Nadine Ekstrom joins us as the Interim Haynes Elementary Principal. Dr. Ekstrom received her PhD in Research and Evaluation in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She has worked in the field of education for nearly 25 years, mostly in public schools. She began her career in education as a paraprofessional and transitioned from a general education teacher to a special education teacher. She has also served as the Senior Advisor to the Superintendent for Special Education, an Executive Director for an educational collaborative, Superintendent of Schools, Director of Special Education and Student Services, Director of Teaching and Learning, and Special Education Team Chairperson. Dr. Ekstrom established Academic Discoveries, LLC in 2020, with a goal of supporting educational systems and small organizations throughout the United States.

Dr. Ekstrom is known in the educational community for supporting and establishing special education programming. She created transition programs, therapeutic programs, and vocational programming to assist students with their learning opportunities in remaining in their local public schools. In addition, Dr. Ekstrom has served on the statewide Civics Taskforce, Dyslexia Focusgroup, and facilitated the beginning phase of the IEP Improvement Project; all in partnership with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Dr. Ekstrom values the collaborative partnerships between local organizations, schools, school committees, faculty, staff, parents, and children.

Dr. Ekstrom is an active member of her local community, in Boylston. She has served as a member of the school building committee, and as a director for the Boylston Historical Society. Through the pandemic, Dr. Ekstrom worked closely with the Boylston Council on Aging in enrolling members of the community in receiving their vaccination. She is looking forward to partnering with the Haynes team to continue serving the community.

Lisa Williams joins us as the Assistant Principal for the Haynes and Nixon Elementary Schools. Ms. Lisa Williams is a passionate educator coming from the Lexington Public Schools where she has served as a K-5 teacher for 28 years and Assistant Principal for three years. Throughout her career, Lisa has worked with students with diverse learning profiles across all grade levels. Her background includes collaboration with district leaders to implement and directly support two of the special education programs for students with Autism and students with Language-Based Learning disabilities. Her most recent work in Lexington has focused on leading or co-leading her school-based Equity Team, the ELL Mentor Program, and developing school-wide projects to support the METCO program.

Ms. Williams holds her B.S. in Elementary Education from Framingham State College, M.Ed. in Computers in Education from Lesley College, and is a graduate of the MSAA Leadership Licensure Program with Teachers21. On a personal note, Ms. Williams is a Sudbury resident and proud mother of two young adult children. She is an avid runner and loves being outdoors and spending time with her family. She is very excited to join the Haynes and Nixon School communities as the Assistant Principal