Cameron Barnett began teaching at Falk in the 2016-2017 school year as Artist-in-Residence, working with grades K-8 on creative writing, reading, and special projects. However, his relationship to Falk begins in 1996 when he came as a 2nd grader, graduating from the 8th grade in 2003. His sister, Afton, graduated two years later, following in the footsteps of their mother, Charlene, a 70s Falk alumna. Cameron is a 2011 graduate of Duquesne University, and a 2016 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he received the 2011 O’Donnell Award for Excellence in Poetry and the 2013 Academy of American Poets Graduate Poetry Award, respectively. His debut collection of poems, The Drowning Boy’s Guide to Water, will be published by Autumn House Press in November of 2017. Starting in the ’17-’18 school year, Cameron will move full-time to the middle school level, teaching 6th grade social studies and 7th grade language arts, and will serve on the Falk Alumni Advisory Committee, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and coach middle school cross-country. He believes deeply that people's words and stories (especially students') are artistic and valuable things, and that everyone's matters. In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing, running, and cheering on all Pittsburgh sports.

Cheryl Capezzuti joined the faculty at the Falk Laboratory School in 2009 after more than a decade working as an independent puppet maker and master teaching artist for many local arts organizations. Most notably she was an Artist-in-Residence, rostered through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, through which she completed more than 50 residencies in schools and communities. At Falk she runs the visual arts studio for the older grades and collaborates with teachers at all grade levels and in all disciplines integrating the visual arts into the curriculum. Outside of Falk, Capezzuti is a sculptor and puppet maker with a rich studio practice. She is best known as the master puppet maker and Creative Director for the First Night Pittsburgh Parade, which features hundreds of giant puppets she has made through workshops all over the greater Pittsburgh region. In addition to making very large-scale works, she also produces smaller, gallery-sized theatrical works using puppets and exhibits sculptural work in both galleries and non-traditional spaces. Nationally her work has been featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Good Morning America, and NBC Nightly News.

Autumn first arrived at Falk as a MAT Intern during the 2004-2005 school year where she interned with Jackie Metcalf in a fourth and fifth grade classroom.  After her intern year, she was asked to stay on at Falk as the assistant director of the After School Program.  Shortly after taking that position, she took over as the director of the after school program and continued in that role until June 2009 when she was invited to join the Intermediate team. For the 2009-2010 school year, she was the resource teacher on the intermediate team, teaching 3rd-5th grade and all subjects. This year, she has a new homeroom of 20 fourth and fifth grade students and she teaches all subjects. When she is not at work, Autumn is most likely at football practice, playing some other sport, or spending time with her family.  For the past 5 years, she has played for the Pittsburgh Passion, a full-contact woman's football team.  When not at practice, she loves to spend time with her family and friends.  One of her favorite things to do is to eat lunch with her family on Sunday afternoons.

Alexander Dragon has always been fascinated by the natural universe, the Earth, and living things. Like many young children, he was obsessed with dinosaurs, but pursued this love of paleontology through college. He studied environmental geology and biology at and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Environmental Geology in 2012. During this time, he volunteered in the PaleoLab at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History preparing fossils, and he received a Brackenridge Fellowship in 2011-2012 to CT scan and study a Jurassic crocodile relative (Hoplosuchus kayi).  Although Alex loves science, he also enjoyed the broad exposure to the humanities and especially the history and philosophy of science during his undergraduate education.

After his undergraduate education, Mr. Dragon decided to pursue science teaching and returned to Pitt to complete their MAT program, and taught as the middle school science intern at Falk during the 2014-2015 academic year. He taught biology and physical science as a long-term substitute at Peters Township High School the following year, and was delighted to return to Falk teaching 6th and 7th grade science in 2016-2017. Alex enjoys birdwatching, drawing, reading, and playing video and table-top games in his spare time and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Darylana Godfrey is an educator, musician, and Pittsburgh native with degrees in Music, Education, and Brain-Based Teaching.

Ashley Lynn Hellmann began her career at Falk Laboratory School in 2008 when she worked as the Spanish intern with the primary and middle-school students. Before earning her Master of Arts in Teaching a Foreign Language from the University of Pittsburgh, she earned a B.A. in Spanish and a B.A. in Advertising / Communications from the Pennsylvania State University. During her undergraduate studies, Ashley spent four months living abroad in the city of Salamanca, Spain. In 2009, Ashley was hired by Falk School and currently teaches Spanish to students in grades K – 4. During her time at Falk, Ashley has helped to design and implement numerous research projects, involving curriculum and assessment, with doctorate students from the University of Pittsburgh. Her collaborative work has been published in the “Foreign Language Annals,” “The Language Educator,” and the “Pennsylvania Language Forum.” She has also presented at numerous conferences, including the annual meetings of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.

Once Alicia realized that she couldn’t make a living while dressed as Pluto at Disney World, she pursued an equally meaningful career as a therapist and counselor. She has worked in various public schools and is so grateful that her journey led her to Falk. She really enjoys fostering the social and emotional growth of children and the opportunity for creative freedom that is encouraged in a progressive school setting. Her interests include anything related to sociopolitical change or music. She is a self-proclaimed foodie who really enjoys spending time with her family, pets, and friends. 

Chelsea began her career at Falk Laboratory School when she worked as an intern in second grade in the Spring of 2010.  She returned back to Falk in the 2011-2012 as a Kindergarten teacher. From 2012-2013 Chelsea moved to Michigan with her now husband and worked as a Kindergarten Teacher in Detroit. Chelsea is also a certified vinyasa yoga instructor and enjoys running, animals and spending time with family and friends.

Carolyn Mericle has enjoyed a 29-year career of serving as a teacher and administrator at various independent schools in the Washington DC and Pittsburgh areas.  She has led classrooms of children ranging from preschool to first grade. She has served as Director of After School and as an Education Director for school programs involving children in pre-k through 6th grade.  All of the classrooms and programs in which Carolyn has worked have shared the same student-centered, experiential, progressive orientation to education that Falk Laboratory School so excellently exemplifies.  Though Carolyn has taught for a long time, she still finds teaching an energizing and fascinating undertaking! At home, Carolyn loves spending quality time with her family. Together they care for their many pets, garden and orchard. Carolyn also enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, sailing and cross- country skiing.

Leah began teaching yoga and mindfulness at Falk School in 2011.   Her classes at Falk are centered on guiding children through the simple but powerful practice of connecting movement and breathing to create a relaxed, focused and aware student, ready to learn and play.  Ms. Northrop also teaches individual “therapeutic” yoga sessions for students with a variety of challenges, from the social and emotional to the behavioral and learning realms.  Additionally, Ms. Northrop  heads a research project at the University of Pittsburgh, Yoga for Anxious Children.  Her interest lies in the development, implementation and outcome of exercise-based treatments for children and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders.  She has presented her work at international conferences. She enjoys almost any outdoor activity, cooking for a crowd and most of all, spending time with her husband, Ben and her three sons, Wyatt, Weston and Lucas.  Ms. Northrop currently lives in the Squirrel Hill area.

Lindsay O’Sullivan began her career at Falk School as an intern in Ms. Ridge’s room in August, 2001. While on that fateful journey, Lindsay discovered that Falk was her “dream school.” The following school year, she happily accepted a position in a 3rd and 4th grade classroom. One of Lindsay’s favorite units involved using picture books to analyze stereotypes. She was so impressed with her 3rd and 4th graders’ ability to articulate how hurtful stereotyping can be. In her spare time, Lindsay stays busy by training for triathlons, doing yoga, and reading about some of her favorite topics: environmental issues, animal rights, nutrition, and women’s issues. Lindsay loves spending time with her husband Brian, son Callahan, dog Cooper, and her family and friends.

Katie Pohl began her career at Falk in 2009 interning under Lindsay O’Sullivan in a 3/4 combined-age classroom. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with her Master of Arts in Teaching, she was hired as the intermediate resource teacher, working with all six intermediate homeroom teachers and students.  In addition to two years as resource teacher, Katie was a third grade homeroom teacher at Falk School.   She currently serves the intermediate team in a 4th/5th grade loop.  Before beginning her professional career as a teacher, Ms. Pohl enjoyed a wide variety of jobs that helped to form her into the teacher she is today. Outside of school, Katie Pohl has many hobbies and interests.  She can most often be found painting, drawing, print-making or collaging the before-mentioned items.  She also enjoys cooking, gardening, composting, reading, watching movies, spending quality time with her two cats, and spending time outdoors.

Joanne began her teaching in the Greater Johnstown Public School system.  After teaching for 3 and a half years (K. 1st, 2nd, 4-6 Science & Social Studies), she took a break to go to NYC.  Working as a secretary by day and singing at night, she soon got bored and came back to teaching.  Jo went back to school in a Master/Doctoral program as a Teaching Fellow, earning a secondary English certificate along with a Master of Arts in Language Communications. She spent a year in London at City University studying contemporary English literature and formally observing in a variety of schools to see how the English taught English. Upon her return, she taught for two years at McEwan Open School (now Kentucky Avenue School), creating a writing program for the elementary grades.  In 1987 she joined Falk in the Middle School, also with the charge to redevelop the Reading/Language Arts program.  After two years, she transferred to the Intermediate Team teaching 4th & 5th grade Reading, Language arts and Social Studies. During this time she worked with Bill Pelham from Western Psych on programs to mainstream and adapt teaching methods for kids with ADD and other learning disabilities.   In addition to teaching, Joanne and her team developed and recorded the reading, writing, and social studies curriculums for the Intermediate. To continue her own professional growth, Joanne went back to school in the English/Language Arts PhD program.  She learned a lot and discovered that her teaching and instincts were on the right track.  Shortly after beginning her dissertation, she decided she wanted to spend more time with her third daughter (who was 5 years old at the time) rather than at the library. She continues active research in the classroom, looking for best practices in teaching students to write and to learn how they learn. Joanne has presented at many local, state, regional, and national conferences.  She is a member of various organizations, mostly affiliated with Language Arts.  She teaches a university class in the evenings that centers on active learning and writing as a tool to learn as well as for publishing, and she was nominated for the Disney Teaching Award.  She gives voice lessons after school, and she assists with choreography for the Middle School musical.  She enjoys spending time with her daughters.  And she loves to write with her students. 

Maria Sassani was thrilled to join the Falk School Community during the 2011 – 2012 school year, after presenting the session, “Music, Literacy, and Dance” during the NALS conference hosted by Falk in the Spring of 2011.  Prior to her arrival in Pittsburgh, Ms. Sassani shared her love of music with students from The School at Columbia University (2005 – 2011) & The Brearley School (2000 – 2005), both located in New York City, and the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada (1995 – 2000).  Favorite performances in her teaching career have been directing a 250-member chorus on PBS’s – “World’s Largest Concert” (1999), New York City’s Carnegie Hall in (2002 & 2003), the National Black Theatre of Harlem (2006 – 2011), and most recently in the lobby of Heinz Hall during the Pittsburgh Symphony/Falk School Extravaganza.  A true advocate of music programs in our schools, Ms. Sassani believes….“children would rather play than study, if we are smart, we will teach them while they play.”  (Carl Orff)  She continues her professional growth as a member of the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), American Orff Shulwerk Association (AOSA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).  Ms. Sassani’s favorite genre of music is “Musical Theatre” where she has performed professionally in six states.   Some of her favorite roles have been:  “Dolly” from “Hello Dolly”, “Reno Sweeney” from “Anything Goes”, “Charity Barnum” from “Barnum”, and “Maggie” from “42nd Street.”

Jeff Suzik brings more than twenty years of teaching and educational administrative experience to his role as Director of the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School, including a recent post as Head of School at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, a five-year tenure as Assistant Head of School/Chief Academic Officer at Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis, Missouri, and nearly a decade at Pittsburgh’s own Shady Side Academy as teacher, chair of the history department, director of the residential life program, and dean of students.  Early on in his career, Suzik taught English as a Second Language in immediate post-communist Poland and spent one year as lead teacher in a four and five-year-old preschool classroom in Madison, Wisconsin.  His academic speciality is the history of 20th-century youth and adolescence, with a particular emphasis on the education, training, and transition into adulthood of working-class teenaged boys during the Great Depression.  In his free time, Suzik enjoys cooking, hiking, architecture, spin classes, supporting Pittsburgh sports teams, and travel.

Timothy Wagner was born and raised in California. Upon completing high school he moved to Tucson, AZ where he went to the University of Arizona. For his undergraduate he majored in Sociology, minored in History, and received a post-baccalaureate in Teaching K-8. Tim received his M.Ed. in Educational Technology in 2006. In December of 2006, Tim moved to Pittsburgh with his wife and two children. Tim currently holds certifications in mid level science, social studies, and mathematics and also holds a certificate in elementary education. Tim has a wide range of teaching experience in all academic levels and subjects. He has taught 5th grade, middle school science and math, and k-8 technology. Tim has worked at Falk School since 2014  and enjoys the collaborative nature of his job, Falk’s students, parents, faculty, administration, and staff.


During Tim’s free time, he enjoys being outside. Some of the activities he relishes are gardening, coaching soccer, karate, camping, and anything else that involves being with his family. He looks forward to Friday movie nights with his family, for which they usually make Chinese food or homemade pizza to go with the movie.

Becka has been teaching at Falk for several years. Before that, she lived in Washington, DC and Maryland, and also worked as a lawyer and as a criminal history profiler in a state prison. Becka enjoys sharing and exploring her interest in Shakespeare and Art History with her students.  She also loves helping to coach the middle school Cross-Country team at Falk.