Olivia Piper is an English teacher, a writer, and a New Englander. She grew up in the Farmington Valley, and is very excited to be coming home after two years spent in Virginia earning an MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University. Olivia also holds a master’s degree in English & Language Arts Education from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in both English and Journalism from The University of Connecticut. Previously, Olivia spent three years working as an English Literature Instructor with Hartford Youth Scholars, and has worked as a writing instructor in the academic summer programs at both The Loomis Chaffee School and The Kingswood Oxford School. Additionally, she worked as a Public Ally through Americorps, serving the state of Connecticut as the Academic Coordinator of the Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Program.
As a journalist, Olivia worked as a staff writer for both The Valley Press and The Valley Life Magazine covering the Farmington Valley, and as a News Production Intern with WNPR. As a writer, her work, which is anchored firmly in a deep reverence for girlhood, has previously been published in The Connecticut River Review, Funicular Magazine, Black Fox Literary Magazine, Devastation Baby, and Sky Island Journal, among others. In 2024, she was a finalist for The Jack McCarthy Book Prize through Write Bloody Publishing. Olivia also has a background in the theater, having directed Little Women, Brownstone, and Almost, Maine during her time at UConn. In addition, she worked with The Avon Old Farms School as a co-director during their 2017-2018 theater season.
Read Full ProfileNicole Sellew grew up in Connecticut. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2021, where she studied English, creative writing, and film and media studies. She received her M.Litt. in creative writing from the University of St Andrews in 2022 and is now studying for her Ph.D. She teaches English and theater, and she is both a novelist and a playwright. Her debut novel will be published by Clash Books in 2025, and her writing for the stage has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, among other places.
Read Full ProfileErin holds a Master of Arts in English Literature and Bachelor of Arts in English, Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hofstra University. She has worked extensively with students on composition and literature, and she has assisted students with honing their skills to write at the college level. Erin is the Director of the Writing Center and a Middle School advisor.
Read Full ProfileDr. Ned Edwards P’07, ’10 earned his B.A. from the College of Wooster in psychology and religion, an M.Div. from Yale University with a focus on philosophical theology, and a D.Min. from Hartford Seminary in sociology and the history of American Protestantism. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Ned has served four churches as senior minister, and has considerable experience in various capacities in secondary independent education including two other girls’ schools as chaplain, director of social services, teacher, dean of faculty, and assistant head. He has taught Hebrew scriptures, Christian scriptures, world religions, ethics, philosophy, advanced placement psychology, and school of rock: the history of American politics and rock and roll from 1950-2000. His commitment to girls’ schools and girls’ education was born out of his daughters’ experience at Walker’s, and is seen not only in his career choices but in his engagement with the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools and his co-authored, peer-reviewed article on adolescent girls’ brain development and spirituality which speaks to the unique ways adolescent girls process information, extrapolating to subjects far beyond spirituality. Ned lives in Simsbury with his wife, Gwen, and enjoys woodworking, learning luthier skills, building guitars, and boating.
Read Full ProfileDave joined Walker’s in 2018 from Florida State University where he was completing his Ph.D. in Creative Writing and teaching English. He has enjoyed teaching for the past 11 years at the university level but was thrilled to join Walker’s where he spends more time focused on teaching and getting to know his students. A published poet, Dave earned a B.S. in English, summa cum laude, from Weber State University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from The University of Idaho. Dave is passionate about community partnerships and is the director of Walker’s Community Partnerships program.
Read Full ProfilePrior to joining Walker’s, Megan (Danyliw) Mulhern taught several English courses at Westminster School and the YK Pao Secondary School in Shanghai, China. While at the YK Pao Secondary School she developed a school wide reading program. She also taught at The Lawrenceville School, The Emma Willard School and worked for the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. Megan earned her B.A. in English from Brown University and her M.A. in Literature from Middlebury College.
Read Full ProfileGrowing up within sight and sound of the ocean on the South Shore of Massachusetts, Carol spent many hours racing sailboats where she learned to read and respond to wind shifts and current – capabilities she has relied on as equivalent experience teaching and advising students. She has taught and designed many courses in her 30+ years at Walker’s. Most of her time has been spent in the History Department, where she has taught every grade except seventh. Curriculum design and collaboration in the classroom stand out as the most rewarding parts of Carol’s job. She was part of a team of teachers from across four disciplines who envisioned and taught the innovative Environmental Studies course. She led the team that designed 9th Grade Seminar, the flagship of the seminar program that grew to encompass grades 9-12, and has recently been retooled for the Capabilities Approach curriculum. She is helping to break new ground in this endeavor with the design of the newest of these courses, Sustenance and Sustainability. After teaching 10th grade English for a decade, Carol is now taking on senior electives in that department. Increasingly, she believes in the power of student choice within as well as among courses. Carol has been a member of many task forces and is a recipient of the Natalie Galbraith Chair in the Humanities. She has served in a variety of administrative roles that include Chair of the History Department and Dean of Faculty. She was also a class advisor for twelve years.
Carol and her husband live off-campus. Two of their four children are Walker’s alumnae: Nan ’93 and Kate ’97. Carol is also active in town politics where she is a member of the SPIRIT Council formed to promote diversity and inclusion in Simsbury.
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