Staff > Mathematics, Science, & Computer Science
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 and bicultural. 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 and two children. She has three children who all attended and graduated from Baxter Academy.
Jorge "JJ" Rodriguez - Mathematics
Jorge Rodriguez (or "JJ" to their students) 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. JJ has been a math teacher at Baxter since 2021.
When not at school, JJ might be knitting, playing board games, baking, singing with a choir, or exploring Maine!
Kevin Guzman - Mathematics
Kevin is from Framingham, Massachusetts, where he attended a vocational high school and discovered his passion for STEM through a focus on Programming and Web Development. He continued his education locally, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Framingham State University (GO RAMS!) with a minor in Physics. He later moved to Maine to obtain a Master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Maine, Orono (GO BLACK BEARS!).
Outside of school, Kevin enjoys hiking, camping, and birding whenever the weather permits. He also enjoys boxing, volleyball, and soccer. When he is home, he loves all things sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, & cooking.
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.
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.
Golsin Rashid - Chemistry
Golsin Rashid is a former fuel and energy engineer with seven years of experience in the North Oil Company/Iraq. And earned a M.S. in Mathematics Education from UMF- 2026. Currently, she is a chemistry teacher, combining her love for science and passion for teaching. Golsin lives with her three kids and husband. In her free time, she loves cooking, going for walks, and watching movies with her children. She appreciates the changing seasons in Maine and finds something special about each one.
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.
Jordan Roche - Mathematics
Jordan Roche is a Portland native who is joining the Baxter faculty this fall as a math teacher. He graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2021 with a degree in Mathematics, and has spent the last five years teaching at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish. At Baxter, he looks forward to helping his students reach their full potentials and develop a lifelong love for learning. Outside of the classroom, he loves taking every opportunity to explore the Maine outdoors through hiking, biking, and skiing. He is an avid tennis player, amateur Super Smash Bros. competitor, karaoke enthusiast, and daily crossword lover. You may find him around town cheering on the Hearts of Pine or watching the latest Red Sox prospects play for the Sea Dogs. Jordan is ecstatic to be joining such a passionate group of educators at Baxter!
Lauren Boucher - Mathematics
Lauren grew up in Manchester, NH, attended college in Boston, MA, for her Associate's Degree, and earned a Bachelor's Degree from Rivier University in Nashua, NH. During college, Lauren spent multiple years substitute teaching and working with pre-K students with autism in the summers. This began her lifelong love of teaching and helping students learn. Her first 4 years of teaching were in Aurora, CO, but due to the pandemic, she wanted to move closer to her family back home in NH. She has spent the last 5 years teaching at Oxford Hills High School. She is currently working towards her Master's Degree through UMaine Farmington.
Lauren also has her Yoga certification after completing a 200-hour course during 2022. This included trauma-informed yoga practice, mindfulness, and SEL facilitator training. She spent a year teaching at a yoga studio in Portland. She loves to practice yoga (mostly outside) and has been an active participant since her sophomore year gym class in high school. She loves her dog, reading, music, and video games.
Christ Mpika Moundele - Mathematics
Christ Mpika Moundele was born and raised in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education. He later moved to China to complete a postgraduate diploma in educational leadership and policy at East China Normal University, and holds a joint M.Sc. in Mathematical Statistics from Jomo Kenyatta University and the Pan African University of Kenya, with a special interest in survival analysis.
For the past five years, Christ has taught math at Portland High School for a year and supported students academically in the special education setting at South Portland High School.
In his free time, Christ enjoys reading practical books, research papers, and tech magazines. He likes trying new recipes in the kitchen, jogging, and watching and playing sports, with soccer being his favorite.
Tom Hill - Mathematics
Mr. Hill grew up in New Hampshire, mostly on two wheels, biking through the woods and mountains, when he wasn't off on a family camping trip. He headed West for his B.S. in Math at CU Boulder, then came back East to earn his teaching course work and certificate through Keene State's education program.
Tom spent the first decade of his teaching career at Brewster Academy, a boarding school in New Hampshire, teaching everything from algebra to calculus. He and his family moved to Maine to be closer to his son's cousins, and the rest of the family, and he's been teaching math at Baxter starting in 2026.
Outside of class, Tom can usually be found at a board game table with friends who operate under one unshakeable house rule: when in doubt, attack Tom. He's a good sport about it, mostly because it means more chances to land a dreadfully good dad joke, ask him sometime what bananas say when they answer the phone.
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.