Student Support Staff

For contact information, see your School Directory or our Contact Us page.

Alicia Kollmar, Occupational Therapist

Alicia grew up in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with her M.S. in Occupational Therapy. She started her career in geriatrics, primarily working in nursing homes, which she continues to do on days she isn’t at Central Park. After a couple of years she got the travel bug and took contract positions around the country as a traveling occupational therapist, which is how she realized the joy of working with kids and how she discovered the beautiful sunny skies of North Carolina. Before coming to Central Park, she worked in Alamance Burlington Schools for three years, where she was a member of the Assistive Technology and Autism Teams. She believes that it is important that therapists, teachers, and parents work as a team to help students be successful and feels that Central Park is a great place for this.

Catherine Overman, Exceptional Education Teaching Assistant

Catherine Overman was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Chapel Hill. She has nannied for different families in Durham for over 15 years. While studying Elementary Education at North Carolina Central University, Catherine worked at the Montessori Children's House of Durham as a camp counselor and after-school teacher. She came to CPSC as an after school counselor in the spring of 2009 and began working as an E.C. Teaching Assistant part-time in the fall of 2010. Catherine is excited to join the staff full-time this year as an E.C. Teaching Assistant. When not at CPSC, Catherine can be found reading, gardening, spending time with her husband Mikey, taking care of their four chickens, or singing in her band.

Elizabeth (E.K.) Kesling, Exceptional Education Teacher and E.C. Coordinator

Elizabeth joined Central Park in 2010 after relocating from Indianapolis, where she worked in special education for the previous four years. She graduated from Earlham College in Indiana with a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, returned to school to get her teaching license in special education at Butler University, and will finish her master's in Early Childhood Special Education at Ball State University in the spring of 2011. Elizabeth is a trained artist and dancer and has performed with companies in Turkey, Senegal, and Indianapolis. As an avid traveler, she has lived for periods of time in Turkey, Senegal, France, and Spain, and just recently returned from Ethiopia, where she worked with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to develop inclusion practices and project-based learning. In her spare time, you can expect to find Elizabeth out and about on her bicycle, weaving, and supporting local music, art, and food.

Elizabeth Ricker, Exceptional Education Teacher

Elizabeth received her bachelor's degree in English and her master's degree in Education, from North Carolina State University. She taught 5th grade at the Central Park School for Children for four years before transitioning to our Exceptional Education program. She loves teaching at CPSC because of the close community of students, parents, and teachers. The project-based approach to learning and teaching also gives every child a chance to succeed — and this is extremely important to Elizabeth. In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, quilting, camping, and spending time with her husband, Pete, and daughter, Isabel.

Melanie Schrage, Speech Therapist

Melanie first taught at a residential school for children with language-based learning disabilities for four years, where she also earned a masters degree in special education.  After teaching third grade in rural Honduras, she realized that small elementary schools were the place to be to support learning and language development. In May 2011, Melanie received her masters degree in speech-language pathology at UNC-Chapel Hill and has most recently been working in early intervention. She divides her work time between CPSC and home visits for a private therapy company. She loves working as part of a team of teachers, parents, and other staff to provide intervention that best supports the children with whom she works. Outside of school, you can find Melanie at West Point on the Eno nearly every day with her husband, Aaron, and her scruffy black dog.

Kate Millard, Assistant Teacher

Kate began as an assistant teacher for 2nd and 3rd grades in 2009. She has also often served as a substitute teacher and math tutor. Kate studied German language and culture at the University of Salzburg, received a bachelor's degree in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has nearly completed Duke University’s Documentary Studies Certificate Program. Prior to joining Central Park’s staff, Kate was for many years the director of Carolina Library Services, Inc., a research and library service company based in Chapel Hill. If and when she has any spare time, she likes to dance, garden, start a "project," or research just about anything, particularly genealogy.

Keil Jansen, Exceptional Education Teacher

Keil received his bachelors degree in Anthropology from Luther College in Iowa and his teacher’s license from ECU. Originally from the Great State of Wisconsin, he moved to North Carolina in 2005 and began working in the schools immediately, first in Wake County in a self-contained classroom, and later in Granville County as a resource/inclusion teacher. Keil has been looking forward to working at CPSC for a while now and is excited to get started. When not teaching, Keil enjoys fermenting a mixture of grain and hops, gardening, playing with his dog Chex Mix, and spending time with his partner, Louisa.

Kenny Levine, School Social Worker

Kenny is a Durham native who holds a bachelor’s in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Masters in Social Work from Barry University in Miami. Upon completion of graduate school in 1998, he returned to Durham so that he could help local social service agencies develop bilingual and culturally appropriate services for the region’s growing Latino population. He has provided mental health services in both public and private sector settings since 1999, and has held a license in clinical social work since 2003. When he is not working or spending time with his two young sons, Kenny enjoys pursuing his interests in cooking, foreign languages, and current events.

Natalie Dunn, School Counselor

Natalie received an undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill in Early Childhood Education and American History and an M.S. degree from NC State University in Counselor Education. Before coming to CPSC, she taught elementary school for five years, spent three years as an elementary school counselor, and worked as an independent counselor for children for nine years. Natalie focuses on effective internal and external communications with a firm commitment to student-centered learning. "I believe in a school atmosphere that promotes multicultural appreciation and gender sensitivity, and I am excited to be a part of CPSC's staff. I believe that if students feel safe in their environment — and look forward to attending school — they will want to learn!"

Rosemary McNiel, Assistant Teacher

Rosemary began working at CPSC as a kindergarten/first grade assistant teacher in October 2010. She is a certified elementary teacher who received her training at Wake Forest University (BA), Salem College (Teaching Certification), and the University of Virginia (MEd). She began her career as a counselor for troubled youth. She found her counseling experience of great value when she started teaching. She has taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades in both public and private schools, most recently at Duke School for Children. Her favorite part of teaching is sharing that “a-ha moment” when a child really understands something for the first time, is very excited about it, and can’t wait to learn more. When she is not teaching, she enjoys being with family and friends, writing, biking, and exploring the outdoors.