Meet the Summer Programs Office

Susan Peel Farrell

Director and Director of Admission

Susan 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, who teaches in the English Department, and their 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, Assistant Coach for Co-ed Varsity Sailing, and an adviser to day students. Outside of Choate, Susan was appointed in May 2020 to a three-year term on the board of Hoyas Unlimited, the alumni relations and fundraising arm of Georgetown University Athletics.

Dr. Yaser Robles

Associate Director, Dean of Academic Affairs

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 now Associate Director and Dean of Academic Affairs. Dr. Robles lives on campus with his wife Tâmara and their son Luca. Dr. Robles was born in Honduras but grew up in the Bronx, New York City.

Andrea Sorrells

Dean of Students

Andrea B. Sorrells is embarking on her 27th year as a teacher of mathematics. A native of Georgia, she received her B.A. from Agnes Scott College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For 16 years she taught mathematics in the public school system. During that time she was nominated for the PAEMST—Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and in 2000 she received the UConn Huskies Teacher of the Year Award. Andrea joined the faculty of Choate Rosemary Hall in 2010 in the Mathematics and Computer Science department. In the summer of 2011, she began her work with Choate Summer Programs as a math teacher. Over the next 10 years she served as a teaching intern mentor, a middle school girls dean, and now as the Dean of Students. 

Andrea lives on campus with her husband Brian, who works in the Choate library and her two children both of whom attended Choate Summer Programs and Choate Rosemary Hall. Isabel graduated from Choate in 2019 and David is currently a junior here at Choate. Andrea is passionate about the intersectionality of teaching and E&I work. In 2018, she participated in Choate’s inaugural SEED cohort and joined the Driving Equity Committee at Choate. Last year she was a founding member of WARE (white antiracist educators) and currently serves on the town of Wallingford’s Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Debbie Carpenter

Office Coordinator

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.

Lisa Conway

Systems Coordinator

Lisa Conway has a B.A. in Business Administration from Graceland University, is the proud parent of Jacob ’11 and Mikayla ’13, and lives in Cheshire with her husband. Lisa worked for 5 years as the Registrar for Choate Rosemary Hall and returned to Choate this past January to help the Summer Programs Office with systems coordination and scheduling.