Our people
North Star has a small core staff of dedicated professionals and a large extended staff of interns, work-study students, and volunteers. Together, we are a diverse body of caring individuals with a wide variety of skills and interests to share.
Our board of directors shares our deep interest in helping teens realize their goals through self-directed learning.
Core staff
North Star's core staff are lifelong learners committed to supporting teens on their individual learning journeys. Bringing a wide diversity of backgrounds and interests to our community, they take a personal interest in their advisees and students, and bring out their best to help them thrive.
Ken Danford, Executive Director
Co-founder of North Star, Ken has been working intensively with teenagers and their families since 1991. Previously a middle school social studies teacher, first in Prince George’s County, MD, then in Amherst, MA, Ken left the Amherst school system to found North Star. He brought with him extensive education and training, including a B.A. from Amherst College in Psychology and an M.A.T. in Social Studies from Brown University.
Jodi Lyn Cutler, Outreach Director
Academics came easily to Jodi. She completed her Bachelor of Science and Masters in Geology/ Hydrogeochemistry and was a visiting lecturer at Lafayette College by the time she was 21. The majority of her career involved remediating hazardous waste sites. Traditional academics did not come so easily for her oldest son, who has been touted as a creative genius and is a very successful North Star alumnus. Jodi joined the board of North Star in 2008. She joined North Star as Outreach Director in 2015 as a way to continue her work in making the world a better place.
Aaron Damon-Rush, Core Staff
Aaron attended North Star from the ages of 11 to 18, and returned to join the Core Staff as Alumni Coordinator in 2022. He holds a B.A. from Hampshire College, where he studied Creative Writing and Narrative Game Design. His capstone project involved designing and teaching a class at North Star. In 2023, Aaron founded Dungeon Delvers, a business that creates tabletop role-playing events for kids and teens in Western Massachusetts.
Melanie Dana, Core Staff
Melanie is the parent of two North Star alums and was a long-term volunteer prior to joining the Core Staff in 2016. Before becoming a homeschooling parent, she taught at an alternative high school in the Boston area for ten years and was a preschool teacher for three. She has an EdM in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University and a BA in Psychology from Boston College.
Saleem Mizrachi, Core Staff
Saleem Mizrachi is thrilled to join the North Star Core Staff roster, bringing years of experience in creative community-oriented youth programs. He is a multi-instrumental teaching artist with substantial performance and studio experience. Saleem's areas of expertise include songwriting, improvisation and music production. Part of his teaching philosophy is that people learn best when they are encouraged to discover their unique talents by exploring topics of personal interest through a variety of perspectives. Since discovering his passion for music early on growing up in the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, and deeply engaging with a community of artists and activists for over a decade in Boston, Saleem has recently found an ideal balance of nature and culture in his new home of Western Mass.
Ellen Morbyrne, Core Staff,
Fee Reductions Administrator
Ellen joined North Star as a member during its first year and has been passionate about the movement ever since. She has an A.A. from Holyoke Community College and a B.A. in Theatre (Spanish minor) from Smith College. Ellen is a yoga teacher, mom of two homeschooling kids, and the co-founder of Real Live Theatre. She joined the Core Staff in 2010.
Emily Provost, Core Staff, Building Manager
Emily Provost comes to North Star as a graduate of Bennington College with more than 20 years experience in teaching and visual art. She spent the last 10 years overseeing a self-directed education program for younger children in Philadelphia. Her family recently moved to Western Massachusetts. Loving parent to a 10-year old unschooling tween, Emily enjoys philosophy, art, education, the outdoors, animals, being an empath and challenging societal norms. She is excited to be supporting teens by joining the thoughtful, intentional community that is North Star.
Loran Saito, Program Director
After years as a volunteer and board member, Loran joined the North Star staff in 2015. She holds a B.A. in French Language and Literature from the Catholic University of America, an M.A. in International and Intercultural Communication from the School for International Training, an M.A. in Professional Writing and Technical Communication from UMass Amherst, and an M.F.A. in Graphic Design from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Namibia) and a proud parent of four North Star alums. Loran loves travel and adventure, being outdoors, art, music, dance, and food.
Josh Wachtel, Core Staff
Josh has been a teacher of teens since he joined the Peace Corps in 1995. He worked in two alternative school settings in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and San Diego, California. Josh began teaching at North Star at 2010, where he has been an advisor and taught classes and one-on-ones in music, math, social studies and beyond. He has a B.A. in History from Penn State and a Master in Restorative Practices from the IIRP. Josh is a performing musician and is passionate about helping maintain a thriving social and learning community at North
Star.
Board of directors
Emily
Harding-Morick, President
Gary Bernhard
From 1975 to 1979 Gary was director of an alternative school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. From 1979 to 2009 Gary was with the University Without Walls at UMass Amherst and was Director of the program between 1988 and 2006. He retired in 2009. After chairing the Finance Committee and being a member of the Presence Team, he served as President until 2024.
Sue Surner
Sue Surner joined our board in 2011. The parent of three North Star alumni, Sue lives in Belchertown. She is co-owner and operator of her family business, Surner Heating. Sue also has a Masters in Education from Springfield College. Sue brings her dynamism, intelligence, and common sense to the board and is a valued member of several committees.
Maria Vijil Davis
Maria Vijil Davis is the parent of a North Star member. She moved to Hadley in 2021 from Wellesley, Massachusetts. Maria joined our board in 2023. She is the founding attorney of Vijil Davis LLC and focuses her legal practice in property law. Maria earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Northeastern University School of Law in 2004, a Masters of Science degree from Michigan State University and a Bachelors of Arts degree from California State University. She is fluent in Spanish.
