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 a Director 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. This 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 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, 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, Jim brings a comprehensive approach to his work, 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 program for teaching students social skills, building community, and supporting adults.
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, Ed.M Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Suffolk University, and Masters of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dawn's early work in education included coaching teachers as part of a civil rights agreement intended to improve outcomes for Black and Latinx students. Her career has centered on the redesign of systems and structures that can improve achievement for young people. As a school Guidance Counselor in the METCO Program, Dawn supported students through: affinity and cohort groups focused on identity and achievement, collaborative partnerships with school leaders and families, as well as literacy initiatives. While at the Center for Collaborative Education, Dawn's work involved leading personalized learning initiatives, district grants, and coaching teachers on the development of standards-based performance assessments in classrooms. Locally with Boston Schools, and nationally with Scholastic, Dawn led teacher professional development on "family engagement" with an emphasis on the Dual-Capacity Framework and family engagement centered in student learning—a practice she deeply values. As an Instructor with Initiatives for Developing Educational Achievement (IDEAS) since 2007, Dawn facilitates workshops and graduate classes centered in equity, cultural responsiveness, and inclusive instructional practices. Dawn is currently an Advisory Board Member with Open Circle.
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 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 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 by working with school leadership teams to develop plans that integrate these 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 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.
Gabrielle 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.