Recognized for her belief in the importance
of arts education and her dedication to
young people, Mary Folberg is the recipient
of the Kennedy Center Award for Excellence
in Arts Education 1981, and the Metropolitan
Arts Commission Award in 1982, 1988, and
1989. She has been featured in several
publications including Images
of Oregon Women and Lears magazines. She holds degrees
in Literature and Dance and has taught
in California public schools and Portland
public schools. Founder and long time director
of the Jefferson High School Dance Department,
she also created the school's company of
dancers, The Jefferson Dancers, and was
its director for 17 years. In 1993 she
created the Northwest Academy, designed
to educate the area's most creative and
intellectual young people.
BFA (California Institute of the Arts) has taught English and writing for twenty-nine years in a variety of educational settings. His English/Humanities classes are designed to provide students with strong foundational writing skills, expose them to great works of ancient literature, and develop students’ capacity for critical and creative thought. Wagstaff brings his experience as a performer to the classroom, in the desire to make each class as engaging, stimulating, and entertaining as possible. David has been at NWA for eleven years. He is also a director and author of plays and films, a songwriter, and a choreographer of Tai Chi Dance.
BS (Political Science, Santa Clara University); BA (English, Washington State University); MA (English, Portland State University); JD (University of Virginia School of Law). Scott has worked in education for nearly twenty years, beginning as an early member of Teach for America in 1992. His teaching experience ranges from 6th grade to college, including two years at Northwest Academy. Scott also brings previous independent school administration and even Board of Trustees experience to his work at Northwest Academy. In short, Scott has extensive independent school experience from all vantage points: parent, teacher, administrator, and trustee. Recently, he served as the PNAIS Self Study Coordinator for Northwest Academy's re-accreditation project, giving Scott a spectacularly detailed and thorough view of the school's program and community. As Dean of Curriculum, Scott's role is to provide curriculum oversight and to support the faculty and administrative staff in their efforts to execute and enhance the program.
B.A. (U.C.L.A., Classical Civilizations); J.D. (University of Pennsylvania; coursework in management of non-profit institutions at the Wharton School of Business). After graduating from law school, Lainie served as a judicial law clerk for a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. Throughout her career, Lainie has focused on working with educational and cultural institutions. She managed the corporate and grants programs at The Denver Art Museum and the foundation relations program at Lewis & Clark College. As a freelance writer, she has published articles in The New York Times and The Oregonian. Prior to joining NWA as Admissions Director, Lainie worked for the school for two years on a contract basis writing grant proposals and editing the newsletter.
Michael has an extensive background in
business, having worked in managerial
positions in transportation, forest
products, and publishing. For sixteen
years, Michael was CEO of a non-profit
publishing house and served as treasurer
of its board of trustees. He received
his B.S. from the University of Maryland,
College of Business, with a major in
Journalism. For five years he was the
Director of Admissions and Registrar
for the Waldorf Institute of Mercy
College in Detroit. Michael has served
as a member of the board at Sunbridge
College in New York State and at a
private school in Massachusetts. He
was licensed by the National Association
of Securities Dealers as well as state-securities
and insurance departments in Oregon
and Washington and was a licensed tax-preparer
in Oregon.
A graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (SMFA Boston), Julia Cain has worked at Northwest Academy since 2000. Julia works closely with students assisting with schedules, PSAT and SAT testing and student activities. As College Counselor, she is dedicated to providing guidance through all phases of the college application process. In addition to SMFA Boston, Julia also attended the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts in Paros, Greece. From a long line of southern debutantes, Julia refused to be a deb and survived very nicely. She brings sanity, compassion, and expertise to the often daunting task of applying to college.
B.A. (communications and environmental studies, Lewis & Clark College). Kathy spent nine years doing public outreach and communications work in the air quality field. Previously she worked in public relations at Lewis & Clark College and did research for a small environmental start-up company. Outside of work work, Kathy enjoys walking her dog, cross country skiing, rowing, reading, camping, knitting and playing African marimba and mbira.
(B.A. University of Iowa). Laurel began her development career working with Urban Gateways, The Center for Arts Education in Chicago. In Portland, she worked at Planned Parenthood for eight years. Prior to serving as Vice President of Development at Planned Parenthood, she ran the organization's special events and annual fund. Laurel also coordinated the membership program at The Nature Conservancy in Portland. Her favorite aspect of development is working with the wonderful families and community supporters at the Northwest Academy.
B.A. (Reed College, Mathematics); M.S. (University of Wisconsin - Madison, Computer Sciences); CISSP Associate (ISC2, Certified Information System Security Professional). Jacqueline is joining NWA following an 8 year career in software development at Hewlett-Packard working on Macintosh Print Drivers. She was born in Portland, and currently doesn't want to live anywhere else. Besides poking at computers and printers and crawling under tables to look at cables, Jacqueline enjoys sailing, distance running, camping, soccer, coffee, food carts, her dogs, and volunteering with the Vancouver Police Department as one of their trained volunteers. She also enjoys attributing personalities to various technology to explain quirky behavior.
Wendy was born in South Africa and educated in N. Rhodesia. She left Rhodesia to attend school in Paris while working as an au pair. Wendy staffs the front desk and keeps track of the daily attendance and enjoys taking care of our students during the day and for the after hours class and keeps a close eye on all their activities when they are not in class. Wendy has been with Northwest Academy for eight years.
