Administrative Team

Anna Klein-Christie - Executive Director

Ms. Klein-Christie grew up in Gambier, Ohio, the daughter of a Kenyon College professor and a community activist. After graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, her early career focused on advertising based in Chicago, Paris, and Prague. This experience gave her the foundation to successfully join the nonprofit community as a leader in donor-centric fundraising, program development, public policy, and community engagement. For nearly two decades she has worked for the well-being of youth and families to build healthy communities. She believes that the collective passion, energy, and wisdom of youth can solve apparently intractable problems and that it is incumbent on those in positions of authority to create opportunities for their success.

As the former Executive Director of Rippleffect, she led the expansion of leadership programs from Casco Bay to year-round expeditionary collaborations with Portland area schools. Through the height of the pandemic she worked as the Director of International Development/Director of the US office for Safe Passage, an expeditionary learning school based in the Guatemala City garbage dump community. After working with extraordinary colleagues in Guatemala, Germany, and the United States, she is greatly inspired to collaborate with the team at Baxter Academy to expand the STEM learning community, strengthen educational and employment opportunities for students, and engage brilliant young minds in the work of our shared future.

She loves traveling with her family to destinations near and far, playing with her labrador retriever on the beach, and sharing Czech family traditions with friends.

Cicy Po - Head of School

Cicy Po is the Head of School at Baxter Academy for Technology and Science. She has served students in Boston, MA and Portland, ME in private and public high schools as a science teacher and school leader. She has had the good fortune to work alongside pioneers and school leaders who helped to cultivate communities who can exist justly, with dignity and with hope. She is a Chinese-American immigrant who grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island, NY and earned a BA from Skidmore College, an M.Ed. from Harvard University and an Ed.D. from Boston College. Dr. Po was a biology, chemistry, human anatomy and physiology, and environmental science teacher. She has earned the distinction of Formal Educator of the Year by the New England Environmental Educator’s Association.

Fun facts about Dr. Po: She was a visual arts minor in college, loves her German Shepherd - named Lucy, and keeps red wigglers in her kitchen.

Alex Waters - Assistant Principal

Alex Waters joined the Administration as Assistant Principal in July of 2023 after 6 years as a member of Baxter’s Humanities faculty. In the classroom, Mr. Waters has taught social studies classes spanning the breadth of history (from Early Civilizations to Global Perspectives), and diverse content (from Personal Finance and Entrepreneurship to Confronting Genocide and Maine’s Housing Crisis). Through his teaching, Mr. Waters emphasizes the framing of history as connected to lives lived today, with the goal of inspiring students to tell their own stories and to see themselves as an integral part of the world. In addition to his teaching, Mr. Waters has served as Department Chair for the Humanities department and has co-led Baxter’s restorative practices program with a focus on building community.

Mr. Waters grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and came East to attend Dartmouth College. Upon graduating with a B.A. (double major in Government and Anthropology), Mr. Waters moved to southern Connecticut to begin what would eventually become a long career as a commodities trader. In his role as a trader of electricity and natural gas, Mr. Waters developed a fascination with the intersections of business, natural resources, and public policy.

Upon leaving the trading industry, Mr. Waters earned his M.A.T. in secondary education from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Fun facts about Mr. Waters: He was a high school debater and a college rugby player. He has lived in 6 states and 2 countries (Switzerland being the other one), and has a lifetime goal of visiting every continent. Every winter, Mr. Waters plans to learn to embrace winter sports, but it hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps this will be the winter. Mr. Waters lives in Portland with his wife and their two daughters.

Laura Parks - Director of Special Education

Laura Parks has over 30 years of special education experience and has worked with all grade levels (K-12) and all disabilities. She received her undergraduate degree from Wheelock College in Boston and her graduate degree from USM in Gorham. Laura has always wanted to teach and work with students to help them achieve their potential. Her goal now is to work with teachers and administrators to develop the best experiences that students can have while addressing their challenges in the area of education.

Laura has been married for over 30 years to her husband, Norm, whom she met when they were both teaching at the same school. She has twin sons and is extremely proud of them: Fred has earned a PhD in organic chemistry and Norman is a staff sergeant in the Air Force in the field of EOD. Laura loves to camp, fish, and try new crafts. She especially loves to quilt.

Favorite Quote: Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character and character is everything.

Support Staff

Tyler Beaulieu - Enrollment Manager

Tyler Beaulieu grew up in Caribou, ME, and graduated from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. He went on to Alfred University where he received his Bachelor’s in Physics and Astronomy. While at Alfred he spent many nights at the Stull Observatory, looking to get another picture for his Andromeda Galaxy mosaic (which he didn't quite finish). He founded the Alfred Boffer Club, a foam sword stress relief organization that held intra-campus foam sword battles that would attract as many as 100 students. Someone there gave him a plaque and a bronze bobblehead to celebrate this achievement.

He minored in Political Science which ended up guiding his post-college career goals. After graduating he worked with multiple political campaigns in a variety of capacities, eventually finding his place in field operations. Tyler worked for Bernie 2016, the Maine Democratic Party in 2016, and the Ohio Democratic Party in 2018. After 2018, Tyler sought to continue his operations work with a non-profit in Maine. Tyler joined Baxter Academy as Operations Manager in October 2019. He transitioned into his current role of Enrollment and Data Manager in the summer of 2021. He lives in Lisbon Falls with his wife Ellie and two cats, Toddy and Finn.

Fun facts: Tyler is an Eagle Scout. He has driven every available size of U-Haul multiple times over thousands of miles and only dented one of them. He loves bbq and cooking for friends. He also thinks he’s funny.

Amos Cooper - IT Manager

Mr. Cooper graduated from Gorham High School and studied Broadcast Communications and Film Studies at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. He is now back in Maine, serving as the IT Manager for Baxter Academy.

At Susquehanna University, Mr. Cooper was the Technical Director for the student-run radio station, where he helped keep the station running smoothly and dealt with any computer and audio issues. In addition, he was the treasurer for the Model United Nations Club. He managed all of the club’s funds and organized fundraisers.

Mr. Cooper came to Baxter after doing in-home computer work for clients of Techport, a technology company in Portland. He loves the environment at Baxter, especially how it encourages self-taught learning, critical thinking, and personal responsibility. He is constantly impressed by the outstanding work that students do, especially on their Flex Friday projects.
 

Fun Facts: Mr. Cooper really enjoys playing music, especially the bass guitar. He has been in several bands with friends and plays gigs in pit bands for musicals. In the winter, he loves to snowboard at Sunday River, and in the summer, he enjoys fishing at Pine Point. Mr. Cooper loves to read for pleasure; his favorite authors are Stephen King and Kurt Vonnegut.

Michelle Doherty- Front Office Manager

Gabriel Merriam - School Nurse

Gabe Merriam grew up in the small town of Naples Maine. He and his now wife, Abby, were both part of the first class to graduate from Baxter Academy in 2016. After graduation, Gabe attended St. Joseph’s College of Maine to earn his Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In May 2020, he and Abby graduated together for the second time. However, this time it was on a living room couch while their 5-month-old daughter attempted to pull off their graduation tassels. They both graduated with honors. 

Weeks later, Gabe took the Maine State Board of Nursing Exam and passed. He was officially a registered nurse (RN)! In July of 2020, he started his first nursing job in a cardiac/telemetry unit. By the time he was finished with orientation, the unit had transitioned primarily into a COVID-19 unit. Gabe worked a full-time night shift for about a year when he decided to transition into a per diem role. Currently, he works alongside his dad in the family business while still maintaining a presence on the COVID unit. And now he is Baxter Academy’s new school nurse! He is very excited to be back!

Fun Fact: Gabe wrote song parodies throughout college to help him remember difficult topics.