News Post

Last week, Visitation welcomed a number of new faculty and staff as the school prepares for the new academic year. You'll find these new faces, and a few familiar faces, all across campus - in Founders, Gallerie, St. Joe's, Berchmans Hall, Fennessey, and Fisher Center. Get to know some of our newest teachers and staff:

Front row, from left: Hannah O’Connor, Andrew Lukas, Michael Mazenko, Kimi Falatko ‘04, Augusta Rentenbach, Colleen Gannon ‘00 and Bethany Shaffer. Back row, from left: Matt Hillyard, Celine Smith ‘22, Colleen Dunn, Ally Hamilton ‘22 and Bill Crittenberger.

Ally Hamilton ‘22, English Department

B.A., University of Mary Washington

I am excited to be returning to Visitation, this time as a teacher, and to have the opportunity to share my love of literature with a new generation of Visitation students! I am especially looking forward to getting to know the students and creating a unique and inclusive learning environment.

I recently graduated from college, and during my time at the University of Mary Washington, I was a student consultant at the school’s Digital Knowledge Center, where I worked on a podcast for the center in addition to leading workshops and teaching digital skills one-on-one.

Literature has the power to open the eyes of the reader to the world around them and within them. I hope that through my role as an English teacher, I can foster these discoveries and create a space where we can further explore and share these perspectives.

Andrew Lukas, Theology Department

B.A., The Catholic University of America
M.T.S., Boston College

I have heard wonderful things about Visitation. I am excited to introduce students to the beauty of our faith and contribute to their discernment of who they are called to be in the world. I most recently spent two years discerning a vocation as a novice of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), including four months leading retreats at Loyola on the Potomac in southern Maryland.

As a theology teacher, I consider my role to be one of invitation: inviting students to consider the beauty of a two-thousand-year-old tradition, the reasonableness of faith, how God is working in their lives, and who he is inviting them to become.

Augusta Rentenbach, Admissions Office

B.A., Pennsylvania State University
Graduate Certificate, Pennsylvania State University (World Campus)
M.S., SOAS, University of London

I am thrilled to join the Visitation community as the Admissions & Enrollment Coordinator and serve as a welcoming face for prospective students and families! I look forward to helping them feel connected from their very first interaction, collaborating with my new colleagues, and experiencing all of the beloved Visi traditions that make this school so special.

Having written my master’s dissertation on the impact of girls’ education, I am deeply passionate about empowering young women. I love that my role allows me to work directly with students, connect with families, and share the transformative benefits of an all-girls environment during such a pivotal chapter in their lives. Visitation’s Salesian tradition and mission resonate strongly with my personal values of service, relationship-building, and guiding students through key stages of personal and academic growth.

Bethany Shaffer, English Department

B.A., Virginia Commonwealth University
M.A., Johns Hopkins University

I am grateful to be part of a community rooted in compassion, gratitude, gentleness, and humility! I taught at Albert Einstein High School in Montgomery County for the past 12 years, where I taught all levels of English, including Higher Level IB Literature 1 and 2 for nine years. I also served as the IBDP Extended Essay Coordinator and taught Theory of Knowledge 1 and 2. I find joy in helping students develop their voices and perspectives by thinking critically about diverse texts.

Bill Crittenberger, Math Department

B.A., George Washington University
M.A., Yale University
M.S., Johns Hopkins University

Ever since my two daughters attended Visitation (Lee ’10 and Dale ’16), I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the school. I’m also excited to return to an all-girls environment, the formative setting where I began my teaching career all those years ago.

I am entering my 42nd year in education—the first 11 as a full-time teacher (and coach), and the last 30 as an administrator. Most recently, I served as Head of School at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, VA. In all but eight of my years as an administrator, I also taught one of two math classes.

Celine Smith ‘22, Science Department

B.S., University of Maryland

I am most excited to teach bright, motivated, and enthusiastic girls who are eager to learn and do good in the world! I am especially looking forward to experiencing all of the traditions I loved as a student, this time from a teacher’s perspective.

I graduated in May from the University of Maryland. During my time there, I worked as a dental assistant and served as a K–12 instructor for youth financial literacy programs. I love helping young women develop a love for the sciences and motivating them to become game changers in the scientific world.

Colleen Dunn, Math Department
B.A., University of Texas at Austin
M.A., University of Texas at Austin

The Visi community is what motivated me to apply. I am looking forward to helping my girls explore the beauty and power of mathematics, and I am also excited to collaborate with members of our amazing Mathematics Department.

I am joining Visitation from St. Albans, where I worked for 18 years. During my time there, I served as Chair of the department for 13 years. I am extremely passionate about Calculus, the language of the universe. I became a teacher because I wanted to challenge my students and encourage them to learn mathematics through problem-solving rather than relying on algorithms.

Colleen Gannon ‘00, Director of Teaching and Learning

B.A., University of Notre Dame
M.Ed., University of Notre Dame
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park

I am excited to be back on 35th Street and to get to know the students and teachers. I have served as a teacher and school leader at St. John’s College High School and Washington Jesuit Academy, and most recently as an English teacher at Holy Child. I love supporting students and teachers as they grow, improve, and work toward their goals.

Hannah O'Connor, Science Department

A.A., Community College of Rhode Island
B.S., University of Rhode Island
M.S., University of Maryland

I love getting young women excited about the environment and science! I look forward to bringing fun, hands-on lessons and labs to my students that challenge them to think critically as scientists and lifelong learners, while rigorously preparing them for the AP exams. I am passionate about making STEM accessible and less daunting, while demonstrating how science is applicable to their everyday lives. I am also always happy to discuss all things college, college applications, and careers in STEM!

I am very much looking forward to getting to know students this year and supporting them as they achieve their academic goals. Prior to graduate school, I was an Upper and Middle School Science Teacher at St. Mary Academy-Bay View in Rhode Island, where I wrote the curriculum for Environmental Sciences, coached the science team, and also taught Biology. I recently graduated with my master’s degree in Environmental Science from UMD, where I conducted research on wetland restoration and specialized in ecological design.

I am extremely passionate about getting young women excited about STEM while also equipping them with the tools to succeed academically, regardless of their background.

Kimi Falatko ‘04, History and Social Sciences Department

B.A., Loyola University Maryland
M.A.T., Loyola University Maryland

I am excited to come back to a community that has always felt like home to me and to hopefully create an environment where students can feel the same. I am coming to Visitation from Towson High School (Baltimore County Public Schools), where I served as a Social Studies teacher. I love encouraging students to think like historians and political scientists so they can better connect their personal interests and understanding of the modern world to various points in history.

Matt Hillyard, OSFS, Chaplain

B.A., DeSales University
M.Div., DeSales School of Theology
M.A., The Catholic University of America

I am looking forward to serving as chaplain in such a loving, caring, Salesian community of learning. Most recently, I served as Pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Arlington, VA. I am fluent in multiple languages and love learning new ones, as it makes the world smaller and friendlier.

Michael Mazenko, Assistant Librarian and Media Specialist

School Principal Licensure, University of Denver
M.A., Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
B.S., Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

I am delighted to return to Catholic school—the education of my youth and the setting of my first teaching job. As a lifelong educator, I am honored and thrilled to join a school community steeped in tradition and culture, and I look forward to engaging with the community through the arts, activities, and athletics.

After a couple of years working in a high school library, I know there’s no better place for a “retired” English teacher, and I look forward to talking books with students and colleagues. For the past two years, I’ve been the librarian and media specialist at Eaton High School in Colorado. Prior to that, I was an AP English teacher and school administrator at Cherry Creek High School in southeast Denver. I was also recently an arts and culture writer for Westword Magazine, and I’ve been a columnist for the Denver Post and The Villager.

As a writer and English teacher, I love the arts of language, rhetoric, and creative nonfiction, and I live to see people moved by the written word. As Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”