Leadership & Staff

Susan Gray School Leadership

Katherine Newman, Director

Katherine Newman, Director

Dr. Katherine Newman joined the Susan Gray School community in May 2022. Katherine's areas of research are early language and literacy development in preschool settings and instructional coaching. She is interested in language acquisition through playful learning experiences and the types of teacher-child interactions that foster vocabulary knowledge. Katherine has also coached pre-K teachers on Creative Curriculum and Pyramid Model implementation in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. At the Susan Gray School, she champions teacher-led professional development and learning. Katherine earned her Ph.D. in Learning, Teaching, and Diversity from Vanderbilt University. She is a Pyramid Model trainer and certified elementary school educator. Katherine and her husband, Kevin, have three children, two of whom attended the Susan Gray School. Her middle child has disabilities, an experience that has changed and enriched her professional and personal life. She is passionate about high-quality inclusive education and partnering with families as they advocate for their children at the Susan Gray School and beyond.

Helene Howell, Administrative Assistant

Helene Howell, Administrative Assistant

My name is Helene Howell and I am an administrative assistant for the Susan Gray School.  I joined the SGS family in 2017, relocating from my home state of Florida to the Nashville area.  I have worked with children all of my adult life in different capacities.  I am thankful for the opportunity to support the leadership, teachers, families, and children of the Susan Gray School!

Amber Powell, Nurse

Amber Powell, Nurse

Amber is a 2014 graduate of MTSU's School of Nursing. She began her career as a pediatric nurse in an inclusive skilled nursing and therapy center for medically fragile children. The program focused on inclusive peer-modeling for the children with special needs-just like SGS. She developed a great passion for working with children of all ages but holds a special place for preschool aged children. She also has experience in adult cardiology, medical-surgical nursing, and urgent care clinical work. Amber has been the school nurse at SGS since 2019.

Amber was born on a small cattle farm in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and fostered a deep love for animals and the outdoors at a young age. She was interested in science and medicine in middle school-but for the four legged creatures instead. She changed her course of study to nursing after one semester in college and hasn't looked back since. Amber is passionate about health and wellness through healthy eating, activity, and doing the things you love most. In her spare time, she enjoys playing outside and hiking with her son Henry and husband Jordan. She is learning more every year about gardening and spends the rest of her time there and with her small flock of backyard chickens.

Susan Gray School Staff

Person NamePrimary Email
Bond-Riordan, Sarah 
Cobb, Valeriavaleria.cobb@vanderbilt.edu
Farmer, Marian 
Ford, Christychristy.ford@vanderbilt.edu
Gifford, Carlacarla.gifford@Vanderbilt.Edu
Hall, Barbarabarbara.hall@Vanderbilt.Edu
Hanner, Lauren 
Hilliker, Annaanna.d.hilliker@Vanderbilt.Edu
Howell, Helenehelene.m.howell@vanderbilt.edu
Joseph, Ronishia 
Jovanovic, Petra 
Ladera, Carmencarmen.p.ladera@Vanderbilt.Edu
Macaulay, Julia 
Morrison, Katie 
Motley, Katiekatie.e.motley@vanderbilt.edu
Munoz, Karen 
Page, Brittany 
Powell, Amberamber.c.powell@Vanderbilt.Edu
Pursell, Jacob 
Seekamp, Katrinakatrina.seekamp@Vanderbilt.Edu
Sheldon, Heatherheather.sheldon@vanderbilt.edu
Soisson, Juliejulie.soisson@vanderbilt.edu
Stoicu, Micahmicah.l.stoicu@Vanderbilt.Edu
Story, Elizabethelizabeth.l.story@vanderbilt.edu
Watson, Destiny 
Wilson-Moses, Janejane.m.wilson-moses@vanderbilt.edu
Xia, Weiwei.a.xia@vanderbilt.edu