My name is Leah Brzezinski and I am the founder and Executive Director of Arete Academy which opened in 2014.  I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a certificate in Early Childhood Education, a Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology, and a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership with a focus on Special Education.  I spent most of my career working in public schools. I’ve worked as a special education teacher for students with autism, a speech pathologist, a special education coordinator, and an autism consultant and diagnostician.  I have five children who were born in Korea and joined our family through adoption.  I opened Arete for my son who started to struggle in public school in fifth grade. I later learned that two of my other children also have a twice-exceptional learning profile.  Being a part of the Leadership Team at Arete has been the most rewarding experience of my career.  I feel like we can truly provide an individualized program and make an impact in the lives of our students.  In my free time I love to spend time with my three rescue horses, my dogs and my cats.  I also enjoy visiting my family and friends in New York, cooking and eating especially in New York, traveling, music, and learning Spanish and guitar.

My name is Molly Dunnigan and I joined Arete in 2016 as a math teacher for our younger group. Since then I have become part of the Leadership Team and am now the Operations Director. I have been working in schools and classrooms for over twenty years. I received my degree in Early Childhood Development and Education from Washington and Jefferson college in Pennsylvania. I’ve always been passionate about increasing  my knowledge about the human brain and learning differences and that passion only increased when  my younger son was diagnosed with autism in 2023. In my time away from Arete, I love spending time with my three guys (my husband Dave and my sons Frank and George), listening to audiobooks, drinking coffee, and watching “Dateline”.

My name is Rebeca Oliveira. I joined Arete in 2024 as the science teacher. I have always been a huge nature lover and a super curious person, which led me to get a Bachelor's Degree in Geology in Brazil, my home country, and a PhD in Geophysics (in progress) at the University of Minnesota. During these years in academia, I discovered that more than being passionate about earth sciences, I was passionate about transferring my curiosity to the students and sharing my knowledge with them.  My job at Arete is to help the students become as fascinated as I am about science, feel comfortable talking about it, and keep being curious. In my free time I enjoy reading fantasy books and novels, playing with my two dogs (Carlos and Gaia), and listening to nerdy podcasts. Right now I’m on two very important missions: to pet every single doggie that I see and to try all coffee shops in the Twin Cities.

My name is Ethan Windschitl and I joined Arete as the Language Arts teacher for the 2024-2025 school year. I have studied anthropology, molecular biology, and East Asian history. I spent a year in Japan studying Japanese and Japanese literature. I joined the English licensing program at the University of Minnesota after moving back to the U.S. in 2015 and I have not looked back. I taught at a small St. Paul charter school for the past three years and appreciated the ability to individualize instruction with a lower teacher to student ratio. I love working in the classroom, getting to know the students, and helping them find their own passions for learning. I have seen how powerful it can be for students to see themselves reflected in their work.  I try to center my classes around student voice and choice as much as possible.  When I am not in the classroom, I love backpacking, rock climbing, exploring new places around the world, collecting and painting miniatures for tabletop games such as Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons, building bioactive terrariums, paludariums, and aquariums. I have even spent some time training to use the German longsword.

My name is Addision Sim and I joined Arete in 2024 supporting teachers and facilitating after school activities. I graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2020 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts specializing in Acting. I am passionate about exploring self expression and learning through play. During the summer, I am a coordinator for Adventures in Cardboard. When I am not teaching I enjoy spending time with my lovely wife Keara and out two cats Rose and Ozi.

My name is Jamie Teigen and I am the Head of School at Arete Academy. I have held a variety of leadership roles at Arete over the last decade. Prior to my time at Arete, I lived in Washington, D.C., where I taught history and government classes at private and independent schools. I received my undergraduate degree Bachelor's Degree? in Secondary Education and History from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and after joining Arete, I completed a Masters of Literacy Education program at St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN. At Arete, I develop curriculum, policies, and procedures as well as guide staff development and lead school improvement projects. I strive to meet every student, staff member and family where they are with kindness, empathy and warmth. I keep the students' and families' interests in mind which drives my actions and decisions. I love that working at Arete allows me to experience the amazing qualities of twice-exceptional learners and work in an exciting and unique field within education. In my free time I love spending time with family and friends, traveling and exploring the outdoors, playing card games, doing puzzles, trying new foods, restaurants and recipes! 

My name is Haley Reese and I teach math and am also the Lead Teacher.  I joined Arete in 2016 and it was my first teaching job. Arete has been the perfect environment for me to learn, grow and thrive as a teacher. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. I am most passionate about building relationships with students and supporting them socially and emotionally. I develop relationships with students by being authentic and open at school.  I engage students with empathy and respect and appreciate who they are as individuals. I make sure they feel heard, understood and know that I will support them in any way needed.  In my free time I enjoy baking bread and cooking, reading mystery and high fantasy fiction novels.

My name is Arianna Hegerle and I am the Social Studies Teacher, and I’ve been teaching since 2019 and joined Arete in 2022. I received my undergraduate degree in History and Psychology from the Secondary Education in Social Studies Program at Augsburg University in 2019 and in the Spring of 2024 finished my Masters Degree in Literacy Education at Concordia University St.Paul. I am most passionate about making education work for all students and value giving students flexibility and choice when learning. When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, cooking, baking, fishing, boating, and traveling. My husband and I have a dog, named Ozzy, and we are expecting our first child in the beginning of 2025.

My name is Natalie Nelson and I joined the Arete team in 2025 as a math teacher. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin River Falls in 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics Education. I have experience teaching both the middle and high school levels in a variety of settings including small-group intervention, general classroom, and advanced placement. I am passionate about meeting all students and families with honesty, empathy, and a genuine interest in learning from their unique strengths and perspectives. My goal is to ensure that our classroom community is a space where all students feel seen, heard, and empowered to discover knowledge.  I hope to guide students to apply their learning to what they are passionate about. In my free time I have many interests and hobbies including hiking, camping, canoeing/kayaking, biking, gardening, watching and playing sports (basketball, tennis, bouldering, and pickleball being my favorites), acquiring houseplants I don’t have space for, reading in coffee shops (my goal each year is to read 100 books!), and visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Art.  I also enjoy trying new activities and recently have given paddle-making, printmaking, coding in Python, and creative writing a shot. I would also love to show you pictures of my very rambunctious orange cat named Rudy.

My name is Katie Engstrom and I am the health, yoga, karate, and all around physical and mental health teacher.  I first taught at Arete from 2015-2017 before taking some time off to raise my two children and bring two more into the world. I joined Arete again in 2023.  I have spent most of my career as the co-owner and teacher of JK Karate which offers classes for neurodiverse students.  My experiences as a karate teacher and raising my own neurodiverse children has taught me patience, empathy, and kindness. When students are struggling, I try to approach them in a gentle and supportive way using words and strategies to help them build self-awareness and regulate themselves. In 2021, I co-founded See Me which is a non-profit organization developed to support neurodiverse children and their families by increasing connections, offering support and accessing resources. When I am not working at Arete, I enjoy spending time with my family, my three dogs Nova, Beaker, and Bunson and our leopard gecko Debra. I also love reading, being outdoors and trying new things.