Who We Are

Faculty & Staff

Board of Trustees

Jane Moulding - Chair
BA in English and German Literature, University of Warwick (UK)
A.L.M. in Nineteenth Century British and American Literature, Harvard University (School of Extension Studies)

A life-long educator, Jane was born in the Midlands of England and was the first child in her family to attend college. She has taught middle and high school English. Jane honed her leadership style and skills as a dean of faculty at Beaver Country Day School and later as the director of the middle school at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, Cambridge, MA. She became Head of The Cambridge School of Weston in 2002 and served for 17 years. She co-founded SmarterWisdom Consulting, where she is a principal, in 2019. She enjoys problem-solving and focusing on leadership growth working with school and not-for-profit leaders in her consulting and coaching role at SmarterWisdom.

Seth Abramowitz – Clerk
B.S. in Economics, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Seth is a managing director and equity research analyst at Wellington Management Company. He is responsible for analyzing equity investments in the information technology, business services, and consumer sectors. Prior to joining Wellington in 2006, Seth worked as an equity analyst at Putnam Investments.  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Seth has been a resident of Jamaica Plain since 2006 and is the parent of three daughters, Ayelet ’26, Aviva ’29, and Aria.

Venice Touze – Treasurer
B.S. in Accounting, Bentley University
M.S. in Taxation, Northeastern University Graduate School of Business

Venice is a CPA who has worked in public accounting for 12 years with a tax focus currently serving as the Director of Tax at connectRN. She is also an adjunct accounting professor at Bentley University. Inspired by her own opportunities, Venice is interested in ensuring that all can obtain the same educational experiences no matter their background or financial status. Venice joined Meridian’s board because of that shared vision.

Joshua Abrams – Founder
B.S. in Biology, Yale University
M.A. in Mathematics Education, Columbia University

In addition to his experience listed above, Josh has held leadership positions at schools during their initial accreditation and reaccreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), developed Meridian’s college guidance model, and has had responsibility for budgets and personnel decisions. Josh founded Meridian because he wanted to provide an option for secondary students that valued their ideas, understood their need to be useful members of their communities, and welcomed them as junior researchers within and across the disciplines. Both of Josh's sons, Matthew ’11 and Isaac ’17, graduated from Meridian.

Velina Batchvarov
B.S. in Economics, University of Economics, Varna, Bulgaria
M.B.A. in Marketing, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Velina is the Student Success Program Coordinator at the College of Science and Mathematics at UMass Boston. Velina has over 20 years of experience in project management, marketing management, grant management, learning communities, and public-private partnerships. She served on the governing boards of Baldwin Early Learning Academy and Mission Hill K-8 school. Velina has taught at the Bulgarian Sunday School in Boston. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Higher Education at UMass Boston with a focus on spatial justice and the public mission of urban universities. Velina is the parent of alumna Dimitra ’22.

Stephanie Kinkel
B.S. in Molecular Biology, University of California, San Diego
M.S. in Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Stephanie is the Academic Architect at Millennium School, a 6th through 8th grade school in San Francisco, CA, where she is working to develop frameworks and curriculum, while also supporting the guides who capably lead students in their learning each day. Stephanie has worked in education for 12 years, teaching STEM to students in grades 6-12 including 6 years at Meridian, where she served as a MST teacher and Dean of Faculty. Her keen eye for detail has also served her in her prior work as a cancer researcher and science illustrator. As a person devoted to teaching and learning across all disciplines, Stephanie believes strongly in the mission and vision held by Meridian, which she sees as an ideal community in which to learn and develop.

Lisa J. Poller
B.A. American Studies, Brandeis University
M.A., Museum Education, Tufts University 

Lisa is an entrepreneurial and strategic education innovation leader and consultant with over 30 years of experience.  With Agile Fundraising and Strategy Consulting, she specializes in helping educational organizations develop an agile funding engine for innovation and growth. Prior to launching her consulting business, she was the Co-President and Chief Strategy Officer at CAST, a not-for-profit education innovation organization. She worked with the founding team to transform CAST from a local to an international leader of a dynamic new field of Universal Design for Learning.  She is also Co-Founder of Brain Explained Products a startup ed tech company that has developed a platform to help young adults/adults understand how they best learn and provides support for areas of challenge in college, workforce development, or life. 

Beth Schultz
B.A., Washington University in St. Louis

Beth is the Director of Development for Springwell, a non-profit organization that helps seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their homes. She has worked to advance social service organizations addressing issues ranging from domestic violence to suicide prevention for more than 20 years. Beth has advised non-profits and schools in Boston and Chicago on fundraising, marketing and programming, and has worked with Meridian Academy since its inception. Beth is the parent of alums Max ’17 and Jesse ’22.