The following faculty and staff members will take on new and/or additional job roles in 2014-15:
Renee Blackburn will be a full-time nurse in the Student Health Center after working as one of the school's part-time nurses for the past three years. She has 23 years of experience as an R.N., 16 of which were in the pediatric field. Blackburn is also a certified BLS (Basic Life Support) instructor and holds certifications in CPR, PHTLS (Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support), ATT (Authorization to Test), PEPP (Pediatric Pre-hospital), ADLS (Activities of Daily Living), EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator) and NIMS (National Incident Management System). She has three years experience in emergency preparedness and special event coordination.
Brant Evans will serve as dean of student life,
working closely with Dean of Residential Life Marcus Holmes to lead the Student Life Office. He will continue to teach AP Government. Evans has been at Darlington since 2008, serving most recently as dean of students and football and baseball coach. He
holds a B.A. in History and an M.Ed. in Social Sciences from the University of Georgia. His wife, Ashley, teaches Spanish and coaches cheerleading and diving at Darlington.
Doug Hamil will serve as head of Moser House and will continue to work in the Communication Office part time. He has served as Darlington's director of graphic design since 2007
. Hamil has also been a member of the Neville House duty staff for the past two years. He holds an associate's degree in visual arts from The Art Institute of Atlanta and has over 25 years of experience in advertising, graphic design and multimedia communications. Hamil is also very active in the local scouting community, serving as a unit leader for 11 years. He has one son, Noah, who will be a freshman at Young Harris College in the fall.
Kent Harrison ('01) has been named associate athletic director to help with all facets of athletics, including the sports academies. He will continue to teach math at the Upper School on a part-time basis, and will coach baseball. Harrison has been at Darlington since 2006, serving most recently as a math teacher and assistant athletic director. He has also worked in the Admission Office.
He holds a B.S. in Education and an M.Ed. in Administration from the State University of West Georgia. He is a nationally registered athletic administrator (RAA) and is currently working on his CAA to be a certified athletic administrator. Harrison and his wife, Rachel, who teaches first grade at Darlington, have one son, Stafford.
Marcus Holmes will serve as dean of residential life, working closely with Dean of Student Life Brant Evans to lead the Student Life Office. He will continue to be head of Thornwood House, one of the three girls' residence halls at Darlington. Holmes
has been a resident faculty member at Darlington since 2006. He previously served as desktop support specialist, but made the transition to head of house in 2009 so he and his family could be more involved in student life. In 2011, he took on the additional role of residential dean. Holmes holds a B.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University. He and his wife, Melinda, Darlington’s director of library services, are the parents of Addie (’17) and Julia (’18).
Yensen Lambert will serve as chairwoman as the world languages department. She has been at Darlington since 2010, serving as interim department chairwoman for the last year.
Lambert holds a B.A. in Spanish from Rutgers and has completed additional studies at Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) and Hunter College (N.Y.) A native Spanish speaker with nearly 15 years of teaching experience, she recently helped develop and implement Darlington's new Global Studies program. She is the mother of Ezra ('23).
Leanne Mann will serve as the full-time director of operations for Coosa International Tennis Academy (CITA) and Coosa Junior Golf Academy (CJGA), no longer splitting her time between the academies and summer programs. She has worked at Darlington since 2004 and holds a B.A. from Campbell University. Mann has over 20 years of teaching and coaching experience, and taught English at Darlington before she began working with the academies. She is married to Marshall Mann ('66), the father of alumnae Ashley (Mann) Pittman ('89) and Lindsey (Mann) Field ('99).
Dana Peek will serve as dean of students, while continuing to teach math part time at the Upper School. She has taught math at Darlington since 2010 and holds
a B.A. in Economics from Furman University. She is currently pursuing her M.Ed. in Independent School Leadership at Vanderbilt University. Peek has also served as an SAT Prep math instructor for Floyd County Schools, a math tutor, and has seven years of experience in college admissions. She is the mother of current students Ella (’15) and Harris ('18).
Jess Peer will be the teaching assistant for K4 in the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 2013, serving most recently as teaching assistant for grades 1 and 2. Peer holds a B.A. from St. Lawrence University. She and her husband Matthew, who will serve as director of Upper School next year, are the parents of
Jackson (’24) and Ella ('27).
Matthew Peer will serve as director of Upper School. He has been at Darlington since 2010, serving most recently as director of student life.
He holds a B.A. in Sociology from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University. Peer has nearly 15 years of experience in teaching, coaching and administration. He is a recipient of Avon Old Farms School's Fanning Faculty Award as well as Darlington's Brown Faculty Award. He and his wife Jess, who will serve as teaching assistant for K4 next year, are the parents of Jackson (’24) and Ella ('27).
Tinsley Ray will teach a second section of second grade. She has been at Darlington since 2012, serving most recently as K4 teacher in the Early Learning Academy. Ray holds a B.S. from the University of Montevallo and an Alabama Professional Educator Certificate in Elementary Education from Huntingdon College. She has previous experience teaching fourth and first grades at Bear Exploration Center, a mathematics, science and technology magnet school in Montgomery, Ala. She and her husband, Kevin, who is assistant director of Darlington School Soccer Academy, are the parents of Addie (’22).
Paige Rogers will be the teaching assistant for K5 in the Early Learning Academy. She has been at Darlington since 2012, serving most recently as teaching assistant for K4. Rogers holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Shorter University and worked previously for Floyd County Schools. She is also director of Darlington's Camp Delightascope and owns a local children's consignment store. She and her husband, Jason, are the parents of Isabella Rogers ('26).
Beth Smith ('87) will teach K4 in the Early Learning Academy.
She has been at Darlington since 1994, serving most recently as a first-grade teacher. She has also taught K4 and K5 for many years at Darlington. With over 20 years of experience in elementary education, Smith holds a B.S. and an M.Ed. from Auburn University. She has been recognized with Darlington’s Beachum Master Teaching Award and Brown Faculty Award. She and her husband, Scott, are the parents of Bailey (’15), Avery (’17) and Anne Scott (’20).
