News & Events

Our newest faculty members have officially been welcomed into the Norfolk Academy family!

Ahead of Opening Meetings on August 20, the group received three days of orientation when they learned about our Honor System, technology, and more. They were also able to tour campus and meet many of their new colleagues.

Here are the teachers and staff joining our family for 2023-24:

Abbey Carrezola, Fourth Grade Teacher
B.A., M.A. Rutgers University

After graduating from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education in 2014, Mrs. Carrezola began her career at a K-6 school in New Jersey. She taught students with disabilities in grades four and five, as well as fourth grade in the general education setting. She also coached middle school softball and basketball. While an undergraduate student, she pitched for the Rutgers softball team.

Melissa Carrillo, Middle and Upper School Spanish
B.A., Winston-Salem State University

In 2020, Ms. Carrillo moved from California to Virginia to start her career as an educator. She has taught all levels of Spanish.

Emma Chandler '11, Upper School Math
B.S., M. Ed., University of Mary Washington
Ed.S., Old Dominion University

Mrs. Chandler taught for eight years at Virginia Beach's Ocean Lakes High School in the Math and Science Academy before returning to Norfolk Academy.

Heather Duke, Lower School Guidance Counselor
B.S., University of Georgia
M.A. & Ed.S., University of Alabama

Ms. Duke earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia in psychology and child and family development. After graduation she attended Alabama, where she earned a master's degree in school psychometry and an educational specialist degree in school psychology while serving as a research assistant for the counseling department. For the past 13 years, she has served as a school psychologist in public schools, including Gwinnett County Public Schools and most recently, Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

Emily Feeney, Lower School Latin
B.A., B.S., University of Vermont

Ms. Feeney studied Latin, classical civilizations, and secondary education at the University of Vermont and student taught at South Burlington High School. She is a member of the classical collegiate honors society Eta Sigma Phi.

Patrick Fernando '93, Lower School Teaching Associate
B.S., Davidson College

After college, Mr. Fernando worked at Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center with children and adolescents and was an assistant cross country and track coach at Norfolk Academy under Head Coach Ken Lampert '72. He then attended medical school and did bench research in Neonatology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for almost a decade before returning to NA. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he coaches in the cross country and track programs.

Hunter Gibson '11, Lower School Teaching Associate
B.A., Hampden-Sydney College
M.A., George Washington University

After graduating from Norfolk Academy, Mr. Gibson studied History and Latin American Studies at Hampden-Sydney College, graduating as salutatorian in 2015. He was also a four-year member of the golf team. In 2016, he moved to the Washington D.C. area. From 2016 until 2024, he worked as an intelligence analyst supporting the federal government as a contractor. During this time, he was a volunteer assistant coach for JV lacrosse at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia. In 2024, he graduated from George Washington University with an M.A. in Latin American and Hemispheric Studies.

Lyzzie Holloway, Upper School English
B.A., College of William & Mary
M.F.A., Old Dominion University

Ms. Holloway's love of reading began when she was first held a book (her mother swears her first word was book) and persists to this day. After taking many creative writing classes at William and Mary, she decided to pursue her Master's in Fiction Writing at Old Dominion, where she also discovered a love for teaching. Before coming to Norfolk Academy, she taught and tutored ODU students in college-level academic and research writing for seven years, earning an Adjunct Teaching Award in 2023. In her free time, she tinkers with her Young Adult sci-fi/fantasy novel, which was also her graduate thesis project.

Natalie Kanter, Fifth Grade Teacher
B.A., University of Georgia
M.T., University of Virginia

Born and raised in Norfolk, Miss Kanter received her undergraduate degree from Georgia. After working in Washington, D.C. for two years, she returned to school at UVA, earning a master's in teaching. She taught fifth grade at Virginia Beach's Pembroke Elementary for three years before joining the faculty at Norfolk Academy.

Ashlyn Kemp, Third Grade Teacher
B.S., Longwood University
M.Ed., Old Dominion University

Ms. Kemp began her teaching career in 2017, working with Title 1 students in the South Norfolk area of Chesapeake. During her time with Chesapeake City Public Schools, she taught at both the elementary and middle school levels, working with several grades. After the pandemic, she transitioned to Virginia Beach Public Schools, where she taught in grades 7, 8, and 9. Her primary focus has been English Language Arts, with a particular emphasis on helping students reach their full writing potential.

Katherine Koch, Lower School Teaching Associate
B.A., Middlebury College

Ms. Koch graduated in 2023 from Middlebury College, where she studied Psychology, Education, and Anthropology. Her college summers were spent beach lifeguarding, co-founding a virtual youth mentorship program to alleviate impacts of Covid-19, instructing history with a study abroad program in The Bahamas, and leading middle school wilderness trips in California. She joins NA after a year in Boston, where she worked in travel and for a nonprofit focused on introducing inner-city youth to outdoor recreation.

Heather Larrabee, Admissions Associate
B.A., Trinity College
M.Ed., Lesley University

Mrs. Larrabee taught third grade for many years and then became the Reading Specialist at National Presbyterian School for grades 3-6. After relocating to Philadelphia, she served as the Middle School Learning Specialist at Penn Charter School and was a member of the Middle School Admissions committee. 

Megan McKittrick, Upper School English
B.A., California State University, Fresno
M.A., Ph.D., Old Dominion University

A native Californian, Dr. McKittrick graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English from California State-Fresno, where she served as a tutor in the University Writing Center. She graduated with distinction with a Master of Arts in English at Old Dominion and joined the Department of English as a full-time lecturer, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in the MBA program, the Game Studies & Design program, and the Honors College, as well as courses in English. During this time, she completed the Ph.D. in English program at Old Dominion, researching interdisciplinary interest in dialogic communication in the form of climate change games, which emerge from related disciplines such as technical communication, urban planning, modeling and simulation, and game studies. She then served as a technical writer and editor at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls, supporting a team of engineers through the development of technical documents and technical writing training.

Robyn Sanders, First Grade Teacher
B.S., University of Virginia

Ms. Sanders graduated from UVA in 2022. Following graduation, she joined Teach for America, through which she moved to Greensboro, NC, and taught first grade for two years before moving to Hampton Roads.

Rachel Thompson, Upper School Spanish
B.A., St. Louis University, Madrid
M.F.A., Vermont College of Fine Arts

Mrs. Thompson graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Spanish Philology and English Literature from St. Louis University in Madrid, Spain, and later received an M.F.A. in Writing and Translation from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She spent 19 years with Virginia Beach City Public Schools, first as an IB Spanish teacher, and later in the Office of Family and Community Engagement, where her work centered on language access and connecting multilingual families with support and resources. She was recognized as the 2020 Virginia Beach Citywide and Virginia Region 2 Teacher of the Year as well as the 2021 FLAVA Virginia State World Languages Teacher of the Year. Outside of the classroom, she is a board member for Seven Cities Writers Program, which brings writing workshops to underserved communities.

Erin Winn, First Grade Teacher
MAT, Christopher Newport University
B.S., Radford University

Before joining the faculty at Norfolk Academy, Mrs. Winn taught at Ocean View Elementary, a Title I school within the Norfolk Public School system.

Gloria Brenton '86, Receptionist

Ms. Brenton worked in Patient Accounting at CHKD for 13 years.

Teresa Gravely, Applications and Data Systems Analyst
B.S., Norfolk State University

Tory Slade, Audio Visual Coordinator and Theater Manager
B.S., Hampton University

Mr. Slade joined the Norfolk Academy family in the middle of 2023-24, working within the IT Services and Fine Arts departments. He has been involved in performing and managing music since his teenage years when he worked in recording studios, eventually leading him to study audio engineering at Hampton University. He spent a large portion of his professional career supporting music ministries in churches around the Hampton Roads region. He also worked as a media and event specialist at Tidewater Community College and most recently operated Tory Slade Media Company as a solo entrepreneur with numerous clients for audio engineering, live streaming, music performances, and audio recording and editing.