Excel Amherst Staff Profiles

On the Excel programs, our fully residential staff members are the heart blood of the community we seek to create each summer.  They are not only teachers, but friends, fierce Ultimate Frisbee players, late night conversationalists, mountain biking companions, art lovers, published writers, world travelers, and much more…

Here are quick profiles of just a few of the veteran staff who will be returning to the Excel Amherst program this summer – they are excited to meet you!  (See all 2006 Amherst staff bios)

Jennifer Lafleur (pictured at right) (Acting, Theatre Production): Westfield State College, B.A.; Brandeis University, MFA.  Jennifer is an actor, producer, and teaching artist who lives in New York City.  She is the Artistic Producer of The Grid Theater, which recently debuted with the world premiere of the award-winning play Things Beyond Our Control by Jesse Kellerman. Jennifer is a teaching artist with The Shakespeare Society, working with high school students all over New York City covering the vast scope of the Bard’s great works. Teaching always has been an important part of her professional life, working at Brandies University, Actors Shakespeare Project in Boston, the Cambridge School of Weston, the JCC in Scarsdale, NY, and with Shakespeare on the Sound in Long Island.  In addition to performing with The Grid, Jennifer was most recently seen as Juliet in the acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet at the New Repertory Theater in Boston. This will be Jennifer’s second summer with Excel.

Jonathan Brunstedt (History of War, International Relations): UCLA, B.A.; Oxford University, M.Phil.; Oxford University, D.Phil. candidate.  Jonathan graduated summa cum laude from UCLA where he studied ancient and modern history.  After finishing UCLA Jonathan received an Ambassadorial Scholarship to Russia and was a one-year visiting scholar at Moscow State University.  He subsequently completed a two-year M.Phil., with Distinction, at Oxford University, where he is currently a doctoral candidate in History.  Jonathan speaks Russian and has received several grants for graduate study and research.  In his spare time he enjoys tennis, jogging, and films, and since arriving at Oxford has taken up rowing and cricket.  He is particularly passionate about overland travel, and has journeyed extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet Republics.  Most recently, Jonathan hitchhiked along the ‘Silk Road’ through the mountains and steppe of Central Asia. 2007 will be his third summer with Excel.

Susan Smith (Digital Photography, Advanced Photography): Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, Photography & Imaging, B.F.A.  Susan is currently pursuing her MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute.  She has worked as a Gallery Assistant in Manhattan, and as Teaching Assistant at the International Center of Photography.  In addition to freelancing and pursuing her personal work, Susan travels frequently: most recently to South Africa, Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, and Venezuela.  Her work has been featured in several photography exhibitions, including shows at the Visual Studies Workshop, NYU’s Gulf and Western Gallery, Clearview 62nd & Broadway Cinema, The School at the International Center for Photography, and Gallery Henoch in New York.  This will be Susan’s fifth summer with Excel at Amherst College.