Meet Your LINX Leaders!

LINX Leaders are proudly committed to each child's intellectual, social, physical and emotional development. LINX Leaders are carefully selected among the best candidates based on their teaching ability, creativity, energy and ability to create and facilitate programs designed to help kids thrive!

Kids and safety always come first for all of our LINX Leaders as they all have extensive backgrounds and training in their respective fields of expertise. Within each class, our LINX Leaders are also able to incorporate a focus on inclusion, cooperation, respect and a sense of community.

All LINX Leaders are personally interviewed by the owner, reference checks are completed, CORI and SORI background checks are done and each member of our team also takes part in extensive LINX Leadership Training.

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/Executive Director of LINX and LX Summer Camps Josh Schiering serves as the Vice President of LINX and the Executive Director of LINX and LX Summer Camps. Josh has 20 years of experience managing and directing programs designed to help children thrive. He is responsible for the day to day operations of a varied program that serves over 1000 children in our community and close to 700 families. Josh leads his team as a professional, while always seeing things through the eyes of a father as he has four children who also enjoy the many services provided by LINX. 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 personal motto as it relates to staff recruiting is, "We find the best of the best and then train them to be even better!" 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 Vice President of Operations Melissa Habersaat is the Vice President of Operations 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 7 years developing programs and systems to help staff and children succeed. Along with her unmatched attention to detail, Melissa has led the G.I.R.L. Power and Entrepreneurs Club, two classes that teach children how to become more confident leaders.
Chris Dumais Chris has worked part time for LINX for the past three years within the ever popular Outward Adventures Camp and various sports classes. Chris has a professional teaching license from Framingham State University. He has taught at Assabet Valley High School and Mesivta High School of Greater Boston. He is thrilled to be joining LINX this Fall as a full time instructor.
Heather Emley Miss Heather Emley has a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University, a BS in Exercise Science, and professional training in ballet, modern, tap, jazz, hip hop, ballroom, salsa, yoga and pilates. While at Adelphi, Miss Heather worked with and performed for many talented choreographers including Leda Meredith, Trebien Pollard, David Parsons, Frank Augustyn, Nicholas Seligson-Ross, Aylene Liberona, and Aszure Barton. Miss Heather began her dance career at an early age and has received numerous regional and national awards. She attended the American College Dance Festival annually, where she performed and studied with choreographers from around the world. While in the greater Boston area, Miss Heather has performed with Adagio Dance Company, the Boston Blazers Sparks Dance Team, and Boston Dance Alliance. She currently dances with the Boston Cannons Dance Team and Danny Swain Dance Company, and is the Artistic Director of Enigmatic Contemporary Dance.
Lisa Gatto Lisa is a graduate of Wheelock College with a B.S. in Human Growth and Development and a concentration in Child Life. Lisa served as a Child Life Specialist at Boston Children's Hospital for six years and most recently joins us from Isis Parenting. Lisa was the director of the Child Development Program at Isis Parenting which incorporated all programming for babies and their caregivers 6-36 months. For the past 9 years, Lisa has also enthusiastically lead activity and discussion groups for young babies, toddlers and their caregivers. Lisa enjoys being active, listening to music , singing, and spending time with her family. Lisa is the proud mother of two delightful and beautiful girls.
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 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.
Fadayz Atkins Born in Connecticut, LINX Dance Studio Instructor Mr. Fadayz Atkins remains true to the essence of street dance and is passionate about exploring, practicing and teaching his art. His exuberance is clearly communicated via his vibrancy and energy on the dance floor and his enthusiasm for teaching shines through in his students' performances. A naturally gifted teacher, Mr. Fadayz is dedicated to helping kids discover their own true spirit of dance and encourages participation in competitions and performances. He is also is a huge fan of martial arts and anime, and enjoys many forms of creative writing. Mr. Fadayz plans to travel extensively and dance all over the world!
Leigh Bagarazzi Leigh has a BA in Politics from New York University and a JD from the University of Maine School of Law. She spent three years teaching jazz in Biddeford, Maine and directing two jazz competition teams. Recently, she has been teaching creative movement and dance expression for PALS Children's Chorus in Brookline, Massachusetts. Leigh trained since the age of two in all the classical disciplines at the prestigious Robin Horneff's Performing Arts Center, now called Studio L, in Waldwick, New Jersey. She has been fortunate enough to perform in many New York City parades, on the Today Show, at various venues at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, as well as with the George Washington University's First Ladies Dance Team and NYU's Pulse Dance Project.
Jesse Davis LX Sports Camps Head Flag Football Coach Jesse is a 1999 graduate of Wellesley High School where he played football, wrestling, and lacrosse. After high school Jesse attended Norwich University where he played football. After his freshman year Jesse left Norwich to enlist in the Marine Corps. Jesse served in the infantry from 2000-2004, and in 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After his military service Jesse returned home to Wellesley to finish his education. Jesse currently works in the Special Education Department at Wellesley High School and is the head football coach and wrestling coach. He lives in Dedham with his beautiful wife Juli, and their two children Teddy and Abby.
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.
Stacey Fallon Stacey studied Theater and Journalism at the University of Maryland culminating in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations. She worked in the Boston entertainment industry promoting Boston theater and concert productions. Stacey then combined her interest in writing, teaching and technology to become a systems training specialist and manager for Bain and Company and Ropes and Gray. While taking some time off from the corporate world to dedicate herself to raising her 2 daughters, Stacey has combined her passion for physical fitness with her love of teaching by working as an independent contractor, teaching music and movement and yoga classes at Carter Nursery School in Needham and the YMCA. She was also a Reebok Fit-Kidz trainer for Newman Elementary School in Needham. She is an exercise enthusiast who has completed the Boston Marathon, The Pan Mass Challenge and a number of Sprint Triathalons but cannot keep up with her kids on the ski slope or beat her husband in tennis!! Stacey will be teaching Yoga and Sports classes as well as helping with client services.
Elizabeth Gerson Elizabeth has an extensive background in child development. She holds a BA in psychology and education from Clark University and a Masters in Social Work from Boston University. Elizabeth is also certified to be a lead preschool teacher. Her work experience includes teaching preschool to two and three year olds as well as leading "mommy and me" developmental play groups. She also has over eight years of experience providing therapy to young children and their families.
Cassidi Hardy LX Sports Camps Head Softball Coach Former pitching standout from Boston University, Cassidi Hardy currently holds records for appearances (154), complete games (95), innings pitched (840), wins (85), and no-hitters (5), while ranking second in strikeouts (825) and shutouts (32). She is the recipient of numerous awards, including Conference Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference and All-Region in 2010, Conference Tournament MVP in 2009 and 2010 (no doubt, pitching a perfect game in 2010 contributed to her MVP nomination), Second Team All Conference three times, and Second Team All Region once. Additionally, Cassidi earned BU's first wins in over a decade at regional tournaments in 2009. Nationally ranked in NCAA Division 1 softball in strikeouts per game, shut outs, and ERA in 2009 and 2010, Cassidi went on to work as a pitching coach at Boston University in 2011 when she was voted conference coaching staff of the year and coached the recipient of the Pitcher of the Year. Her team won the conference regular season and earned second in the conference tournament. Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Cassidi currently holds every pitching record from her high school and was the recipient of numerous awards. She was recruited by University of Georgia, Brown University, University of North Carolina, and Tennessee State before ultimately committing to Boston University. Coach Hardy currently works in Reading and Newton as a pitching instructor for all ages.
Chris Johnson Chris Johnson is a Human Performance Consultant and Health Advisor who specializes in high school, collegiate, and post-collegiate athletic development as well as promoting healthy lifestyle habits throughout communities and amongst overworked and time constricted individuals. Over the years, he has consulted for such organizations as Runner's World Magazine, The Boston Globe, and NECN news. Chris is the creator of PROformance Training Systems (TM) and author of PR Pace: Strength & Performance Training for Distance Runners. Chris is also a continuing education instructor, teaching other personal trainers how to be personal trainers, "the trainer's trainer." He is currently an active member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Registered Strength & Conditioning Coach, USA Track and Field, National Society of Physical Activity Practitioners in Public Health, American Trail Running Association, and Road Runners Club of America. As a member of the fitness field, Chris is always trying to do his part to stay active in the community and stay fit. Chris founded and is the President of Personal Trainers of America. Presently, he is faculty at W.I.T.S. World Instructors Training Schools and a sponsored athlete trying to do his part to bring awareness to the world of health and fitness. All of Chris' clients are trained using his scientificly developed and proven training method PROformance Training Systems (TM).
Carrie Klimeczko Miss Carrie began her teaching career over 12 years ago when she discovered the magic of Family Music Makers. With the FMM platform, Carrie is able to incorporate her education and experience in Musical Theatre, Dance, and Performance to create a unique, exciting and engaging musical experience for both the children in class and their caregivers. Carrie holds a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance, and a Masters of Music Degree in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. "I cannot say enough about Carrie...there needs to be a rating higher than "excellent" because she exudes everything you want in your child's music teacher. You can just see how much she's enjoying what she does & it makes for a wonderful, welcoming, energized environment. You can tell she has a great command of music knowledge, and her pep & energy are infectious and rare. She literally glows when she teaches." ~Maria D., mother of two
Todd Livingstone 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.
Val Maio Valerie has a BS in Dance from Skidmore College and an MS in Management - Arts Administration from Lesley University. She has taught extensively in the Boston Area including Boston Ballet and Boston Ballet CityDance Program. Most recently, she held the positions of Youth Cast Ballet Mistress for BalletRox's Urban Nutcracker and Director of Ballet Division at the Tony Williams Dance Center in Jamaica Plain. Valerie trained as a ballet dancer at the Eglevsky Ballet in NY and enjoyed a 10 year career as a professional dancer in New England, primarily with Island Moving Co. in Newport, RI. Valerie is passionate about the role of arts in education and helped create the Teambuilding Movement Workshop, a participatory program conducted by dancers for corporate and educational settings. She also serves on local school and town arts committees.
Michael McConomy Coaching Wellesley High School Boys Lacrosse (JV) Football (Freshmen) Basketball (JV) University Penn State University Club Lacrosse Saint Josephs University Masters of Education High School Bishop OConnell High School, Arlington, VA Football Basketball Lacrosse
Erica Monroe LINX is excited to introduce a new dance instructor to the LINX Dance community. Erica Monroe graduated from Providence College where she was a member of the school's dance team and a captain/choreographer her senior year. Upon graduation, she was invited to be a member of the Universal Dance Association staff. She spent the summer after college graduation traveling across the country, hosting camps for middle school, high school, and college dance teams. Erica was recently licensed to teach Zumba^®. She fell in love with Zumba^® because it combines her love for dance, music, fitness, and teaching. Erica was also a member of the Boston Celtics Dancers for the 2009-2010 season and the 2011-2012 season. In addition to performing at home games, she also represented the team abroad in Mexico City in April 2012 at an NBA 3X event. When not at LINX, she currently works for Harmonix Music Systems in Cambridge, MA as a member of the Dance Central 3 team. Erica is thrilled to join the LINX team.
Oswaldo Moreno LX Sports Camps Head Soccer Coach Waldo is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Clark University. Prior to coming to Clark, "Waldo" was involved at the Boys and Girls Club and local Parks and Recreation while at Arizona State University. Waldo has many years of experience working with children in recreation, such as coaching at different levels (e.g. recreation and club level sports in various age divisions), officiating high school varsity sports, working as a league administrator, and system operations assistant for youth and adult sports, among other positions. Although Waldo's PhD program keeps him preoccupied through a time restraint, he finds that working with children serves as a time to do what he loves and get himself out of the books and academia. Since his time at Clark, Waldo has had the opportunity to be a part of the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association, Boys and Girls Club of America and Big Brother Big Sister. Overall, Waldo has a passion for soccer. He has played soccer since the age of 4 and has over 10 years of experience coaching the sport to many children and adolescents in the state of Arizona and Massachusetts.
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.
Elizabeth Raveche Beth graduated from Yale University in 2008. At Yale from 2004-2008, Beth played Division I Varsity Field Hockey. She played all four years as a defender and was also the striker (hitter) on penalty corners. Her Yale coach, Pamela Stuper, wrote this about her "Beth's game sense, vision and speed make her not only a strong defender but a great attacker from the backfield. Her teammates look to her for leadership on the field. Her hitting ability is the best I have seen in my ten years at Yale." Beth coached several Yale field hockey camps as well as privately training and coaching high school field hockey players. She won two awards for athletics at Yale, the Amanda Walton Award and the Varsity Senior Award. The Amanda Walton Award is awarded to a student athlete who demonstrates the ability to confront challenges, displaying the courage to overcome them, while inspiring teammates with her work ethic and unselfish attitude. The Varsity Senior Award is awarded to a freshman who reflects positive contribution to the team's philosophy and whose individual character encourages the future direction and excellence of Yale field hockey. Beth has also played and trained internationally with elite field hockey teams and organizations in Spain, the Netherlands, and Argentina. For high school, Beth attended The Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey. In high school, Beth was named first team all-state, first team all-county, first team-all conference, and was twice named the team MVP. Her team won the Colonial Hills Conference Championship and the Union County Championship in 2003 and 2004. She also played on a New Jersey club team, The Spirit Eagles, and won the field hockey indoor and outdoor national championships.
Rebecca Reed Coaching 15 Years Total 1 Year - Weston High School 7 Years - The Rivers School 5 Years - The Winsor School Club Coach Private & Small Group Lessons University University of Vermont, Division 1 Varsity Lacrosse Varsity Soccer Position: Center All-American Team Captain High School Rivers School, Weston, MA Lacrosse - Varsity Starter 4 Yrs Basketball - Varsity Starter 4 Yrs Soccer - Varsity Starter 4 Yrs Awards All League ISL Lacrosse All League ISL Basketball All League ISL Soccer
Lauren Riley Over the past five years, Lauren has worked part time for LINX assisting with classes, birthday parties and working for LINX summer camps as a camp counselor, lifeguard and director of the waterfront. She is currently a senior at Boston College earning a bachelor's and master's degree in education. Lauren played lacrosse in high school and began coaching for her high school upon graduating. She is very excited to take on her new role at LINX as a lacrosse instructor.
Kate Rinaldi 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.
Carmen Rondash A Boston University wrestler from 2002-2006, Carmen became an Instructor at Carl Adams World Class Wrestling Institute as well as Assistant Coach of the Wellesley High School Varsity Wrestling team. Carmen was the Assistant Coach at LX Wrestling in the 2011-2012 season and is currently the Head Coach of LX Wrestling.
Sarah Rubben Miss Sarah Rubben received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography at Louisiana Tech University. She discovered the healing effects of art at an early age and is driven by her love of children. Miss Sarah has worked as media educator for Fully Devoted Developers of Children in Louisiana and directed the art program of three different summer camps. Among Miss Sarah�s favorite creative outlets are mosaics, photography, ceramics, painting, quilting, woodworking and crafting. Along with teaching art and managing the office of Boston Craftworks, Miss Sarah is a portrait photographer in the Boston Area. Her favorite aspect of teaching art is fostering confidence in her students and encouraging self‐expression.
Brian Scalabrine LX Sports Camps Head Basketball Coach Former Boston Celtic and NBA Champion (2008) Brian Scalabrine will be on campus this summer personally training our campers to play like champions! "It is time for me to give back to the children," says Scalabrine, who is serving as the lead coach this summer at LX Basketball Camps. Taking advantage of two state-of-the-art, NCAA regulation-sized courts, campers spend their days running drills, scrimmaging and building the core skills needed to succeed as players. Learn more about Coach Scalabrine and watch videos!
Anna Seagrave Anna Seagrave received an M.F.A in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from Mills College and also holds a B.A from Springfield College in Dance with minors in Theatre Arts and Health Studies. Anna started dancing at a young age and has gone on to study with Rachel Berman of Paul Taylor Dance Company, Molissa Fenley, Shelley Senter and Axis Dance Company. During her time at Springfield College, Anna worked as the assistant to the Executive Director of the Judy Dworin Performance Project - a dance company devoted to art as a catalyst for social change and as a teacher for their Moving Matters! Residency Program. Anna's aim is to develop students' appreciation of dance as an art form and to expose students to a full range of dance experiences. Anna is a graduate of the Dance Teachers' Club of Boston Dance Education Training Course and a member of National Dance Educators Organization. Anna is the founder and Artistic Director of Larkspur Dance Company based in Providence, RI.
Zachary Sloan Zach attended Wheaton College where he played Rugby and received a degree in International Relations. He is currently furthering his education by pursuing his MBA at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson. Zach spent the last two years working as a Teach For America Corps member in Phoenix, Arizona where he had the privilege of instructing students with a variety of special academic needs. While in the Corps, he also enjoyed coaching middle school football and basketball programs. Whether in the classroom or on the sports field, Zach emphasizes hard work and accountability, while making learning fun and meaningful.
Samuel Taub LX Sports Camps Basketball Coach Sam was born and raised in Brookline, MA, and has been playing basketball since he was in elementary school. As a senior in high school, Sam's Varsity squad proceeded to the State finals at the Boston Garden. Sam was also awarded the 2004 "Coaches Award" for his positive role on the basketball team. Sam received a scholarship to Drew University in Madison, NJ, where he was a starter for the men's basketball team for two seasons, before transferring to the University of Massachusetts/Amherst to focus on his degree in Social Research and Data Analysis. Sam has returned to the Boston area and is currently applying to graduate school programs in physical education and sports leadership. He has more than four seasons of coaching experience, with kids from grades 4 to 12. While in California, Sam coached an 8th grade Boys Varsity Basketball team to an undefeated season and the 2012 Athletic League championship title. Sam has also participated in coaches' clinics featuring top NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball coaches and played semi-professional basketball for the Boston Basketball Exposure League.
Cathleen Vierstra LINX Leader: Dance (Acro Tumbling) Cathleen has decades of teaching and coaching experience under her belt as well as management experience at several gymnastic clubs. Cathleen has always had a heart for gymnastics and she was on several gymnastic teams in her youth. While studying communications at the University of Southern Maine, she started a gymnastics club and began discovering the joy of teaching gymnastics. This led to working at the Gymnastics Academy of Boston (GAB) in three of their locations and at Reading Gymnastics (RGA) as the preschool and grade school director with team involvement. Cathleen also spent eight summers at Middlesex School Summer Arts (MSSA). MSSA is a performing arts program, which drew on the art of gymnastics, using synchronized group, dance, tumbling and rhythmic gymnastics for performances. Working with campers of various dance and gymnastic levels, Cathleen helped to bring out their best abilities and helping them shine! Cathleen's favorite experience has been as a mother of three with two attending college and one in high school!