Dan Myers
State DirectorDan Myers
State DirectorAbout Dan
Dan “Strider” Myers was born and raised in Burlington, Vermont. He received his BA in Elementary Education from Johnson State College in 1997. Dan recently completed his 30th year with the United State Army Reserves. As a Master Sergeant in the USAR, he is the Chief Instructor with the 108th Training Command.
Before becoming the Director of STARBASE, Dan started out as an instructor with the program in 1997. As the program evolved, he became a training coordinator and he developed relationships with local schools who continue to bring their classes to STARBASE annually. The Unit Chief position brought on new challenges as he managed the staff at the South Burlington site and maintained the integrity of the program through major curriculum changes. Now that Dan has completed his director training and is guiding both the South Burlington and Rutland sites, his goal is to start an additional afterschool program called STARBASE 2.0 for middle school students and community mentors.
Paige Montgomery
Site Supervisor– South BurlingtonPaige Montgomery
Site Supervisor– South BurlingtonAbout Paige
Paige “Ladybug” Montgomery joined the STARBASE Vermont team in 2009. After graduating from the University of Vermont in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, she continued her education by earning her Master’s degree in Education at UVM in 2011. Paige loves working at STARBASE and having the opportunity to work with students around Vermont.
Paige is from a small town in the Northeast Kingdom. Growing up in Vermont, she has learned to love the outdoors. She enjoys skiing, hiking and yoga. She also enjoys running and recently completed her second Burlington City Marathon! Paige’s family is also very important to her. She enjoys spending time with her younger brother and sister.
Rebecca Steward
Site Supervisor – RutlandRebecca Steward
Site Supervisor – RutlandAbout Rebecca
Rebecca “Galaxy” Steward has a degree in Geology from Castleton State College and is a licensed teacher. She studied geology because she is interested in the why and how processes occur on the Earth and in the Universe. She had early inspiration from many childhood teachers who encouraged the study of science as well as her own family who have pursued careers in the STEM field.
In her free time Rebecca enjoys walking with her dogs, gardening, cooking, and spending time with her family. Growing up in Vermont, she is active outdoors. She loves to swim in many of the lakes in the region, hike local trails, and cross country ski and snowshoe. Rebecca is also an active reader. She enjoys reading all subjects of non-fiction and allows her own curiosity to overflow in the STEM classroom of STARBASE.
JoAnna Tebbetts
Training Coordinator – South BurlingtonJoAnna Tebbetts
Training Coordinator – South BurlingtonAbout JoAnna
JoAnna “Hiker Girl” Tebbetts was born in Alaska and has lived in several states before moving to Vermont for college. She graduated from Johnson State College in 2009 with her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and in Environmental Science. She has always felt passionate about teaching, and science is her favorite subject.
She loves working at STARBASE because as a training coordinator, she teaches students about how important and fun science, technology, engineering and math can be.
When Hiker Girl is not at STARBASE she is hiking throughout New England, spending time with her husband, her son, and their dogs, or taking on new adventure sports such as skydiving. She hopes to someday be able to backpack in Europe.
Taylor Pequignot
Training Coordinator– RutlandTaylor Pequignot
Training Coordinator– RutlandAbout Taylor
Taylor “Patriot” Pequignot joined the STARBASE Vermont team at the beginning of 2015. He graduated from Castleton State College with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education specializing in math. Throughout school his favorite subjects were always science, math, and in high school engineering. This made STARBASE a perfect fit by allowing him to share his excitement about these subjects with all of the students that come in from the many different schools in Southern Vermont.
Growing up in Northern Vermont Taylor always liked spending time on Lake Champlain either fishing, boating, or swimming. He enjoys sports such as golf, basketball, football, and baseball. If he is not teaching students at STARBASE or spending time with his family, he is most likely playing one of those sports.
Emily Bennett
Instructor - South BurlingtonEmily Bennett
Instructor - South BurlingtonAbout Emily
Emily “Fern” Bennett lived in Pennsylvania before moving to Vermont. She received her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from DeSales University and is also a licensed teacher. Emily is excited to be working at STARBASE because she enjoys providing children with a conducive environment for discovery and has the opportunity to branch out into other STEM related subjects.
When Emily is not in the classroom, she loves to be outdoors. She enjoys taking hikes and camping with her family and dog. She also enjoys exploring different towns, riding her bike, and exercising. She sees life as one big adventure and is always up for new experiences.
Emma Sherman
Instructor - RutlandEmma Sherman
Instructor - RutlandAbout Emma
Emma “Veery” Sherman joined the STARBASE team in October of 2017. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2008. Emma then continued with her schooling at SUNY Plattsburgh and 2 years later earned a Master of Science in Education: Curriculum & Instruction degree.
Before moving to Vermont full time to work at a local ski resort, Emma previously worked as an environmental educator. She is excited to be working at STARBASE because she has always been passionate about teaching.
In her free time, Emma enjoys anything that might get her outside as well as knitting, reading, and spending time with her cat and family.
