Meet the Summer Programs Office

Susan Peel Farrell, a graduate of Yale (B.A.) and Wesleyan (M.A.L.S.), first came to Choate as a teaching intern in the Summer of 1987. She returned in 1990, joining the faculty and serving as an Associate Director of College Counseling and a coach for girls soccer and lacrosse. In the ensuing years, she worked in the Choate Admission Office and in Development and Alumni Relations before returning to Summer Programs in 2010.

Susan lives on campus with her husband Stephen, long-time member of the faculty, and has four children, all of whom attended Choate Summer Programs and are graduates of Choate Rosemary Hall: Garrett ’12, Dylan ’14, Caitlin ’15, and Tagan ’20. In addition to her work in Summer Programs, Susan is Assistant Coach for Girls Varsity Soccer, a Student Life adviser to several Choate students, a House Mentor at the Kohler Environmental Center, the adviser to Choate’s Women Student-Athlete Association, and a former coach of co-ed Varsity Sailing. Outside of Choate, Susan was appointed in May 2020 to the board of Hoyas Unlimited, the alumni relations and fundraising arm of Georgetown University Athletics, and is now in her second 3-year term. She also continues to serve each year as an alumni interviewer for Yale University and is an at-large delegate to the Yale Alumni Association Assembly. 

Julia Pucci received her BA from Yale University, where she later returned to complete a Ph.D. in Italian Language & Literature. Before joining the Choate faculty, she ran Yale’s first asynchronous Italian translation program in addition to serving as a professional development program manager at a Fortune 500 company.

Beyond the classroom, Julia is a published poet, classically trained violist, and self-taught steel-string guitarist. She lives in New Haven, CT with her husband, Matthew, and their boisterous cat, Daphne.

Yaser S. Robles, Ph.D., a graduate of Brandeis University (B.A.), State University of New York at Buffalo and Universidad de la Habana (M.A.), and State University of New York at Albany (Ph.D.), is a faculty member in the History, Philosophy, Religion and Social Sciences Department and Dean of the Class of 2022. Dr. Robles teaches courses in Colonial Latin America, World History, 20th Century U.S. History, Contemporary Issues, and Latinx in the U.S. He taught in higher education for several years and joined Choate Rosemary Hall in 2015.

At Summer Programs, he has held different positions including: teaching in the ELI Program, Middle School Dean, High School Dean, Dean of Students, and Interim Associate Director and Dean of Academic Affairs. Dr. Robles lives on campus with his wife Tâmara and children Luca and Maya. Dr. Robles was born in Honduras but grew up in the Bronx, New York City.

Debbie Carpenter is a graduate of Choate ’85, The University of Connecticut (B.A.) and Southern Connecticut University (M.S.). She worked in the Development Office at The Foote School for 9 years and was co-chair of Foote’s diversity organization MOSAIC (Multicultural, Open-Minded, Supportive, Accepting, Inclusive, Community) 2018-2019. She returned to Choate in March 2019 as a member of the Summer Programs Office. Debbie lives in Hamden with her husband, John and their son Nicholas.

Jennifer Sutera has recently joined our Summer Programs team as the Systems Coordinator. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University and an MBA from Texas Woman’s University. She has spent the last 9 years as an independent consultant in database development. Her background is in Training and Development as well as data management. After living in Houston, TX for 10 years, she has returned to CT and now lives here in Wallingford with her husband Paul and their two children, Tony and Ava.

Sara is a higher education professional with extensive experience working with faculty, staff, and students. She holds a B.S. in Marketing Management from Albertus Magnus College. Prior to joining the staff in Summer Programs, Sara worked at Yale University for over a decade. While part of the Deputy Deans Office, she routinely organized faculty recruitment conferences on a national level. More recently, she was the Associate Registrar for the School of Management, specializing in enrollment and student record management.

Sara enjoys volunteering in her kid's academic and athletic activities. In her free time, she likes painting and gardening. Sara lives in North Haven with her husband Mike, their two children Sofia and Andrew, and their dog Shea.