Linx Leaders

Joe Kahn

MBA
Owner and Founder

Joe Kahn is the Founder and Owner of The LINX Enrichment Club for Kids. Joe is a graduate of Harvard Business School and has his undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, N.Y. Joe believes that he has found a way to bring together his passion for teaching and desire to help children expand their interests. Through LINX, Joe has created an innovative enrichment environment in which children explore and experience new things and learn along the way. Joe has proven that children learn and retain experiences most notably in a fun based environment, which is the hallmark of LINX.

Josh Schiering

BS in Economics and Business
Vice President

Josh Schiering serves as the LINX Summer Camp Executive Director and the Vice President of the LINX Enrichment Club. Josh has over 15 years of experience managing and directing programs designed to help children thrive. As the former Assistant Director of Camp Sewataro in Sudbury, he was responsible for the day to day operations of a varied program that served over 1000 kids and close to 700 families. Josh is also a former Health and Fitness Director and he brings his proven track record of successful program design and development, staff recruiting and training and marketing concepts to LINX. 

Josh prides himself on his ability to assemble a team that puts children first.  His staff training and character development programs have received national recognition.  Josh's bullying prevention programs have been featured in the American Camp Association's national publication and been used in college courses throughout the country.  His unique Same Team approach to staff management fosters an environment in which staff put children first as they work together to help children excel, while pursuing their passions and becoming a part of the larger community. 

Melissa Habersaat

BS in Business and Marketing
Program Director

Melissa Habersaat is the Program Director for LINX and skillfully handles many of the day to day operations. Melissa has her BS from Babson College in Business and Marketing. She has spent the past 4 years developing programs and systems to help staff and children succeed. Along with her unmatched attention to detail, Melissa leads the G.I.R.L. Power and Entrepreneurs Club, two classes that teach children how to become more confident leaders.

Melissa DeGroot

Melissa DeGroot graduated from Plymouth State University with a double major in Dance and Psychology, and she received the prestigious Dance Achievement Award from PSU in 2007. Miss Melissa trained for two years in New York while majoring in Dance at Adelphi University. Melissa has worked with numerous choreographers including Frank Augustyne, Robert Battle, Lorainne Chapman, Leda Merideth, Amada Whitworth, Priscilla Wagner, Joan Wiegers. She has performed with the PSU Contemporary Dance Ensemble, Dance Adelphi, ACDFA, Built on Stilts, Souled Out Dance Company, and is currently a member of the Danny Swain Dance Company.

Miss Melissa has been teaching dance for the past seven years and has received numerous competition titles for her work and her dancers. Melissa competed in the Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program as Miss Lakes Region in 2007 and Miss Winnipesaukee in 2008. She placed in the top ten and is now the lead choreographer for local pageants. Melissa also placed in the top 10 in the New Hampshire Idol Singing Competition in 2008.  

Anthony Dirienzo

LINX Leader

BS in Graphic Design and PBTL Elementary Education

Tony DiRienzo has a BS in Graphic Design and Art from Keene State College and received his Elementary Education teaching certificate from Framingham State College. He has been teaching grades preK, 2, and 3 in the Southborough public schools since 2007. Tony has years of experience working with children in and out of the classroom. He utilizes his wide range of creative, hands-on, child-centered activities to create innovative, cross-curricular learning opportunities that engage and empower the children.

Heather Emley

BFA in Dance and BS in Exercise Science
LINX Leader: Dance

Heather Emley has a BFA in dance from Adelphi University in New York, a BS in exercise science and professional training in Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballroom, Salsa, Yoga and Pilates. Miss Heather started her dance career at a very early age where she received numerous regional and national awards. While at Adelphi, Heather worked with and performed for many choreographers such as, Aylene Leda Meredith, Trebien Pollard, David Parsons, Frank Augustyn, Nicholas Seligson-Ross, Aylene Liberona, and Aszure Barton. In addition, Heather annually attended the American College Dance Festival, where she would perform and study under choreographers from around the world. Currently residing in the greater Boston area, Heather is a company member of Danny Swain's Dance Company and Boston Dance Alliance.

Michelle Kim

BA in Education and Music
Special Event Coordinator

Michelle Kim is the Event Coordinator at LINX and works with the community to provide fun birthday parties and other special events for LINX members. Michelle earned her BA in Women Studies and Education from Wellesley College and has a degree in Music from the Manhattan School Music with a concentration in Cello.

Todd Morse

BA in Literature
LINX Leader: Performing Arts

Todd is an accomplished program leader and has his Bachelor of Arts from Boston College. Todd has over 10 years of experience running his own theatrical production company and has instructed students all across the Boston area, including those at the Concord Youth Theater, Kidstock, Beaver Country Day and the Theater in Winchester. Todd is an expert at making children a part of the acting process. While he has mastered green screening and film editing, Todd has also written and directed several original shows and movies that have all helped develop the acting skills of the children in his program.

Katie Preisig

Katie has participated in musical theater since the age of 6. She also studies voice, piano, guitar, music theory, and has dabbled with other instruments such as saxophone and viola. She graduated from Walnut Hill High School in Natick, MA, a private school for the arts where she majored in theater. She then went on to study in New York City and earned her B.A. from a local university. Today Katie can be seen performing in and around the Boston area with groups such as ImprovBoston and at professional venues like the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. Katie is a strong advocate for the

Josef Vargas

BA in Education
LINX Leader: LX Sports Coach

Coach Josef Vargas is U.S. Lacrosse Coaching certified and International Youth Conditioning Association Certified (IYCA).  Coach Vargas played competitive college lacrosse and continues to play competitively in area flag football leagues. Vargas has been working as a coach and trainer at LINX and LINX Camps for 3 years and has a proven track record of successfully getting children to maximize their potential as they strive to reach the next level in skill development.

Fadayz Atkins

Born in Connecticut, Fadayz constantly tries hard to be true to the essence of street dance through competitions, teaching and creative design ventures. Fadayz is passionate about his art form which is reflected in his vibrancy and energy on the dance floor.  

A naturally gifted teacher, he is dedicated to helping kids find their own true spirit of dance.  Fadayz is a huge fan of martial arts, anime and enjoys many forms of creative writing.  He plans to travel extensively and dance all over the world.

Charles Baker

Charles Baker is an NFPT certified personal trainer and a master TRX Suspension^® trainer.  He is dedicated to enhancing people's lives through fitness.  He works with individuals to encourage functional stability, core strength and overall flexibility.  Charles focuses on maximizing people's strengths and overcoming their weaknesses.  Through a regimen which he develops for each individual, Charles ensures that each workout is tailored to each person's needs.

Laura DeGiacomo

Laura D. DeGiacomo began teaching for FMM in September 2003. She received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College with a secondary concentration in Dance. Laura is a member of Actors Equity Association and is a proud founding company member of the Village Theatre Project.

Brian Donnelly

Brian Donnelly graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He has been involved in music and movie production since he first entered a film festival while still in high school. He currently teaches at Winthrop High School as the Digital Video instructor, where he has created a curriculum that student production produce everything from documentaries to original movie trailers. Brian has over five years experience working with different age groups of children in summer camps. He has worked for the Boston Public Schools extended year summer program, as well as co-directed a multilingual summer camp in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Brian continually strives to grow as both an educator and film-maker through his interactions with both his co-workers and students.

Jolie Helmbrecht

Jolie Yawitt Helmbrecht, received her MFA in Performance and Choreography from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and her BA in Dance from the University of Maryland. Jolie has been teaching, dancing and choreographing for over eighteen years throughout the Boston, Washington DC, New York City and Colorado areas. She founded and was Executive Director of Bolder Moves a non-profit Dance, Yoga and Body Wellness center in Boulder, CO and prior to that was co-artistic director of her own modern dance company DanceBoxTheatre. Upon returning to the East Coast Jolie was the Executive/Development Director for Jam’nastics, a non-profit arts organization and most recently was an instructor and Program Lead for Music, Movement and Art for Isis Parenting. Jolie is mother to a daughter and a son.

Carrie Klimeczko

Carrie has been with Family Music Makers since the Fall of 2000. She was originally hired as a teacher, but eventually moved into other roles including administration, curriculum development, and managing operations. Carrie holds a Masters Degree in Musical Theatre Performance from the Boston Conservatory, and is thrilled to have found a job where she can utilize her music, dance and creative skills on a daily basis. Carrie can also add mom to her list of important roles, her daughter Kayleigh is now a master of the FMM repertoire!

Todd Livingstone

LINX Leader: Martial Arts

Mr. T has an extensive martial arts background, with black belts in Kempo Karate and Jiu-Jitsu. He has also studied for 17 years under Master Nelson Chan in Wahlum Kung Fu.

Mr. T has an amazing ability to make martial arts fun for all kids. At the same time, Mr. T works with kids who have developed a deep interest in martial arts to advance as far as they would like to go - up to and including black belts.

Syd Malaxos

Syd Malaxos has been teaching science for 13 years. He is currently teaching chemistry at Wellesley High School. He has two master degrees: one from Brandeis in chemical physics and one from Tufts in biotechnology. He believes scientific thinking comes from hands-on interactive leaning. Syd loves to explore science with children because they are still young enough to see magic and joy in simple things, yet are beginning to think logically and he believes, with the proper guidance, they will become lifelong learners. In his spare time, Syd explores the beauty of the science with his wife and 4 year old daughter.

Tania Morse

Tania is a native of Lima, Peru where she attended San Ignacio University. She has worked with children for over five years, instructing them in Spanish through personal instruction and group lessons. She commits herself to LINX's philosophy of learning through fun. She is also dedicated to the true immersion style where the children quickly understand Spanish through situation, movement, and tone. They do not learn to translate into English, though this seems the intended result. Far better, the students actually absorb Spanish as a separate and new language, able to think within the language far better than an adult learning a language.

Sarah Provost

Sarah Caissie Provost is a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at Brandeis University, studying swing-era jazz. She has a B.M. from the University of Hartford in flute performance. She is the second flutist in the New England Philharmonic and also teaches and performs popular dances from the Jazz Age throughout the New England area.

Kate Rinaldi

BS Art
BA in Journalism
MAT in Art Education

LINX Leader: Art

Kate Rinaldi graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in Art and a BA in Journalism. After working in graphic design for a few years, she moved to Boston after being accepted by Tufts University into the MAT program that works in conjunction with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. After receiving her Masters Degree in Art Education, she spent four years working as a high school art teacher. She taught a variety of fine arts courses including: drawing, painting, collage and mixed media, sculpture, ceramics, and graphic design, as well as independent art studies. While teaching these courses she had a large number of her students win accolades from the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Competition each year. Along with her teaching, Kate has also done freelance work in both graphic design and photography in and around the Boston area. She is passionate about the arts and loves working not only with children, but with people of all ages to both develop their skills in the arts and foster a passion and creativity of their own.

Daniel Swain

D.Rok started dancing and entertaining at the age of 12.  In the early years of his profession, he had strict training in underground street dance with the styles of B Boyin, Lockin, Poppin and House.  D.Rok has instructed, performed, choreographed and competed in Losst Unnown Inc., an urban entertainment company dedicated to preserving young talent, striving to create unity within communities and uplifting inner city youth, while also promoting a true awareness and respect for hip hop culture.  D.Rok has also given back to the community by performing for and speaking to youth at various schools in the Boston area.  He has competed as a professional dancer throughout the