Board of Directors
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Teachers, administrators, and others who support the education community bring their combined expertise and unwavering commitment to the annual EDies celebration.
Collette Flanders
Co Chair
Collette is currently an educator in the Bow School District. Prior to making her move to teaching kindergarten in Bow for the 2021-2022 school year, she spent the first 13 years of her career working alongside countless talented and passionate educators at Thorntons Ferry School in Merrimack, recognized as the 2016 New Hampshire Elementary School of Excellence. Collette is passionate about helping students develop their love of learning while fostering positive relationships. Collette values her time collaborating with and learning from fellow members of the EDies board, specifically the time she is able to spend visiting elementary schools across the state as a member of the Elementary School of Excellence selection committee. Collette is certified in both elementary and early childhood education; she graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Durham with her BS Family Studies and her M.Ed in Elementary Education.
Lori Kincaid
Co Chair
Lori has a strong commitment to education in New Hampshire. She worked for the NH Department of Education for 28 years, most recently as the communications officer and she also coordinated the teacher of the year program for the state. She has volunteered on the Excellence in Education Awards Board for the past 20+ years and is a member of the elementary school of excellence committee. She enjoys visiting schools throughout New Hampshire. Lori has two daughters that she loves spending time with and retired in 2021 to take care of her grandchildren.
Paul Yergeau
Vice Chair
Paul has recently retired as the principal of the Deerfield Community School. Previous to being an administrator there, he was an elementary school teacher and middle school science teacher. Currently, he is supervising interns at UNH. Retirement is also allowing him to do more volunteer work, throughout New England as well as internationally, for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. He holds a BA in Biology Education from UNH, a MBA in Information Technology from SNHU, and a CAGS degree in Educational Leadership from Plymouth State University.
Stacey MacStravic
Secretary/Treasurer
Stacey serves as the Recognition and Award Programs Coordinator for the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED). In this role, she oversees the Teacher of the Year program. Before joining NHED, Stacey dedicated six years to the Department of Justice. Her professional background also includes positions at Community Bridges and Granite State College. For the first 20 years of her career, she was employed at Brookstone. Stacey holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Granite State College. She brings extensive business acumen and numerous years of event planning experience to NH Excellence in Education. Outside of her professional commitments, Stacey enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and scrapbooking.
John MacArthur
Event Manager
John has spent all but three of his twenty-one years as an educator here in New Hampshire. He began his career as a general music teacher and band director at North Andover Middle School in North Andover, MA. He jumped the border and came back home to New Hampshire where he was the Director of Instrumental Music/General Music Teacher at Milford Middle School for seven years prior to becoming an administrator. John started his administrative career as the Assistant Principal of Weare Middle School followed by two years as principal of Boynton Middle School in New Ipswich,NH. Currently John is in his fifth year of serving as the principal of Alton Central School. He feels extremely fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful “Community of Critical Thinkers Who Persevere” at ACS! Alton Central School was recognized as the 2018 New Hampshire K-8 School of Excellence. John holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Rivier College. He is currently pursuing his Ed. D. in Educational Leadership at Southern New Hampshire University. John enjoys spending time with his wife Gina and also chasing and/or carting around their son Jonah to whatever travel baseball, flag football, golf or other sport that he plays.
Bryan Belanger
Coming Soon
Fred Bramante
Fred is the Father of the EDies. Fred, a former middle school science teacher, came up with the idea as a new member of the NH State Board of Education (early 90s) when he was asked to help select the next New Hampshire Teacher of the Year. As they were going through the stack of applications, he asked about the ceremony to honor the person selected and learned that it was to be held at a restaurant in Manchester or Concord with about 50-60 attendees. Fred felt that this was not enough to honor the person selected from thousands of great teachers in our state. Using his own company’s (Daddy’s Junky Music) annual awards event as a model, Fred asked the group to envision a huge gala event with hundreds of attendees and awards for all aspects of education. The group liked the idea, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, Fred heads the non-profit National Center for Competency-Based Learning.
Jacqueline Coe
Jackie is a New Hampshire native, who went to Colby-Sawyer for her B.A. in American Studies and Dartmouth for her M.A.L.S, with a concentration in writing. She taught high school Social Studies and English before becoming Academic Dean at Bow High School. As a member of the first doctoral cohort at New England College, Jackie completed her dissertation on the impact of blended learning on student engagement. She has facilitated professional development on blended learning, performance assessments, rigor and depth of knowledge, creativity and mentoring. Jackie is especially interested in opportunities to rethink the structures of school. Currently, Jackie serves as Superintendent at SAU 24 (serving Henniker, John Stark, Stoddard & Weare).
Dorene Decibus
Dorene is an educator in the Monadnock Region in the ConVal School District. She teaches science at South Meadow School in Peterborough and has been an educator in New Hampshire for the past 36 years. South Meadow School has been chosen as Middle School of the Year twice (2005 and again in 2012). Dorene enjoys her time on the EDies board, especially visiting schools in our state as a member of the Middle School Selection committee and learning about the great things NH educators are doing in the classroom. She has served on the board for the past nine years, serving as secretary and Middle School Selection committee chair. Dorene graduated from Lyndon State College in Vermont with a BS in Elementary Education and earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Keene State College. Dorene resides in Keene with her husband Bob.
Kerstin Dumas
Kerstin is the Literacy Specialist at Highland Goffe’s Falls, earning her M.Ed in 2022 as a literacy specialist. She loves helping students with reading and writing through small group intervention and facilitating a love of reading through school-wide leadership. She has spent most of her career teaching at all elementary levels, including children with Autism, which afforded her rich experiences in the foundations of reading and writing. While this is her primary job function by day, Kerstin also enjoys participating in coaching the robotics team and supporting community engagement, where Highland has seen several state championships. In 2023, the school swept the finals, earning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the state competition. In 2022, Kerstin was awarded the Christa McAuliffe Teaching Excellence award by the Manchester School District and was a Teacher of the Year Nominee. In addition, she was honored to be a part of the Highland Goffe’s Falls Elementary staff, which was awarded the NH School of Excellence Award for 2022. She strives to elevate student achievement and collegial relationships within the community.
Kate Grieve
Kate is a nationally certified school psychologist with 15 years of experience. For the past three years, she has worked as a school psychology consultant with SERESC. She earned her BA in Psychology from St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, in 2004, and later obtained an Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, in 2009. In 2015, Kate was honored as ‘School Psychologist of the Year’ for the state of New Hampshire. Beyond her direct work in schools, Kate served as the president of the New Hampshire Association of School Psychologists for the 2022-2023 school year and is currently a member of the EDies board. Kate is passionate about her work and values the diverse opportunities her role offers in supporting school districts statewide. Her primary focus is conducting psychoeducational evaluations, but she also plays a role in developing district-wide procedures for multi-tiered systems of support. Additionally, she provides indirect mental and behavioral support to students, parents, and school teams. A strong advocate for professional development, Kate enjoys leading
Ellen Hume-Howard
Ellen has served as NHLI’s executive director since 2017. In this role, she leads NHLI to assist New Hampshire schools and districts to deepen their innovative practices in education and improve learning for all students. Ellen leads several projects at NHLI that support teacher leaders as well as supporting innovative districts in the state. Ellen was recognized by the NHSAA, with an Outstanding Service Award in 2012. Before joining NHLI, Ellen worked as the director of curriculum for the Sanborn Regional School District, and guided the district’s research, design, and implementation of a nationally recognized K-12 competency-based learning system. Ellen received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of New Hampshire, a master’s degree in Education and a CAGS in Educational Leadership.
Ron Kew
Ron has been a NH educator for 35 years, currently serving his 13th year as the principal of Swasey Central School in Brentwood, NH in SAU 16. Swasey was the 2023 NH EDies Elementary School of Excellence. Through his career, Ron has enjoyed embedding his love of guitar, technology and The Beatles into his work as a teacher and administrator in several communities, including Hillsboro-Deering, Bow, and Manchester. Ron received his BS in Education from St. Joseph’s College in Windham, ME and his MA in Administration and Supervision from UNH.
Dave Levesque
David is currently the principal at Franklin High School. Prior to transitioning to FHS, David worked in the Laconia School District for 22 years as a school counselor, the high school assistant principal, and the principal at Pleasant Street Elementary School. While at PSS, the school was named a “2017 NH School of Excellence” by the NH Excellence in Education board. In 2018, David was selected as the NH Elementary Principal of the Year. Currently, David is the President Elect for the NH Association of School Principals and is a member of the Granite State Leadership Academy.
Angel Littlefield
Angel is a recovering English teacher; after 18 years in the classroom at Kearsarge Regional High School and Bow High School, she transitioned to a role as the Academic Coordinator for Teaching and Learning in Laconia. Working with teachers in grades 6-12, she facilitated professional development, a transition to personalized-competency based learning, and curriculum development. Currently, she is the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the Moultonborough School District. She attended PSU where she completed her CAGS in 2015.
Susan Matthews
Sue is a principal in Manchester and has been an educator in New Hampshire schools for 22 years. She has been in two schools that were recipients of the Elementary School of Excellence Award. As principal of Highland-Goffe’s Falls School, Sue proudly accepted the award in May of 2022. The first award was received at Mastricola Elementary School in 2011, where she spent her time as the language arts coordinator. In both instances, she was honored to have worked alongside dedicated and talented educators. Sue has a M.Ed in Reading and Writing from Rivier, and a CAGS in Educational Leadership from Plymouth State University.
Stephanie Parzick
Stephanie is in her second year as principal at the Southwick School in Northfield. Previously, she was the Assistant Principal at the Henniker Community School for four years, where they received the 2022 K-8 School of Excellence Award. Stephanie has been an educator for over 17 years. She has worked as a special educator and as an elementary classroom teacher in New Hampshire public schools. Stephanie holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and an MS.Ed. in Special Needs from Simmons University, Boston, MA
Beth Piroso
Beth is an accomplished educator and lifelong learner. With a passion for fostering growth and knowledge, she has made a lasting impact on her school community by working in the Merrimack Valley School district for nearly 40 years. Her innovative teaching methodologies have transformed her classroom into vibrant centers of learning. Along with her colleagues, she is proud of the expertise and dedication to student growth and success that have set the stage for Merrimack Valley students to reach new heights of academic achievement. Mrs. Piroso’s journey exemplifies the remarkable influence one can have through a life devoted to learning, teaching, and contributing to the betterment of society.
David Sutherland
David is the Londonderry Middle School Assistant Principal. Mr. Sutherland's career in education started after he determined that being a software and hardware quality assurance manager was not fulfilling. He had earned an undergraduate degree in Business and Management Information Systems from Northeastern University and thought that the computer industry was where he wanted to spend his time. However, he left that field to pursue being an educator. He started his educational career at a charter school in Malden, Massachusetts, and while working as a teaching assistant, he pursued a Graduate Degree in Elementary Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Upon completing his degree, he entered the classroom as a 6th-grade general education teacher and Lead teacher, and after three years in that position, he left the public charter school environment and worked as a 6th-grade Science Teacher at the Rupert A. Nock Middle School in Newburyport. He married his wife, Leah, and in 2007 they decided to purchase a home in Londonderry, closer to his new teaching job in Bedford, N.H., at McKelvie Intermediate School as a sixth-grade Math, Science, and Social Studies teacher. While teaching sixth grade, he enrolled at Rivier University and earned an advanced degree and Principal Certification. After five years, David decided to move into a leadership position. In 2012, he took a position as an Assistant Principal in the Allenstown School District, and after serving a year, an opportunity became available in Londonderry at the Middle School, where he jumped at the chance to work for the school district and his hometown. Since joining the Londonderry Middle School in 2013, he earned his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Competency-Based Education through SNHU in 2021 Dave is proud to be a part of the Londonderry community and serve the families as the assistant principal of Londonderry Middle School and enjoys working, living, and raising his two daughters in a close-knit community. Dave is an active community member and can be seen on the sports fields, where he enjoys watching his two daughters, Jordan and Reese, play softball, soccer, and volleyball. When they aren't on the sports fields, he enjoys fishing with his kids and other recreational activities with his family, such as camping, hiking, and mountain biking.
Megan Tuttle
Megan taught 8th grade Social Studies in Keene and Pembroke for 18 years before taking on her current position as President of NEA-NH. During her time in the classroom, she also led the Washington DC trip as a chaperone and coordinator. The best part of her current position is being able to see the innovative and creative things going on in schools all across NH. This is Megan’s first year on the Edies board but has been attending the EDies for over 20 years. Through her role as President of NEA-NH, she serves on many boards and coalitions that push the advancement of public education in NH. Megan attended Keene State College and lives in Concord with her three sons.
Dr. Mike Whaland
Dr. Whaland is the Superintendent of Schools for SAU 13, serving the communities of Freedom, Madison, and Tamworth. Mike is also a Teaching Lecturer for Plymouth State University’s Education Department. Prior to serving as a Superintendent, Mike was a District Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Assistant Principal and School Counselor. He is a lifelong New Hampshire native, graduated from Bow High School in 2001 and completed his undergraduate, masters, and CAGS at Plymouth State University in 2006, 2008, and 2013 respectively. Mike also received his Doctorate from Plymouth State in Learning Leadership and Community in 2020. He has presented at the local and national level on his dissertation, "Why Rural Teachers Stay: Examining Teacher Retention and Attrition in New Hampshire’s Rural Schools." Mike serves on a number of boards to include NHASCD, Plymouth State University Alumni Association, Rural Education Leadership Network, and the Holmes Center for School Partnerships and Educator Preparation Advisory Council. He was awarded the 2017 Role Model Award by the New Hampshire Association of School Principals and part of the Union Leader’s 40 Under Forty, Class of 2021. Above all else, Mike is most proud of being part of Lancaster Elementary School’s 2016 K-8 School of Excellence recognition.
Becky Wilson
Becky currently serves as the Director of Governmental Relations for the New Hampshire School Boards Association (NHSBA) after serving in New Hampshire as a district level Special Education Director/Director of Student Services for 21 years. Prior to administration, Becky worked as a special education teacher in Goffstown, NH, and as a teacher/administrator in a residential treatment program for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders and Autism. Becky was a part of the administrative team at Mountain View Middle School in Goffstown in 2001, where they received the 2001 Middle School of Excellence Award, and has been a part of two other school finalist teams. Becky received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education/General Special Education at Keene State College, her Master of Education in Emotional/Behavioral Disorders from Rivier University and holds a CAGS in Educational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. In addition to being a member on the NH EDies board, Becky also serves on the board of Leave No Girl Behind International, a girls’ empowerment organization based in South Africa which provides leadership training to girls ages 12-18 and is a member of the International Association of Special Education (IASE) which provides support and resources to address the identification of special educational needs in developing countries.
Pam Jarvis
(Guest Member)
Ms. Jarvis has been a counselor at the Henry W. Moore School in Candia, NH for 24 years. She loves the Kindergarten through grade 8 range as she enjoys working with students of all ages. Watching the students learn and grow academically, socially, and emotionally over 9 years is a privilege. Ms. Jarvis believes in meeting students where they are and nurturing their growth with encouragement, guidance, and a strong partnership with parents/guardians. Ms. Jarvis and her partner of 10 years, Kevin, currently reside in Hooksett, NH along with Kevin’s two sons. Ms. Jarvis has a daughter, Megan, who resides in Missouri with her husband, Cooper, and their son, Archer (born in September 2025). Ms. Jarvis loves being a grandmother! Ms. Jarvis enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, baking, and taking daily walks in the beauty of New Hampshire. Ms. Jarvis also finds time to help in her community and has been a summer volunteer at the Hooksett Community Food Pantry for 9 years. Originally from Beverly, MA, Ms. Jarvis moved to New Hampshire when she was 7 years old. Both her mother and one of her three sisters work in the education field as well. Ms. Jarvis received her Bachelors Degree with a major in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire. After working in retail management for a couple of years, Ms. Jarvis went back to UNH to earn her Masters Degree in Counseling. The last 34 years have been spent working as a School Counselor, with the last 24 years being in Candia. During Ms. Jarvis’s time at Moore School, she has served on many different committees (several each year), was the graduation co-coordinator for 15 years, was a CPI trainer for the district for 18 years, and has served as the CEA co-president for the last 4 years. In the spring of 2025, Henry W. Moore School was awarded the K-8 School of Excellence. Moore school staff live by the motto of “Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Empathetic.” Students and staff are reminded daily on the morning announcements and are all challenged to improve. Ms. Jarvis believes in this motto and works everyday to help students understand how their words, actions, behaviors, and mindset matter.