Whitefield Academy is excited about the new faculty members that will join us for the 2016-2017 school year. Each one is highly qualified for his or her position and exudes a strong commitment to excellence. Their devotion to Christ is unwavering, and we are grateful to the Lord for bringing them to our team.
Lower School
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Candace Daly
After serving as Middle School Spanish teacher during the 2015-2016 school year, Candace Daly is now joining the Lower School faculty as a Lower School Spanish teacher. Daly holds more than eight years of experience teaching Spanish in both public and private schools in North Carolina and Georgia. A native of Greenville, North Carolina, Daly obtained her bachelor's degree from East Carolina University along with a minor in biology. Her language studies have taken her to Mexico and Spain to be immersed in both Spanish language and culture. Her love of teaching has also afforded her opportunities to conduct workshops in homeschool cooperatives as well as facilitate ESL classes at the community college level.
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Ann Marie Hallett
Ann Marie Hallet joins Whitefield as a Lower School teacher’s assistant. She has a B.S. in early childhood education from the University of Georgia and a M.S. in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University. Hallet has eight years of teaching experience at both public and private institutions and has served as a children's ministry director for three years.
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Lauren McCarthy
Lauren McCarthy ('11) will be a teacher's assistant at Whitefield. In 2015, she graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor's degree in screen arts and cultures with a concentration in film production. While at Michigan, Lauren worked for Camp Kesem as their videographer and volunteered with Ann Arbor Public Schools as a teacher's assistant in a special needs PreK classroom.
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Dan Moorer
Dan Moorer will teach Lower School physical education at Whitefield. He has a Bachelor of Arts in business administration management from Saint Leo University. While obtaining his degree, he served in the United States Navy for four years. Following the end of his enlistment, Moorer worked as a contractor and entrepreneur. For four years, Moorer taught at the middle school and high school levels, three of which he spent teaching marketing, entrepreneurship, and management at Forest Park High School. Currently, Moorer is pursuing his graduate degree in educational leadership through Kennesaw State University. He is due to graduate in the fall of 2016 with his master’s degree.
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Sweden Swilley
Sweden Swilley joins Whitefield as a third-grade teacher. Previously, she worked at Cobb County Schools for nine years and Eastside Christian School for nine years. Swilley graduated from Auburn University with her bachelor's degree in elementary education.
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Susan Underwood
Susan Underwood joins Whitefield as a new fourth-grade teacher. A graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery, Underwood has obtained a bachelor’s degree in justice and public safety as well as a M.Ed. in early childhood education. Before coming to Whitefield, she gained over 18 years of classroom experience teaching in grades two through five.
Whitefield is also excited to welcome Kerri Bounds back to the Lower School in the 2016-2017 school year. After serving as assistant to the director of Whitefield's Academic Enrichment Center, Bounds will be returning to the classroom as a first-grade teacher and will also serve as the Lower School director of academics.
Middle School/Upper School
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Kate Byars
Kate Byars joins the Whitefield staff as a Middle School and Upper School French teacher. She is fluent in both Italian and French and previously taught and tutored in New Orleans French immersion schools École Bilingue, the International School of Louisiana, and École Maternelle. A 2003 alumna of Smith College, she transitioned full time to the education world as a teacher for the homeschool co-op community in 2013, where she taught Italian, French, photography, and graphic design. Byars also ran a successful photography business for seven years in the Atlanta area, growing to a staff of four and leading workshops for aspiring photographers.
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Amelia Carmichael
Amelia Carmichael will be teaching Middle School English this year. Before coming to Whitefield, she worked for the Cobb County Board of Education for 10 years as a middle grades educator. Carmichael graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, with a Bachelor of Arts in English and minor in communications, earned her teaching certificate from the University of Georgia, and received her Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from Walden University.
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Emily East
Emily East has been a part of the Lower School strings program since 2009, and is now joining the WolfPack faculty as Middle School and Upper School orchestra teacher. East has ten years of experience teaching violin through the Suzuki Talent Education Program and also teaches students throughout the Atlanta area.
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Brian Edwards
Brian Edwards is a new math teacher in the Middle School. Before coming to Whitefield, he worked as a lawyer for 24 years, practicing mainly in the fields of employment law, litigation, and government investigations. Edwards holds a B.S. in finance and management from the University of Virginia as well as a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Beth Figaretti will begin as a Middle School science teacher at Whitefield this fall. She has obtained a B.S. in science education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as a M.Ed. from the State University of West Georgia. Before arriving at Whitefield, Figaretti taught biology and served as assistant principal at Wheeler High School, her alma mater, and worked as a preschool teacher at Smyrna First United Methodist.
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Tillman Hamilton
Tillman Hamilton ('11) will be teaching Middle School and Upper School physical education as well as Middle School French. Hamilton holds a B.A. in English with minors in French and international studies. Before returning to Whitefield, she served in the Faculty Fellows program at Wesleyan School. While in the program, she taught third grade and served as a substitute middle school French teacher and coach for the cheerleading, swim, and tennis teams. In addition to her academic roles, Hamilton will coach varsity and Middle School girls tennis at Whitefield.
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Shanon Janico
Joining the staff as a history teacher is Shanon Janico. She has taught middle and upper school classes at Christ Presbyterian Academy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Magnet High School in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and history.
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Abe Oakie
Abe Okie will join the Whitefield team as the Middle School and Upper School choir teacher. Before arriving at Whitefield, he gained seven years of experience as worship director for St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and an additional six years of experience as choir director and music teacher at Woodstock School, a Christian boarding school in the Indian Himalayas. Okie has obtained a B.S. in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a B.A. in music education from Georgia State University, and a M.A. in psychology of music from the University of Sheffield.
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Conrad Quiros
Conrad Quiros (’09) returns to Whitefield to teach Middle School Spanish and Upper School English, as well as serve as a member of the WolfPack’s baseball coaching staff. Quiros obtained a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the football team. For the past three years, he has served as part of the Reformed University Fellowship leadership program at the University of California in Los Angeles, ministering to students through its RUF campus chapter.
Sarah Voelkel will teach Middle School science at Whitefield. Previously, she taught biology and anatomy and physiology for seven years at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, where she also coached varsity girls soccer. Prior to teaching in Georgia, Voelkel was the assistant women’s soccer coach at Arizona State University. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Florida State University, her teaching certificate from University of Georgia, and her Ed.S. in educational technology from Walden University.
Dan Young joins Whitefield as the Middle School and Upper School physical education teacher. Before arriving at Whitefield, he gained experience teaching social studies and physical education for 11 years, served as a football coach for 10 years, and served as a baseball, track, and swimming coach for two additional years. Young has obtained a B.A. in history from the University of Richmond as well as a M.Ed. from Towson University.
Lower School
Candace DalyAfter serving as Middle School Spanish teacher during the 2015-2016 school year, Candace Daly is now joining the Lower School faculty as a Lower School Spanish teacher. Daly holds more than eight years of experience teaching Spanish in both public and private schools in North Carolina and Georgia. A native of Greenville, North Carolina, Daly obtained her bachelor's degree from East Carolina University along with a minor in biology. Her language studies have taken her to Mexico and Spain to be immersed in both Spanish language and culture. Her love of teaching has also afforded her opportunities to conduct workshops in homeschool cooperatives as well as facilitate ESL classes at the community college level.
Ann Marie HallettAnn Marie Hallet joins Whitefield as a Lower School teacher’s assistant. She has a B.S. in early childhood education from the University of Georgia and a M.S. in elementary reading and literacy from Walden University. Hallet has eight years of teaching experience at both public and private institutions and has served as a children's ministry director for three years.
Lauren McCarthy Lauren McCarthy ('11) will be a teacher's assistant at Whitefield. In 2015, she graduated from the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor's degree in screen arts and cultures with a concentration in film production. While at Michigan, Lauren worked for Camp Kesem as their videographer and volunteered with Ann Arbor Public Schools as a teacher's assistant in a special needs PreK classroom.
Dan MoorerDan Moorer will teach Lower School physical education at Whitefield. He has a Bachelor of Arts in business administration management from Saint Leo University. While obtaining his degree, he served in the United States Navy for four years. Following the end of his enlistment, Moorer worked as a contractor and entrepreneur. For four years, Moorer taught at the middle school and high school levels, three of which he spent teaching marketing, entrepreneurship, and management at Forest Park High School. Currently, Moorer is pursuing his graduate degree in educational leadership through Kennesaw State University. He is due to graduate in the fall of 2016 with his master’s degree.
Sweden SwilleySweden Swilley joins Whitefield as a third-grade teacher. Previously, she worked at Cobb County Schools for nine years and Eastside Christian School for nine years. Swilley graduated from Auburn University with her bachelor's degree in elementary education.
Susan UnderwoodSusan Underwood joins Whitefield as a new fourth-grade teacher. A graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery, Underwood has obtained a bachelor’s degree in justice and public safety as well as a M.Ed. in early childhood education. Before coming to Whitefield, she gained over 18 years of classroom experience teaching in grades two through five.
Whitefield is also excited to welcome Kerri Bounds back to the Lower School in the 2016-2017 school year. After serving as assistant to the director of Whitefield's Academic Enrichment Center, Bounds will be returning to the classroom as a first-grade teacher and will also serve as the Lower School director of academics.
Middle School/Upper School
Kate ByarsKate Byars joins the Whitefield staff as a Middle School and Upper School French teacher. She is fluent in both Italian and French and previously taught and tutored in New Orleans French immersion schools École Bilingue, the International School of Louisiana, and École Maternelle. A 2003 alumna of Smith College, she transitioned full time to the education world as a teacher for the homeschool co-op community in 2013, where she taught Italian, French, photography, and graphic design. Byars also ran a successful photography business for seven years in the Atlanta area, growing to a staff of four and leading workshops for aspiring photographers.
Amelia CarmichaelAmelia Carmichael will be teaching Middle School English this year. Before coming to Whitefield, she worked for the Cobb County Board of Education for 10 years as a middle grades educator. Carmichael graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, with a Bachelor of Arts in English and minor in communications, earned her teaching certificate from the University of Georgia, and received her Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from Walden University.
Emily EastEmily East has been a part of the Lower School strings program since 2009, and is now joining the WolfPack faculty as Middle School and Upper School orchestra teacher. East has ten years of experience teaching violin through the Suzuki Talent Education Program and also teaches students throughout the Atlanta area.
Brian EdwardsBrian Edwards is a new math teacher in the Middle School. Before coming to Whitefield, he worked as a lawyer for 24 years, practicing mainly in the fields of employment law, litigation, and government investigations. Edwards holds a B.S. in finance and management from the University of Virginia as well as a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Beth Figaretti will begin as a Middle School science teacher at Whitefield this fall. She has obtained a B.S. in science education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as a M.Ed. from the State University of West Georgia. Before arriving at Whitefield, Figaretti taught biology and served as assistant principal at Wheeler High School, her alma mater, and worked as a preschool teacher at Smyrna First United Methodist.
Tillman HamiltonTillman Hamilton ('11) will be teaching Middle School and Upper School physical education as well as Middle School French. Hamilton holds a B.A. in English with minors in French and international studies. Before returning to Whitefield, she served in the Faculty Fellows program at Wesleyan School. While in the program, she taught third grade and served as a substitute middle school French teacher and coach for the cheerleading, swim, and tennis teams. In addition to her academic roles, Hamilton will coach varsity and Middle School girls tennis at Whitefield.
Shanon JanicoJoining the staff as a history teacher is Shanon Janico. She has taught middle and upper school classes at Christ Presbyterian Academy and Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Magnet High School in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and history.
Abe OakieAbe Okie will join the Whitefield team as the Middle School and Upper School choir teacher. Before arriving at Whitefield, he gained seven years of experience as worship director for St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in Atlanta and an additional six years of experience as choir director and music teacher at Woodstock School, a Christian boarding school in the Indian Himalayas. Okie has obtained a B.S. in management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a B.A. in music education from Georgia State University, and a M.A. in psychology of music from the University of Sheffield.
Conrad QuirosConrad Quiros (’09) returns to Whitefield to teach Middle School Spanish and Upper School English, as well as serve as a member of the WolfPack’s baseball coaching staff. Quiros obtained a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the football team. For the past three years, he has served as part of the Reformed University Fellowship leadership program at the University of California in Los Angeles, ministering to students through its RUF campus chapter.
Sarah Voelkel will teach Middle School science at Whitefield. Previously, she taught biology and anatomy and physiology for seven years at Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, where she also coached varsity girls soccer. Prior to teaching in Georgia, Voelkel was the assistant women’s soccer coach at Arizona State University. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Florida State University, her teaching certificate from University of Georgia, and her Ed.S. in educational technology from Walden University.
Dan Young joins Whitefield as the Middle School and Upper School physical education teacher. Before arriving at Whitefield, he gained experience teaching social studies and physical education for 11 years, served as a football coach for 10 years, and served as a baseball, track, and swimming coach for two additional years. Young has obtained a B.A. in history from the University of Richmond as well as a M.Ed. from Towson University.