Exeter Humanities Institute Leadership Team

Jane Cadwell

Phillips Exeter Academy

Jane joined the Phillips Exeter Academy faculty in 1993, having taught previously at Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC. Over the course of her PEA career, in addition to teaching a variety of English levels and electives, Jane has been the Dean of Academic Affairs, boys squash and tennis coach, dorm head of Bancroft Hall, and is currently the coordinator of the faculty continuing professional development. She established Study Paws, a joyful gathering of Academy dogs in the Library, for students to hug and pet during exam weeks and other stressful times. Jane has a B.A. from Williams College, a master’s from Smith College and a master’s from Middlebury College.

Alexa D. Caldwell

Phillips Exeter Academy

Alexa Caldwell grew up on a boarding school campus in Delaware, where her parents taught, and it was there that she discovered her passion for history. At Brown University she earned a dual degree, concentrating in history and political science with a focus on international relations. While at Brown she played lacrosse for four years, captaining the team her senior year. She was named to the All-Ivy team, Academic All-Ivy team and 2011 IWLCA National Academic Honor Roll.

After graduating, Ms. Caldwell taught history at the Asheville School in North Carolina, worked in the admissions office, and coached boys varsity soccer and girls varsity lacrosse. There she received the 2013 Positive Coaching Alliance Double-Goal Coach Award, a national award presented to 20 youth and high school sports coaches from throughout the U.S. who strive to win while pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. At Exeter, Ms. Caldwell teaches U.S. History and coaches girls varsity soccer and girls varsity lacrosse. She is also a dorm faculty member Main Street Dormitory.

Adia Conroy, Educator

Panorama Education

Aida graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2009. After graduating from Columbia University she joined Teach for America in her hometown of Chicago. Aida taught English and History at the Noble Academy, a Harkness-based public charter school in Chicago, for four years. There she created the curriculum that supported 9th grade students as they transitioned to Harkness learning. She was the inaugural Internal Harkness Mentor responsible for coaching and supporting 9-12th grade teachers as they implemented Harkness in their classrooms across disciples. Since 2019 she has worked with districts and states to improve outcomes for students as an advisor and facilitator of adult learning. She is now the Senior Director of Teaching and Learning at Panorama Education. In her presentation, Harkness is Not a One Time Event, Aida Conroy will share reflections on using the Harkness pedagogy in public schools. This talk will share concrete strategies for teachers and administrators seeking to embed Harkness into their classroom or their school.  Attendees will leave with a Harkness 101 toolkit with embedded resources from across disciplines.

Ellee Dean

Phillips Exeter Academy

It’s hard for Ms. Dean to imagine life before Exeter, but a glimpse would include old-tire inner tubes and floating down the Chippewa River in Michigan with her grandfather. In the 1990s, as a student, Ms. Dean lived in Amen Hall and walked the same paths she does now. She returned to Exeter to teach English after working in the traffic and editorial departments at The Boston Phoenix and learning how to teach English in Crete, Greece and at a small private school in what locals call the quiet corner of Connecticut.

Ms. Dean moved into Webster Hall in 2013, but one night caught herself taking the path back to Amen Hall. Now, she teaches alongside former mentors in the English Department, advises the school newspaper, The Exonian, and serves as adviser and dorm head in Merrill Hall. “I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is.” — Vladimir Nabokov

Meg Foley

Phillips Exeter Academy

Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, Meg earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Boston University. She joined the Phillips Exeter Academy History faculty in 1999. She teaches history, senior economics electives and yoga. Prior to Exeter, she taught at the Colorado Springs School. She has previously served as chair of the History Department. Currently, Meg is the Michael E. Ridder Professor of History. She recently held the Bates-Russell Professorship which allowed her to focus on Harkness Outreach. She continues that work as the co-director of The Center for Teaching and Learning and a particular interest of Meg’s is supporting schools of all different profiles as they find ways to begin and evolve with Harkness teaching. In her free time, Meg enjoys being near the water or in the mountains. She lives on campus with her husband, two teenagers, and two golden retrievers.

Courtney D. Marshall

Phillips Exeter Academy

Courtney is from Newark, NJ, and joined the English department in 2016 after teaching African-American literature at the University of New Hampshire.  Outside of teaching English, she is dorm head of Kirtland House, convener of the faculty reading group, and adviser to the Exeter Culinary Association, Baking Club, and Tea Club.  She leads student travel programs in Alabama and Louisiana and in 2023 participated in an NEH program focused on the Mississippi Delta.  Since 2012, she has facilitated reading groups in prisons across the state and helps draft historical markers for the New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail.  She holds an AA in Liberal Arts from Essex County College, a BA in English and Women’s Studies from Rutgers University, and an MA, PhD, and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.  In 2023, she earned an Instructional Coaching Certificate from Harvard Graduate School of Education and now serves as Incoming Faculty Program Coordinator and Intern Coordinator for Exeter Summer.

Matthew Miller

Phillips Exeter Academy

Matt has taught English and coached football at Phillips Exeter Academy since 2007. He earned his BA from Yale University where he played varsity football and his MFA in Creative Writing and Literature from Emerson College. A former Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University, he is the author of Tender the River, The Wounded for the Water, Club Icarus, and Cameo Diner: Poems. He teaches courses in Documentary Poetics, Moby Dick, Toni Morrison, and The Harlem Renaissance. He lives with his family in Exeter and spends his free time surfing the chilly Atlantic.