Meet the 2023
Building Bridges Cohort!

Kate DiTullio is a middle school social studies teacher in Brooklyn who loves engaging her students in rich discussions about ideas from the past that impact their daily lives. When she's not teaching, she enjoys traveling, reading, and exploring the city!

Hello, my name is Megan Huftalen.  This is my 18th year teaching 8th Grade Civics in Fairfax County Public Schools.  I love teaching Civics because of the focus on current events and the relevance to the world around them.  I enjoy participating in our school leadership team.  I am the Civics Collaborative Team Lead and Social Studies Department Chair.   Additionally, I work with our county specialists to create instructional materials and mentor new and/or student teachers.

I am originally from central New Jersey.  I went to Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY for my undergraduate degree in History/Secondary Education.  I received my masters in Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Sarah Lovejoy grew up in a military family and attended 9 different schools before college. She attended the University of Notre Dame where she studied philosophy and literature. She also worked for the Haiti Program and the Institute for Advanced Study. She spent a summer in Uganda researching and teaching computer classes, which inspired her post-graduation plans. She spent 2 years in the Peace Corps, teaching English at Mbelekese Secondary School level in Singida, Tanzania. Highlights include co-founding a regional Spelling Bee competition, cooking with neighbors, and learning to speak Swahili. She realized her deep love of teaching during this time and returned to the states to pursue a Masters in English Education at Teachers College, participating in their Peace Corps Fellows Program. She has taught middle school English and Social Studies for the past 6 years, primarily at Community Action School. Though she loves to travel, New York City is her home and at 6 years here it’s the longest she has ever lived anywhere (one year away from being “a New Yorker”!). 

Shani Nakhid-Schuster is a middle school social studies teacher at the Brooklyn Green School. As a native of Aotearoa, New Zealand with Samoan and Trinidadian heritage, the opportunity to study in New York City has led Shani Nakhid-Schuster to pursue a career in urban education, in the hopes of researching and further developing civic youth engagement. Her studies in Sociology have inspired her to seek more opportunities that will allow her to engage with minoritized communities and promote social change in education.

Anthony Nobles is an 8th grade Civics and Economics teacher at Plaza Middle School in Virginia Beach, where he has spent his entire career. He strives to make government come alive for his students with projects like a mock Congress, in-class business pitches, and a class election. Anthony is passionate about service learning and sponsors students who participate in Relay for Life. He serves on his school division’s Teacher Forum Leadership Council, Social-Emotional Learning Implementation Team, and a variety of school committees and leadership positions. He loves spending time with his children, sometimes performs comedy in the Hampton Roads area, and is an avid UVA sports fan.

Matt Resnick is a teacher and social studies department chair at Buford Middle School in Charlottesville, VA with over a decade of experience in education. From serving as a coach on multiple state champion teams to volunteering time on multiple committees in Central Virginia, Matt uses his positive energy to inspire everybody to come together and make great change. "