Faculty & Staff Directory

Barbara Kester

Assistant to the Director of the Upper School
321-422-0217

Barbara Kester came to The Geneva School in 2013 and currently serves as assistant to the director of the upper school. She is grateful to be part of the Geneva team and enjoys helping the teachers and students become fruitful in all they do.

Her previous experience includes twelve years as administrative assistant in a local church and private Christian school. Barbara also educated her children at home for thirteen years prior to their enrollment in The Geneva School.

Barbara and her husband Kelly married in 1992 and have three children, Michael ’13, Anna ’15, and Marcus ’18. They love being a part of Metro Life Church where they have enjoyed serving the Lord in a variety of ways for many years.

Karen Koestner

First Grade Aide

During her twin girls kindergarten year (2015–2016), Karen told the wonderful teacher’s aide that she either needed to enroll in kindergarten with her children or work for the school. She is thrilled to have been a part of the Geneva team since 2016 … serving now as a first grade aide! She may not be enrolled in classes but she has learned so much from her girls and hopes to continue to learn through them.

Karen grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Montclair State University. After having moved all around Florida, gotten married, moved to Arizona, she is now back again … to stay! Her travels have allowed her to be a mortgage broker, a closing specialist for a residential home builder, a receptionist at an animal hospital, a preschool assistant, a lunch aide and receptionist at TGS, and now a teacher’s aide.

Karen loves to hang out with her precious twins, especially taking them to Disney and watching them be silly. She also love crafting, creating, and reading.

Jill Kong

Registrar / Assistant to the Chaplain
321-422-0223

Jill Kong became part of The Geneva School parent community in 2004 and joined The Geneva School staff as the registrar and assistant to the dean of students in June of 2007. She loves coming to work each day and serving the students with her student services team. Jill has been married to Dave since 1986 and they have two daughters and a son-in law; Jade (TGS Class of 2014) currently in graduate school in Kentucky, and Jordan (TGS Class of 2008) and Marques Kyles who reside in South Carolina. Her life would not be complete without her two rescued dogs, Gage and Fenway. She spent many years homeschooling her daughters and while never regretting those years she has seen what a blessing Geneva has been to her family and is thrilled that the Lord led them here.

Jill is health-conscious and enjoys eating well, walking, and exercising. She is the only “non-athlete” in her family but enjoys attending sporting events and is a huge Red Sox fan. She also loves listening to contemporary praise and worship music, reading, and travel.

Angela Konieczny

K4 Teacher

Angela came to Geneva in 2017. She worked for a year as a kindergarten and first grade aide before joining Lorrie Stewart as a K4 teacher in 2018. Angela graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a double major in early childhood and elementary education. She taught first grade at a Christian school in Kansas before stepping away from the classroom to classically home school four children for eighteen years. During this time she accepted various teaching opportunities including Classical Conversations director/teacher for four years and Cedar Falls Bible Conference preschool director/teacher for fourteen years. Angela also organized and led practicums in classical education for parents homeschooling with Classical Conversations including logic, debate, public speaking, reasoning, researching, writing, and communication. Angela is passionate about Christian classical education and equipping children to become lifelong learners.

Angela has been involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship for many years. She led a three week educational and evangelistic conferences in the Caribbean in 2015 and trained over 150 teachers and hundreds of children. She has also trained CEF national directors to replicate the educational outreach methodology.

Angela has been married to her husband David since 1991. Together, they have four beautiful children: Caleb, Noelle, Daniel, and Hannah (TGS Class of 2019). They moved to Florida in 2013 and are enjoying the playground of white sandy beaches and aqua blue waters. As a family, they enjoy road trips and exploring God’s creation. During these trips, they visit National Parks, zoos, history and art museums, and places of historical significance.

Edgar Lane

Facilities Manager Lower School
321-422-0238

Edgar Lane has served as Geneva’s faculties manager since 2005. He works behind the scenes to ensure that both campuses are clean and safe every days for students, faculty, and staff.

Edgar has a BS in Business Administration from Presbyterian College and worked for thirty-five years in operations before retiring from full-time employment.

When not at Geneva, either working or watching athletic events, Edgar enjoys off shore fishing, yard work, and hanging out with his granddaughters.

Sharon Leigh

Accounting Assistant / Purchasing Coordinator
321-422-0226

Sharon Leigh came to Geneva in 2003 and works as the accounting assistant and purchasing coordinator. She grew up in Nebraska but has now lived in Florida since 1967.

Sharon and her husband Dick, a local attorney, have two grown daughters. They are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oviedo where Dick is an elder and Sharon serves as the business manager. They love to travel—especially cruises. Sharon likes to read, scrapbook, and make greeting cards.

Jill Lewis

First Grade Teacher

Jill Lewis joined The Geneva School in 2007. She attended Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and later earned a BS in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University where she gained experience teaching kindergarten and second grade. Jill substitute-taught primary grades and special needs classes for a year in the Orange County School System before joining the Geneva faculty as the second grade aide. An opening for a first grade teacher led Jill to join the first grade team in 2008. “I love seeing life and learning through the eyes of six- and seven-year-olds. It is a joy to wake up each day and have the opportunity to guide, teach, and nurture these precious young ones.”

Jill married her husband Bryan in 1994 and cherished their twenty-three years of marriage together before Bryan was called home in April 2017. She attends First Baptist Church of Orlando and is involved with her small group and the widows ministry. In her free time, Jill enjoys watching college football, spending time with her friends, visiting her family in Georgia, biking, and entertaining her spunky Yorkie Scout.

Katie Lynn Lockhart

Second Grade Teacher

Katie Lynn Lockhart joined the Geneva community as a second grade teacher in 2015. She loves the Christian classical curriculum and cherishes the relationships she has with each one of her second grade students. She very much enjoys being in a community where she can read God’s word, share the gospel, and pray with her students, as well as the faculty and staff. She has a passion for sharing the love of Christ with others and helping them to see their identity and worth in Jesus Christ.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Katie Lynn traveled down to Georgia to earn her BA in Elementary Education at Covenant College. While at Covenant, Katie Lynn grew in her passion for Christ as well as her love for teaching. She is grateful for the diverse teaching experiences she had while in college and learned much from her field work in fourth grade and kindergarten.

In 2012, Katie Lynn spent the summer at Orangewood Church in Maitland as the children’s ministry intern. She returned to Orlando in October 2014 and substituted in both private and public schools for the remainder of that school year. She spent the summer of 2015 working as part of the leadership staff for the K–12 summer camps at St. Peter’s Church in Lake Mary. Katie Lynn currently attends Faith Baptist Church. 

Katie Lynn takes pleasure in reading and traveling. She recently got married in June of 2019 and is looking forward to lots of fun adventures with her wonderful husband, Mark! 

Courtney MacArthur

Sixth Grade Teacher

Courtney MacArthur joining the sixth grade teaching team in 2019. She graduated from Grove City College, PA, where she received a BA in Biblical and Religious Studies and minors in Christian classical education, philosophy, and history. 

Courtney grew up in the Detroit area where she attended Bloomfield Christian School, a Christian classical school, kindergarten through twelfth grade. In college, she worked for Grove City’s admissions office, residence life program, and art gallery. She also served as the chaplain of her women’s ministry and the rugby team. In the summers, she worked as a camp counselor. 

Courtney has three younger siblings and loves traveling, being outside, and anything that involves discussing big ideas. 

Barbara Mansfield

Grammar School Music Teacher

Barbara Mansfield joined the music faculty at Geneva in 2019. She is a national board-certified teacher (music/early and middle childhood) and, after starting her teaching career in Dayton, OH, has taught elementary music in Manatee County, FL, for seventeen years.

Barbara received her bachelor’s degree in music education from The Ohio State University and her master’s in music education from Florida State University. She has also earned certifications in Kodaly, Orff-Schulwerk, and World Music Drumming.

Barbara has directed the Manatee County Elementary Music Festival Chorus in 2007, 2013, and 2016. She has had students selected for the Florida All-State Elementary Chorus since 2006. In 2018, she was selected to direct the first North Regional Chorus as part of the Florida Elementary Music Educators Association. She has also served on the board of FEMEA as District 2 chair. You may have read her articles published in Florida Music Director, entitled “Teaching Children to Sing” and “Building Blocks to a Successful Music Program.”

Barbara lives with her husband, Mark, in Winter Garden and attends Pine Ridge Church. Besides being the mother of two sons, Chris and Daniel, she is also grandmother to Luke and Noah, who live in Brooklyn, NY. Outside of the music classroom, Barbara loves to walk, and her favorite place is on the beach at sunset.

Anna Manuel

Third Grade Aide

Anna Manuel has worked as Geneva’s third grade aide since 2006. She loves her eight and nine year olds and enjoys their innocence and their enthusiasm to learn new things. She readily admits that she has a shoe fetish, and her third graders watch eagerly every morning to see which pair she will be wearing today.

Anna and her husband David have two children, Austin (TGS Class of 2016 – Oglethorpe University and playing baseball) and Ashlyn (TGS Class of 2018 – Montreat College). She loves to cheer them on at the baseball field, volleyball court, and softball mound. Anna volunteers with Will Work for Kids, an organization that helps fund extra curricula activities for kids. She loves country music, working out, and, of course, shopping for shoes!

Hollie Mariniello

Drama Teacher

Hollie Mariniello joined the drama teaching team 2018, directing the second and third grade students in drama class and in their plays. She fell in love with the classical education model while experiencing Geneva through her two children, Ella ’26 and Bishop ’28, and in turn fell in love with the Geneva community.

Born in a small town in Florida, Hollie first caught the acting bug when she landed her first role as Little Red Riding Hood while in her church’s pre-K class. She later got her first agent in Tampa and spent her teen years doing every play she could in addition to various modeling jobs before heading west to Los Angeles. There, she quickly got her SAG card and worked for many years with Kazarian Spencer & Assoc., with a five-year stint in New York where she signed with Abrams Artists. This was the beginning of a fruitful career/education of on-camera work including many national commercials, TV shows, movies, and print work. She studied for many years under the tutelage of Howard Fine as well as Uta Hagen and owes a great deal to both these talented teachers.

Hollie misses many aspects of her career since her husband’s job brought them back to Florida in 2013, but she loves their new life with its many connections to the body of Christ here in Orlando and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Hollie’s favorite thing about acting is the fact that it is, in its essence, the study of human behavior. She loves to explore the endless complexities of the one creation God made in his very own image. She is very excited to share her passion and experience with the Lord’s precious little ones and use it in a way to ignite their imaginations while pointing them to Christ.

Hollie resides in Orlando with her husband Tony, two children Ella and Bishop, two cats Charlotte and Wilbur, and a very ill-humored turtle Squirt who thinks he owns the backyard … and she dreams of having her own cow one day! She is a member of and loves her new Florida church-home at NorthPark Baptist in Baldwin Park.

Leslee Mendez

Physical Education Teacher

Leslee Mendez joined the PE department at Geneva in 2017. She teaches our littlest students in K4–third grade. Prior to Geneva, Leslee taught PE at Seminole County Public Schools for twelve years. She exhibited outstanding leadership, with a position on the school advisory council committee, specials team leader, school mascot and co-developed the county’s virtual school PE curriculum. Leslee also developed her schools’ PE websites and earned special grant funding for fitness programs.

Leslee attended Samford University where she was a part of several honor societies and graduated cum laude with a BA in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Child Life. She then furthered her studies with a Masters of Arts in Physical Education/Sports and Fitness from the University of Central Florida. While at UCF, Leslee was an adjunct professor and graduate assistant, implementing various fitness and sports related curricula. Over the course of her career, Leslee has had the privilege of teaching all ages, from young children to university faculty in a variety of different programs, from swimming lessons to fitness technologies and training programs to group fitness classes.

In addition to publishing several articles regarding the connection between physical activity and academics, Leslee also holds several fitness and education related certifications including K–12 PE, and has participated in marathons, triathlons, and other road races.

Leslee is married to Alex Mendez, a physical therapist who works with Olympic, professional, collegiate, high school, and general population athletes. When Leslee is not working with Alex in their family business or teaching students how to stay fit both physically and spiritually, she enjoys watching their three little ones. She loves to soak in the precious, blessed moments with which God has showered her family.

Jennifer Mendoza

Administrative Assistant to Student Services
321-422-0232

Jennifer joined the Geneva support staff as an administrative assistant to Student Services in 2018 when she and her family relocated to Winter Park from Duxbury, MA.

Jennifer earned a BA in Economics from Rollins College (‘95) and a law degree (JD) from Villanova University School of Law (’99). She worked as an attorney for a year before starting a family. She was a stay-at-home mom for eighteen years to six daughters, Madisen (Rollins College ’22), Olivia (TGS ’21), Alexandra (TGS ’24), Hannah (6th grade Maitland Middle), Kara (4th grade at Dommerich Elementary), and Bailey (four years old). Her husband Orlando is a partner at Arsenal Venture Partners, Winter Park.

Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family at the beach, watching old movies, and reading.

Anna Meyer

Receptionist

A 2013 TGS alumnus, Anna graduated with a double major in deaf education and elementary education from Flagler College in St. Augustine.

Anna has a passion for working with children and the deaf/hard of hearing. She is involved with the deaf community through Signing Shadows at the children’s Shakespeare Theater and is a volunteer interpreter for her church, which she has enjoyed doing since high school. She also enjoys reading and studying God’s word in her young women’s bible study.

Linda Meyer

Assistant to the Headmaster
321-422-0212

Linda Meyer considers it a privilege and honor to be part of the Geneva staff serving as administrative assistant to Headmaster Ingram since 2008. Linda and her husband Mark were involved in Christian classical education while homeschooling their two children Anna (TGS Class of 2013) and Joshua (TGS Class of 2016), and coming to Geneva in 2008 enabled them to continue their children’s educational journey in the Christian classical tradition.

The Meyers are active members of First Baptist Church of Orlando where Linda was on staff for eleven years and Mark for five years. Linda received her AA degree at Miami-Jacobs Junior College of Business in Dayton, Ohio. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Tim Michaud

Drama Teacher / Facilities & IT Assistant Lower School

A 2013 alumnus of The Geneva School, Tim Michaud joined the TGS drama team in 2015, and currently teaches fourth through sixth grade drama. He graduated from UCF with a double degree in theatre studies and mathematics. Throughout college, Tim mostly pursued mathematics but his passion for theatre could not be subdued. He is excited to be able to marry these two passions in a new rhetoric elective, stagecraft. He and his class build the sets and props and design the lighting and sound for all the student productions in the upper school black box theater.

Outside the classroom, Tim loves working in the fresh air at his family’s horse farm, Brookmore Farms. He especially loves working with the young horses.

Catherine Miller

Kindergarten Teacher

Catherine graduated from Concordia University with a BSEd in Elementary/Early Childhood Education. She taught kindergarten in California, Missouri, and Minnesota before becoming a stay-at-home mom to her five children. After her first child reached school age, Catherine began her twenty-three-year home-educating career.

Catherine joined joined the Geneva family in 2016, serving as the second grade aide and then a long-term substitute in first grade. She joined the kindergarten team, teaching alongside Ellen Geer, in 2017.

Catherine was born and raised in the beautiful state of Minnesota before relocating to Orlando in 2002. She has been married to her husband Charles since 1986 and they have five children: Hannah, Jonathan (married to Sarah), Timothy, Joseph (TGS class of 2020), and Grace (TGS class of 2024). She enjoys long walks/talks with family and friends, cooking and sharing meals, games, movies, books, and listening to people’s life stories.

Christine Miller

Math Teacher

Christine Miller joined the Geneva faculty in 2006 and teaches mathematics to dialectic and rhetoric students. Mrs. Miller received her BS in computer engineering from the University of Central Florida and worked as an engineer in the Central Florida area for seven years. She is always looking for ways to improve her craft and loves those “Aha!” moments in which her students capture some deeper insights in mathematics.

In its inaugural year, Christine was the upper school winner of The Geneva School 2012 Paideia Award for excellence in teaching. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and playing games with friends and family.

Tamara Molyneaux

French Teacher

After growing up in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania, Tamara Molyneaux studied international languages at Grace College in Indiana, L’Université de Bourgogne in France, and the Volkshochschule Reutlingen in Germany. She also has experience teaching Spanish, English as a second language, cultural anthropology, German, drama, writing, fifth and second grades.

She joined The Geneva School faculty in 2012 to teach French and Latin. She currently teaches French to 9th–12th grade students and assists rhetoric students with writing. She loves to teach and labors to make her classes pleasantly rigorous.

Tamara devours words: spoken words, written words, any language words. She loves to read and to write and has published two books of poetry, Words of Air (2014) and Treading Air (2016). Tamara’s move to Florida has transformed her into a binocular-carrying bird watcher who, when she is not out in the field craning her neck in search of birds, is either pouring over bird field guides or listening to tedious cds with hundreds of bird calls.

Joe Moon

Logic & Math Teacher

Joe Moon began teaching at Geneva in January 2006. He currently teaches logic in the dialectic school, but has also taught math courses, Greco-Roman History, Apologetics, and Rhetoric and Christian Thought. Joe earned a BA from Covenant College and an MA from Reformed Theological Seminary.

Joe is married with four children, is active in his church, and enjoys conversation regarding Scripture, Christianity, the nature of humanity, and the good life. The works of Blaise Pascal and C.S. Lewis have greatly influenced Joe’s thinking about life and Christianity, and are repeated reading delights. He also loves to regularly immerse himself in such disparate works as Pixar’s “Wall-E” and Plato’s Apology.

Annie Muether

Librarian Assistant
321-422-0234

Annie is virtually a native of central Florida, having moved here with her family from Philadelphia when she was one. She has gotten to love the beaches of her home state, but she is in the habit of escaping to the cooler climate of coastal Maine for a few weeks each summer. Besides reading, Annie’s favorite things include English Premier League football (or soccer, to us in the US), spending time with her nephews and niece, and listening to ’80s music.

Kathy Muether

Librarian
321-422-0234

Kathy Muether has been Geneva’s librarian since 1999. Her two passions in life are books and children, which makes her job at Geneva an ideal fit. She received a BA in Sociology from Gordon College and an MLS from the University of Western Michigan. She worked in both academic and public libraries before beginning her tenure at The Geneva School.

When she is not working, she is either reading or babysitting her grandchildren or both. Books and reading are a dominant theme in the Muether home, and although she prefers holding a real book in her hands, she does use an e-reader on her vacations to her family’s island off the coast of Maine.

Andrew Nelson

Science Teacher

Andrew Nelson joined the Geneva family in 2015 and has fallen in love with the Christian classical model of education. He currently teaches eighth grade physical science, tenth grade honors chemistry, and AP Chemistry to seniors. Andrew’s heart beat is that students will leave his classroom 1) with a passion for the pursuit of science, 2) knowing they are loved by Mr. Nelson, and most importantly 3) knowing they are loved by their creator and in response fall deeper in love with their Lord. He strives to do this by giving students a glimpse of creation at the molecular level which should in turn give them a bigger view of God.

Andrew grew up locally in Apopka and went to the University of Central Florida where he earned a BS in Chemistry Education. Prior to Geneva he taught in Orange County Public Schools and also worked for five years as a youth pastor where he faithfully taught God’s word and cultivated a love for students. In June 2015 he married his beautiful wife Megan whom he met at UCF. In August 2018 they planted a church on the UCF campus known as University Church where Andrew currently serves as the campus pastor. Every Sunday they aim to spread the light of Christ to the University that made such an impact in their lives. In his spare time Andrew enjoys playing basketball, disc golf, hiking, spending time with his family, or reading a good book.

Abby Noble

Music Teacher
321-422-0210

Abby Noble came to Geneva in 2018 and guides curriculum and instruction for the music program, K4–12. She directs the dialectic men’s and women’s choirs, the Rhetoric Choir and the Ladies Choir. In 2019 she founded the Brioso Children’s Choir, serving Geneva students in grades 4–6. Abby graduated magna cum laude from The Florida State University with her degree in choral music education and a certificate in voice performance. Prior to college, Abby sang with the Gulf Coast Youth Choirs for ten years, experiencing the life-changing power of a singing community. Her director lit a spark that inspired her career to change the lives of young people through music. Many of her best memories, friendships, and travel opportunities have been a result of her involvement in choral ensembles.

In 2016, Abby completed her master’s in choral music education from FSU, finishing her final term at the FSU Study Center in London. She studied music education and conducting with Dr. Judy Bowers, Dr. Kevin Fenton, and Dr. Andre Thomas. Before coming to Geneva, Abby taught chorus, piano, and vocal techniques at Viera High School and Boone High School. Choirs under her direction consistently received top ratings at district and state performance festivals.

Abby is married to her wonderful husband Dwayne. They enjoy music, the outdoors, traveling, and seeing the world through the eyes of their curious, curly-haired toddler Lucas.

Isabel O'Driscoll

Director of Student Services
321-422-0206

Isabel O’Driscoll joined the Geneva family in 2004 when her oldest daughter Katie started at Geneva. In 2006 she joined the team of TGS support staff and in 2012 she became part of the newly developed student services department and serves as the director of student services. In this role she develops and manages programs and events designed to enhance the student experience. She also manages the development of service plans for students with learning differences and finds support for struggling students. Finally, she also works alongside the dean of students to provide support and leadership when discipline issues arise. Isabel loves students and counts it a privilege to assist them in any way she can.

Isabel earned a degree in psychology and counseling at Liberty University in Virginia. She also co-founded Orlando Children’s Church, a non-profit ministry that reaches out to children living in poverty in the greater Orlando area. The Orlando Children’s Church meets on Saturday mornings and ministers to over five hundred children and teens.

Isabel married her college sweetheart Peter and they have three girls: Katie (TGS class of 2009), Michaela (TGS Class of 2012), and Annie (TGS Class of 2017).

Evan Pederson

International Program Director

Evan Pederson joined The Geneva School faculty in 2015 and has been the international program director since 2018. He provides overall support to all of Geneva’s international students and teaches English and intensive language tutoring as part of the international program. Evan is a Geneva alumnus (TGS Class of 2010) and enjoys teaching at the school he attended for high school.

Evan attended the University of Oklahoma, studied abroad for a year at Beijing Normal University, and graduated in 2014 with a BA in Linguistics and Chinese, and has received a World Languages – TESOL Certificate from the University of Central Florida. He and his wife Priscilla love reading, speaking Chinese, cooking, playing board games, travelling, and learning about new cultures together. They are excited to welcome their first child into their lives this fall.

David Petrak

Director of IT & Director of Facilities
321-422-0211

David has been the technology manager at Geneva since 2004. He received his BS in Mathematics from Iowa State University, and his Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary.

David has been married to his wife Erin since 1992. They have been members of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church since 1996, and enjoy the blessings that come with being parents to two daughters, both of whom attend The Geneva School.

Erin Petrak

K4 Aide

Erin and her husband David were married in 1992 and moved from Iowa to Orlando in 1995 so that he could attend Reformed Theological Seminary. After finding St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Orlando very soon became home for them. Erin finished her BA in History at UCF and then worked at the Maitland Historical Society and Museums as their volunteer coordinator and director of educational programming for two and a half years before children came along. Her daughters, Tabitha (TGS Class of 2022) and Samantha (TGS Class of 2025), keep her busy (and often laughing).

Erin gained a great admiration for the teachers and staff at The Geneva School as she watched a friend’s son begin kindergarten and that admiration grew when her own daughter started school in 2006. She has always loved serving in a capacity that allows her to come alongside others and was thrilled to join the ECC staff as a teacher’s aide in 2010. Currently Erin is an aide to the K4 classes. Getting to know each child and their family is a privilege and an honor. She finds that each day with these littlest ones is an adventure and a joy.

In her spare time Erin enjoys reading, cooking, hiking with her family, and spending time with friends.

Mickey Poole

Hospitality Coordinator