The gateway to learning.
Humanities
All 9th-graders begin with this year long course, team-taught by members of the English and history departments.
9th-grade Humanities serves as a gateway course to learning at Cate and to Cate’s culture of inquiry. Multidisciplinary in nature and closely coordinated in execution, it follows the practices of the humanities by developing and exploring essential questions of human nature and the diversity of human experience in the historical eras of the past and in contemporary society today.
Specifically, we engage with authentic, anchoring artifacts of literature and history drawn from the classical era, to the Enlightenment, to the early modern era in regions as diverse as Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
With an emphasis on disciplined student inquiry, meaningful discussion and oral presentations, creative and analytical writing, and research, the course builds the skills and knowledge that are needed for success in the 9th-grade year and beyond.
Inquiry in Humanities
Meet the Faculty
Humanities Department Chair
History and Humanities Teacher
Assistant Swimming Coach
805-684-4127 x233
ivan_barry@cate.org
BA, Georgetown University
MA, Johns Hopkins SAIS
MA, Bosporus University (Istanbul)
Appointed: 2010
Very familiar with the world of boarding schools, Ivan both grew up at and attended Phillips Academy, Andover. Following his undergraduate degree in history from Georgetown University and his graduate degree in international affairs and finance from Johns Hopkins SAIS, Ivan spent numerous years in the world of global finance and international management consulting with firms located in Washington, DC, Istanbul, and Boston.
Deciding to return to his passion of teaching, Ivan joined the Cate faculty in 2010. He currently serves as Chair of the Humanities Department, wherein he is a key proponent of both inquiry and interdisciplinary learning at Cate School. He also teaches in the History Department where he interweaves his extensive international and private sector experience with his global history teachings on the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
Ivan coaches the varsity swim team in the spring and is an instructor in the outdoors program in the winter. He lives on the Mesa with his wife Rebekah, also a member of the Cate faculty, and their two boys, Kiyan and Aydin.
History Instructor
PhD, Brandeis University
Appointed: 2023
Though born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Clair has spent the last 12+ years in a decidedly different locale: the chilly suburbs of New England. After completing her PhD at Brandeis University – where she had the opportunity to teach seminars in U.S. Legal History, Political History, and Writing – Clair’s passion for teaching inquisitive and empathetic students in small groups drew her to adolescent education, and she accepted a position at Phillips Academy, Andover. While there, Clair taught across the curriculum, served as the course head for U.S. History and Assistant Chair for the department, and contributed to DEIJ curricular review and programming.
Clair is thrilled to be joining the Cate faculty and to be living on the Mesa, among the eucalyptus trees of her home once more. She lives in ’25 House with her husband, Zack, and their two rambunctious pups: Harvey and Jo. In the classroom, Clair is eager to encourage her students to revel in the nuance and complexity of historical change and to grapple with the power and art of analytical writing. Whether working with seniors in an elective on Comparative Revolutions or introducing freshmen to the field of history in Cate’s Humanities program, Clair’s focus is on fostering intellectual curiosity and supporting students’ development of their own voice.
English and Humanities Teacher
Assistant Cross Country Coach
805-684-4127 x302
alicia_hammond@cate.org
BA, Colby College
MA, Dartmouth College
Appointed: 2015
A fourth-generation Californian, Alicia’s educational foundation and passion for teaching were cultivated during her childhood on the Monterey Peninsula, where she developed a love of the outdoors, a tie to the Pacific, and a fervor for backpacking in the Los Padres National Forest.
Alicia has spent her entire adult life living on boarding school campuses, including over a decade on campuses in northern New England. At Colby, Dartmouth, and Dublin School, she learned to love the rigors and traditions of New England educational communities. As Maya Angelou so wisely wrote, however, “The ache for home lives in all of us,” and she felt her roots in California tugging her gently yet firmly back to the west coast.
In her time outside of the classroom, Alicia enjoys running, reading, hiking, camping and traveling with her family.
Dean of Campus Life
English and Humanities Instructor
BA, UC Santa Barbara
Westmont College
Erin Hansen is a graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Communication and Comparative Literature. After completing her degree she attended Westmont College and earned her secondary teaching credential in English.
Before coming to Cate, Erin worked in public education as a Freshmen Seminar, English and AVID teacher. She has served in a variety of leadership roles, but most recently she served as the English Department Chair. Erin was adjunct faculty for Santa Barbara City College, where she implemented the first dual-enrollment freshmen transition course. She currently acts a curriculum consultant to the Get Focused…Stay Focused! Initiative.
Erin lives on the Mesa with her husband, Erik, and their two boys.
Dean for Faculty
History Instructor
Assistant Girls Varsity Soccer Coach
lisa_holmes@cate.org / 805-684-8409 x202
BA, Colby College
MALS, Wesleyan University
MEd, Columbia University
Appointed: 2001
Lisa Holmes arrived at Cate in 2001 after fifteen years of living and working in the Northeast. She brings to Cate a deep interest in the humanities, teaching in both the history and English departments, and a love of the game of soccer, coaching the girls varsity team.
As an undergraduate at Colby College, Lisa majored in history and American studies and was captain of the women’s soccer team in her senior year. After college, Lisa taught for ten years at Cheshire Academy, a small boarding and day school in Cheshire, Connecticut. In addition to teaching, Lisa chaired the history department for five years, coached girls soccer, basketball, and lacrosse, and served as a dorm parent. While at Cheshire, she worked part-time on a Master’s degree at nearby Wesleyan University. She left Cheshire in 1999 to pursue a second Master’s in educational administration at Columbia. She spent her time in New York City as a full-time student and part-time teacher at the Calhoun School.
Lisa has traveled in more than twenty foreign countries and has completed three marathons. Though all of her working life before Cate was spent in the Northeast, she grew up in Colorado and feels a strong connection to the West. She lives on the Mesa with her husband Will, and their sons, Scott and Matthew.
History and Humanities Instructor
BA, University of Virginia
M.Ed., University of Pennsylvania
Appointed: 2020
Hannah Solis-Cohen joined the Cate community as a history teacher, cross country coach, and dorm parent. Born and raised in New York City on the Upper West Side, Hannah attended boarding school at Northfield Mount Hermon in Western Massachusetts. Upon graduating from NMH, Hannah studied history at the University of Virginia, where she was also a four-year scholarship member of the UVA Varsity Rowing Team. During her tenure at UVA, Hannah won NCAA’s in 2015 in the Varsity 4+ and helped the Hoos place third at NCAA’s in 2016. Hannah was also the 2016 recipient of the Craig Fielder Memorial Award for Leadership and a four-year member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Eager to return to boarding school after college, Hannah worked in admissions at Blair Academy until she began her graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania in the Independent School Teaching Residency Program. Hannah comes to Cate from the Hopkins School in New Haven, Conn. where she spent two years teaching history with a specific focus on exploring the role of first-person narratives in secondary history education as part of her graduate work. Hannah lives on campus with her dog, Sadie.
English and Humanities Instructor
MBA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MA, Claremont Graduate University
BA, Pitzer College
Michael Szanyi joins the Cate community as an English and Humanities Instructor, with excitement to contribute to the dance and musical programs. Michael was previously at The Webb Schools in Claremont, Calif. for 12 years. During his time at Webb, he held roles such as Dean of Faculty, Assistant Director of the Summer Program, Head of Dorms, Lead Class Advisor, and Dance Program Director. Michael loves diving into new classes and has had the privilege of designing courses such as Literature and Psychology, Honors LGBT American Stories, and Advanced Studies Experimental Literature. With experience as a Lecturer, Adjunct, and Choreographer in Dance at Pomona College, Michael has had the opportunity to perform domestically and internationally with the Pennington Dance Group, Laurie Cameron and Company, and the Inland Pacific Ballet. In his free time, Michael loves traveling and learning about the world, listening to Britney Spears, enjoying fashion blogs, and sharing his excitement for “experimental” novels.