About the Online Academy at ASD
Meet the Staff of the Online Academy at ASD
Jeffrey
The Executive Director of ASD and active in many professional organizations, Jeff loves to spend time golfing, biking, playing pickleball, boating, traveling and exploring new places or relaxing at home doing puzzles.
Paula
Along with over 20 years experience and a passion for education, Paula loves gardening and spending time with family and her many furry and feathered friends that live on her farm.
Stacey
In addition to 30 years in deaf education, Stacey loves travel, baking, theater, everything at the beach, learning new things, and spending time with her family outside.
Tyler
Tyler brings over 20 years of teaching experience. Tyler loves to travel the world, cook a variety of recipes, and most importantly, being a mom to her three children.
Melly
Melly has over 17 years in the field. She loves watching KC Royals and KC Chiefs, conversing with people, traveling to new places, trying new things, and being a sports mom to her three children.
Gabi
Gabi has over ten years of teaching experience. She is a proud mother of two children and is a lover of life, people, theatre, art, language, food, teaching, learning, Octobers, road trips, and imagination.
Amy
Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Amy has spent her most recent years teaching history in Southern California. She is an avid Steelers fan, enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors with her family, and keeping active through yoga and running.
Jenene
Jenene has over 20 years of teaching experience. She is also a health and fitness coach. She is a mom of four beautiful children and a grandma of five precious grandchildren. She loves to spend time with her family, travel, paint, workout, cook, laugh, and run half marathons.
Bill
Bill provides STEM based enrichment activities for the Online Academy. As an inventor with two patents and a person who’s main hobby is learning new hobbies, he is a wonderful instructor for creative and fun problem solving programs!
Adele
Adele loves all things ASL. She teaches bilingual language arts and loves helping students work between both languages to develop greater literacy. She loves working with students, teachers, and families and is a lifelong learner herself!
Krystle
Krystle is a southern girl and an introspective thinker who loves high level discussions about life! Krystle was born and raised in Georgia which makes perfect sense that she is a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan! Go Dawgs! Krystle enjoys reading, spending time with her family, listening to music, and looking for different ways to grow into a better human being each day.
Liz
Liz is an animal-loving, science-loving, mom of three amazing kids!
Melissa
Melissa is a teacher, researcher, professor and entrepreneur. She applies language and literacy development to all her work with students. She enjoys spending time with her extended family and leading service work in her rural hometown!
Lisa
Lisa, a speech-language pathologist, loves supporting communication and encouraging language growth with her students. When she isn’t working, baking, knitting, or playing Mahjong, Lisa can be found skiing or mountain biking with her thrill-seeking family.
Kristi
Kristi has been involved with Deaf Education for 25 years. She has worked with secondary students as a Life Skills Teacher, Work Experience Coordinator and a School Counselor. When she’s not working, she is enjoying life by camping with her husband and her dog, a chocolate lab.
Jeff
Jeff is a retired educator having taught both Mathematics and American Sign Language. A pickleball competitor, father of two grown ladies, and proud husband of his wife who grew up in Israel and teaches ASL. Together they are passionate travelers, eager to explore the world.
Stephanie
Stephanie is a dynamic and seasoned teacher of multiple content areas with six years of experience. She has a passion for bilingual education and social studies. She enjoys time outdoors with her pup!
Mark
Mark has taught a range of subjects for over 20 years, with a focus on Technology and Transition. Native to Southern California, he currently resides in Minnesota with his wife, four children, and two cats. He describes himself as a “techno-geek” who enjoys sailing, reading, running, traveling, swimming, Deaf community advocacy, all things ASL, and a good cup of tea.
Brian
Brian is a school counselor who likes working with students of all ages to support their personal growth. He enjoys adventures with his family, loves sports, dogs and exploring the outdoors.
Amy
Amy has been teaching art for the last three years after previously being a school psychologist. She strives to give Deaf students the tools to communicate their stories, emotions, and identities visually and she is passionate about using art to uplift and create a safe space where every child can feel seen, heard, and empowered.
Najiye
Najiye graduated from Gallaudet University in 2022 with a masters in Speech-Language Therapy and worked for a year in Atlanta. She is passionate about ASL, loves going to the beach, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. Najiye currently lives in Lebanon.
Shelby
Shelby teaches science. She is passionate about learning and supporting others towards achieving their goals. She loves reading, time spent with family and friends, animals, nature, traveling, discussions, movies and games/puzzles.
Jennifer
Jennifer has over 12 years of teaching experience in Southern California, she enjoys sparking a love for reading in her students, empowering them with the power of books. With her husband and two adorable fur-babies, Jennifer finds joy in life’s simple pleasures: coffee, reading, teaching, and going to the beach.
Lauryn
Lauryn is passionate about supporting students to find interests in the areas of math and science. She believes in students building self-advocacy skills to support reaching their long-term goals in academics and life. When she is not teaching, she is running, hiking, doing water activities, or finding a good restaurant.
Heather
Heather teaches from Southern California. She enjoys teaching all subjects and making learning activities enjoyable and memorable! With her husband, three children and two pups, she enjoys traveling, hiking, skiing, reading on the beach, watching movies, playing cards, board games and being a foodie..
Alyssa
Originally from the East, Alyssa moved to California after falling in love with the state at age 16. She has never left the state with the exception of her time at Gallaudet. Alyssa enjoys teaching English and ASL bilingually to high school students as well as coaching for the academic bowl. In her free time, she enjoys disc golfing, snowboarding, and cycling.
Stefanie
Stefanie has over 25 years of working with Deaf students. When not working, Stefanie loves travel, theater, anything in the sun, learning and trying new things, and most of all, spending time with her family. She has 2 teenage daughters and is living the life of a Gymnastics and Cheer Mom.
Leona
Leona originally is from Pennsylvania/Delaware and currently lives in Alabama with her husband, 3 children, 2 dogs, bearded dragon, and a hamster. Counseling and advocating social justice is her passion with D/HH children. During her spare free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, reading, and fostering dogs to support the animal shelter.
Everett
Everett is a native Californian and a proud dog daddy. He is passionate about mental health wellbeing and has worked in a variety of mental health settings. He loves to go hiking, kayaking, and any outdoor activities with his pup. Everett has a unique approach supporting students’ social skills and social emotional learning and enjoys utilizing technology to do so!
Bradley
Bradley is originally from Belfast, Maine and has been teaching history for over 15 years. Recently he moved to Florida with his husband and two children. He has a B.A in History from the University of Maine at Farmington and a M.Ed in Deaf Education from Boston University. In his free time, he enjoys biking, going to the beach, cooking, drawing and traveling.
Lynell
Lynell has lived and taught in several states and teaching in a variety of settings for over ten years. Indoors, she loves to read, play games, dance and create. Outdoors, she loves to camp, hike, walk, run and play sports with her 4 kids and large extended family.
John
Originally from Buffalo, NY, John now resides in Indianapolis, IN. With over 24 years of experience in K-12 and post-secondary education, John teaches Social Studies, American Sign Language, and various electives. Outside the classroom, John enjoys traveling with his wife, pickleball and disc golf.
Melissa
Originally from Indiana, Melissa now calls Washington, D.C. home, where she lives with her two adorable mini Golden Retrievers. Melissa has over 13 years of experience in counseling services. She has worked at various Deaf schools across the U.S. When Melissa is not working, she enjoys disc golf, exploring the city, and trying out new food spots in DC.
Cara
Cara Barnett, is an Indiana Hoosier who loves ASL and enjoys creating ASL poetry. She has taught ASL for over 28 years and is currently an ASL specialist. Cara enjoys traveling, sewing and being a dog mom to Indy.
Elizabeth
Coming to you from Arkansas via Florida, Elizabeth has been teaching deaf students for nine years. Her hobbies include music, reading sci-fi/fantasy novels, Star Wars, and Historical Re-enactment. She is a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and loves sewing historically accurate garments based on period patterns.
Dominique
Dominique is a school counselor from San Antonio, Texas. She studied at Gallaudet and is passionate about supporting students’ self-advocacy skills and preparing them for success. Outside of work, Dominique enjoys spending time with her husband and children. She enjoys watching documentaries and travel.
Leah
Leah is a teacher of the deaf and a doctoral student in Deaf Education. Leah was born and raised in Ohio, and after moving around a bit, she now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with her wife and their rescue dog. When she is not working, Leah enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and playing games.
Sarah
Sarah has been teaching in various roles for over ten years. Her passion is teaching art and fostering the love of creating with her students. When Sarah is not teaching, she is spending time with her family on the family farm where she enjoys gardening, working in the vineyards and hanging out with her chickens!
Jaclyn
Jaclyn has over ten years of experience teaching American Sign Language and Language Arts, to both deaf and hard of hearing students. She enjoys creating art and spending quality time with her family in her hometown of Riverside, California.
Georgette
Georgette was raised in the heart of New York City but has lived in Riverside CA for over 20 years. She teaches bilingual language arts and ASL, loves adventure, the outdoors, a good book, making memories with her family and exploring new places!
Jamie Sue
Jamie Sue Hale has over a decade of teaching experience with a focus on building inclusive, engaging learning spaces that support communication, literacy, and student confidence. Outside the virtual classroom, she enjoys swimming, dancing, yoga, reading, and creative writing as ways to stay optimistic and inspired.
We are a program of the American School for the Deaf
The Online Academy is a program of the American School for the Deaf. Our program is available for deaf and hard of hearing students worldwide who are interested in online classes, tutoring, IEP goal support, and enrichment opportunities.
