.S. and M.A. in Mathematics from SUNY-Binghamton and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from New Mexico State University. Mark is the creator of Find the Fool, a parlor game similar to Mafia, but more complex and mathematically fair. Mark has four grown children. He will reside in Wendell Dormitory and serve as the head coach of the thirds girls’ basketball team.

Sylvia Rodríguez Vargas, Ph.D. joins The Hill as Associate Headmaster after serving as Associate Head of School and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Atlanta Girls’ School for the last five years. Sylvia earned her B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature, and Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies from Binghamton University; an M.Ed. in Educational Administration, Private School Leadership from Columbia University; an M.A. in Latin American Literature and Literary Analysis, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from The Ohio State University.

Sylvia has worked at independent day and boarding schools for more than 20 years, serving as a teacher, department chair, division director, communications and marketing chair, academic dean, associate head, and head of school. Also active in national independent school efforts, she co-chaired the NAIS People of Color Conference in Atlanta in 2016 and she has offered several workshops throughout the years at both the NAIS and PoCC annual conferences. In addition to her work in independent schools, Sylvia has served as an instructor and adjunct professor at The Ohio State University and the City University of New York, completed a seminar on school leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and she was a NAIS E.E. Ford Fellow for Aspiring Heads.

Sylvia and her husband, Brian, will reside at 718 King St. In addition to her duties as Associate Headmaster, she will be the announcer at home swimming and diving meets.

Shannon Ruane ’12 joins The Hill Community as a teaching intern in the Science Department, where she will specifically teach physics. Growing up in nearby Schwenksville, Pa., Shannon attended The Hill for four years. She was a member of the varsity girls’ soccer, girls’ basketball, and softball teams, serving as co-captain of the 2011 soccer team. After graduating from Hill, Shannon attended Penn State University where she earned a B.S. in Veterinary and Biomedical Science and Animal Science. Prior to her final semester at Penn State, Shannon was an Education Intern at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, which was her introduction to teaching. She enrolled in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, obtaining her M.S. in Educational Teaching, Learning, and Leadership in December 2019. While pursuing her master’s degree, Shannon was an Education Department Intern at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, and more recently she was a Sustainability Intern at Boyer Sudduth Environmental Consultants. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Shannon will reside in Upper School dormitory.