Academy Prep Center - St. Petersburg

Links to : Academy Prep Center of Tampa | Academy Prep Foundation | Academy Prep Graduate Support Program

The Story


Staff & Faculty



St. Petersburg Center Administration

		Dr. Keturah Mills Head of School Phone: 727-322-0800 x2129 Cell: 727-504-4222 Email: kmills@academyprep.org Keturah N. Mills, Ed. D. a native of St. Petersburg, FL, received a bachelor’s degree in English from Florida State University in 1985. While serving as an English teacher for Pinellas County schools, a position she held from 1987-94, Mills earned her Master’s Degree from Nova University in 1992. In 1999, Mills was granted a Doctorate in Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Sarasota. In 1994, Mills joined the faculty of St. Petersburg College where she served as Post Secondary Communication Instructor, Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach and National Youth Sport Program Activity Director until joining Academy Prep in 2002.

		Gillian Barnes Director of Development Phone: 727-322-0800 x2109 Email: gbarnes@academyprep.org Gillian, who received her BA in Philosophy from Lincoln University, MO and completed graduate work in International Relations at American University, is a strong member of Academy Prep’s backbone! Since joining Academy Prep in 1998, she has served as Volunteer & Activity Coordinator, taught English, Spanish, And Social Studies, and coached our tennis and golf teams. Gillian is now the Director of Development, working with all development efforts as well as overseeing all donation and volunteer services, and business partnerships for our school.

St. Petersburg Center Faculty & Staff

		Shan Anderson Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2119 Email: sanderson@academyprep.org Shan earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from St. Leo University and she is currently completing her Master’s in Elementary Education. In the years prior to working for Academy Prep, she taught in IB programs in the Netherlands and at Williams IB Middle School in Tampa. At Williams IB, she taught drama, journalism and advanced Language Arts, as well as, coached girls’ volleyball. Shan teaches Language Arts to our young ladies and supervises various student activities.

		Alex Barnes Athletic Director Phone: 727-322-0800 x2104 Email: abarnes@academyprep.org Alex graduated from Notre Dame with a B.A. in Philosophy and History. Before coming to Academy Prep, Alex interned at Clay High School in South Bend, IN as a member of the National Football Foundation. He was an AmeriCorps teacher at Academy Prep for 2 years. Currently he serves as the Physical Education teacher, golf coach, baseball coach, and Athletic Director.

		Leanne Bayne Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2111 Email: lbayne@academyprep.org Leanne graduated with a B.A. in Visual Arts and Spanish at Eckerd College in 2000. After working at Academy Prep as an AmeriCorps teacher and later as an academic teacher, she earned her M.A. in Elementary Education at USF in 2006. During her time at Academy Prep, Leanne has taught a variety of subjects and activities. She is now the boys’ History teacher and enjoys bringing the past alive for her students.

		MaryAnn Bunker Development & Database Administrator Phone: 727-322-0800 x2140 Email: mabunker@academyprep.org Mary Ann works as an important member of our development team. Her expertise comes from 20+ total combined years in database administration, administrative support, Quality Control-TQM, SPC, internal auditing, and purchasing/payroll/accounting support.

		Kristy Craig AmeriCorps Manager Phone: 727-322-0800 Email: kcraig@academyprep.org Kristy is a 1999 graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Communication Studies (Organizational/Family Comm.) and Theatre. She worked as a professional actor, drama coach, and director of children's theatre in New York City and has served as Program Director, Assistant Director, and Art Director for summer day-time and residential camps in the Philadelphia area. Her service to Academy Prep began with a two-year assignment as an AmeriCorps teacher in Tampa. Kristy now recruits and supervises the AmeriCorps teachers on both the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses.

		Christina Cummings AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2123 Email: ccummings@academyprep.org Christina Cummings recently graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. She received this degree only after enduring four intense internships, working with children of different ages. While attending USF, she joined SCATT (Suncoast Area Teacher Training) which is an honors program for teachers to enhance their skills and expand their experience and also was a tutor at the Joshua House. This fall she is looking forward to teaching Drama and Computer Skills class as an AmeriCorps teacher.

		Danielle DiRosa Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2112 Email: ddirosa@academyprep.org Danielle graduated from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts with degrees in Chemistry and Secondary Education. After graduating she moved to Tampa where she attended the University of South Florida and earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Before coming to Academy Prep Danielle worked with college students in Housing and Residential Education. She joined the Academy Prep family this school year and is teaching boy’s science.

		Dawn Formica AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2123 Email: dformica@academyprep.org Dawn Formica recently graduated from Eckerd College with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a minor is Psychology. While attending Eckerd, she participated and helped coordinate activities in the Marine Biology Club, Circle K (Kiwanis) International Club, the Miracle League, and spent a year on the dance team. She has experience teaching children about marine science and their environment through the New England Aquarium and the Eckerd College Watersports Camp. She looks forward to working with the students this year and inspiring them to want to learn more about science.

		Kathy Goldberg Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2117 Email: kgoldberg@academyprep.org Kathy relocated to Florida 3 years ago from New Jersey. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Rhode Island, her Masters from Rutgers University, and graduate credits from Rider University. Before joining Academy prep, Kathy taught math on the middle school and college level, developed curriculum for basic skills, and extensively tutored high school students for the ACT and SAT college admission tests. As our girls math instructor, she believes in blending traditional math instruction with real-life problem solving.

		Kevin Gunter Facilities / Maintenance Email: kgunter@academyprep.org Kevin, a native of St. Pete, joined the Academy Prep family in 2004. His extensive technical and construction experience is invaluable to our campus’ needs. Kevin’s talents are also responsible for our beautiful lush landscape. As our assistant baseball coach, Kevin shares his love of the sport to motivate our team.

		Adrienne Kendrick Office Manager Phone: 727-322-0800 x2122 Email: akendrick@academyprep.org Mrs. Kendrick brings a wealth of leadership and customer service experience, as well as professionalism to our team. Before coming to Academy Prep, she was employed with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Pretrial Services and the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association. We are very fortunate to have Adrienne as our Office Manager.

		Debra Kurelik Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, 6th grade Phone: 727-322-0800 x2118 Email: dkurelik@academyprep.org Deborah holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mass Communications and recently received a Master of Arts in Reading Education from the University of South Florida. Since joining Academy Prep, she has taught English, Photojournalism, and Tennis. Deborah enjoys teaching History to our young ladies.

		Kizmet Lamb Administrative Assistant II Phone: 727-322-0800 x2100 Email: klamb@academyprep.org Kizmet works as an Administrative Assistant in our school’s front office. She is a native of St. Petersburg currently pursuing a degree from St. Petersburg College. Kizmet is committed to assisting the students, families, and staff at Academy Prep and she is the first person to tell you it’s always “a beautiful day at Academy Prep!”

		Britanny Lash Email: blash@academyprep.org

		Kelinda Lockett Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2113 Email: klockett@academyprep.org Ms. KeLinda Lockett is our boys' English teacher. KeLinda holds a BS in English Education and certifications in middle school Integrated Curriculum and Secondary English Education. She has experience as a Senior Program Coordinator, a Middle School Language Arts teacher and a Reading Instructor for low learners. KeLinda is also the sister of an Academy Prep graduate!

		Elizabeth Mann AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x 2115 Email: emann@academyprep.org Elizabeth Mann graduated from the University of Tampa with a B.A. in Sociology and a B.S. in Criminology. Before coming to Academy Prep, Elizabeth worked in the Admissions Department at the University of Tampa. She is currently the AmeriCorps Art instructor and looks forward to engaging her students in creative exploration.

		Shabazz Rogers Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2110 Email: srogers@academyprep.org Mr. Shabazz is a veteran of Rites-Of-Passage Programming for inner city, at-risk male and female youth at New York City’s African Poetry Theatre and the Suncoast Boys and Girls Club. With the YMCA, he was instrumental in the successful development and implementation of an academics-based character development enrichment program, the Y-Achievers. Mr. Shabazz has taught mathematics at Education Services of America at the St. Petersburg Broach School, and owns and operates a Tutorial Service. As our boys’ math teacher, Shabazz enjoys mentoring the young men of Academy Prep while sharing his enthusiasm for education.

		Heather Schultz AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 Email: hschultz@academyprep.org Heather joins Academy Prep with ten years experience in the Performing Arts, with an emphasis in technical theatre. She attended Rollins College and USF St. Petersburg and recently earned her Associates of the Arts with focuses in European history, English literature, creative writing, and cultural anthropology. A St. Pete native, Heather is a graduate of the Canterbury School of Fl and a longtime volunteer at The Arts Center.

		Claire St. Jacques AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x 2114 Email: cstjacques@academyprep.org Claire St. Jacques is a recent graduate from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is currently an AmeriCorps teacher. One of her goals is to improve the school’s library system. She will be teaching Computer Skills during the fall.

		Jessica Strong Community Relations Director Phone: 727-322-0800 x2123 Email: jstrong@academyprep.org Jessica Strong graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Public Policy Analysis. She concentrated on social and education policy. A North Carolina native, she relocated to St. Petersburg a year ago. After serving Academy Prep for one year as an AmeriCorps Writing teacher, she has joined the Academy Prep staff team as Community Relations Director.

		Jennifer Ubiera AmeriCorps Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2120 Email: jubiera@academyprep.org Jennifer Ubiera hails from the beautiful city of Miami, Florida. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a focus on Women of Color. She is currently serving the Academy Prep community as an AmeriCorps teacher on the St. Petersburg campus. She will be teaching classes in Drama and also, Speech and Debate. She will also be working with Academy Prep’s Development office, assisting with event planning. Ms. Ubiera hopes to continue to add to the positive success of Academy Prep and its scholars.

		John Yarrow Girl’s Science Teacher Phone: 727-322-0800 x2116 Email: jyarrow@academyprep.org John Yarrow graduated from Frostburg State University with a BA in Elementary Education. He is currently completing his Masters in Educational Administration and Management. He previously taught Elementary School and 6th grade Language Arts before coming to Academy Prep. He looks forward to imparting his love of science to our girls.

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