The Team
Siri Fiske
Siri is the founder and Head of Mysa School. Siri is passionate about education reform and creating learning environments that focus on the learner. A strong advocate for experiential learning, Siri has traveled the world with groups of students experiencing with them first hand the lives of others. She has taught science and math. She has designed, launched, and nourished many programs in public schools, including arts and music programs that currently reach thousands of students in the Los Angeles area. Her most recent job before moving to Washington, DC was helping to design and launch a K-12 school in South Korea. Siri holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, a MA in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a MAT (masters in teaching with a focus on technology) from the University of Southern California.
Ariel Martinez Brumbaugh
Ariel, who has been a teacher at Mysa since the very beginning, just relocated to VT to help launch our new site. Ariel has twelve years of experience both teaching and leading in independent schools. She has an MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University and teaches the Connect class and Literature. To her, Mysa is an oasis for kids who need both the freedom to be an individual as well as the support of a school family. Ariel can be found exploring the trails of Vermont’s landscape with her black Lab, Tavi, in her free time.
Mike Meadows
Mike is our Middle School English and Science Teacher and resident Renaissance man. He has been working in education for over 10 years. He loves exploring the creative possibilities of education, bringing his eclectic background in literature, film studies, and architecture to bear on curriculum design and classroom instruction. Mike holds a PhD in Literature from Yale University, a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, and teaching certificates in Reading English Language Arts and Italian from the Maryland State Department of Education. Mike is also a passionate believer in education reform and has worked with the non-profit group Teach Plus to advocate on key policy issues to reimagine K-12 education for the 21st century. Outside of school, Mike can be found at his pottery studio, in acting class, or exploring DC with his husband and beagle.
Robyn Gausman-Burnett
Robyn oversees all things curricular via our new App and supports great teaching at Mysa. She is a graduate of Villanova University and The New School for Social Research. She holds several certificates in education including a concentration in Special education for Positive Psychology and Optimism from the Institute for Childhood and Educational Psychology-Europe, certificates in Competency Based Education and Educational Profiling from MIT. Over the past thirteen years she has taught math, business, and social studies spending time at schools in Korea, China and the US. For the past two years, she has been the Curriculum Specialist for Maryknoll School a K-12 Catholic school in Hawaii. In this role she directed teachers through the transition to national standards, redesigned the faculty and graduate profile and led the schools project-based learning and instruction initiative. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling as much as she can, reading great books, going to the movies and playing strategic board games.
Jessie Bunting
Jessie is our new elementary teacher. She will be working primarily with our students under age 10. Jessie is a recent graduate from Wake Forest University and has an elementary education certificate from the Maryland State Department of Education. When Jessie is not in the classroom, she can be found walking around the city exploring museums and restaurants. Jessie also loves to read, paint, and bake!
Gabriel Guzman
Gabriel is Mysa’s new Spanish & music teacher and will be teaching all students, both in VT & DC. Gabriel’s music career spans over thirty years of professional experience between Mexico and the United States. As an educator, he has taught in public and private institutions in both countries at practically all levels implementing IB and Montessori educational strategies with which he fosters students’ musical and Spanish development. In 2021, Del lirio Editorial in Mexico City published his first book: “De un Fandango -sones, juegos y cantos para el salón de clase”, a collection of Mexican games and songs to be performed by children and promote music education in schools. Gabriel lives in Washington D.C with his wife and twin children and also is a current professor at the National University of Mexico (the biggest public university in Latin America).
Izatte Preston
Mysa is excited to welcome Izatte to the team as our new middle and high school Math teacher. Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Izatte now calls Baltimore home. She has been teaching Math for the past 5 years. She really enjoys working with young people because, as she likes to say, “they teach me as I educate them.” Another avid baker, when not sifting flour, Izatte can be found reading a book, bowling, playing pretend, racing hot wheels, or playing a board game with her husband and three children.
Kathy Haskell
Kathy joins the Vermont Mysa team with a background in teaching language arts, academic intervention, and alpine ski coaching. She brings a contagious passion for education, learning, and fitness. Graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a BA in Humanities, Kathy holds a K-6 Vermont teaching license and certification as an Orton-Gillingham Educator. She discovered her teaching passion as a dorm parent, ski coach, and 8th-grade teacher at Burke Mountain Academy. Her love of skiing and teaching landed her in Telluride, where Kathy was instrumental in launching the Telluride Mountain School and taught 2nd-6th grade language arts. Returning East, Kathy and her husband Steve started a family in the Mad River Valley. Her three children, Tela, Sadie, and Zach, along with their dog, Ozzy, can be found hiking and skiing the slopes of Mad River (where she’s coached) every chance they get, especially on powder days. When the snow melts, Kathy enjoys visiting Lake Winnipesaukee, reading, mountain biking, and spending time with her family.
Lindsay Anderson
With 10 years experience as a Middle School teacher and 6 years designing individualized instruction as a tutor to middle and high school students, Lindsay has the depth and range of experience to join Mysa’s founding faculty. Her years in both traditional and progressive classrooms has allowed her to guide students in their independent work by asking questions, by providing structure as guidance, and by stepping out of their way when possible. A native of New England, Lindsay is thrilled to be living in Vermont with her partner and two kids after some time away from the area. Having a child with severe food allergies has also led her to a strong interest and experience in healthy food and cooking from scratch. Lindsay holds two MS degrees from the University of Wisconsin in Geology and Water Resources Management, and she is a NASM – certified Personal Trainer.
Savanna Poole
We welcome Savanna as Mysa VT’s founding math teacher. Savanna has spent the past four years in Southern Vermont at a small boarding school where she wore many hats including teaching math, working in the communications department, coaching soccer and hockey, and as a dorm parent. It was at Vermont Academy where she found a passion for teaching and helping students overcome their struggles in math. In the summer of 2021 she completed a master’s in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University. Prior to her time in Southern Vermont she attended Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire where she earned a degree in business and communications, and was a member of the women’s ice hockey team. Savanna is a Newcastle, Maine, native but loves living in Vermont. She and her partner, Meredith reside in Burlington with their dog and two cats. In their spare time they enjoy exploring Vermont, drinking good coffee, and spending time with friends and family.
Additional Instructors
We also have several part-time single subject specialists and PE teachers.