Andrea Van Hagen

MS English
MS Learning Lab

ANDREA VAN HAGEN earned her B.A. from Willamette University and her M.A. in teaching at Seattle University. Andrea kicked off her career by helping to convert a large traditional high school near Seattle into three smaller schools, all while orchestrating English and advisory courses. She continued onto Mountain View High School in Vancouver until her eventual arrival at Northwest Academy. She enjoys writing, reading, running, and gardening with her family. Andrea has been with the school since 2012.

avanhagen@nwacademy.org

David Berkson

MS English
MS Theatre
HS Theatre

DAVID BERKSON is the author of several plays, including The Penguins of Ithaca and War Paint: A Story of Family Life. David lived in the Bay Area for many years where he was Education Director of Marin Shakespeare Company, and Camp Director of Bay Area Shakespeare Camps. David’s professional acting credits include two stints with the national hit Shear Madness, Feste in Twelfth Night, and Jerry in Profile Theatre’s 2002 production of The Zoo Story. David has been with Northwest Academy since 2004.

dberkson@nwacademy.org

Doug Cornett

HS English/Humanities
HS World History
AAH Fitness

DOUG CORNETT received a B.A. in English from Skidmore College, where he was awarded the Denise Marcil Prize for Fiction, and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Portland State University. Doug has taught English at the university and high school levels. He has also worked in New York as an executive assistant at The Penguin Group and as a literary scout. He is an award-winning newspaper writer, and his fiction and poetry have appeared in various literary magazines. His interests include world mythology, American history and literature, and fiction writing. Doug has been with Northwest Academy since 2011.

dcornett@nwacademy.org

Jada Pierce

HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

JADA PIERCE has taught secondary and collegiate levels for the past ten years. She taught in Baltimore, MD, for three years with Teach for America and completed coursework at Johns Hopkins to become certified in secondary education. She earned an M.F.A. in poetry at the University of Oregon, where she taught poetry and composition courses. She taught English and journalism at Jesuit High School. Jada has been with Northwest Academy since 2008.

jpierce@nwacademy.org

Julie Ellington

World Languages Department Chair
HS English/Humanities
HS Liberal Arts

JULIE ELLINGTON has taught at the university, middle school, and high school levels for the past ten years in the U.S. and abroad. Her academic and professional credentials are in sociolinguistics, rhetoric and composition, literary theory, language acquisition, and world literature, which she earned at various institutions, including Oregon State University, Portland State University, Université de Poitiers, La Sorbonne, and the University of Tunis. When not in the classroom, Julie can be found writing or tending to her urban organic farm. Julie has been with Northwest Academy since 2006.

jellington@nwacademy.org

Katie Staggers

Dept Head for English/Humanities & MS English

KATIE STAGGERS earned her B.A. in English from Davidson College in 1998 and her M.Ed. in Secondary English Education from George Washington University in 2001. She spent four years at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and then moved to New York City where she spent five years teaching at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. When she’s not teaching English, she loves running, curling up with a good book and exploring all that her new hometown has to offer. Katie has been with Northwest Academy since 2015.

kstaggers@nwacademy.org

Sharon Weir

MS Social Studies
MS Learning Lab

SHARON WEIR has taught all levels of social studies and learning lab at the middle school. She has an M.Ed. from Portland State University and a B.A. from the University of Oregon. Sharon brings an inquiry-based approach to the classroom. With a joint background in social studies and art history, she strongly believes in fostering student creativity and historical inquiry. Sharon has been known to race down Mt. Tabor in a PDX Adult Soapbox Derby car (“Best Art Car” – 2009) and explore the city with her two young children, Elliot and Maisie. Sharon has been with Northwest Academy since 2005.

sweir@nwacademy.org

Tamara Pellicier

TAMARA PELLICIER joined Northwest Academy in 2019

tpellicier@nwacademy.org