Lawrenceville Welcomes Accomplished New Educators

Lawrenceville is welcoming a dynamic group of educators and leaders to its faculty for the 2025–26 school year, a cohort whose talents span the arts, sciences, mathematics, counseling, wellness, and more. From seasoned independent school teachers to industry professionals and alumni returning to campus, each brings distinctive skills and experiences that will enrich the School community.

Jessica Block teaches music at Lawrenceville and directs both The Lawrentians, the School’s select choir, and The Lawrenceville Singers, the community choir. She brings more than 25 years of experience in performing arts education, most recently serving as vocal music director at the Nichols School (New York City, NY). Prior to that, she was the theater and vocal director, dorm faculty member, and student advisor at the Cate School (Carpinteria, CA). Block also led the arts departments at the Alexander Dawson School (Rainbow Mountain, NV) and Pacific Northern Academy (Anchorage, AK).

Kavita Chandran brings a wealth of international experience to her role as Lawrenceville’s associate director of college counseling. She previously served as assistant director of undergraduate admissions at the George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) and as a university counselor at United World College in Changshu, China. For the past three years, she has volunteered with the District of Columbia chapter of Minds Matter, supporting high school students from low-income families in preparing for college success. From 2015-2020, Chandran held advisory and leadership roles with the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange, EducationUSA Malaysia, and Fulbright Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

Michaela M. Chipman, a member of the School’s senior staff, works closely with Lawrenceville’s Wellness Team, students, residential life, faculty, and external partners to advance a holistic approach to student wellness, embedding wellbeing initiatives into various aspects of the School community.

Chipman has extensive experience in addressing the unique needs of boarding school students, having served as a wellness coordinator, school administrator, English teacher, dorm head, and coach. She joined Lawrenceville from The Loomis Chaffee School (Windsor, CT), where she held several roles, including Interim Dean of the Senior Class, Junior Varsity Field Hockey Coach, and Advisor to the Young Women’s Affinity Group. Chipman also contributed to several key committees, including Wellness Strategic Planning, Student Life, and Dorm Life. As the manager of the school’s Peer Health Educators program, she guided students in promoting campus-wide health and wellness initiatives.

Teddy Gutman ‘20 is a cum laude graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in French. He comes to Lawrenceville from Sterling Associates, a private equity consulting firm. A member of The Lawrenceville School Class of 2020, Gutman played for both the Big Red varsity lacrosse and soccer teams. He was a defensive midfielder for Princeton’s men’s varsity lacrosse squad, which qualified for the NCAA tournament three times, reached the Final Four once, and won the Ivy League tournament twice during his tenure.

 Edwin R. Núñez, a member of the School’s senior staff, directs Lawrenceville’s student recruitment, admission, retention, and scholarship aid efforts. He supervises the admission and scholarship aid team, overseeing key leaders including the Director of Admission, Director of Data Management Strategy and Operations, and Director of Scholarship Aid. His role includes shaping a comprehensive, holistic  enrollment strategy to enhance all phases of the student enrollment process – from recruitment and applications to scholarship aid and retention. A native Spanish speaker and fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Núñez brings a global perspective to his work and is committed to expanding access to independent school education.

He previously served as Director of Enrollment Management at The Pingry School (Basking Ridge, NJ), where he led transformative initiatives that not only set a record for the number of applications but also achieved a record high in the number of families choosing to enroll. 

Prior to his tenure at Pingry, Núñez served as Assistant Head of School for Enrollment Management at Hebron Academy (Hebron, ME), where he oversaw both the admissions and marketing teams. His experience also includes roles as Director of Admissions and Financial Aid and Director of International Relations and Recruitment. 

Kevin M. Polke came to Lawrenceville from Shady Side Academy (Pittsburgh, PA), where he taught mathematics and served as a residential life administrator. He previously spent a year at Avenues: The World School, with campuses in New York City and São Paulo, Brazil, where he developed an advanced middle school mathematics curriculum, served as a professional mentor in the Math Teacher Fellows Program, provided individualized support through a math lab, and coached the school’s math teams. Prior to that, Polke was a founding faculty member at Trinity Hall, an all-girls independent school in Tinton Falls, NJ, where he hired and evaluated new math faculty, developed and revised curriculum from Algebra I through AP Calculus AB and BC, and advised the senior class, business club, and math club. He began his career at St. Rose High School in Belmar, NJ, teaching a full range of mathematics courses and advising the school’s National Honor Society and math team.

In addition to his work in mathematics, Polke has also taught music—serving as musical director for three years at St. Rose High School and teaching music for two years at Trinity Hall. 

Sue Repko has been an English educator since 2013, beginning her career at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA, and most recently serving at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH. She is an award-winning writer whose essays have been named notable in The Best American Essays (2016, 2017, 2019), and she received the 2019 Maine Literary Award for Short Nonfiction. In addition to her work in secondary education, Repko has taught writing at the Princeton Adult School, based in Princeton, and Project Write Now in Red Bank, New Jersey. She is the co-author of Legendary Locals of Pottstown (Arcadia Press, 2013), which tells the history of her hometown through the lives and work of its people. 

Aidan Winn joins Lawrenceville from The Loomis Chaffee School, where he completed his teaching residency and served as a science teacher, dorm head, swim coach, and club advisor. He was also the assistant director of the school’s summer programs, which served more than 200 students. Prior to his time at Loomis Chaffee, Winn was the assistant dean of admission at Wesleyan University, overseeing recruitment and application evaluation in the Mid-Atlantic and Mountain regions of the United States. As an undergraduate at Wesleyan, he was a member of the Cardinals varsity swim team, earning New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Academic honors and a place on the Conference’s All-Sportsmanship Team. 

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.