School Directory

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Name:
Title: Administrative Assistant

Name: Holly Baker
Title: MS Drama Teacher

Profile

Holly was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Kokomo, Indiana. She studied theater at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and then went on to appear in many television shows " in the 80's" in Los Angeles. She holds a BA from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa where she double majored in Drama and Psychology, with a focus on NeuroScience. Holly made her broadway debut in RENT at the Nederlander Theater in NYC in 2007. She serves on the board of Waimea Community Theater. Holly is part Native American and is a Traditional dancer at Pow-wow's. She is married to Joe Baker and has two children.

Name:
Title: Network Administrator

Name: Bob Bonar
Title: Director of Advancement

Profile

Bob Bonar joins Hualalai Academy as our Director of Advancement, overseeing our development, communications, and admissions activities. Previously, he worked for four years at Hawaii Preparatory Academy where he served as the Director of Development and the liaison to the HPA 'Ohana Association. At HPA Bob provided key leadership in tripling the annual giving over a three year period, as well as attracting pledges of $10 million for capital projects. Before that, Bob served on the board of directors of ‘Ohana Association for four years, two as president.

Bob possesses a broad background in program and organizational development. He served as the Executive Director of Hawaii Youth Services Network, a coalition of over 45 non-profit organizations serving children, youth, and families. At Marimed Foundation, he developed the Ocean Skills and Education Program and the Kailana Program. He also assisted in the development of Kahi Mohala Hospital, as the Unit Coordinator for the Children's Psychiatric Inpatient Program. Bob grew up in Manoa Valley on the Island of Oahu and graduated from Punahou School. He has a masters degree from the University of Hawaii in Educational Psychology. Bob lives in Waimea with his wife of 22 years, Shelby Anne Floyd, an attorney with the firm of Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing. Bob and Shelby are the parents of Nick, age 28 and Kiko, age 20.

Name: Sue Boyum
Title: Performing Arts K-12

Profile

Since moving to Kona six years ago Sue has been very involved in the arts community. She started the award winning Performing Arts at Innovations Public Charter School where she introduced their FAME (Fine Arts Mentorship Experience) program which most recently produced "The Music Man Jr" at the Aloha Theatre. In the community she works with the Kona Music Society co-directing the Youth Chorus as well as preparing West Hawaii vocal students for All State Honor Choir. You've also likely seen Sue on the stage or her work behind the scenes with the Aloha Performing Arts Company. Most recently Sue directed "Alice in Wonderland, Jr.". Sue is very excited to share her knowledge and passion for the arts with the students of Hualalai Academy. She will be working closely with the elementary teachers and plans to incorporate their units of study into song, dance and drama for deeper meaning and to help her students see how everything is connected. In addition she'll work along with Holly Baker developing a theatre program for the middle and high school students culminating in a main stage show!

Name:
Title: Business Office

Name:
Title: Visual Arts K-12

Profile

Hadley graduated with a B.F.A. in Photojournalism from Emerson College in Boston and has been working as a photojournalist for island newspapers since arriving on the island shortly after graduation in 2004. Originally on in-house staff at the Hawaii Island Journal, Hadley took four months to volunteer as an English teacher in Thailand for primary school children. Upon her return to the Big Island she began her freelance photojournalism career. She began working at Hualalai Academy last March.

Name:
Title: Kindergarten/K-5 Coordinator
Website

Profile

Linda is from New Jersey with an Early Childhood Degree from Glassboro State College and a professional certificate from the University of Hawaii. She has thirty-eight years of teaching experience on the Big Island, thirty-two in Kindergarten. Linda was awarded "Teacher of the Year" by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. She is Chairman of grades K-5 and a member of the professional organization, Delta Kappa Gamma.

Name:
Title: Physical Education K-5
Website

Profile

Sally is originally from the East Coast but spent sixteen years teaching in Canada and five years in California before making Kona her permanent home over eight years ago. She did her undergraduate work at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and received her Masters in Comparative Literature from University of California at Berkeley.

Name:
Title: School Secretary

Name:
Title: MS/HS Math and Science
Website

Profile

Donna has lived on both the East and West coast of the USA, but has resided on the Big Island since 1984. She is both a teacher and a professional biologist. Donna has accumulated over 13 years of diverse teaching experience including classroom teaching, home school, and field classes both on and in the ocean. She also has over 11 years of experience as an aquaculture biologist. Donna has a B.A in Experimental Psychology from the Univ. of Calif. at San Diego and a Masters of Science in Zoology form the Univ. of Rhode Island. She is an avid swimmer, SCUBA diver, outrigger canoe paddler and photographer.

Name: Chad Harberd
Title: MS English
Website

Profile

Chad was born and raised in Idaho and is a graduate of The University of Montana. After receiving a degree in Elementary Education, he has taught in both Colorado and Montana. In his spare time, Chad enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, reading, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Name:
Title: First Grade
Website

Profile

Sarah graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine. She also has a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from U.C. Irvine and is in the process of acquiring her Masters of Arts in Teaching. She has experience teaching at the First Grade level and taught most recently at the Edison McNair Academy in Palo Alto, California.

Name:
Title: Hawaiian Studies

Profile

Ulalia has taught Hawaiian studies at many of the Department of Education schools in West Hawaii from 1978 to 2008. She joined Hualalai Academy in 2007 to teach Hawaiian Studies to grades K - 8. This year she coordinated our May Day program with a Royal Court, attendants, and hula performances.

Name:
Title: MS/HS Math and Science
Website

Profile

John was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in California. He received his BA in History from Baylor University and completed a Master of Education degree at Portland State University. He is credentialed to teach Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Social Studies. John has taught high school math and science for the past 17 years, including three years at Mont Kiara International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Name:
Title: Athletic Director/College Counselor

Profile

Georg received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Hawaii and a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University. He taught health education and physical education at Mid-Pacific Institute on Oahu for over 25 years, as well as coaching various sports. He works part time as a domestic violence/anger management counselor for child and family services on Oahu. Georg is an avid bicyclist, kayaker, swimmer, hiker, and skier.

Name:
Title: MS/HS English
Website

Profile

Greg was born in Southeast Missouri and graduated from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico where he mastered an interdisciplinary curriculum based on the Great Books of Western Civilization. He moved to Hawaii from Karatsu, Japan where he ran an English School. He and his wife, Kumiko, are expecting their first child.

Name:
Title: Head of School

Profile

Kate has her B.A. in English from Dartmouth College and her EdM. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has been an independent school teacher and administrator for over 20 years in Hawaii, California, Alaska and Nevada, including three years at HPA from 1986-1989. Her most recent posts before coming to Haualalai Academy have been as the Head of Middle School at the Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas, and Head of School at Pacific Northern Academy in Anchorage, Alaska.

Name: Jennifer Petersen
Title: Second Grade

Profile

Jennifer Peterson joins Hualalai Academy as their Second Grade Teacher. Jennifer graduated from California State University with a multiple subject teaching credential. She has recently been teaching at Sierra Vista Elementary School in Southern California where she taught 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades. Jennifer was the lead teacher in professional development in the areas of math, technology, and a special teaching strategy called GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Development). She was also chosen as the only teacher at her school to receive the "Classroom of the Future," title, with her technology based classroom. During the summer, Jennifer worked at a hands on, science based summer camp where she learned innovative new science ideas to bring into her classroom.

Being chosen as a teacher at Hualalai Academy is an honor for Jennifer. She is ecstatic about sharing her excitement and passion for learning with her students.

Name:
Title: Fourth Grade/Webmaster
Website

Profile

Pat has been a professional educator for over 30 years in Washington and Hawaii. She received her B.A and Masters from the University of Washington. She earned her Administrative Credentials from Western Washington University. Pat has an extensive technology background and was an Apple Classroom of Tomorrow educator. She also collaborated on and received a TLCF Grant and a SmartBoard Grant. She moved to Kona with her family in 1997. Pat designed the original Hualalai Academy web sites, is our webmaster, and was in charge of the creation of our new Hualalai Academy web site.

Name:
Title: Third Grade
Website

Profile

Dan is originally from Cleveland, Ohio with a life credential in Elementary Education from S.F. State University. Dan received his B.A. from the College of Wooster, Ohio. He has over thirty-three years of teaching experience, fifteen of them on the Big Island. He was an Apple Classroom of Tomorrow teacher. Dan is one of our resident computer and high tech specialists. He teaches the Hawaiian Studies Program to third graders, and is in charge of the school garden. His interests are reading, baseball, nature and reading about baseball and nature.

Name:
Title: Sixth Grade Science/Academic Dean/Schools of the Future Student Project Coordinator

Profile

Marc received his B. A. in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado, Boulder and his EdM from the University of Phoenix. He has worked at Hualalai Academy since 2002, first as the Second Grade Teacher and then moving into administration as Dean of Instruction in 2005. He has many interests that he brings to his teaching and administrative responsibilities including the arts, swimming, cooking, and, most recently, robotics. Both of his daughters are alumni of Hualalai Academy.

Name:
Title: Sixth Grade Language Arts/Advancement Associate

Profile

Elizabeth Sharma is a graduate of Northern Arizona University. She has a degree in Elementary Education with an Early Childhood Endorsement from the state of Arizona. She likes to emphasize hands-on learning while also incorporating traditional aspects of education. Recently she was awarded a 2007 Financial Literacy Grant from ING Direct for her work with teaching children about money and accounting.

Name:
Title: Librarian

Profile

PROFILE COMING SOON

Name:
Title: HS Math
Website

Profile

Eric taught math for over twenty-five years for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. He received his A.A. degree from Brigham Young University and his B.A. from S.F. State University and a California Life Credential in Education. He has had a home in Kona for years and is originally from Apia, Western Samoa and is married with three children.

Name:
Title: MS Physical Education and Health/After School Coordinator
Website

Profile

Bonnie is originally from San Diego, California. She attended El Camino Junior College and has taken courses in education with the University of California, Berkeley, overseas extension program and the University of Hilo Community College. She is currently a full time student with The University of Ashford. Bonnie has been working for Hualalai Academy for eight years. She teaches physical education, health, and human anatomy. She is also the Director of the After-School Program.

Name:
Title: Chief Financial Officer and MS/HS Math
Website

Profile

Rick received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.A. from the University of Iowa. He has been actively involved with Hualalai Academy for 10 years, as a parent of a 9th grader that started in Kindergarten and as a past President of the Board of Directors.

Name:
Title: 4-12 Spanish and Social Studies
Website

Profile

Nastia graduated with a BA in Sociology from the University of Nanterre in Paris, France. She has been teaching French and Spanish since 1993 on the mainland and the Big Island.

Name:
Title: Fifth Grade
Website

Profile

Matt is an experienced, certified teacher from California, where he taught at Edison McNair Academy in East Palo Alto since 2001. From 2001-2007, he taught in a self-contained fifth grade classroom. In 2007-2008 he was the lead teacher on a sixth grade team. Matt has been a long-time member of the Hualalai Ohana - he is the son of Founding Head of School Felicity Johnson. In fact, he started his educational career at Hualalai Academy in 1994 as a math and PE teacher. He also coaches competitive soccer.

Name:
Title: MS Math, Social Studies, and English
Website

Profile

Scott received his B.A. in English & Psychology from California Lutheran University and then earned a CLAD teaching credential for 6-12 grades. He taught middle school in southern California.

Name:
Title: MS/HS Social Studies
Website

Profile

Adrienne is originally from Oxford, Ohio. She holds a BA in Political Science and a MAT in Secondary Social Studies Education from Miami University. Adrienne has lived in Luxembourg and Australia. She loves to travel and spend time with her family in Ohio, Canada, Wisconsin and Hawaii.