Team
Juliette LaMontagne, Ed.D.
Executive Director and Founder
Before launching Breaker, Juliette spent fifteen years piloting learning experiments with the New York City Department of Education - as a classroom teacher, professional developer, and teacher trainer. Her innovative work in education is recognized by TED, where she is a Senior Fellow, and the Institute of Design at Stanford University, where she is a d.fellow. In 2012 she was named in the Public Interest 100. She received excellence in teaching awards from Columbia University, Teachers College, where she was a lecturer from 1999-2004.
Ivan Cestero
Program Director
Ivan pioneered the Social Innovation Program at Avenues: The World School. He has taught classes across the curricula specializing in Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Design. His experience also includes teaching IB curriculum, Spanish at NYU, home-school instruction in Brazil, and language classes in Europe.
Leah Hirsch
Facilitator
Leah is a founding teacher at the groundbreaking Quest to Learn school, a game-based learning environment in New York City where she teaches science to 6th graders, works with educators to design curriculum, and facilitates professional development experiences. She specializes in the design of challenge-based learning experiences. Before this, she worked in outdoor education with the Fresh Air Fund, and within the San Francisco Unified School district as an advocate for under-resourced youth.
Stephanie Nudelman
Curriculum Designer
Stephanie taught high school English in Chicago Public Schools, coached slam poets with Young Chicago Authors, developed an English language program in Kolkata, India with Apne Aap Women Worldwide, and created the Literacy Content Framework with the CPS Department of Literacy. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Education Policy at Columbia University, Teachers College.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
TONY WAGNER
Expert In Residence at Harvard University's Innovation Lab. Best selling author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators
LOGAN SMALLEY
Director of TED-ed, the education initiative of TED
MARIA POPOVA
Writer and Curator of Brainpickings.org, a design and culture blog
SUSIE WISE
Director of K12 Lab Network at The Institute of Design at Stanford University
TOM UGLOW
Creative Director at Google Creative Lab
