Educators Cohort Coaches
Joey D’Alessio
Joey is an experienced educator with over a decade of dedicated service in the classroom. As an English teacher and Director of Music at Loyola School, he has seamlessly blended creativity and critical thinking to inspire students in both the arts and humanities. Passionate about civic education, Joey integrates real-world connections into his teaching, empowering students to become informed, engaged citizens. He holds a BA in Jazz Performance and English Literature from Fairfield University. With a commitment to fostering both artistic expression and analytical skills, Joey is a versatile educator devoted to shaping well-rounded, thoughtful individuals ready to contribute to their communities.Melinda Goodwin
For the past seven years, I have taught high school social studies at The Felicia Penzell Weber Jewish Community High School in Atlanta, including a range of AP and Honors courses in Government, Economics, and History. Prior to my time at Weber, I was an AP Teacher and Department Head at an international school in Istanbul, Turkey. With a B.A. degree in Political Science and Economics from UC San Diego and a research M.A. in History and Civics Education from the University of London, I am passionate about civics education and enjoy working with students both in the classroom and in club/student government activities. In 2022, I attended the Civic Spirit Summer Institute in NYC and also had the privilege to represent Civic Spirit at the KIVUNIM Morocco Experience for teachers in the summer of 2023. These opportunities to learn with and from fellow teachers have further enriched my education practices and have helped me to think anew about how best to teach government and history courses in the midst of the challenges today.
Ben Smietana
Ben is an Upper School humanities teacher at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School in Palo Alto, California. Ben received a B.A. degree in English and philosophy from John Carroll University; a M.A. degree in English from the University of Virginia; and a J.D. degree from Stanford University.Victoria Allen
Victoria is an AP History teacher at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, New York, where she also serves as the advisor for Student Government and Model Congress. She is a founding board member of the Citron Online League, an organization created to provide Sabbath-observant students with opportunities to compete in Speech, Debate, and Model Congress events. Victoria is an alumna of the Civic Spirit program, an initiative that led to her students drafting North Shore Hebrew Academy’s first-ever Student Government Constitution last year and establishing the school’s first elected student government this year. She continues her involvement with Civic Spirit in two roles: as a mentor to program alumni and as the advisor for the newly formed Civic Spirit Club at North Shore. Victoria began her career teaching Political Science at Queens College, where she taught courses on the Presidency, Congress, the Bureaucracy, Presidential Power, and American Politics and Film. Dr. Allen holds a B.A. in Urban Affairs from Barnard College, an M.S. in Urban Studies from Georgia State University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York.
