Department Directory

Faculty & Staff

We are extremely proud of our faculty and staff at Virginia Beach Friends School. They represent the "soul of our school." Enjoy this quote from Robert Lawrence Smith's A Quaker Book of Wisdom.

"A school can educate in ways in which its curriculum cannot. It's the soul of a school-its intangible persona, its character, its principles, its daily life over time, the impressions it makes, the efforts it inspires and the moral authority it possesses-that helps mold a child into an educated, assured, humane and caring adult. It takes a school-not just bricks and books-to educate a child."

Each staff member excels in his or her field of study and more than one-third of our faculty have advanced degrees. The Quaker values of equality, simplicity, harmony and community are embedded in the Friends School curriculum which strives to fuse academic excellence and creative expression.

Administration

Ed Hollinger	Head of School	edfriends-school.org
Linda Serrette	Assistant Head of School	tlindasfriends-school.org
Lauren Keim	Advancement Coordinator	tlaurenfriends-school.org
Eileen Vernon	Advancement Officer	teileenfriends-school.org
Jacquie Whitt	Director of Admissions	tjacquiefriends-school.org
Linda Easmunt	Business Manager	tlindaefriends-school.org
Andy Young	Middle School and Upper School Counselor	tandyfriends-school.org
	Receptionist	friends-school.org
Barbara Kelly	Librarian	tbarbarafriends-school.org

Early School

Frances Eich	Early Childhood Teacher	tfrancesfriends-school.org
Sue Nelson	Pre-K Teacher	tsuefriends-school.org
	Pre-K Assistant	friends-school.org
	Kindergarten Teacher	friends-school.org
Lindsay Skeen	Kindergarten Assistant	tlindsayfriends-school.org
Vicki Cronister	Early School Assistant	tvickifriends-school.org
Cathy Herman	Early School Assistant
		afriends-school.org
	Early School Spanish	friends-school.org
Jo Thiele	Head of Music Dept.	tjofriends-school.org
James O'Connor	Head of Art Department	tjamesfriends-school.org

Lower School

Colleen Kane	First Grade Teacher
Megan Murphy	Second Grade Teacher	tmeganfriends-school.org
Nancy Craft	Administrative Assistant, Quaker Studies Teacher	tnancyfriends-school.org
Dafna Sonnenthal	Third Grade Teacher	tdafnafriends-school.org
Lisa Edwards	Fourth Grade Teacher	tlisaefriends-school.org
Linda Serrette	Fifth Grade Teacher and Assistant Head of School	tlindasfriends-school.org
	Lower School Spanish	friends-school.org
Jo Thiele	Head of Music Department	tjofriends-school.org
James O'Connor	Head of Art Department	tjamesfriends-school.org
	Physical Education Teacher

Middle School

Linda Lexier	MS Literature/Language Arts and Cooking	tlindafriends-school.org
Steve Tyler	MS Science and Math	tstevefriends-school.org
Caitlin Littlefield	MS & US Social Studies	tcaitlinfriends-school.org
	Athletics/Health Teacher	friends-school.org
Jeff Winiker	Technology Director, Computer Science Teacher	tjefffriends-school.org
James O'Connor	Head of Art Department	tjamesfriends-school.org
Jo Thiele	Head of Music Department	tjofriends-school.org
Liana Fleming	MS Spanish	tlianafriends-school.org

Upper School

Barb Podkowka	US English Teacher	tbarbfriends-school.org
Bernice Helgren	US Quaker Studies/Workshops Teacher	tbernicefriends-school.org
Elizabeth Wantz	US Spanish Teacher	afriends-school.org
Carrie Snyder	US Science Teacher	tcarriefriends-school.org
Beverly Roberts	Director Admissions & US Athletics	tbevfriends-school.org
Daniel Grondin	US Government	tdannyfriends-school.org
Donna Simone	US Mathematics	tdonnafriends-school.org
Jeff Winiker	Technology Director, Computer Science Teacher	tjefffriends-school.org
James O'Connor	Head of Art Department	tjamesfriends-school.org