Join Whitby School and Ridley College for a lively panel discussion about the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Learn how the IB is providing the framework for students to become global thinkers, and equipping them with skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.
6:00 - 7:00pm | Check-in, then enjoy hors d'oeuvres and drinks from Plum Catering. Take this time to mingle with other event-goers and explore the beautiful exhibits throughout the Bruce Museum.
7:00pm | Introductions from co-moderators Bryan Nixon and Ed Kidd, followed by a brief presentation by Michael Leshner of the IBO.
7:15 - 8:30pm | Panel discussion with an opportunity for questions at the end.
8:30 - 9:00pm | Networking and another opportunity to explore the museum.
Questions about the event? Please contact Sarah Mead, Director of Marketing and Communications for Whitby School, at smead@whitbyschool.org.
Greg Buckles brings three decades’ worth of experience as an educator and administrator to his role as Dean of Admissions at Middlebury. He came to the college in 2008, having arrived from Kenyon College, where he served as Director of Admissions. Prior to his work in higher education, Greg was a teacher, coach, college counselor and assistant headmaster at two different boarding schools. A graduate of Denison University, he also holds an M.A. in literature from Trinity College in Connecticut. Greg is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying cycling and skiing in the Green Mountain State, and at one point was a professional fishing guide in Alaska - a pursuit with many apt metaphors for the admissions process, he notes. Greg and his wife Liz, a teacher, are the parents of four children, and as such, he appreciates the excitement and anxiety that go along with the college search process.
Tommy Hilfiger is one of the world’s leading designer lifestyle brands and is internationally recognized for celebrating the essence of classic American cool style, featuring preppy with a twist designs. Under Hilfiger’s guidance, vision, and leadership as Principal Designer, the Tommy Hilfiger Group has become one of the world’s few international brands for apparel, accessories and home. Hilfiger’s vast body of influence was honored in 2012 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which presented him with the CFDA’s prestigious Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1995, Hilfiger launched The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation in an effort to give back on a global scale through educational and cultural programs including the Fresh Air Fund, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project, Breast Health International and the Millennium Promise initiative to eliminate extreme poverty in Africa. In 2010, Millennium Promise named Hilfiger as its first MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Global Leader.
Michael Leshner is the Manager of Outreach and Regional Development for IB Americas. He works with schools and groups of schools in North and Latin America, and the Caribbean throughout the authorization process, as well as working on university and government recognition in the region. Before joining the IB in 2011, Mike was a Film and English teacher at public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 2000 to 2002, where he worked in civic education and youth development.
Panetha Theodosia Nychis Ott graduated with an AB in Ancient Greek from Bryn Mawr College and completed most of the requirements for a doctorate in Classics at Brown. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught Latin in secondary schools, Modern Greek and Classics courses at Brown, and has participated in the excavations at the Agora of Athens. In the late 80s she was appointed Assistant to the Dean of the College at Brown where she worked with the Curricular Advising Program and the Resumed Undergraduate Education Program. In 1989 she joined Brown’s Office of Undergraduate Admission, where she has enjoyed seeing students at their very best as applicants to university.
Bryan Nixon joined Whitby in 2012 from The Bavarian International School (BIS) in Germany, a PK-12 school offering all three IB curricular programs, where he has served in leadership roles for seven years, and the last four years as Director, Head of School. As Head of School of BIS, Bryan was responsible for 920 students (from 45 nationalities and 32 spoken languages) and over 135 employees (leadership team, faculty and support staff).
Previously, Bryan held other leadership positions at BIS, including Deputy Head and Curriculum Coordinator for Lower School, and Lower School Principal. Prior to his tenure at BIS, he was the Curriculum Coordinator at the St. Andrew’s School in the Bahamas where, under his leadership, the school successfully achieved authorized status from the IB PYP. Bryan is an IB regional workshop leader and a team leader on school IB authorization and evaluation visits as well as one of twelve people selected worldwide to write sample units of inquiry for IB PYP.
Ed Kidd became the 10th Headmaster of Ridley College in August of 2012. Previously he was the Principal of the High School at Shanghai American School in Shanghai, China one of the top International Baccalaureate schools in the world. Ed was born in the Ottawa Valley and attended Queenís University in Kingston, Ontario where he completed both his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education. During his time at Queenís he was a Captain of Varsity Football team and a member of their 1992 winning Vanier Cup team. Ed obtained his Masters of Science from the University of Buffalo (State University of New York).
Ed's leadership training includes principalís qualifications from Queen's, Miami and Harvard. As a school leader Ed has been intimately involved in the creation of Ridley's new strategic plan and hopes to cultivate the vision of “inspiring flourishing lives to transform our globe”. Ed and his wife Hanna reside on campus at Ridley College. They have three children - Jaden, Mia and Ashton, all students of the school.
