Faculty & Staff

Jessica O’Kelly

Principal

Ms. Jessica O’Kelly, the Campus Director of NHA, comes from San Diego, California, USA. With a Master’s in Education and teaching licenses in Literature and ESL, she has worked in international education as a teacher and administrator for almost 20 years. Jessica is committed to providing all students with a quality education that will set them up for success in university and beyond.

Philip Massaro

XHQ Campus Director

Mr. Philip V. Massaro comes from Western New York and is the Campus Director of NHA, . He is also a certified English Literature teacher. Philip has been teaching at NHA since the fall of 2016. Prior to teaching for NHA, he worked for six years in South Korea as university lecturer and high school teacher. Philip is committed to making NHA a premier international high school in China.

Aneesa Jaffar

Math & Science’s Department Coordinatord; Science and Math Teacher

Ms. Aneesa Jaffar is a registered teacher from South Africa. She has worked in both the public and private sectors with more than 15 years experience in teaching. She has a Higher Diploma in Education (4HDE) and is certified to teach Physiscal Science, Life Science and English to High School students . She also has a Bachelors degree in English and Education as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education. Aneesa Jaffar is currently teaching Physics to Grade 10 and 12 students .

Cody Showalter

History Teacher

Mr. Cody Showalter comes to us from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. He has nearly a decade of teaching experience, and has taught students at every level from kindergarten through University in China and in South Korea prior to his time here. He has a bachelors degree in Political Science and is currently working on a Social Studies certification and Masters in International Education. Cody has been with NHA for 3 years and teaches 10th grade World History.

English Teacher

Mr David Babe teaches grade 11 ESL and American Literature at NHA. Prior to coming to China, he spent 8 years as an instructor at a national university in South Korea. He has a BA from Western University in Canada and an MA in TESL from St. Cloud State University.

 Derek Hamm

Math Teacher

Derek Hamm is from Texas,USA, but has been working in China for several years. He holds a degree in Mathmatics and his teaching license is from the state of Texas. Derek is an avid musician, and is very dedicated to helping students become successful.

Literature Teacher

Dr. Cavendish-Jones studied Classics at Oxford University and worked as an international lawyer before completing a PhD. in English Literature. Since then, he has taught and conducted research in schools and universities around the world, most recently in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and China. He teaches British and American literature to the year 11s and 12s.

Michael Hinds

Systems Data Coordinator and Math Teacher

Mr. Michael J. Hinds is a bilingual high school mathematics teacher from the US who has over 6 years of experience in education in both China and his home state of Arkansas, with a B.A. in Mathematics and teaching training through Teach-Now Graduate School of Education.

Liza Hayes

English Literature and ESL Teacher

“My name is Liza Hayes and I am from Los Angeles, California, in the USA. I have been teaching English Literature and ESL for over 10 years. I have had the pleasure to work in many exciting countries including France, The Czech Republic, South Korea, The UAE, and now China. I thoroughly enjoy interacting with my students and believe that all learners have the potential to achieve their educational goals.
My hobbies include watching movies, cooking, and reading.”

Maria Nieves

Science Teacher

Ms. Maria Nieves is a Science teacher, specialized in Biology and A.P. Biology. She was one of forty nine graduates in 2015 of Integrative Biology in the University of South Florida. She has been teaching for over 4 years, and she is interested in applied sciences and interdisciplinary integration.

 Michelle Hoffman

Drama Teacher

Michelle Hoffman has been working in the drama and theatre arts field for the past decade. She received her BA Honours degree in Drama and Theatre Arts in 2014 with a special focus on the benefits of improvisation in the classroom. She went on to complete her Masters degree in 2018. Hoffman has won numerous awards for directing and acting, including Best Free State Vrynge Production in 2016, Best Upcoming Young Artist in 2015 and Best Debut Production in 2014. She acknowledges the potential drama offers to develop students’ critical thinking abilities, teamwork skills and overall confidence. She is passionate about teaching and always aims to create an environment where students are encouraged to learn through exploration and creation.

Matthew Wilmore

US History Teacher

“I’m from the United States and have a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Kansas. I’ve been teaching for over six years and pride myself on making students feel comfortable participating in the classroom. I’m excited to continue my career in education at NHA.”

Nicholas Lambert

Economics and ESL Teacher

Mr. Nicholas Lambert is from Scotland. He has been a guitar teacher for over 9 years in the UK. He has worked in China for over 3 years, previously as an ESL and Music teacher in Guangzhou and as a marketer in Beijing. He holds a Diploma of Higher Education in Business, a BA honors degree in Marketing and a BA in Business Law from the University of Strathclyde and an MSc in Sports Management from the University of Stirling. Currently at NHA He teaches Grade 10 ESL and run the Music club, and I am very interested in entreprenuership, marketing and climate change. My Grade 10 students are currently learning about the UN Global goals as part of their ESL class. He is currently studying his PGCE which he will complete soon.

Peens Vernon Wayne

Math Teacher

Mr. Peens holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from North-West university from South Africa, where he also completed a postgraduate diploma in business management and TEFL certificate part-time. He has worked as an engineer in the largest gold mining company in South Africa as an engineer while teaching part-time physics and math to college students. In 2018 he started his teaching career in China, teaching various of subjects in the STEM field. He is passionate about electronics and in his spare time creating an online course to teach students and hobbyist electronics and DIY projects. He wishes to create an environment where students could grow emotionally, mentally, socially and physically. His interest includes vlogging, cycling and travelling.

Johnathan Manuel Alba

TU Campus Director

Mr. Alba-Li, is originally from Miami, Florida. He has a Juris Doctorate and is a member of the Florida Bar Association. Mr. Alba-Li has nearly a decade of educational experience. In his off time, he and his wife enjoy traveling and hiking together. Mr. Alba-Li is currently the Campus Director at TU.

Thomas Lennon

Science Teacher

Mr Lennon hails from Yorkshire, England and teaches Earth Science and Chemistry. Before working for NHA he had 6 years teaching experience in both English and Chinese schools. He has a degree in Forensic Biology from Teesside University and a TEFL certification.

Carol J Heeter

Humanities Department Coordinator and Literature Teacher

Carrie Heeter teaches high school literature, and comes from the US. She has been working in education as an ELA, ESL, and drama teacher for 8 years. Prior to teaching in China, she worked in South Korea as a university lecturer. She holds an MA TESOL and BA in Theater.

Kate Broadhurst

English Literature and ESL Teacher

Ms. Broadhurst comes from Staffordshire, England and is the teacher of Grade 8 ESL, Grade 10 ESL, Grade 11 ESL and Grade 8 ELA. Prior to working for NHA she had 5 years teaching experience in Jiangsu province and Shanghai. She has a BA Degree from Manchester Metropolitan University and TEFL Certification.

Sarah Lee

Social Studies Teacher

Hailing from the US, Ms. Lee is a certified teacher teaching Humanities at NHA. She has an extensive and diverse background in social sciences. As an international educator, Ms. Lee teaches with the aim to assist students in transferring knowledge to practical skills. Her personal motto is, if one is unable to use what they’ve learned, learning then becomes useless.

Born Zheng

Math & Science’s Department Coordinator and Science Teacher

Mr. Xiaojia (Born) Zheng serves as a science teacher here at HNA. After getting his medical degree in China, Mr. Zheng went to the US for further study in biomedical science and published two papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Besides his extensive knowledge and experience in natural science, Mr. Zheng also held a master degree in religion and philosophy. After twelve years of studying and working in the US, Mr. Zheng came back to China in 2016 and started to teach various science subjects, such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, etc.

Stan Xiang

Math Teacher

I’m Stan Xiang, the Math, Statistics and Physics teacher in NHA. I’m graduated from ECNU with a major of Physics. I’ve been teaching math for over 6 years. As a member of the host national faculty, I’m familair with the math curriculum of both local schools and American Common Core. I’m glad to optimize the Math learning process by combining the advantages in comprehending math of two different cultures. I also prefer to introduce technology into my classroom. As I said, “Math is the language of Nature itself”. I would like to help my students have a deeper insight of our living world by learning Math and Physics.

Vicky Zhang

Chinese Teacher

Graduated in 2010 and have been teaching for more than nine years. Good at logic, analysis, and with clear organization. Enjoy music, movies, traveling around, and get to know different people, places and culture. While teaching, focus more on improving students’ ability, for example: logic, creation, organization, etc.

Mr Li

PE & Homeroom Teacher

Mr.Li works as a P.E and Homeroom teacher in NHA. He has joined the NHA family since 2017 and equipped with rich teaching experience. He is good at basketball, taekwondo and organising a great number of high school students’ activities and keen to contribute himself to help and improve every student.

Igor Zhang

TOEFL and Homeroom Teacher

Mr. Zhang is homeroom teacher working in NHA since 2017, and he worked in international education for more than thirteen years. With rich experience in class and students management, he has helped more than three hundred students enter colleges of their choices.

Krystal Xu

TOEFL and Homeroom Teacher

My name is Krystal.I have been working as a homework teacher in NHA since 2017 and equipped with rich teaching experience. I am cheerful, good at communication, and my greatest advantage is very patient, I am very good at guiding students to study.

Ryan Song

TOEFL and Homeroom Teacher

My name is Ryan. I graduated in Shanghai International Studies University with a bachelor degree in English. I teach TOEFL in NHA, and I have been teaching English for nearly half a decade. I enjoy working with students and seeing them grow and enter their dream universities. I’m also a homeroom teacher who helps students in various ways and works as a bridge between the school and parents.