Planning Team Biographies

George Edwards

George Edwards brings 27 years of experience as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal to Bedford High School. He started his career in New Jersey teaching and coaching in the high school from which he graduated in Medford. In 1984, he and his family moved to NH where he taught, coached and served as assistant principal at Milford AREA Senior High School. He has also been an advisor for clubs and activities such as the National Honor Society, ski club, drama club, as well as a class advisor. Mr. Edwards has been a high school principal for the past 18 years in 3 New Hampshire high schools. He was selected to plan and open Bow High School in 1996. Mr. Edwards has been named NH High School Coach of the Year in Football, has served as the President of the NHIAA, has been named the 2001 NH High School Principal of the Year and in 2005 was selected to be a Breaking Ranks Principal for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. He has been a featured presenter at many state, regional and national workshops on high school programs. Mr. Edwards has been married for 25 years to his wife Mary-Anne. He has two sons, Grant who graduated from Princeton University in 2006 and Geoff who is a student at Middlebury College. He enjoys running, jazz music, sports and spending time with his family.

Bob Jozokos

Bob Jozokos has a Masters in Native American Studies with a concentration in Native American literature from the University of South Dakota. His Bachelors degree is in English with a minor in secondary education from Stonehill College. Mr. Jozokos has taught Humanities classes for 10 years, the first two years at Raymond High School and the last eight years at Bow High School. He has developed several courses including Online Creative Writing and World Religions. Mr. Jozokos taught TV Broadcasting for three years and acted as teacher-facilitator for a live school news show. He is experienced in team-teaching and in differentiated instruction. Mr. Jozokos also created a unique, live-action role-playing club that grew out of a three-day enrichment activity. He co-chaired the Bow High School steering committee for their successful 2004 NEASC accreditation visit. Mr. Jozokos has a love for finding interdisciplinary connections and then exploring them with students. Mr. Jozokos is married and has three kids: eight year old twins and a three year old. He serves on his community’s planning board and is an active member of youth sports programs, coaching soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Lisa Ransom

Lisa Ransom graduated from Boston College with an MEd in Counseling Psychology. She earned her BS in Business Administration with a double major in psychology from the University of New Hampshire. She began her career in college admissions at Fisher College and Boston College before and during her graduate work. Ms. Ransom was a Guidance Counselor at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in Hamilton, Mass for two years before moving to New Hampshire. She continued her work as a school counselor at Pembroke Academy in Pembroke, NH for eight years, focusing on freshman transition, college placement, personal and academic counseling. Ms. Ransom then was a school counselor at Bow High School, beginning the year Bow HS opened in 1997. Two years later, Mrs. Ransom became Dean of Students at Bow. Her responsibilities included serving as one of a five person School Administrative/Leadership Team, Guidance Director, Guidance Counselor and Teacher. In her 19 years in as a school counselor and administrator Ms. Ransom’s focus has been working with students and their families to help them explore and take advantage of as many opportunities as possible throughout their high school experience and helping them prepare for future personal, educational and vocational endeavors. Ms. Ransom has served as an advisor for many activities such as the outing club, student government, and as a class advisor. Ms. Ransom has lived in Concord, NH for 17 years with her husband, Geoffrey and their three children ages 16, 14, and 11. The Ransoms have a boxer named Allie – not quite a bulldog, but close! Ms. Ransom keeps healthy and sane by training for triathlons and she will run her second marathon this fall.

Linda Belmonte

Linda Belmonte graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked for Westinghouse in the nuclear safety industry. She started her own business in developing creativity in children and then entered the education field teaching mathematics at Sanborn Middle School. Joining the eighth grade staff at McKelvie, she taught math and science, climbed Cardigan with her Jupiter homeroom, and became the technology teacher for the middle school. When Litchfield opened their new high school, Campbell High School, in 2000, Linda was hired to help develop the new math department, eventually becoming the Department Facilitator, math coach, webmaster, and member of the Leadership Team. She now brings considerable experience in developing school and course competencies and curriculum to Bedford. Mrs. Belmonte recently earned her Masters degree in Teaching with Technology, which has helped her to translate her passion for using technology to enhance education into classroom practice. She has three children; Pamela, who received her PhD in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University, Christina, who graduated first in her school of architecture class at Notre Dame University, double majoring in math, and Kevin, currently a computer science and engineering student at University of Connecticut.

Thor Nilsen

Thor Nilsen graduated from the University of Maine Presque Isle with a Bachelors of Science degree in Health and Physical Education and received his Masters Degree in Administration from the University of Southern Maine. Through his career in education Thor worked as a teacher, assistant principal and athletic administrator. Additionally, he worked as a class advisor, student counsel advisor, and coach. (Thor has coached various team and individual girls and boys sports at the middle school and high school levels.) He served on the Maine Principals’ Association coaching education, sportsmanship, and sports medicine committees, ice hockey committee and chaired the MPA soccer committee. He served as president of the Southern Maine Middle School Athletic Conference and the South Western Maine (high school) Activities Association and was vice president of the Maine Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association. Awards included the MIAAA Athletic Administrator of the year, National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association Award of Merit, and the Keith Lancaster Award for Coaching Education. Thor continues to serve as a consultant with the University of Maine’s Center for Sport and Coaching. Thor and his wife, Cindy, currently reside in Scarborough, Maine. They have a daughter, Kristen, who graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2005 and is working in business in Washington D.C. Thor's hobbies include golf, running, and stained glass art.