Humanities

Chris Bertelsen - English and Social Studies

Chris Bertelsen is a new humanities teacher at Baxter, but was first at Baxter as a student teacher in 2019. He grew up all over New England, but spent several formative years in Maine. This led him to attend Colby College in Waterville, ME where he majored in American Studies and Music, and was also a Maine State Rugby All-Star. At Colby, Chris discovered his passion for learning and spreading awareness of the experiences of marginalized communities. Raised by teachers, he brings a strong belief in the value of education in and out of school. His experiences working with young people includes assistant teaching 2nd grade, 5th grade, and K-6 physical education, working in after school programs, and 10+ years in multiple positions at Camp Bishopswood in Hope, ME. Most recently he taught 7th grade Social Studies at Scarborough Middle School. Outside of the classroom, he is an active musician in the Portland music scene, and a lover of outdoor and backcountry adventures. In the rare moments when his life slows down, he loves to knit.

Leah Douglass - English

Leah Douglass grew up in Westbrook, Maine and graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in English Literature. She is grateful to have spent the majority of her career helping to enrich the community she is from by developing and teaching the alternative education program COMPASS at Westbrook High School. She also taught English as a foreign language in South Korea to elementary students preK-6th grade. When she is not teaching, Leah enjoys knitting very slowly, pinball, and theater. She lives in Portland with the world's goodest boy, Remy.

John Wensman - English

John has taught English in public, international, and independent schools in a range of places that start with the letter 'M' including Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Morocco. He has a BA in English and French from the University of Minnesota and an MAT degree from Brown University. He came to Maine from the Midwestern prairie eight years ago and lives in Yarmouth with his partner and a couple of large, furry cats. Outside school he’s overly fond of coffee and construction projects. He also enjoys cooking, running and kayaking the coast.

Alex Waters - Social Studies

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.

Eli Hersey-Powers - English

Eli Hersey-Powers holds a BA in humanities from Pomona College and is a Portland, Maine native. He has taught students in Princeton, New Haven, as well as in France.