Science Faculty

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Know and understand the world around you.

Comfortable in the classroom, laboratory, and in Cate’s outdoor setting, science teachers here will give you the foundation in scientific literacy you need to play an informed and intelligent role in our modern technological society.

boumacScience Department Chair
Football Coach
Dorm Parent / MOD

craig_bouma@cate.org / 805-684-4127 x220

EdD Educational Leadership, LMU
MS Environmental Science and Engineering, OHSU
BS Biology, UC Irvine

Craig is originally from Southern California and came to the Cate community after teaching science at Loyola High School of LA and LMU.

Craig is passionate about many things that Cate embodies, such as being part of a vibrant learning community, enjoying the beach and the mountains, and being amazed by the natural world. Craig wants to share this inspiration with his students, regardless of whether they plan to pursue science in college because he believes that people are inherently curious and capable of appreciating, learning, and doing science.

Craig lives on the Mesa with his wife, Christine, who teaches K-5 science at Crane Country Day School. They have two sons – Willem, ’22, who attends the Tepper School of Business and plays football for Carnegie Mellon University, and Henry, ’25, who enjoys surfing, math, science, volleyball, and football at Cate.


wklyphts-11Science Teacher
Cook House West Dorm Parent

beth_caylor@cate.org / 805-684-4127 x140

BS, University of Virginia
MS, Indiana University
MS, College of William and Mary
Appointed: 2016

Despite previously living on the East Coast her entire life, Beth Caylor has always suspected herself to be a native Californian. She joined Cate after five years at The Lawrenceville School, where she was a Science Master and Assistant House Master.

Throughout her career, Beth has been drawn to opportunities to share her passion for environmental and biological sciences through teaching. She has been fortunate to lead field programs to The Island School in the Bahamas, develop and implement a program in Hawaiian Oceanography for Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and teach Caribbean Oceanography aboard SSV Ocean Star in the Sea-mester Global Program. Beth has M.S. degrees in science education and curriculum studies from Indiana University as well as in marine science from the College of William and Mary. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, she participated in the Semester at Sea program and dual-majored in biology and studio art.

Beth teaches Advanced and Honors Biology in the Science Department, leads the SCUBA program, and is a dorm parent in Cook House West where she lives with her husband Kelly and son Holden.


denison_pChemistry, Genetics, and American Wilderness Teacher
Head of Outdoor Program
Head Boys JV Soccer Coach

paul_denison@cate.org / 805-684-8409 x278

BA, Middlebury College
Appointed: 1985

Paul has spent most of his life on the Mesa. He first came to Cate in 1968, when he was six years old, his father having accepted a position to teach in the English Department. After graduating from Cate in 1979, Paul studied biology at Middlebury College, returning to Cate in the mid-1980s to begin a teaching career that is now in its thirtieth year. Paul has taught biology, chemistry, genetics, anatomy and physiology, and an interdisciplinary course he developed (“The American Wilderness”) to integrate environmental science and the writings of the nation’s foremost naturalists. In addition, Paul has served as Associate Director of Admission and Dean of Students, and he has served as dormitory supervisor since he arrived. In his over 15 years as the boys varsity lacrosse coach, his teams have won 15 league championships, capturing the state title in 1994.

In addition to his general love of outdoor sports such as rock-climbing, backpacking, fly-fishing, surfing, and mountain biking, Paul is certified as an ACA whitewater kayak instructor and as a wilderness first responder. He has kayaked extensively in North, Central, and South America, and in 1987 he introduced the sport to Cate, where it has been an integral component of the Outdoor Program ever since.

Paul lives with his wife, Downing, and their two children, Jack and Tessa, in the house in which he grew up.


kelloggPhysics and Chemistry Teacher
Cook House West Dorm Parent
Assistant Girls JV Soccer Coach

james_kellogg@cate.org / 805-684-8409 x259

AB, Amherst College
PhD, Geophysics, Harvard University
Appointed: 2007

Jamie Kellogg’s hiring has rectified one of the most glaring imbalances of the Cate Faculty, specifically the glut of Williams alumni relative to Amherst graduates. After graduating from Amherst with an AB in physics in 1994, Jamie went on to earn a PhD in geophysics at Harvard University. While in Cambridge, Jamie also managed to woo the most desirable of young graduate students, a paleontologist named Susannah Porter. Following graduation, Jamie and Susannah got married and moved west for postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and later teaching positions at UCSB, Jamie as a lecturer and researcher, and Susannah as tenure-track junior faculty. Jamie quickly realized that he vastly preferred teaching to research, and began applying to independent schools both in Santa Barbara and Seattle, where Susannah’s family is located. He wound up taking a one-year position at Lakeside School in Seattle, teaching physics and chemistry and advising the Lakeside Cryptozoological Society (aka the Sasquatch Club) and the Lakeside Association of Wanna-Be String Theorists (aka LAWST). In a brilliant stroke of luck, a physical sciences position opened up at Cate, and Jamie and Susannah were able to return to Santa Barbara where they reside with their sons Willie and Samuel.


Biology Teacher

kadeine_peterson@cate.org / 805-684-4127 x136

BS, Marist College
MS, Cornell University

Kadeine Peterson joins the Cate community as a Biology Instructor following a wealth of independent school experience, most recently at Phillips Exeter Academy. Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Brooklyn, Kadeine earned her bachelor’s in biology from Marist College and holds a research master’s in genetics, genomics and development from Cornell University.

Prior to Exeter, Kadeine also taught biology at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., and at Packer Collegiate in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In addition to teaching biology, Kadeine is an advisor, volleyball coach, and dorm parent. She is also the Multicultural Programming Coordinator, helping to diversify programming on campus and organizing the annual MLK Jr. Day of Celebration. She resides in Cook House East/CHLL with her husband, Josh, their two sons Jack Maverick and Kingston, and their ornery Shih Tzu, Rocco. In her free time, she enjoys small space/urban garden design, and creating biology-themed digital art.


schwennsenChemistry Teacher
Cook House East Dorm Parent

cece_schwennsen@cate.org / 805-684-8409 x259

BA, Luther College
BS, University of Nebraska, Omaha
MS, University of Nebraska, Omaha
Appointed: 2009


Science Teacher

troy_shapiro@cate.org / 805-684-8409

Troy is a graduate of Brown University where he studied organizational sociology and economics. As an undergrad, Troy coached wrestling and lacrosse for the Moses Brown School where he recognized his passion for working with teenagers. He joined the faculty at the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts upon graduation where he taught physics, chemistry, and engineering. Troy continued to coach wrestling and lacrosse, lived in the dorm, and came to love boarding school life.

Troy comes to Cate after three years at the Jay Pritzker Academy in Siem Reap Cambodia, a small independent school serving rural Cambodian families seeking a western style education. There Troy was the Science Curriculum Coordinator and continued to teach physics and chemistry.

An avid outdoorsman, Troy is eager to join the Outdoor Program at Cate and will be coaching rock climbing in the fall and winter seasons in addition to lacrosse in the spring. He lives in Parsonage house with his dog, Tabasco.


Chemistry Teacher

cassia_sonderleiter@cate.org / 805-684-8409

Cassia comes to Cate with fifteen years of experience in secondary education in both independent and public schools. Following completion of her BA in chemistry at Occidental College, Cassia taught a wide variety of courses in science, math, and engineering to students in grades 6-12 at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy and The Archer School for Girls. She earned an MA in Secondary Education from California State University, Northridge and completed the coursework for her doctorate in Educational Leadership at UCLA.

A strong believer in a constructivist, student-centered approach to education, Cassia developed an innovative 21st-century STEM program while serving as the Science Department Chair and STEM Coordinator at Archer. Cassia later took on the role of Director of Science Instruction for Alliance College-Ready Public Schools where she developed the science curriculum and trained teachers for Alliance’s 26 middle and high schools. Most recently, Cassia worked as the Founding Principal for the middle school program at Citizens of the World Charter Schools in Los Angeles. In her spare time, Cassia loves cooking, gardening, and spending time outdoors with her husband, Aaron, newborn son, Milo, and golden retriever, Masa.


Science Instructor

BA, Bowdoin College
Appointed: 2023
After growing up in Chicago, Ill., Teddy attended Cate School as a student and graduated with the Class of 2017. He then attended Bowdoin College, where he studied Physics and conducted theoretical research into the scattering behavior of gluons and gravitons. After graduation from Bowdoin Teddy joined the faculty at Millbrook School in Millbrook, N.Y., where he taught math courses, coached soccer, and supported the school’s community service program at Millbrook’s Trevor Zoo.

Teddy is excited to return to the Mesa as a faculty member where he teaches in both the Science and Mathematics departments. He has a deep love for theoretical physics, board games, and is a licensed pilot.