Jennifer Dirga
Executive Director
Jennifer Dirga is currently the Executive Director of Open Circle, a comprehensive, whole-school social-emotional and positive behavior skills, and character development education program for K-8 schools. For over 17 years she worked as a Program Director, trainer, and coach at Open Circle (formerly at Wellesley College). Ms. Dirga was the Director of Social Learning at Project Adventure and developed positive behavior social-emotional skills and character-building PA programming for schools and districts.
She serves as an instructor for IDEAS through the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents providing CE Graduate Courses and Professional Learning throughout Massachusetts. In addition, Ms. Dirga continues to provide direct service to students, teachers, and the classroom as the school counselor at the Chestnut Hill School. She has worked as a school counselor and consultant in schools throughout Massachusetts. Her entire career has been working with students, educators, and families within educational settings to foster safe, and highly engaging learning communities.
Ms. Dirga presents at conferences throughout the country on mindfulness, Circle Practices, and related topics. Ms. Dirga has published articles on responding to childhood trauma and character education. She is an instructor and visiting lecturer for both graduate and undergraduate education courses. Her focus is childhood and adult anxiety, emotional health and wellness, and restorative practices. She works with organizations and districts throughout the Northeast providing professional learning.
She received her undergraduate degree in Education from Wheelock/ Boston University and her MSW through Simmons University. She is trained as a SPACE clinician through Yale University and as an emotional health and wellness coach through Cornell University.
Kerryn Hinds
Director of Community and Belonging
Kerryn Hinds M.Ed is the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Chestnut Hill School. I am a coach and consultant for early childhood programs, building effective teams, and equitable classroom practices. Prior to becoming an administrator, I was a Montessori and progressive educator for several years. As an immigrant, born and raised on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, I speak to first gen students and work with teachers to build cultural responsiveness with families who are from different countries.
I am with Open Circle because it is such a powerful curriculum. I witness and experience first hand how students engage with the units and learn important skills like communicating their feelings, using non-verbal signals and building relationships with each other. SEL matters to me because children need to develop a strong sense of identity and that happens at home and also in school. When a student’s identity and self awareness is developed, they thrive emotionally and academically. Open Circle has been successful in fostering these skills and ensures that students are confident learners.
Sallie Dunning
Trainer
Sallie has spent her life working for non-profit organizations (public schools, community based counseling center, legal services, higher education research and action center) in a variety of roles (director of training, counselor, research associate, associate director, coaching director, senior trainer). Most recently she has worked at the National Institute for Out of School Time (part of the Wellesley Centers for Women) and Open Circle.
Achala Matthew Godino
Trainer
Achala Matthew Godino has been working in early childhood education for the past 14 years. As a trained Montessori teacher, he is committed to creating inclusive, caring classroom communities and to teaching children the skills they need to be skillful, independent learners who enjoy healthy relationships and self-driven success. He is thrilled to be training other educators in the Open Circle curriculum, a child-centered curriculum which dovetails perfectly with Montessori’s pedagogy. Achala is also a trained yoga teacher through the Integral Yoga Institutes. Outside of schools, he can be found hiking with his partner Nick, playing the guitar, or singing spiritual songs.
Jess Ellis
Trainer
Jess Ellis is a lifelong learner, artist, traveler, and linguist. This year she had the pleasure of visiting her 37th country! She has been an educator in Boston Public Schools since 2003, having been a 1st grade teacher for many years, a reading specialist, and is currently an ESL teacher. She believes in establishing teaching practices that embrace diversity in all of its forms, and that create a safe, supportive, welcoming, and nurturing learning environment for every child. She is an enthusiastic supporter of Open Circle, since she has been using it herself for over 15 years. She is excited to share the program with other educators, and hopes it will have the same transformative effect on their teaching as it did on hers.
Lateefah Franck
Advisory Board / Trainer
Lateefah has been in the education field for over 20 years. Originally from Washington D.C., Lateefah came to Boston as an undergraduate where she earned a B.A. from Boston University, M.Ed. from Lesley University and a C.A.G.S. from Simmons College.
She began her educational journey in inclusion and LEP classrooms as a first, third, and fourth grade classroom teacher. She then became a literacy specialist for upper elementary school struggling readers, before solidly placing her feet in roles of school leadership. She was an instructional coach before becoming the upper Elementary School Principal at the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School. Now as the METCO Director in the Westwood Schools, Lateefah is extending her work as an educational leader providing support to educators.
Molly McKay Bryson
Trainer
Molly McKay Bryson is a Restorative Practices / Safe & Welcoming Schools Specialist in Boston Public Schools. She supports climate and culture building across Region Five of the district. And, she co-leads district-wide professional learning focused on Restorative Justice Practices and on Preventing & Addressing Bullying. Over the last 15 years, Molly has taught history, humanities, and social-emotional learning and has served as a district SEL coach and new teacher developer. Molly is an active member of the Boston Teachers Union and believes in positive collective change in public education. She's excited to collaborate with other educators through the Open Circle community.
Jim Strouse
Trainer/ Coach and Curriculum Developer
Jim is a lifelong educator who has held roles as a classroom teacher, student advisor, SEL trainer and coach, curriculum designer, peer mediation coordinator, and academic coach. His educational philosophy is rooted in building positive relationships with others. Through his extensive work with Open Circle SEL+, Jim brings a comprehensive approach to his work with SEL, supporting implementation in schools based on his direct coaching and consulting work with teachers, administrators, and support staff. He believes the Open Circle is the premier SEL program for teaching students social skills, building community, and supporting adult SEL.
Jim is a mindfulness practitioner and a spiritual guide leading youth to perform service to others in Santa Fe, New Mexico every year. He is also a musician who enjoys playing live music in the Boston area, as well as hiking, kayaking, and traveling with his family. He is the proud father of two sons and lives with his wife in Metrowest Boston.
Dawn Shearer-Coren
Advisory Board / Consultant
Dawn Shearer-Coren has her B.A. in Sociology, from Suffolk University and Ed. M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education with a concentration in Policy and Risk Prevention. Dawn was a Senior Associate, with the Center for Collaborative Education (CCE) where she supports schools and districts in implementing Essential Personalized Learning. While working district-wide with Boston Schools, she developed district-wide professional development on family engagement practices linked to learning and currently is a trainer leading Scholastic’s FACE (Family And Community Engagement) Series. Dawn’s commitment to equity and culturally relevant teaching is driven by her experiences as a mixed race Black woman and her involvement in the METCO Program over the past 15 years. Presently she is a METCO coordinator for the Newton Public Schools working within the middle and elementary schools. She has been an IDEAS Instructor for over10 years.
Paula Martin
Advisory Board
Dr. Paula S. Martin is a scholar-practitioner with over 30 years of Anti-Bias / Antiracist / Cultural Proficiency experience. Dr. Martin provides Professional Development to School Systems and Community Colleges; delivering courses and workshops to P-12 Administrators, Teachers, Staff, and Students. Dr. Martin also serves on the Bias Review Committees for DESE (Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education), the College Boards ( SAT, PSAT), and serves as the Cultural Proficiency Consultant with the Concord/Carlise Public School System. Dr. Martin is a
retired Middle School Administrator and is an Adjunct Professor at Clark University teaching a Cultural Competency graduate course in the MPA program, "Living Locally, Thinking Globally."
Seeta G. Durvasula
Advisory Board
Seeta holds a B.A. in Political Science from Hood College, a B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Maryland, and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. With over 25 years of experience as a middle school social studies teacher and curriculum leader, Seeta brings extensive expertise to her role.
Seeta currently serves as an instructional coach at Marshall Simonds Middle School. Her work focuses on building collaborative environments, aligning instructional goals with the diverse needs of students, and promoting culturally responsive Tier I strategies. Prior to her current role in Burlington, MA, Seeta was an educator with Concord Public Schools in MA and Montgomery County Schools in Maryland.
Sara Zuckerman
Trainer
With 20 years as an elementary educator, I am deeply passionate about Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and particularly the impact of the Open Circle curriculum. Open Circle’s targeted, age-appropriate lessons provide students with the essential skills they need to understand and manage their emotions, communicate effectively, and resolve conflicts. These skills are introduced and reinforced progressively, empowering students to grow their emotional awareness, empathy, and interpersonal skills as they advance through school.
Teaching Open Circle, I saw firsthand how it transformed students’ sense of community and responsibility. Students became more engaged, compassionate, and accountable—not only for their own actions but also in supporting their peers. This foundational SEL work allowed students to feel safe, respected, and motivated to learn, enhancing both individual growth and our classroom community as a whole.
Petra Hesse
Advisory Board
Dr. Petra Hesse has been a professor of human development at Wheelock College and BU Wheelock. Her research interests are children's emotional development and political socialization, and the impact of electronic media on young people's development. Her teaching has focused on lifespan development, positive psychology, emotional development, children and the media and children's political lives. She has repeatedly teamed up with early childhood and elementary teachers to develop emotional and media literacy curricula and has shared her work widely with parents, teachers and other professionals.
Christine Powers
Trainer and Curriculum Developer
Christine Powers joined Open Circle in 2024 as a trainer and curriculum consultant. Christine is also a Social Emotional Academic Development (SEAD) Coach for the city of Boston. In this role, Christine supports school-level implementation of transformative SEL by working with school leadership teams to develop plans that integrate SEL practices into staff meetings, school schedules, and daily activities. Christine also provides both team and individualized instructional coaching for teachers to support the systemic integration of research-based based SEL practices into instruction.
Prior to SEAD coaching, Christine was a classroom teacher for 16 years in both NYC and Boston public schools. Christine taught ELA inclusion and sub-separate as well as AP Psychology. Christine has mentored and coached graduate students in the Boston Teacher Residency program, undergraduate students in the Generation Teach program, and student-athletes between the ages of 11 and 22 years. In 2013, Christine received the Scholar Athletes Coach of Year Award. In 2012 and 2013 Christine was selected to participate in the Teachers for Global Classrooms and Fund for Teachers fellowship programs.
Outside of the school environment, Christine is a certified yoga instructor and mother of two beautiful girls. Christine teaches adult yoga at the YMCA and children and teens through her EmPowers Yoga program. As a mother and educator, Christine is passionate about supporting people across the lifespan in gaining the knowledge and skills to empower them to cope with whatever life throws their way.
Hillary Farber
Advisory Board
Professor Hillary Farber is a law professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Law. She teaches related courses in the areas of criminal law and procedure. Her research includes topics on juvenile justice, law and technology, privacy, and immigration policy and practice in the U.S. In 2019, Professor Farber spent five months at the U.S. southern border working for the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project representing detained immigrants in removal proceedings and volunteering with humanitarian aid groups to assist migrants crossing the border. In 2020, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project named Professor Farber Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Prior to full time teaching, Professor Farber was a public defender in NH.
Gabrille Jean-Jacques
Trainer
Gabrielle "Gabby" Jean-Jacques is a Restorative Practices and Safe & Welcoming School Specialist in the Boston Public Schools, where she is dedicated to fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments. With over 15 years of experience in education, Gabby has taught a range of Humanities courses, including English Language Arts, Creative Writing, and African-American Studies.
A proud native of Boston and first-generation Haitian American, Gabby is deeply rooted in the local community. She is a graduate of Boston Public Schools and earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology and African, African-American Diaspora Studies from Wheaton College in Norton, MA. Gabby later pursued her Masters in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, through the Boston Teacher Residency program, earning dual certifications in English Language Arts and Moderate Disabilities.
Gabby's teaching philosophy is firmly grounded in Social Justice, Equity, and Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices, with a strong emphasis on Social Emotional Learning. She is committed to elevating and affirming the voices of her students, particularly those who have historically faced inequities and marginalization within the education system.
Outside of her professional life, Gabby is a joyful wife and mother of two. She enjoys dancing, cooking plant-based dishes, and journaling as a form of self-care. Gabby’s passion for education is fueled by her belief in the power of every student’s voice and the transformative potential of restorative practices.