Meet Our School Staff!

Latischa Ferg - PreK

Latischa joined St. Bridget Parish School in 2018 as a PreK teacher. Prior to coming to St. Bridget, she worked in an eye clinic, and before that subbed in various school districts, gradesK-12. Latischa received her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at UW-Stout. Latischa’s teaching interests include reading and hands-on experience through play. Latischa resides in Roberts, WI. In her free time, she enjoys going up north and reading. She is excited to be a part of the St. Bridget mission because the school focuses on the development of the whole child, spiritual and academic. 

Dannell Nordstrom - PreK

Mrs. Dannell Nordstrom joined the St. Bridget Parish School family in 2002 as a student teacher in the first grade classroom. Mrs. Nordstrom has been teaching here ever since. During her time here Mrs. Nordstrom has taught in a K-1 multiage classroom, a Preschool classroom, and in a Pre-Kindergarten classroom. Mrs. Nordstrom currently teaches in our part time Pre-Kindergarten classrooms. Prior to coming to St. Bridget, she attended UW-River Falls where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Dannell and her husband John live in Woodbury, Minnesota with their 4 children William, Lucas, Matthew and Liela. During their spare time they enjoy being together as a family at the cabin in Spooner, Wisconsin. Mrs. Nordstrom enjoys teaching hands on, hearts on, minds on learning activities that invite the students to learn and explore. She believes teaching the whole child is vital to Early Childhood Education. She is excited to be a part of the St. Bridget mission because she can continue to teach in a Christian family environment encouraging students to grow spiritually, socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually.

Michelle Langlois - PreK Aide

Therese Stacy - Kindergarten

Therese Stacy joined St. Bridget in 2022 after a two year leave to be with her family. Mrs. Stacy previously taught kindergarten as well as 5th grade. Prior to St. Bridget Mrs. Stacy taught 3 year old preschool and RF4C at Jacob’s Ladder for 5 years. Additionally she has served as a substitute teacher in pre-k through grade 12 classrooms in many local school districts. Therese lives in River Falls with her husband Andrew and their three sons; Bryce, (18 UMD Freshman) Carson (16) and Avery (15). In her spare time, she spends time with her family and their pets. Her goal in her prekindergarten classroom is to support students’ growth and learning through a play-based curriculum which focuses on the whole child.

Alexis Meixner - First Grade

Alexis Meixner is excited to be a part of the Saint Bridget Community! She is originally from Menomonie, WI and attended Winona State University in Winona, MN. She majored in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Emphasis, as well as two minors in Child Advocacy Studies and Reading Instruction. Throughout this time, she also worked as a reading and math tutor, preschool teacher, and student-taught in the Winona Area Catholic Schools. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, going for walks, making and enjoying yummy food, reading, and spending time with family, friends, and her fiancé. She looks forward to sharing in plenty, God’s goodness with you and your family throughout the year.

Molly Hering - Second Grade

Molly joined St. Bridget Parish School in 2018 as the Second Grade teacher. Prior to coming to St. Bridget, she taught Second Grade, Third Grade, and Reading. Molly received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Molly’s teaching interests include motivating students to improve their reading skills, as that will impact their confidence and academic achievement. She enjoys watching students grow and watching their excitement and love for learning. Molly resides with her husband in Hudson, WI. In her free time, she enjoys running, watching the Packers, Badgers, and Brewers, and ice fishing. She is excited to be a part of the St. Bridget mission and share her passion of learning with a focus on the Catholic faith.

Rachael Jensen - Third Grade

Mary Smith - Fourth Grade

Rebecca Gettelman - Middle School Reading/Language Arts

Originally from southeastern Wisconsin, Becky Gettelman attended UW-River Falls where she earned a dual major in English Education and History and was active in the Newman Center. After living in various areas of the country including Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa, she and her family moved back to the River Falls area in 2019. Mrs. Gettelman has been involved in education for close to two decades. She has taught high school social studies, middle school language arts (shout out to St. Irene in Warrenville!), and for the last two years has worked as a substitute teacher. While taking time off from the classroom when her children were little she also worked as a free-lance writer and curriculum designer. Mrs. Gettelman is excited to be getting back into the classroom and even more excited to be back at a Catholic school. She is passionate about Language Arts, loves Shakespeare, and thinks middle schoolers are awesome! Mrs. Gettelman lives on a small farm about halfway between Ellsworth and Spring Valley with her husband, Kyle, her two children, Adelaide and Joseph, and various creatures including a dog, cats, and horses. She loves gardening, reading, and spending time with her family.

Melissa Berres - Middle School Science

Melissa joined the St. Bridget team in 2017 as the Middle School Math and Science teacher. She is still teaching middle school math and science but has taken on teaching Technology! Technology is offered to 3rd through 8th grade as a specialist class one time per week and Melissa is very excited to be a part of helping these students grow as Digital Citizens! Prior to coming to St. Bridget, Melissa received her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls in 2015. After she graduated she was a long and short term substitute teacher in various districts around the Hudson/Stillwater area. She has also worked for Mad Science of Minnesota and other STEM programs during the summers. The subjects in STEM–Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math–are her favorites to teach because of the variety of ways she is able to teach the content such as hands-on activities or learning new skills on the computer. When she is not teaching at St. Bridget, Melissa likes to spend time with her family, friends, and two cats – Denzel and Bam Bam – at her home in Hudson, WI. She also enjoys being outside in the midst of God’s beauty in nature while doing things like going for walks, kayaking, skiing, and camping. Melissa is pleased to be a part of the St. Bridget mission and have the opportunity to watch the students grow and build character towards becoming a good and faith driven person.

Mike Leary - Middle School Social Studies/Religion

Mr. Michael Leary joined St. Bridget Parish School in 2003 as a part time middle school social studies teacher. He left St Bridget’s for a portion of two school years in 2006 to deploy with the Air Force to Saudi Arabia. He returned and began teaching full time by also teaching middle school religion. Prior to coming to St. Bridget, Mr. Leary joined the Air Force as a security and law enforcement specialist. He continued his service in the Air Force Reserve retiring with 26 years of service in 2008. He has worked construction and maintenance for Holiday Inn, and was a press operator for 3M. Upon completion of his degree in Geography, he traveled to Taiwan, ROC to finish his study of Mandarin Chinese. After receiving his teaching degree he worked at Meyer Middle School, leaving that position when he was activated for duty by the Air Force after 9/11. Mr. Leary received his degree in Geography in 1989 and a degree in Secondary Education in 1999 from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Mr. Leary’s teaching interests include geography, history and theology. He also emphasizes research and speaking skills by incorporating them into his curriculum Mr. Leary lives outside Roberts, WI with his wife, Shirley and their children Timothy and Elizabeth. In addition, his family plays host to his parents, several chickens and their goofy black lab, Shadow. Mr. Leary has a wide variety of interests including traveling to historic and interesting spots all over the world, historical board gaming, model railroading, reading and hobby farming. During the summer break, you can sometimes see him around town in his beekeeping suit as he maintains his beehives spread throughout the area. He is excited to be a part of the St. Bridget mission because of the opportunity he has to share his life journey exploring his faith and the depth of our Christian heritage and theology. In addition, his passion for teaching history and geography with middle school students makes everyday exciting and fun. Not only is it rewarding watching his students become thoughtful and curious citizens, but he has made many great friends among the students and parents.

Aleksandra (Ola) Hoffman - Math (Grades 4-8)

Cheryl Richardson - Music

Cheryl joined St. Bridget Parish School in January 2019 as the music teacher. Prior to coming to St. Bridget, she taught K, Pre-K, and 2nd grade. Cheryl received her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cheryl’s teaching interests include singing, playing musical instruments and dancing to music with her students. Music is a skill that can be enjoyed throughout one’s life. Cheryl lives in Hudson with her husband, 3 dogs and 2 cats. They have a daughter who recently graduated from the University of Minnesota in Art and Graphic Design. Outside of school, Cheryl enjoys singing with the St. Croix Sacred Ensemble, walking with her neighbors, x-country skiing and camping. Cheryl is excited to be a part of the St. Bridget mission by helping students deepen their relationship with God through music.

Drew Rohl - Reading Specialist

Drew Rohl joined St. Bridget Parish School in Fall of 2022 as the Reading Specialist. Prior to St. Bridget’s, Drew spent two years as an English Learner teacher for the School District of River Falls. In her earlier years of teaching, she spent time as a Pre-K teacher, Reading Intervention teacher, and 5th grade teacher in South Washington County School District in Minnesota. She received her Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Education minor from UW-River Falls. She also received her Graduate Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from St. Kate’s University in St. Paul, MN, and her English Learner teaching license through Western Governors University. Her husband is a St. Bridget alumni, and their three children attend school at St. B’s as well. In her spare time, Drew enjoys being with family at the cabin, reading, playing volleyball, going on walks, and watching or attending sporting events. Her favorite part of working at St. Bridget Parish School is seeing all of the leadership opportunities for students, fostering positive interactions between students of all ages. It truly is a special community and school, and Drew is overjoyed to be part of it!

Rachel Albee - Art

Rachel is joining St. Bridget Parish School this year to teach art, a lifelong passion of hers. In addition to earning her four-year studio art degree from the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Rachel has taught art lessons to both preschoolers and grade-schoolers over the last year, emphasizing artistic concepts such as composition, line, color, and technique while employing a hands-on approach to teaching. When at home in the cozy town of Roberts, WI, Rachel spends much of her free time with family, working on independent nature-based art projects, exploring creation, baking, and indulging in the occasional (or frequent) piece of chocolate. Rachel was artistically inclined growing up, and her parents and teachers alike helped encourage her passion for creativity. She hopes now to do likewise and instill that same passion in her students, spurring them to become equally as excited about the wonderful world of art as she is.

Joy Schultz - Physical Education (PreK-1) & Religion Teacher (Grades 5-6)

Ms. Joy (Murry) Schultz has specialized in health and wellness for 10+ years, and has been a certified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor for 10+ years.  Ms. Schultz attended University of Wisconsin - River Falls and Hudson Hospital for part of her professional education.  Ms. Schultz was an athlete, and a standout athlete in her conference in high school.  Ms. Schultz was an athlete, and standout athlete in her conference in college.  Ms. Schultz has family from her Dad's side from St. Bridget's in River Falls.  Ms. Schultz has been a Catholic since birth, is passionate about the Catholic faith, is passionate about studying Catholicism, has had taken several Bible classes in college, is passionate about teaching God's Children, and Health, Wellness, Nutrition and Fitness.  Ms. Schultz is the proud mother of one daughter so far.

Levi DeLong - Physical Education (Grades 2-8)

Levi DeLong is one of our new Phy Ed teachers.  He lives in River Falls with his wife and 4 children.  After he graduated high school from Elmwood, he joined the military and was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2005 with the Wisconsin National Guard. After his return, he attended UW LaCrosse and graduated with a degree in Accounting.  However, he returned to the military in 2010 and became an officer in the Minnesota National Guard and reached the rank of Captain before finally hanging up the uniform in 2017. He has always had a passion for living an active lifestyle and still continues to play and coach sports such as football, baseball and basketball.  His hobbies include sports, woodworking, hunting and hanging out with his family.  He is very grateful for the opportunity to work with the St. Bridget’s faculty and to meet the students and their parents this year.

Sarah Matzek - Office

Sarah joined St. Bridget Parish School in 2020. Previously Mrs. Matzek taught fourth grade for twelve years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin River Falls. Sarah and her husband Joe own and operate a beef farm in the River Falls area. Sarah enjoys spending time with her children and granddaughter. She also likes gardening, quilting, reading, and cheering for the Packers.

Mike Kongshaug - Janitor

Mike is a 22-year resident of River Falls. He began working at St. Bridget’s in 2019, with over 20 years of experience in all phases of building and property management. He and his wife enjoy spending time with their sons and grandchildren, and camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, and golfing. They are avid Badgers, Brewers, and Packers fans. Mike says he likes working at St. Bridget because he loves children and sharing his talents and experience to give our students and staff a nice, safe, and clean place to learn – it’s a great way to “give back to the community.”

Esmirna Rojas - Kitchen / Before & After Care

Esmirna began working at St. Bridget’s School in the Kitchen in 2019. She attended college in her home country of Venezuela, majoring in Human Resources Administration. She worked in a Mass Consumption company in Venezuela prior to working here. She lives in River Falls with her husband and two children. She loves spending time with her family.