Joy Morrow
Principal, Culinary Arts

Joy Morrow is the school's principal and president of the NHA board of directors. Her academic background in psychology and in social work informed her practical experience with group homes for delinquent teenagers as well as her extensive work with preschools. In 1990, she co-founded NHA with a group of like-minded parents and has served as principal since. Mrs. Morrow wants to help create "a school community transcending religious, cultural, and racial barriers, where families with shared common values can support each other to raise moral children. This involves big challenges but also big opportunities." Her straightforward style, especially with teenagers, helps them stay on track or get back on track. She's good at helping people see a vision of what's possible, and helping children see what they're capable of, moving in the direction of their dreams. "When I'm working with a class of students I try to make sure no one falls through the cracks," said Mrs. Morrow. "My goal is to work with each child." Her personal approach finds especially satisfying those times when she can really connect with a student in a moment of discovery.

Dolores Muhammad
Vice Principal

This Maryland native has been with NHA since 2001. Her experience includes interning and working in different science fields and local institutions; including The H.B. Owens Science Center, The Beltsville Agricultural Research Institute, and the National Institute of Health. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Towson State University in Medical Technology and worked in labs for 8 years before branching into the field of education. Her education experience began in 1994 and includes all levels from preschool through high school; where she taught Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and AP Biology. She has also been the director and administrator of a private school previous to NHA and has worked and directed summer camps. In 2008, she became the high school student administrator while still teaching before her current transition back to a full administration position.

Tiye Phoenix
Director of Education, Counselor

Description coming soon.

Angela Tallack
Math Director, Assistant Administrator to the Principal

Angela Tallack joined New Hope Academy as a part time teacher for Algebra 1/2 and grade 5 math in 2017. Originally a Vice-Principal and math teacher in England, Mrs Tallack moved 6 years ago with her husband to Bowie to be with their son, daughter-in-law and 4 grandchildren and the view of retiring. Once the 3rd youngest grandchild started day care, Mrs Tallack decided to return to teaching and was delighted to be given the opportunity to work at New Hope Academy. The vocabulary may be different but students' passion for learning and inquiry is the same. She is enjoying her new role as Math Director and Assistant Administrator to the Principal.

Shirley Robinson
Main Office

Shirley Robinson joined the New Hope Academy staff in 2015 as a substitute teacher. Shirley's passion for the school and their philosophy had such a big effect on her that she wanted to stay with the school after her granddaughter graduated from New Hope Academy in 2018. Shirley is a math assistant , the Early Care Supervisor /Lunchroom Supervisor.and Main office staff and a Certified Medical Technician.. Shirley studied at Prince George's Community College and University of Maryland. She is very pleased to be part of the New Hope Academy staff.

Melanie Sumpter
Main Office

Description coming soon.

Janelle Hartley
Office Manager, Registrar

Janelle Hartley is the "hub" of New Hope Academy. A native of Guyana, raised in Brooklyn, NY, and married to a Jamaican, her multi-cultural background and family exemplify NHA's diverse school culture. She attended Pace University to pursue accounting and spent the majority of her career working for financial institutions. This allowed her to develop her strengths in management and customer service while fostering her desire to help those in need. "Mrs. Janelle" joined the school in 2006, along with her son, after transitioning her family to Maryland. "To be in a state without any relatives nearby is difficult," she said, "especially when you have a child. However, being at New Hope fills that void and has helped instill rare qualities in my son that are hard to find in today's society: respect, unity, ambition, and compassion. Everyone here is our extended family and has treated us as such." Mrs. Janelle wears many hats at NHA. She is the office manager, registrar, medical technician, international student representative, host family contact, and more. She is always willing to answer any questions or provide assistance when needed. If she doesn't have the answer, she will find it!

Nicole Mehmedovich
Chief Operations Officer

Nicole Mehmedovich joined New Hope Academy as the Chief Operating Officer in June 2021. She grew up in France in a military family and came to America in September 1984. Her parents did not encourage her to pursue her education, thinking that she would get married, have children, and stay home like her mother, and great-grandmother. But upon arriving in the USA, Nicole discovered she could study evenings, weekends, and online. While having five children and a full-time job, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Database Technology from Strayer University, a M.S. in Technology Management and a CIO certificate in Federal Executive Competencies from UMUC, and an MBA in Information Systems from Strayer University. Though she says she could not have done it without a great husband on her side. She loves birding, martial arts and MMA (having two black belts and a brown belt in France), gardening, motorcycle riding, and learning new things. She hopes to be of great service to all the staff, teachers, and parents at New Hope Academy. Her favorite sentences: “The important thing is not to stop questioning” from Albert Einstein, and “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything” from Theodore Roosevelt.

Terri-Ann Polk
Accounting

Terri-Ann Polk is originally from Jamaica, started her career, while attending Antioch University, at Fortune 500 company Jone Lang LaSalle as property manager, and was promoted to operations manager after obtaining her bachelor's degree in Management. Shortly after getting married, Mrs. Polk moved to Del Rio, TX with her husband for his career. The move served as a catalyst for starting her career in school finance. In Del Rio, Mrs. Polk worked for the public school district as budget coordinator, managing a budget of over one hundred million dollars and supervising the budget department staff. In 2016 Mrs. Polk's husband's career afforded them the opportunity to move to Cincinnati, OH. In Cincinnati Mrs. Polk worked as payroll manager for 2 public school districts. Her spouse's career necessitated another move to the Washington DC area. Mrs Polk is an advocate for all things education and lifelong learning. She enjoys working in the business of schools, as it gives her the opportunity to serve and support the people that shape the future. She is driven by the quote of Horace Mann, the first president of her alma mater (often called the father of common school) "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

Aisha Faison
Math, Health, 11th and 12th Grade Homeroom, K-7th Grade Computer,

"Ms. Aisha" teaches Saxon Algebra 1/2, and Computer Technology, as well as the Golf elective. She also teaches LEGO and VEX robotics. She has been with NHA since 2006. This San Francisco native began coursework in math at U.C. Berkeley, then applied this skill to receive her Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at Tuskegee University. Her experience includes working as a project engineer for a local construction company: She managed construction for the Turkish Embassy and the U.S. Justice Data Center, as well as renovations to the Australian Embassy (among others).

Carlton Johnson
10th Grade Homeroom, 8-12th Grade English

Carlton Johnson teaches English Literature and Writing--8th through 12th grade. Born and raised in Richmond, Virgina, Mr. Johnson attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia; then on to Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology, with a focus on Comparative Religion. He taught English Language Arts and Social Science Electives for middle and high school for over 20 years, in Japan and Korea--before returning stateside to teach the same in Richmond Public Schools; then at Kirov Academy of Ballet, in DC. He is now beginning his first year here at New Hope Academy and looks forward to helping every student find and nurture a more and more creative and expressive voice with which to participate confidently (and "Leave The Plus" for Heaven's sake) in the global marketplace of ideas.

Kweli Bennet-Powell
9th Grade Homeroom, 8-12th Grade Science

Description coming soon.

Jalisa Hardy
8th Grade Homeroom, 8-12th Grade Social Studies

Jalisa Hardy is a doula, historian, artist, and educator originally from Alexandria, Virginia. Jalisa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Xavier University of Louisiana with a B.A. in History and a minor in Sociology then went on to pursue an M.A. in Latin American/Latinx Studies with a concentration in Black Studies at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Most of Jalisa’s teaching background is arts education, working with K-12 at both the New Orleans Museum of Art and Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago for the last 5 years. She also has experience teaching and lecturing undergraduate students at different universities in the South, Midwest, and East Coast. Jalisa has been a lifelong advocate for social justice and empowerment, and has most recently been doing work to provide childbirth education and accessible safer birthing options for Black and Indigenous expecting parents in the DMV as a full-spectrum doula. Ms. Hardy is excited to be teaching history at New Hope Academy this year and cannot wait to connect with everyone!

William Pointer
Algebra ½, 7th Grade

William Pointer is excited to be at New Hope Academy as the 7th grade teacher. Although recently joining New Hope Academy, he has been teaching for over 18 years in public schools in Detroit and Washington, DC. His interests include non-profit organizations, community building, sports, chess, and role playing games. He is looking forward to discovering the gifts uncovered throughout the year with his students and having them advocate for what is important to them.

Heather Daniel
Math Course 3, Health, and Cinema Culture

Heather Daniel teaches Math Course 3, Health, and Cinema Culture. She came to New Hope Academy in the fall of 2012 as a parent. Her daughter graduated from New Hope in 2021. Ms. Heather now has a child starting in Pre-K 3 this fall. She loves the atmosphere of the school and came on staff in the spring of 2013. Over the years, Heather has worked in many different areas of the school from office support staff, 6/7 grade teacher, math teacher and elective teacher. Heather earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from University of Minnesota - Bemidji. She has over 20 years experience working with young people. She is the previous owner of The Explore Program, which was a group home that taught independent living skills to at-risk youth. She is happy to be at New Hope and hopes to inspire our next generation of world leaders.

Beverly Berndt
Algebra 1, Gambia Project

Beverly Berndt teaches high school Algebra 1 as well as core subjects for the sixth grade. She was born in Massachusetts where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology at Northeastern University in Boston. Berndt has taught at NHA since 1990. She loves the school and had her four children also attend. "To me this is the greatest testimony to our school," she said, "that all the teachers want to have their own children here, because we know the quality of education they receive." Not only is "Mrs. Bev" a dedicated teacher, she deeply believes in helping others, a trait she instills in her students. With the support of the NHA families, staff, and principal, Mrs. Bev and her husband have developed "Side by Side in The Gambia," a service project in The Gambia, West Africa.

Vondale Mack
Fifth and Sixth Grade Teacher

Vondale Mack joined New Hope Academy as a substitute before becoming a teacher in January 2018. Vondale received her Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a Criminal Justice minor from Bowie State University. Vondale is passionate about childhood education and empowerment, and has worked for over 20 years providing wrap around services for youth and families who suffered trauma ranging from child abuse, sexual assault, bullying, domestic violence, and homicide. Her motto is learning should be both educational and fun.

Melissa Olsen
Third and Fourth Grade Teacher

Miss Olsen grew up in Texas and attended college in Florida before moving to Maryland where she taught for 25 years at a private school in Prince George's County. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Pensacola Christian College. She has a passion for reading and her desire is to instill a love of reading in all her students.

Justin Green
Second Grade Teacher

Justin Green comes with over 10 years of experience in Education. He graduated from North Carolina Central University with a degree in Recreation Administration and a minor in Business. Following college, he began to work at a Boys and Girls Club as a Group Leader/Teen Director. Soon after, he began his semi professional basketball career. He played in the ABA league for 4 years. Since ending his basketball career, he has furthered his educational background being a Teaching Assistant, as well as Site Director/Area Manager for before and after school programs. In his free time, he enjoys producing music/instrumentals, spending time with his family, and his dog Nina.

Karen Wilkening
First Grade Teacher

Karen Wilkening has taught kindergarten at NHA since 1992. She was born in Denver and spent most of her adolescent years in Kansas City, MO. Known to all as "Mrs. Karen," she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She continued her education receiving a Master's degree in Divinity with a focus on Education. Mrs. Karen is a founding member of NHA and has been on the Board of Directors since 1995. As a testament to NHA's solid academic curriculum, both her children attended NHA, and they now attend top universities. Mrs. Karen believes that Kindergarten is a foundational year and that NHA addresses the education of the whole child.

Hyejung Rika Betancourt
Pre-school Teacher

Hyejung Rika Betancourt is a teacher at heart from her experiences in being a mother of 3 children and sunday school teacher for her church community for a few years. As a preschool teacher, she is excited for this new path in life and learning opportunity to connect with others at New Hope Academy. She first started at New Hope Academy working during the 2021 summer program and offered the opportunity to work for the new school year 2021-2022. As a teacher and part of New Hope Academy staff, she is committed to creating a classroom and learning environment that is safe, fun, and open for all students. She is an positive advocate for all children to help them thrive, grow, and learn as they explore in school in all areas of their life with collaboration and teamwork of families.

Kim Dadachanji
Pre-school Teacher

Kim Dadachanji teaches the preschool class for 3 year olds. She joined NHA as a substitute before she began teaching preschool in 1996. She is a graduate of the University of Vermont, and she attained her bachelor's degree in elementary education from APEX, an innovative teacher education program for developing experiential education. "Mrs. Kim's" experience includes working at The Vicarage School of Montessori/KinderCare in Hamden, CT. The school's founders were Montessori teacher trainers, and Mrs. Kim was exposed to a variety of Montessori materials and training. Her knowledge enables her to provide a joyful environment that stimulates her student's innate sense of wonder and develops their enthusiasm to discover, learn, and grow.

Soo Jung Park
Korean Language 9-12G

Soo Jung Park has general erudition and intimate familiarity with both Korean and American cultures, having been proximate to both communities throughout the years of her life. For many years she taught Korean language and history and culture to non-Korean speaking students and helped them overcome the difficulty and fear of trying to learn Korean as their second language. She is very excited to be a new Korean language teacher at New Hope Academy to see her students learn Korean and experience Korean culture.

Dr. In Ku Marshall
Korean Language K-8G

When I left Korea almost 50 years ago to study in Germany I had a goal to promote Korean as a globally used language. A few years after I received my Ph.D. degree from Hamburg University, I began to teach Korean at Bochum University in Germany. In 1986 I moved to the United States with my family and began to teach Korean at New Hope Academy from 1991. While teaching at New Hope Academy, I focused on adapting Montessori’s language theory for teaching Korean as a foreign language and developed many hands-on teaching materials. In 1994, I joined Georgetown University as a Korean instructor in the department of East Asian languages and cultures. In my 22 years at Georgetown, I developed the Korean program into a Minor and offered more than 12 courses including ‘Studies on North Korea,’ and ‘Korean diaspora in Northeast Asia including Russia.’ Now I am returning to New Hope Academy as head of the Korean Program. In the process of promoting the Korean language, I recognized the importance of the Heritage Korean schools. For five years, I gave workshops to the Korean teachers in the Washington area on effective Korean language teaching. In addition, I developed the Korean language program at the Korean Cultural Center of the Korean Embassy in 1995. I developed their curriculum for levels I, II, and III, and taught in the program for almost ten years. The Korean language program at the Embassy continues today, with more than one hundred adult learners per session (they offer 5 sessions a year). Education: Ph.D. Hamburg University, in Comparative Education as major, Linguistics and German literature as minor in Germany B.A. Seoul National University, in German Language and Literature in Korea.

Luz Hughes
Spanish Language

Luz Hughes has been teaching Spanish to grades K-12 at NHA since 2005. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and minored in Liberal Arts from the University of the District of Columbia. She is a candidate for her Master's in Education & Language. Mrs. Hughes' experience includes teaching for eight years in PG County and six years in DC (Spanish and AP Spanish Language & Literature). She believes it is important to "connect with the students" in order for them to learn and appreciate what is being taught. She takes responsibility to mentor her students, hoping to impact their lives. Nominated by her students, Mrs. Hughes has been recognized in Who's Who for making a difference in the lives of children.

Jathan Wright
Computer & Information Technology

Jathan Wright teaches Computer Science to 8th grade and high school students, and also works as a hardware and software technician at NHA. He received his bachelor’s degree in Digital Media and Web Technology in May 2015, and became the official web designer for the Georgetown-Howard Universities Translational Biomedical Science Program in August 2015. Mr. Wright also knows graphic design, computer programming, video game programming, animation, and more. He is an alumni of NHA who graduated in December 2010 and is determined to help the school become the best that it can be.

Noelle Manfredi
Fine Art

Ms. Manfredi is a lifelong artist and learner. At a young age she taught herself how to draw through trial and error, drawing her favorite movie characters and relatives. Art was and continues to be her happy place, a time and place for self expression and reflection. She is now enjoying her fourth year of teaching art, and is very excited to teach middle and high school students for the first time at NHA. Ms. Manfredi graduated from VCUarts in May 2018, with a BFA in Kinetic Imaging. She focused on 2D animation and video production. In her spare time, Ms. Manfredi enjoys reading, gardening and exercising.

Joseph Jamaal
Music

Joseph Jamaal is a World-Class "Teaching Artist", who started his musical journey at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington D.C. (2002). As a Music Education/Performance Major at Howard University (2007), Mr. Joseph received the educational training and performance experience to share his knowledge and skills on a high level with people from all walks of life. Mr. Joseph has also served our country as an Army Bandsman from 2009-2012, since then he has consistently contributed to the community as a Private Music Instructor and Trumpeter teaching all brass instruments, beginner piano and performing at venues such as The Duke Theatre (NY 2017), The Kennedy Center (DC 2018) and Harlem Stage (NY 2019). Mr. Joseph is honored to have the opportunity to serve here at New Hope Academy and looks forward to sharing the gift of music with the entire community for many years to come.

Shaun Houston
Physical Education, 6th Grade Math

Shaun Houston has been an educator, athletic director, and coach for over 20 years. At New Hope Academy, he teaches Health, Physical Education, and Math. He is dedicated to teaching young people how to maintain healthy and fit lifestyles because of the importance it has on fitness levels, academic performance, and behavior. Coach Houston has taught at private, public, and charter schools throughout the region including DC Public Schools, Friendship Public Charter School, Prince George’s County Public Schools, Fusion Academy Private School, and Rock Creek Academy. He is regarded as consistently reliable by his colleagues, and professionally committed by parents and students. In addition to success in the classroom, Coach Houston’s leadership and organizational skills positioned him to manage the entire New Hope Academy sports program as a former athletic director. He also coached several sports including basketball, football, soccer and baseball. His success as a coach earned him Coach of the Year in 2001, 2003, and 2004. He continues to mentor former students who have gone on to play in competitive college sports programs, serve in the military, and begin their careers; all of whom attest that Coach Houston’s influence on their lives as an educator, coach, and role model have helped them to succeed. In his free time, Coach Houston enjoys spending time with his family, watching football, and he is an avid golfer.