New Faculty & Staff Welcomed to BSM

Benilde-St. Margaret’s is pleased to welcome the following new members of the faculty & staff to our community. With many years of experience and diverse backgrounds, the BSM community is stronger by having them with us for the 2023-2024 school year.

Let’s meet the new members of the BSM team:

Danielle Hermanny ‘03, President
On May 15 of this year, Danielle assumed the presidency of BSM. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, with a B.A. in English and a minor in Theology, she also graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame’s Law School. Prior to returning to BSM, Danielle spent 12 years in higher education at the University of Portland and the University of St. Thomas. She and her husband Alex have three children and enjoy taking advantage of all the outdoor adventures Minnesota has to offer.

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Brian Lynch, CFO
Brian comes to BSM with a finance and operations background in for-profit and nonprofit sectors; most notably having spent seven years as the CFO at DeLaSalle High School. Lynch earned his B.A. at the University of St. Thomas and his MBA from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. 

Brian and his wife Kelly have two children, and enjoys spending time with his family, and getting out for walks and bike rides whenever he can.

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Nick Brady, Director of Faith & Mission
Nick begins as BSM’s new director of faith and mission after serving as the Next Steps Director at the Church of Saint Paul in Ham Lake. He is excited to bring his passion for faith formation and strategic leadership to BSM, working with faculty, staff, and students to build upon their existing efforts to fully integrate faith and mission in all they do.

Nick and his wife Madalyn have two children and are looking forward to connecting with BSM families.

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Rick Johns ’70, Athletic Director
Rick was appointed BSM’s new director of athletics and activities after serving as interim athletics director at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. With more than 20 years of experience coordinating and leading athletic and activity programs, Rick also serves as executive secretary for Region 4A of the MSHSL.

Rick and his wife Patti have four children and four grandchildren, and they like to grow wildflowers.

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Miriam Augsburger, Choir Teacher
Miriam holds a B.A. in Music Education from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, having received her M.A. in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. Miriam is in her seventeenth year of teaching and has taught music at all levels K-12. Miriam and her husband Matthew Tintes enjoy traveling and watching movies together. Miriam also loves reading, dabbles in gardening, and is starting to get back into sewing. She serves on the editorial board of The Star of the North, and volunteers as a church musician at Faith Mennonite Church. She is excited to start teaching choir at BSM.

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Alison Bell, Little Knights Assistant
Alison has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Northern Iowa and in addition to her duties as a substitute teacher in the Little Knights classroom, has been a nanny for local families the last 20 years.

Alison likes to bike, walk, do yoga, go out with friends, cook new recipes, and read.

 

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Ty Cody, School Psychologist
Ty joins the BSM team having received a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College and a master's/specialist degree from the University of Minnesota. He previously worked as a school psychologist at Academic Arts High School in West St. Paul and has a passion for counseling students, helping them build skills and improve their overall wellness in order to thrive at their best in and out of school and in their activities.

Ty and his wife have two dogs and enjoy hiking, biking, and seeing live music.

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Emily Fleser, Little Knights Assistant Teacher
Emily has 7+ years of teaching preschool, primarily working with toddlers and is very excited to be working with mixed ages as part of BSM’s Little Knights program. She currently lives in Lakeville with her husband, Ben and dog, Milo.

Emily enjoys coffee and a good book, brunching with friends, and spending time with family.

 

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Gigi Herman, Junior High English Teacher
Gigi, a recent graduate at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is very passionate about education and creating a safe and welcoming environment for students. She is beyond excited to be teaching 8th grade English at BSM this year.

Outside of school, Gigi enjoys playing tennis with my family on the weekends, spending time with friends, reading new books, and traveling, having traveled to five European countries outside the United States.

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Jeremy Kienitz, High School English 
Jeremy has ten years of teaching as a second career after spending many years in radio.

Jeremy is passionate about literature and enjoys reading in all genres. His hobbies include watching films and collecting anything Star Wars/Star Trek or Sci Fi.

Jeremy is excited to be here at BSM and is looking forward to the new school year. 

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Matt Kennedy, Registrar
Matt comes to BSM as a former teacher of over 14 years.  He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota - Duluth and a Master's degree in Teaching and Learning from St. Mary's University.   He currently lives in Plymouth with his wife Karen and four children. 

Karen is an assistant principal in the Osseo School district, where Matt previously taught.  His children and their activities keep life plenty busy, but they find time to spend at their cabin north of Grand Rapids, bike, watch sports and play.  Matt is a hardcore Minnesota Sports fan, and is ever hopeful one of the men's teams can bring home a trophy. 

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Dan Murray, Social Studies
Dan comes to BSM after 25 years of teaching German and social studies at area schools in the Twin Cities. He spends his summers working on curriculum development and biking through Germany and Austria.

In his spare time he enjoys reading mysteries and riding his bike locally in the Twin Cities.

 

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Catie Scherer Brackin ’99,  Alumni Relations & Community Events Specialist

Catie Brackin comes to BSM from St. Therese School where she spent about the last seven years teaching both preschool and first grade.  Catie is busy raising three children with her husband James. 

Most of their "free time" is spent attending the various athletic events of their children, but they also love sneaking away to their cabin or running off to the mountains to enjoy the great outdoors!

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Gretchen Sandberg, Little Knights Lead Teacher
Gretchen joins BSM as a lead teacher for the Little Knights program. She enjoys making magic with children and learning right alongside them. It’s her passion and what drives her as a teacher for almost 20 years, while still learning and becoming a better teacher every day. Her inspiration and background come from the Reggio Emilia philosophy and the Montessori philosophy. She loves how the two learning styles complement each other, allowing children to learn ways to become independent, creative, explorers, innovative, kind and wonderful humans. During her career, Gretchen has worked hard to create a beautifully inviting environment, offering rich materials and opportunities which inspire and support other teachers. Gretchen lives downtown with her husband and cat, loves to travel, spend time with family and friends and says there is nothing better than the first sip of coffee in the morning.

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The entire BSM team welcomed new and returning students to BSM on Monday, Aug. 28 and Tuesday, Aug. 29. To meet our full faculty and staff, visit the BSM Directory.