We are thrilled to announce the following hires for the 2019-2020 school year. As more are confirmed, we will update this post.

When we make our hires, we are looking for people who are passionate about our mission, exemplars of Christian character, and phenomenal teachers and scholars. We are thankful that God has led these people to The Stony Brook School! Please extend a warm welcome when you meet them.

Will and Stacey Lingle: Assistant Head of School

Will Lingle ’02 is returning to Stony Brook as Assistant Head of School. The son of Robin ’60 and Marky, Will was born and raised on Stony Brook’s campus and served as Head Prefect during his senior year. Will went on to attend Wheaton College (IL), where he received a BS in Applied Health Sciences, and earned All American Honors in the 800m Run on the Track & Field team. Will also earned his M.Ed. in Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri. Since graduating, Will and Stacey, his wife, have spent eleven years living and working at the La Lumiere School, a 9-12 boarding/day school in La Porte, IN. Will has taught in a variety of departments and served in various administrative roles, including Assistant Director of Athletics, Director of Studies, Assistant Head of School—Academics, and Assistant Head of School—Student Life. Will and Stacey have three children: Susan (5), Robin (3), and Seth (6 months). In addition to living in a school community, Will enjoys fly fishing, running, photography, and woodworking. Stacey will also be serving as a dorm mom in Alexander dorm.

Kris Ryan: Director of Upper School

Kris Ryan is both a veteran educator and an active student of history and religion. A former professional athlete, he is also acquainted with the unique opportunities and challenges facing the scholar athlete; for every year spent teaching, he’s also worked as an assistant or head coach to both football and track teams. His chief aim—for the compassionate and creative application of theology and educational philosophy in his work with students and faculty—has developed over more than a decade and a half spent working in independent schools. In addition to teaching history (ancient through mid-20th Century) and religion (both world and Christian) to 6th through 12th graders, Kris has also worked in educational administration as founder and director of Stony Brook’s Frank E. Gaebelein Office of Equity & Inclusion. Kris’s prior tenure at The Stony Brook School ran from 2010-2015. He then earned his Master’s of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2018. While a student, he worked in intern roles and worked closely with several social justice and educational initiatives, including providing refugee resettlement support, facilitating visits to ICE detention facilities, and co-teaching a seminary course in Black church history. He is coming to Stony Brook from Pennsylvania, with his wife Rachel and their four children.

Chris Burton: English & Director of Equity and Inclusion

Chris Burton is the new Director of Equity and Inclusion at The Stony Brook School. He will also teach English. Chris previously served as a Special Education/English teacher at Juan Morel Campos School of the Arts in Brooklyn. He also served as a Middle School Chaplain at Trinity Episcopal School in Charlotte. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from Davidson College, Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary, and Master of Science in Special Education from St. John’s University. He is tremendously excited to become a part of the community here as he is joined by his wife Brianna, two sons, and his mother.

Noah Bakker: College-Level Physics and College-Prep Functions & Trigonometry

Noah is a new member of our Science Department where he will teach physics. Growing up, he attended Deerfield Academy, where he became familiar with the boarding school world. He graduated from Middlebury College in 2015 with a BA in Physics. While attending Middlebury, he played for two years on the varsity baseball team. For the last four years, he has taught both Physics and Mathematics at Suffield Academy, along with head coaching both the varsity Water Polo and JV Baseball teams. He was a dorm parent there and lived in a freshman boys dorm for all four years. He also spent two summers teaching Physics at the Northfield Mount Hermon Summer Session, where he developed a passion for teaching.

Mary Beth Mebane: College-Prep English 11

Mary Beth was born and raised in North Carolina where she attended Davidson College (Go Wildcats!), graduating in 2009 with a BA in Religious Studies. After a brief stint in Knoxville, she moved to St. Louis where she completed her Masters of Divinity at Covenant Theological Seminary. Mary Beth spent the past four years in Nashville, working with students in ministry, educational and nonprofit settings. Her love of working with students led her to pursue a Masters of Education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. Friends from St. Louis introduced her to Stony Brook, and she came to deeply admire its seamless integration between rigorous academics, authentic faith, and vibrant communal life. She quickly knew that she wanted to be a part of a school that held a high bar for dedication to both students and scholarship. Mary Beth is excited to begin working as an English teacher at Stony Brook, walking alongside students as they grow and grapple with the narratives that shape their lives. Aside from teaching, Mary Beth enjoys rummaging for thrift store treasures, exploring new cities on foot, and wiling away hours on a sunny front porch swing.

Ron C. Fay, PhD: Bible 7 & 8

Ron C. Fay is joining us as the new Middle School Bible teacher. He went to a private Christian school in Connecticut as a child. He obtained his BS from Calvin College, majoring in physics/math and Classical Greek. He earned his MDiv and PhD in New Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. He was a pastor in IL, having stepped down when his wife, Sarah Fay, took a position in the science department here at the Stony Brook School 4 years ago. Their sons James and John (entering 8th grade) currently attend SBS and they have a daughter Meghan (entering 4th grade). Ron also has been teaching New Testament as an online Adjunct Professor for Liberty School of Divinity for around 10 years. He has published on various New Testament topics, including Paul, Luke-Acts, Greco-Roman backgrounds, and he co-edited a book With Stanley E. Porter on John called The Gospel of John in Modern Interpretation, the first book in a series he is also co-editing called Milestones in New Testament Scholarship. Ron has taught classes from the high school to doctoral level in numerous areas. He is intentionally student based in his teaching, seeing mentoring as a central aspect of education.

Lars and Catherine Brownworth: US & European History

Lars Brownworth ’93 is joining the Upper School History Department to teach U.S. and European history. The son of former Senior Master Thom Brownworth, Lars grew up on campus, and later attended Houghton College where he received a BA in history. After serving as a faculty member at Stony Brook from 1999 – 2007, he taught at La Lumiere and was the Chair of the History Department at Washington Christian Academy.

In the past decade and a half, Lars has also worked to share his passion for history outside of the classroom. He created the first history podcast, 12 Byzantine Rulers, guided students through Roman and Renaissance sites in Northern Italy, and has written four books on Medieval history. He has been featured by The New York Times, NPR, Wired, and TEDEd, and has written for the Wall Street Journal. He is currently writing a book about the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and working on a Masters degree in Classical Education from the University of Dallas. Lars and his wife Catherine have two sons.

Catherine Brownworth will serve as the Assistant Head for Simons Dorm. She was a four-year boarding student and prefect at The Loomis Chafee School, and earned her BA in psychology from Smith College. After completing her undergraduate degree, Catherine got an MA in Child Development from Tufts University. She worked as a Child Development Specialist in Montgomery County’s Early Intervention Program until her first son was born.

Danielle Davey: Biology and Anatomy & Physiology

Growing up on the south shore of Long Island, Danielle Davey always had an interest in the life sciences.  She pursued this passion while earning her Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame.  During a semester abroad in Australia, she conducted a three-week benthic survey with Dutch scientists, collecting and cataloguing samples on 80-miles of beach on the coast of the Indian Ocean.  It was in her post-graduate work through Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, however, that she discovered her true vocation while teaching middle school science and religion classes in an under-resourced Catholic school in Charleston, SC.  

Since graduating, Danielle has taught pre-K through 12th grade science courses in various public, Catholic, and private schools, earning certification in four states.  Most recently, Danielle taught Upper School science at Harbor Country Day School in St. James, NY.  She strives to instill a love of science in each of her students, encouraging them to take risks while exploring their curiosities.   She is eager to share her passion for biology and teaching with the Stony Brook School students. 

Danielle, her husband Travis, and their four children (Scarlett, Quinn, Ashe & Graham) are excited to join the Stony Brook School community!

Caswell Nilsen: World History 7 & 8

Caswell has taught in many different schools from Virginia to Massachusetts, including a year teaching in Budapest, Hungary. A lifelong sailor, he has happily landed at Stony Brook, and was actually born a few miles from SBS on Long Island’s North Shore. Although his graduate work was in American history, he has mostly taught world and European history throughout his career. Having coached soccer, sailing, squash, and ice hockey, he cherishes the relationships developed through sport, finding that academics and athletics complement each other, especially in a boarding environment.

Caswell holds degrees from UVA and Harvard. His teaching career has included stints at Groton, Chatham Hall, Shady Side Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon, and St. Paul’s School. He is married to Liz and has two grown sons, Campbell and Josiah, and they live on campus with two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Reka and Minka. Caswell will be teaching World History 7 and 8 for SBS this coming year.

Erik and Deborah Yoder: STEM 7 & 8

Erik Yoder will serve as our STEM 7 and STEM 8 Teacher and track and cross-country coach. Erik previously taught Math and coached cross country, soccer, and track for six years in the Conrad Weiser School District in Pennsylvania, and has had a successful career in several Vice President roles for the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad. Erik brings a combination of youth leadership and ministry experience, real world problem-solving experience, a love for project-based learning, and an insatiable appetite for innovative teaching to the Brook.

Mr. Yoder earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and a B.S. in Bible from Cairn University, where he was room mates with our own Dr. Stone, and he has completed coursework towards an MS in Mathematics.

Erik is married to Deborah, and they has four children: Aubree (14), Mindy (12), Wesley (10), and Gabriel (6). Deborah will also serve as a dorm mom in Simons dorm.

Will Brooks: Algebra II & II Honors

Will Brooks joins us as our new Algebra II teacher. For the past two years, Will has been serving as a math tutor and as a pastor at two Long Island churches: New Life Community Church and Massapequa Reformed Church. Prior to that he worked with at-risk youth in the Virgin Islands. Will’s intellectual and spiritual depth, his love for teens, and his creative pedagogy make him a perfect fit for SBS.

He holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Gettysburg College and an M.Div from Western Theological Seminary.

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