BRENDAN WOLFF
(he/him) After leaving his job as a special education teacher in District 75, Brendan Wolff founded Allied Achievement in 2013 to work more closely with the families of students with unique needs after school and in their homes. He created Achievement Unlocked as a school in 2016 when, at the request of several families, he started the program to provide an appropriate educational environment for students who had been underserved in their previous settings. Brendan is heavily involved in students behavioral and social/emotional development, and after being Head of School for 5 years, he created his own behavioral department to better serve the needs and socioemotional development of the students. His favorite part of working at AU is helping students find creative solutions to difficult problems and discovering skills they never knew they had in the process.
Michele lipman
(she/her) Michele is the Head of School of Achievement Unlocked. She brings her perspective to the position as a long time teacher and parent. She has a BFA in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Childhood Education. She has many professional licenses and certifications. Some of her credentials include ‘Students with Disabilities,’ ‘Childhood Education,’ and a ‘Gifted & Talented certificate.’ She has been teaching school in NYC for 13 years including the last few at AU. When she is not hard at work she enjoys spending time with her children, cooking vegan meals, traveling, and patting her fluffy cat.
Amy Walker
(she/her) Amy is the Social Studies teacher at AU. Upon moving to NYC from Texas, she obtained her Master's degree in Childhood Education and Special Education. She has been teaching in NYC for six years. Amy was honored to be Director of Choral and Ensemble Music for an HBCU for over 15 years. Amy deeply loves her family, church friends, dogs, sweet tea and chocolate. (lots of chocolate).
jamie Macfalter
(she/her) Jamie is the Science teacher at AU. She has taught in many special education environments in the last six years, in all of the core subjects, while running various Anime and Gaming Clubs. Jamie is currently working on a graduate degree in Special Education.
Kris Aquino
(he/him) Kris is the Math teacher at AU. He enjoys all things tech and helping students realize how cool math is.
Carolyn Alexander
(she/her) Carolyn is the ELA teacher at AU. She has taught a diverse population of students in both public and private environments. She loves to provide opportunities for students to step outside of their comfort zones and explore learning “outside the box”.
Nicoletta Murphy
(she/her) Nicoletta is the Curriculum Manager at AU. She graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with minors in STEM, Psychology, and Literature and holds a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Pace University. Nicoletta has been enjoying teaching in a variety of New York City middle schools since 2015. Her favorite season is summer because she is always cold, she has enjoyed racing sailboats since she was 8, and she can recite the entire Hamilton Musical since she saw it live that one time.
Khary Louis
(he/him) Khary is the Staff Coordinator at AU and has been teaching in NYC for 9 years. He specializes in working with students with unusual learning profiles. He received a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Penn State in 2011. Khary believes strongly in differential education, striving to meet each student and their needs individually. In his spare time, Khary loves watching sports and spending time with his two cats.
Meaghan Bloom Fluitt
(she/her) Meaghan has worked at AU since 2016, and is the AU Project Coordinator as well as Improv/Drama teacher. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, she is also a working actor with experience in film, tv, and theatre in NYC. Meaghan is a proponent for the arts and how imagination and creativity can build and strengthen socio-emotional skill sets and proactive, positive problem solving. She always loves to see what amazing things come from the creative minds of the students. Fun fact: Meaghan is into anime and other geekery, and when she has some spare time, loves to make soup from scratch - especially when she can use vegetables she grows in her (secret!) rooftop urban garden!
jess mannion
(she/her) Jess is the Personal/Administrative Assistant for Brendan and AU. Prior to working at the AU, Jess was a freelancer working primarily from her home for 10 years, doing everything from copywriting to remote assistant work to professional cat sitting. She is quite honestly thrilled to be working in an office again with actual people around, and is having so much fun getting to know everyone in the AU community. She has a BA in English Literature and loves creative writing, reading, going to movies with her husband, and showering an embarrassing amount of affection on her two rescue cats, Herbie and Victor.
John Dhaness
(he/him) John has worked at AU since early 2017. Initially a support staff team member and graduate level communication-sciences and disorders student, he graduated in December 2020 and now provides speech and language services as the Speech Therapist. John is (not so) secretly a Pokemon master on the sidelines and is (not so) secretly a geek at heart.
Chris Latorra
(he/him) Chris has been AU’s Occupational Therapist since fall 2019. Chris graduated with a MS in Occupational Therapy from Bay Path University in 2019, and has a BA in Psychology from the University of Connecticut. In the past, Chris has worked with a variety of populations and disabilities including early intervention, adults, and geriatric clients with focuses from mental health to physical dysfunction. Chris concentrates solely on individualized, evidence & strength-based interventions to gain the skills necessary for people to be more independent. In his spare time Chris enjoys spending time with friends and family, watching sports, and exploring the city.
waciuma Maina
(he/him) Waciuma has worked at AU since 202. A graduate of MIT, he has fulfilled multiple roles in his time here. From teaching math, to being a classroom support staff, and loves working with the students and staff at the school.
Ben Bond
(he/him) Ben has worked at AU since March 2020. He has been working with people with developmental disabilities for about 5 years, and is part of the support staff team at AU. His favorite part of the job is listening to the kids and getting to hear their amazing and unique perspectives. In his spare time, he enjoys his cats and turtle, playing instruments and recording with his bands, and going for hikes in his home borough of Staten Island.
Alexander Jones
(he/him) Alex is the Independent Study teacher at AU. With a Masters in Special Education with over 8 years of teaching experience in America and 6 years internationally, he loves working with a diverse population of students.
Rick Rosenbluth
(he/him) Rick is a part of the support staff team at AU. Before coming to AU he was a program manager at the 92nd St. Y, and this past summer was a counselor at Camp Lee Mar in the Poconos. Rick is also a volunteer in Achilles Kids. Rick loves all things sports and is especially fond of running.
Natalya Villegas
(she/her) Natalya is a part of the support staff at AU. Formally trained in design and advertising, she additionally has experience working in education with individuals with specials needs and is excited to continue her journey in helping students at AU.
Lucy Holden
(she/her) Lucy is a classroom support staff member at AU. She graduated from Skidmore College in Spring of 2022 with a BA in Psychology. Lucy enjoys reading, and she grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont!
Isaac Wood
(he/they) Isaac is a part of the behavioral management team at AU. In the seven years since he graduated from Saginaw Valley State University, Isaac has worked in the behavior management field across three states, two clinics, several public and private schools, and countless hours on the subway. He is perpetually looking for intersections between his passion for this work and his ever-growing list of interests, which currently includes playwriting, storytelling, making music, systemizing clean data, playing video games, refining his rolodex of funny voices, and baking when stressed. (This is not a comprehensive list.) Isaac is also the Co-Director of Education at Roaring Epiphany Production Company, a nonprofit geared toward promoting inclusion and advocacy in theatre and film. Isaac is excited to share his enthusiasm, broad experience, and usually unshakeable optimism with AU.
jeremiah Merritt
(he/him) Jeremiah is a part of the support staff team at AU. He was a paraprofessional with the DOE for two years and recently received his Bachelor’s degree in Childhood Education. He is a lover of the fantasy genre and loves to consume it in as many forms as possible; his favorite ways being through anime and reading.
Lorraine Smyth
(she/her) Lorraine is a part of the support staff team at AU. Prior to joining AU, Lorraine spent two years at the AHRC of New York as a NYS Certified Teaching Assistant as well as a board-certified Registered Behavioral Therapist. Before focusing on education, she spent many years in the Arts where she worked with children of all ages in a variety of different settings. Lorraine holds a Masters of Art in Educational Psychology, a BA in Psychology - Child Development, and several profession professional certificates in the Arts. It is her hope to share her knowledge, experience, and love of the Arts with the students and help them find their own dreams to follow.
George ciani
(he/him) George is a part of the support staff team at AU. Prior to working at AU, George worked with the DOE as a classroom history teacher in Secondary Education. He is the proud owner of a German Shepard.
Gus Castile
(he/him) Gus is a part of the support staff team at AU. He is from Cambridge Massachusetts and has a degree in English Lit from Clark University. Gus has been working in various roles in schools for the last ten years. He loves to read and write and is an avid movie watcher and music lover. He was a three sport letterman in high school and captain of three varsity sports in high school, and is a big fan of Boston area sports teams, which he is continuously reminded are far less superior to the New York ones.
Evan Marcus
(he/they) Evan is a part of the support staff at AU. He is originally from rural Virginia, neighboring the Shenandoah National Park(yeehaw). He studied at James Madison University with a major in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minor in Exceptional Education. His career goal is to become a speech language pathologist. Before attending a graduate program he has been working in the fields of special education as a support staff and applied behavioral analysis therapy as a board certified autism technician. His interests include nature, soup, exploring new music, and running.
Want to join the Team? Send us an email and cover letter to:
office@alliedachievement.com