Stamford Agriscience Program
Meet the Agriscience Staff!
Mr. Russo
Program Coordinator
Mr. Russo is a graduate-turned-teacher of the Stamford ASTE Program/FFA. As a student, he discovered a passion for agriculture and helping others strive towards their goals. During his time as a student, he ran a hydroponics business as his SAE, became the first of the Stamford FFA to hold a leadership position on the state level, and became the first in recent Stamford FFA history to travel to the National FFA Convention and receive the American FFA Degree. Mr. Russo continued his educational journey at UConn, where he received his B.S. in Agriculture and Natural Resources/Sustainable Plant and Soil Systems and M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction. In his time outside of his various agricultural pursuits, he often finds himself playing video games, building cosplays, or bushcraft camping with friends.
Follow him on Instagram @Russoteachesag for a peek into his classroom activities!
Ms. Marenholz
Teacher, FFA Advisor
Ms. Marenholz has been teaching at Westhill High School since 2010. She majored in Animal Science and earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Connecticut. During her time in the Stamford Ag Program, she has taught classes across all grade levels, served as the FFA Advisor, coordinated the Doggie Daycare program, and coached numerous CDEs and LDEs. She was a finalist for SPS Teacher of the Year in 2018–2019, the runner-up in 2023–2024, and a nominee for SPEF in 2022–2023. In addition, she has served on multiple committees for the National Association of Agricultural Educators, currently leads the Connecticut Ag Teacher Mentorship Program, serves as the the chair for the New England Agriculture Teachers Conference, and actively participates in professional development programs to further her own agricultural education. A lifelong animal lover, Ms. Marenholz shares her home with two cats. She is also a dedicated volunteer at her local animal shelter, where she has fostered over 130 cats and kittens over the past nine years. In addition, she has experience training guide dogs through her volunteer work with Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Outside of teaching and volunteering, she enjoys traveling, sports, hiking and the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
Follow her on Instagram @FFAMarenholz for a peek into her classroom activities!
Dr. Martin
Teacher
Dr. Martin has been a science teacher for nearly 20 years teaching at both the middle and high school levels. He grew up in a rural farming community in Western North Dakota were he developed a deep connection with the land and has worked as an advocate to promote local community-based agriculture. Dr. Martin is a graduate of the University of Montana Master Beekeeping Program and has been a beekeeper for more than 10 years. He maintains about 25 beehives throughout Fairfield County which produce nearly 2000 lbs of honey each year. Dr. Martin and his family maintain a small urban farm in Stamford where they raise a variety of fruits, vegetables, chickens, and bees. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Education, and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership. Dr. Martin is very passionate about teaching students about the joys of growing food for themselves and their communities and considers himself incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.
Mr. Magnano
Teacher
Mr. Magnano III is a graduate of the ASTE Program/FFA in Southington, Connecticut. In the program he discovered his passion for environmental science and proceeded to continue his learning at the University of Maine, Orono. After dual completion of a B.A. in Ecology and Environmental Science and the UMaine honors program, writing a thesis about Emerald Ash Borer and Native American Culture in the forestry field, Mr. Magnano began his career in industry as an environmental engineer. After some time in the field, Mr. Magnano went back to school during the pandemic with Mr. Russo, and obtained his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction at UConn, and came to us with 1 year of teaching experience. Outside of teaching and agriculture, Mr. Magnano enjoys spending time with family for Sunday lunch, visiting new places along the east coast, playing video games with friends around the globe, listening to a wide variety of music genres and experimenting with new artistic and sport hobbies such as photography, sketching and musical instruments and tennis.
Ms. Aquino
Teacher
Ms. Aquino is a proud Stamford FFA alum who graduated in the 2017 class and is returning to the place that makes her heart the warmest. As a lifelong animal lover, Stamford FFA was the perfect space to really fuel her passion and grow through the community. Upon graduating high school, she completed her Bachelors of Technology in Animal Sciences from SUNY Cobleskill. When she wasn’t completing her degree, she was almost always in the Equine Facilities on campus, or working hard on the softball field with her team. In addition to Ms. Aquino’s Bachelor’s degree, she continued her education at The Ohio University, to receive a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education. There she was able to overcome her major fear of public speaking while teaching a public speaking course at the university! In her free time you can catch her snuggling up with her pup Matilda and a nice book, or finding her next caffeine fix!
Ms. Cascio
SAE Coordinator
Meet Ms. Cascio, our go-to SAE Coordinator for the Agriscience program (a.k.a. the person who saves everyone’s sanity when it comes to SAE paperwork and scholarships). She actually started out at Norwalk Community College, where she got certified to teach Early Childhood Education, but lucky for us, Stamford Public Schools scooped her up back in 2003. After bouncing around a bit, she landed in Agriscience—and she’s been here for 13 years, making sure students stay on track while also being everyone’s low-key life coach.
After the final bell rings, you can usually spot her at Westhill High School athletic games—keeping the scorebook, running the clock, and cheering on our Vikings. Basically, if something needs doing, Ms. Cascio’s probably already on it.
And if you’ve ever stopped by her office, you’ve probably met her “assistants”—Gracie and Bogey, her daughter’s dogs and the unofficial Agriscience mascots. Gracie proudly serves as Head Tennis Ball Retriever, while Bogey excels in his role as Professional Lap Dog. (They may not help with paperwork, but morale is always sky-high with them around.)
Outside of work, Ms. Cascio is basically a Pinterest board come to life—she bakes, cooks, decorates, and even repurposes furniture. (If you throw something out, there’s a decent chance she’ll turn it into something fabulous.) She also loves traveling to Tampa to visit her son, John, and on weekends you’ll find her hanging out with her daughter Lauren, her son-in-law Kubby, her grandson Connor, and of course Gracie and Bogey—when they’re not busy holding down the fort in her office.
