Mathematics, Science, & Computer Science 

Shiho Burnham - Mathematics

Mrs. Burnham was born and raised in Japan. She attended school there through high School and jr. college before moving to the U.S.. She found her passion in Math and Education while attending USM here in Maine.

Mrs. Burnham taught Math at Edward Little High School before she had children, and then she took some time off so that her children could become bilingual. Most recently she has been a math teacher for both middle school and high school students at Poland Spring Academy.

She lives in Lakes Region with her husband, three kids, and one dog.

Jorge "JJ" Rodriguez - Mathematics

Jorge Rodriguez, or "JJ" to their students, just moved to Portland, Maine from San Diego, California this summer. JJ grew up in Florida and California before attending Drexel University in Philadelphia for their B.S. in Economics and B.A. in Mathematics. JJ then moved to San Diego, where they began as a math tutor and an academic coach at a small charter school before becoming a high school math teacher at a large public high school. During this time, they got a Masters in Education from National University with emphasis in Social-Emotional Learning before packing up and moving to Portland.

When not at school, JJ might be knitting, playing board games, baking, singing with a choir, or exploring Maine!

Kate Strait - Science 

Kate grew up in upstate NY and later moved to Maine to attend the University of New England. There, she earned a BA in Biology, with a concentration in Marine Science. Kate then attended the University of New Hampshire where she earned a MA in Zoology, with a focus in Aquaculture. Most of her professional career has been in the science industry - from R&D in a clinical chemistry lab to becoming a manager at Bangs Island Mussels. The world of education fell into Kate’s lap after an injury no longer allowed her to work in aquaculture. She took a long-term substitute position at Sanford Middle School and realized that she wanted to remain in the education field. Kate taught at Sanford Middle School for 5 years before moving to Baxter Academy in 2021. She is beyond excited to teach what she is most passionate about - SCIENCE! 

Kate has a deep connection with the ocean and considers herself an ambassador of the sea. When she is not in the classroom, you can find her in the ocean surfing, giving surf lessons, or with her camera taking photographs of the ocean. Her love of nature and the water has channeled itself into a life full of science, surfing and photography.

Rory Lowe - Science

Rory grew up in Massachusetts and left New England to attend Colorado College where he graduated in 2019 with a B.A. in physics. He taught undergraduates at Colorado College for a year after graduating before returning to the Northeast to teach physics labs at the University of Southern Maine. Rory was inspired to join Baxter for the engaged and dynamic community.

Rory lives in Portland with his cat, Grandpa. He spends a lot of time with his family on their farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. He loves music, food, strolling around the city, and mountain biking.

Eric Kawamoto - Design, Computer Science & Mathematics

Eric Kawamoto comes to Baxter after a 22-year career as an algorithm development (software) engineer at IDEXX Laboratories. He is new to teaching high school students, but has served as a teaching assistant for freshman calculus while an undergraduate Physics major at the California Institute of Technology, and as a teaching fellow for freshman physics while completing his dissertation in condensed-matter physics at Harvard University. He came to Portland in 1997 after three years as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he began acquiring the programming skills needed for developing algorithms (image processing and quantitation, curve fitting, optimization, clustering and classification, machine learning) for diagnostic instruments used in veterinary medicine. At IDEXX, Eric facilitated communication between biochemists and immunologists, and his fellow software, optical, and electrical engineers, by "speaking each other's language", while developing his junior colleagues into good communicators and strong individual contributors. He plans to take what he has learned from the corporate world, so much of which resembles the mission of teaching, into classrooms and project-based learning at Baxter, where he will teach Computer Science, Programming, and Engineering Design.

Besides long harboring a desire to pursue a second career as a secondary educator, Eric is an avid amateur orchestral and chamber musician, as well as a choral singer. In the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, he currently plays violin (http://www.midcoastsymphony.org/musicians/eric-kawamoto/), while during summer workshops at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, he derives great joy from the hard work of participating in chamber ensembles as a violinist and violist. Up until last year, when he began to take courses toward a teaching certification at the University of New England, Eric had sung tenor with the a cappella choral group Renaissance Voices. He has also served on the boards of the Maine AIDS Alliance and the Maine Gay Men's Chorus, supporting LGBTQ causes and safe spaces. Eric hopes that his experience as a scientist in academia, engineer in industry, musician, and advocate for women and people of color in STEM will inform a rigorous, practical, and compassionate teaching style to develop the next generation of innovators and problem solvers.

Andrew Ritter - Science

Andrew grew up in the Finger Lakes region in western NY. Before starting his career in teaching in 2017, Andrew attended Hobart college earning a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Environmental Science and Chemistry. After teaching in the Boston area, Andrew has made Gorham his home and joined the Baxter community in 2021. 

Andrew has a passion for scientific research and enjoys guiding students in scientific inquiry. With his two loyal companions, Scout and Charlie, Andrew can often be found on the trails of Gorham. 

Peter Moxhay - Physics, Mathematics & Photography 

Peter Moxhay is a former theoretical physicist who has done research in high-energy particle physics, string theory, and quantum field theory. He received an undergraduate degree from Brown University before going on to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.

When he became interested in education, Moxhay got deeply involved in international projects with math and science educators from Russia, Bulgaria, and Romania. He has also translated educational books in mathematics and educational psychology from Russian into English.

Moxhay has previously taught a range of grades and educational levels in the Portland Public Schools. At Baxter, he is excited to be able to teach math and physics at a level which is not usually available to high school students. 

Moxhay plays old time fiddle, enjoys reading and travel, and in recent years has become interested in 19th-century photographic processes (which he also occasionally teaches at Baxter, especially for Flex Friday projects).  He lives out on Peaks Island with his family.

Sam Wasielewski - Science

Sam grew up in Lisbon, Maine. After graduating high school she made her way to the University of Maine Augusta. Here, she studied Secondary Education with a focus on life science. Sam has spent the past two years teaching at a middle school and is eager to move up to work with high school students! 

Sam enjoys to travel in her free time, so far she has visited eight countries: Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Canada. She will be traveling to Costa Rica this summer! Sam enjoys painting, hiking, and anything nature related! She loves to spend time with her three cats: Keg, Remy, and Albus along with her bearded dragon, Lizzy. 

Matt Donovan - Mathematics

Matt Donovan is a lifelong native of coastal Maine who graduated from UMO with a bachelor's in Mathematics. His interests include analog photography, woodcraft, and bicycle touring. He is also a member of several musical outfits that continue to perform and produce original music within various rock and pop idioms.

Seth Lockman - Mathematics

After graduating from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Seth studied developmental psychology and new media, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Maine. After college Seth created the first ever STEM-focused talk radio show to join the NASA Museum Alliance, leaving the show to join bluShift Aerospace as their Communications Director. Now Seth is thrilled to return to the world of education with a focus on helping tomorrow's leaders become fluent in the most fundamental language of all - math!

Mahmuda Alam - Science

Mahmuda Alam holds a BA in biology from Mount Holyoke College and is currently pursuing an MPH at the University of Southern Maine. She is excited to continue engaging with science education at Baxter! Outside of the classroom, she loves to spend time outdoors, explore new restaurants, and reading.