Staff & Governance

Alyssa Lucadamo

Alyssa currently teaches 7th and 8th grade students who receive Gifted Services at Brandywine School District’s P.S. duPont Middle School. This is her sixth year in the position; she previously taught for 8 years at Central Middle School in Dover’s Capital School District. A 2024 Yale National Initiative Fellow and 2024-2025 DTI Fellow, Alyssa strongly believes that classroom teachers’ voices should be represented and respected both in learning institutions and in the community. She earned her Masters in Education degrees in Instruction: Teaching and Learning and Instruction: Gifted and Talented from Wilmington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.

Barbara Prillaman

Barbara is a National Board Certified Teacher with the Red Clay Consolidated School District (RCCSD). Dr. Prillaman’s career in education began with her service with the United States Peace Corps in Ecuador. Since then, during her twenty-four year tenure with the district, she has focused not only on educating students at the middle, high school, and college levels but also her colleagues. She has taught the subjects of English and Social Studies to English Language Learners (ELLs) in both bilingual (Spanish/English) and structured English immersion settings, Advanced Placement (AP) and College Preparatory (CP) Psychology, as well as Dual Enrollment (Delaware Technical Community College/RCCSD) Sociology in a Distance Learning Laboratory. After receiving her doctorate from the University of Delaware in 2008, she has remained on campus as an adjunct professor. Dr. Prillaman has presented about the research-based teaching strategies that work in her classroom at local, national, and international conferences including Teaching American History, the Southern Regional Education Board, International Reading Association and the Korean SMOE English Teachers Camp. Her latest endeavor and closest to her heart includes the establishment of the Delaware Teacher Institute at the University of Delaware. Most recently, she was awarded a fellowship with the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program.

Beth Wagner

Beth has been teaching in Delaware for over 20 years in both the Colonial and Red Clay School Districts. For half of her career, she has participated in the best professional development offered – DTI. Throughout the years, she has primarily taught in grades 3-5, and has created units that include graphing, mapping, writing narratives, astronomy, and fractions among others. One of the things she loves most about DTI is talking to teachers from different schools and grade bands, sharing resources, and problem-solving academic issues. When not at DTI or in the classroom, you’ll find her spending time with her husband and 3 kids enjoying the beach and doing puzzles. Her kids are the best guinea pigs for trying out new classroom lessons!

Gin He Conard

With 14 years of teaching experience spanning middle school, high school, and a local community college, Gin is driven by a deep love for literature and a genuine care for youth.  She holds her B.A. from The University of Delaware in Secondary English Education and M.Ed in Instruction from Wilmington University.  In her free time, she enjoys reading and watching historical fiction, trying new foods, cooking, and working on the renovation of an old farmhouse she bought at the end of the pandemic. Additionally, Gin also cherishes time spent with her two dogs and loves to travel to interesting and wild places. Through all of life’s adventures, she strives to keep learning, growing, and making a positive impact on those around her.

Holly Byrk

Holly Bryk is a Language Acquisition Specialist in Spanish with 34 years of experience in education. Currently, she supports Spanish language learners in grades 6-8 at The John Dickinson School within the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. What she enjoys most about her role is coaching her students to become confident and proficient communicators in the target language, preparing them to succeed in their high school careers and beyond.

Joseph Parrett

Joe has been teaching for more than 25 years. During his time as a teacher he has worked at multiple schools, teaching multiple grade levels. For more than a decade he has taught kindergarten at Kathleen Wilbur Elementary School in the Colonial District. Joe has also spent years in 3rd and 4th grade classrooms. He has been a fellow in DTI for more than a decade and fellow in the Yale National Initiative several times as well. Joe is also a National Geographic certified teacher and was fortunate enough to have traveled to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru with DTI. Though he has been an educator for many years, he continues to try and improve himself through personal professional development.

Kariann Flynn

Kariann is an English language arts and English language development teacher of multilingual learners in grades 6-12 at The John Dickinson School in Wilmington, Delaware. She is completing her eighth year as an MLL teacher.  She would say that the best part of her job as an MLL teacher is seeing her students develop into more confident thinkers and proficient multilingual communicators to achieve their goals after high school.

Kate Huffman

Kate is a former Art and Art History Educator with 8 years of experience in education, working for the Caesar Rodney School District, the Appoquinimink School District, and Archmere Academy. Currently, she serves as the Director of Learning and Engagement at The Biggs Museum of American Art, where she focuses on creating educational opportunities related to the arts and history for all ages throughout the state. Kate is an alumni of University of Delaware, graduating in 2015 from the Art and Design Department. Additionally, she holds an MA in Cultural Heritage Management from Johns Hopkins, and an MFA in Visual art from Cornell University. Outside of work, Kate has served on a number of roles related to arts education. She has served on the DTI Steering Committee for two years, was previously the Chair of ED&I for the Delaware Art Education Association, and additionally has served as a liaison with the Visual and Performing Arts Teacher Leader Network chartered by the Delaware Department of Education.

Yavet Respes
Yavet is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended the Philadelphia Public School system until graduating high school in 1986. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University and a masters from Strayer University. Yavet has been in education for 34 years and has seen many changes since then.  She is a proud wife of 29 years, a devoted mother of 4, and an amazing grandmother of 7. She would describe her greatest educational accomplishments as being selected as a 2023 Delaware state finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and being selected to participate in the Yale National Initiative.