Philadelphia Area Math Teachers' Circle

Leadership Team

Steve Bartholomew

Steve attended Rutgers College in New Brunswick, N.J., with the intent of majoring in mathematics. It didn’t happen. Too many mathematics courses were "how-to’s" and not "let’s-think-deeper." Instead, Steve graduated in 1975 with a split degree in Physics and Philosophy. Having spent summers in college in the woods, counseling Salvation Army kids and campers, Steve decided that working with people was for him. So, after Rutgers, he worked for a couple of years with pre-schoolers while taking several graduate education courses at Temple University. The best of these courses, he discovered, were in math education; therefore, starting in 1977, Steve took a position teaching pre-Algebra through calculus at Moorestown Friends School (MFS). He was there for 9 years before joining the faculty of The Philadelphia School (TPS), a small, ever growing, progressive school in Philadelphia. All told, Steve has been teaching mathematics for: 4 times his time at MFS, plus 3 years. (How many years is this?) Among other passions, including giving tours at The Free Library of Philadelphia's Rosenbach Historic House & Library, Steve continues to be fascinated by the "Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics" in modeling the real world.

Kathy Boyle

Kathy received her M.S.Ed. in math education from Drexel University. She has been teaching middle school math for a number of years, and she is passionate about discussing the language teachers use in mathematics classrooms - what might trip students up, the different ways we all use words (often without thinking), and how to support students' mathematical self-expression. 

Cathryn Creighton

Cathryn is a middle school math teacher in the Washington Township School District (Sewell, N.J.). She graduated from Temple University in 2007 with her Elementary Education / Special Education certification. Cathryn then received her Master's degree from Drexel University in 2011 in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics. She enjoys teaching 6th grade math, since it is the foundation for many higher mathematics courses. She also enjoys the age group and uniqueness of middle school students. In her spare time, Cathryn enjoys going to her local Crossfit gym, eating out a various restaurants in Philadelphia and playing softball. Cathryn is also excited to spend time with her growing family, and she is building a new home this year!

Elizabeth Houwen

Stay tuned!

Dr. Aimee Johnson

Aimee has been teaching at Swarthmore College since 1994. She grew up in southern California before heading east to earn her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1990. After a three-year visiting position at Tufts University, she moved to the Philadelphia region, working for the University of Pennsylvania before attaining her current position. Aimee enjoys teaching a variety of courses at Swarthmore; among her favorites are linear algebra, real analysis, and a topics in analysis course - which she teaches as an exploratory course in dynamical systems (her research area). Aimee is also a member of the Highpointers Club has visited over half of the our U.S. states' highpoints.  She admits, however, that her half is heavily weighted toward those states that are more "vertically challenged."

Dr. Amy Myers

Amy has been teaching math at Bryn Mawr College since 2007. She earned her PhD in mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1999, spent three years in a post-doctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked for St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia for five years before settling into her current role at Bryn Mawr. Amy enjoys teaching a variety of math courses, including her favorites: combinatorics and probability. Beyond mathematics, Amy's interests include cooking at home for friends, exercising with neighbors at the local YMCA, and spending summers with family in Italy and Minnesota.

Dr. Josh Sabloff

Josh has been teaching at Haverford College since 2003. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2002, whereupon he returned to the East Coast to once again bask in his favorite season, autumn, and to take up a postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania. Josh enjoys teaching a variety of classes from calculus through upper-level courses in analysis, differential geometry, and (his favorite) topology. He also derives far more happiness than he should from his research into the mathematical theory of knots, but begs you not to ask him why his shoes become untied as often as they do. When not thinking about math, Josh enjoys hiking with his family, cycling, baking bread, and reading history and moderately snooty fiction.

Dr. Joshua Taton

Josh is a mentor for new Math Teachers' Circles (MTCs) in the MTC Network of the American Institutes of Mathematics.  He holds a doctorate in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. His dissertation research involves looking at the curriculum-design decisions made by teachers in the classroom. Broadly, Josh is interested in teachers' professional learning, classroom language-use, practices that support equity, and authentic mathematical discovery. While at Penn, he taught courses on community-based mathematical literacies and methods of mathematics teaching for elementary teachers. He also participated in a number of curriculum and program reviews at schools and districts throughout Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to attending graduate school, Josh taught middle and high school mathematics, and he worked as an actuarial consultant. He hails from the great state of Maine, which does not mean that he likes snow. When not doing math or thinking about schooling, Josh can be found running on Kelly Drive or in the kitchen, cooking tasty plant-based meals. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Yale University.