Faculty & Staff

MFA, English, University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop

BA, Art History and Creative Writing, Knox College

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

B.A., Mathematics, Vassar College

Working at Griffin since 1996

“One of my favorite quotes is ‘Work is love made visible.’ (Gibran) I feel lucky every day that I get to make a real and positive difference in the lives of our students and families. I love working with Griffin teachers, admins, and staff - they are inspiring me with their kindness, dedication, and work ethic. I’m passionate about engaging young people in their own education and personal development, and I hope my work models a love of work and of learning that inspires our students to develop a life full of meaning and service for themselves.”

B.A., American Studies, Yale University

Teaching at Griffin since 2016

“Being a music mentor is profoundly meaningful. Music serves a variety of vital functions for individuals and for society: it provides tools for self expression, ignites memory, cultivates connection, promotes cultural awareness, documents history, and speaks truth to power. Surely guiding students through these functions and preparing them to use their voice in this way will contribute to a saner, sweeter, safer world. Helping students to develop artistic fluency so that they can express themselves, comment on their world, communicate and collaborate, listen, gain confidence, and share generously makes me happy and grateful.”

akinaadderley.com

allieland.com

BA, Psychology, Wake Forest University

Teaching at Griffin since 2021

"You can't base your life on other people's expectations." - Stevie Wonder

M.A., International Communication, American University; B.A., Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

Working at Griffin since 2017

“I have come to learn that teenagers are people, too, and in fact, we adults have as much to learn from them as they have to learn from us! I feel fortunate to work with a community of people who embrace that concept wholeheartedly. One of the most rewarding things for me to witness at Griffin is the predictable process of incoming students beginning to trust the genuine nature of their new school environment and subsequently blossoming more fully into their authentic selves.”

AAS Visual Communication, Austin Community College; AAS Drafting, ITT Technical Institute

Teaching at Griffin since 2023

Onward, Forward!

www.garzig.com

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, Science Teaching Certificate, Texas State University

Teaching at Griffin since 2017

“The world of mathematics opens up a world that you never imagined when you take advantage of the possibilities it opens to you, whether it be seeing the beauty in things or opening up more lifelong opportunities” -Unknown.

B.F.A., Sculpture, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design 

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

“Is it cheesy or is it about cheese?” - Clark Richert 

B.E.S.S, Exercise and Sports Science, Texas State University

Coaching at Griffin since 2021

"Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan

Working at Griffin since 2020

"Maybe it's not always about trying to fix something broken. Maybe it's about starting over and creating something better." -unknown

B.A., Communications, German, University of Notre Dame

Working at Griffin since 2001

“When I tour prospective families through Griffin, I get to see it through new eyes each time. There’s beauty and magic behind every door. I love seeing the moment when prospective students get what a special place Griffin is and realize that they can be a special person at Griffin.”

M.M., Musicology and Museum Studies, University of Texas at Austin; B.A., Music and History, Florida State University

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." - Zora Neale Hurston

Coaching at Griffin since 2009

Austin Warrior Arts

MFA, Creative Writing and Poetry, Texas State University

Teaching at Griffin since 2023

M.A., Teaching, University of St. Thomas; B.A., Political Science and American Studies, Middlebury College

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

“A meaningful connection to the past demands, above all, active engagement. It demands imagination and empathy, so that we can fathom worlds unlike our own, contexts far from those we know, ways of thinking and feeling that are alien to us. We must enter past worlds with curiosity and with respect. When we do this, the rewards are considerable.” - Gerda Lerner, Why History Matters

Ph.D., Duke University; B.A., Psychology, University of the South

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

"Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of the connection, and insists they become the best they can possibly be." Rita Pierson, educator

M.S. and B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Teaching at Griffin since 2021

"Choose courage over comfort. Choose whole-hearts over armor. And choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid. At the exact same time." - Brené Brown

Teaching at Griffin since 2017

Workoutwithericanix.com

Teaching at Griffin since 2024; Griffin alum, Class of 2016

M.A., Library Science, UT Austin; B.A., Sociology, Wellesley College

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

Coaching at Griffin since 2024

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

B.A., English, Texas State University

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

“As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.” - Paul Shane Spear

Associates Degree, History, Austin Community College

Working at Griffin since 2019

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." - JRR Tolkien

Working at Griffin since 2024

M.A., Teaching Latin & Classical Humanities, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; BA, Classics, Emory University

Teaching at Griffin since 2016

Latin is a beautiful, ancient language, and I believe that a Latin program should give students an appreciation for the differences among languages and cultures, improve their English vocabulary and reading skills, establish a core cultural literacy in history and mythology, and impart to them a lifelong fascination with the ancient world and a love of its literature.

B.F.A. Sculpture and Painting, Kansas City Art Institute

Teaching at Griffin since 2012

“I became a teacher because I love to learn. Art is about asking questions, exploring for answers, and finding ways to share the things you’ve found with others. It’s the same with teaching. The classroom is a laboratory for learning. Everyone in my classroom is there to question and research, including me. I guide the class simply because I’ve had more experience, but we are all there to learn and share.”

johnnywalkerart.org

M.S. Social Work, University of Texas at Austin 

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

“There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others.” - Michelle Obama 

M.F.A., Fiction Writing, University of Florida; M.A., English and Creative Writing, University of New Hampshire; B.A., English, University of Virginia

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University; B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University

Teaching at Griffin since 2017

Chemistry is the science of various types of matter and how they react to each other. Physics is the science of how matter and forces interact with each other. That covers basically everything… except music. Music encompasses expression, emotion and soul… I can’t imagine a better place to share knowledge in these subjects than with the people of Griffin School.

CrossFit City Limits

Coaching at Griffin since 2015

BA, Human Development and Business, Antioch University.

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

B.A., History, English, University of Texas

Teaching at Griffin since 1997

“Anyone who cannot give an account to oneself of the past three thousand years remains in darkness, without experience, living from day to day.” -Goethe

M.F.A., Playwriting, University of Texas at Austin; B.F.A., Acting, NYU Tisch School

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

"Don't wait to be sure. Move, move, move." - Miranda July

malenapennycook.com

M.A., ESL, University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona; B.A., Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin

Teaching at Griffin since 2022

“Speak a new language so that the world will be a new world.” - Rumi

B.A. Visual Arts, Film, Writing (Minor); University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Teaching at Griffin since 2024

"I've always said that making a film is like making a sandcastle at the beach. You invite your friends and you get them down there and you build this beautiful structure, several of you, and then you sit back and watch the tide come in. Have a drink, watch the tide come in and the ocean just takes it away. And that sandcastle remains in your mind." — Robert Altman

B.A., Translation and Interpretation, Universidad Femenina, Peru 

Taught at Griffin 2021-22; back in 2024!

MEd, Curriculum and Teaching, Columbia University

MA, Studio Teaching, Boston University

Teaching at Griffin since 2016

M.A., English, CUNY Brooklyn College; B.A., Liberal Arts, Sarah Lawrence College

Teaching at Griffin since 2020

"Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored." --Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

B.A., Theater, St. Edward's University, Acting Apprentice, Actors Theatre of Louisville 

Teaching at Griffin since 2021

“Artists and scientists are activists. They look at the world as changeable and they look upon themselves as instruments for change. They understand that the slice of world they occupy is only a fragment but that the fragment is intrinsically connected to the whole. They know that action matters.” Anne Bogart, What's the Story: Essays about art, theater and storytelling

B.S. Mathematics and Secondary Education, University of Colorado at Boulder

Teaching at Griffin since 2011

"The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between." – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

M.A., Secondary Science Education, Mississippi State University; B.A. Science Education, Mississippi State University

Teaching at Griffin since 2014

Life sciences are such an interesting way to explore the world around us. The sense of wonder and discovery of the worlds we occupy can lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves, and where we fit on this beautiful planet. It is my hope that through these discoveries, my students become more aware of the effects they have on the organisms and environments that they interact with on an everyday basis.

M.S., Nutrition & Biochemistry, Bowling Green State University; B.S., Nutrition & Microbiology, University of Madras, Chennai, India, M.A., Education, Santa Clara University

Teaching at Griffin since 2021

"Only when our clever brain and human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential!" Jane Goodall

Ph.D., Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin; M.A., Anthropology and Middle Eastern studies, University of Texas at Austin; B.A., Anthropology, Grinnell College

Teaching at Griffin since 2018

“Cognitive psychology has shown that the mind best understands facts when they are woven into a conceptual fabric, such as a narrative, mental map, or intuitive theory. Disconnected facts in the mind are like unlinked pages on the Web. They might as well not exist.” Steven Pinker

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, M.A. Columbia University, B.A., Northwestern University 

Teaching at Griffin since 2021

One of my favorite authors is Maya Angelou who said, "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." She also said, "I believe that every person is born with talent." Each person brings their own gifts to the world, but we are all in different phases of metamorphosis. As educators, our work rests in seeing the butterfly within the caterpillar. In turn, we enjoy the privilege of guiding our students through the journey and watching as they realize their true beauty through their many talents.

B.A., Secondary Science Education, Instituto Superior del Profesorado Joaquin V. Gonzalez, Buenos Aires, B.S. Physics, University of Buenos Aires

Teaching at Griffin since 2008

I strongly believe that everyone can learn Science or anything if they are inspired to find their own path to success.

B.A, Biology, Huston-Tillotson University 

Coaching at Griffin since 2022

”I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” – Simone Biles