James Phillips IV
Dean of Academics
Jim holds a Master of Arts degree in English from North Carolina State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is a North Carolina native who hails from Jacksonville, but now resides in nearby Pittsboro with his wife Isabel.
Jim has been an instrumental member of the Auldern Academy faculty since the summer of 2007 where he inspires our students through his own passion for reading and writing. He was promoted to his current position as Dean of Academics in the fall of 2013. Jim enjoys playing the guitar, watching college basketball, and collecting books. Among his favorite authors are Herman Melville, J.D. Salinger, and William Faulkner.
Jan Andrew
Academic Coordinator
Jan Andrew graduated with honors from Sandhills Community College, earning an Applied Science Degree in Human Development and Psychology. She immediately began working with adolescents, which has become her passion for over 15 years. Jan joined the North Carolina Boys’ program seven years ago where she began as the Day Treatment Coordinator. She later became the Academic Coordinator, working closely with both teachers and students in the education department. She joined Auldern in early 2010, once again fulfilling the important duties of making schedules, preparing transcripts and assuring the delivery of quality education to the Auldern students and families.
Jan is an avid UNC Tarheel fan and enjoys attending football and basketball games, dressing in her favorite color, Carolina Blue. She also enjoys spending time with her grandson, Cadence who is her pride and joy.
Chris Will
History and Lead Teacher
Chris Will has been with Auldern since the school opened in 2001 and then became the Lead Teacher in 2007. Chris loves sharing his passion for History, Economics, Sociology, and Geography with our students. Chris has lived in North Carolina since 1984 and was raised in a large family of seven boys and one girl. He earned a degree in History Education from North Carolina State University and is certified to teach World History, World Geography, U.S. History, U.S. Government, Economics, and Sociology. He is an avid N.C. State Wolfpack fan. He is a U.S. Army veteran infantryman, who was awarded many honors including the Expert Infantry Badge, the highest honor an Infantryman can receive. He served overseas and in the Middle East. He was even a member of a security force for former Secretary of State Colin Powell while in the Persian Gulf. Chris is a Civil War buff and has traveled to many Civil War battlefields. Chris and his wife, Alice, a veterinarian, reside in Apex along with their beautiful daughter Kerrigan who is the love of their lives.
Miriam Springer
Science/Biology
Miriam Springer holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, a Master’s degree in Pathology, and a PhD in Molecular Genetics & Biochemistry. She spent 27 years doing cancer research, and had her own laboratory at Duke University from 2002-2007. She has published more than 45 original research papers. Miriam brings laboratory experience to the classroom. Students will have hands-on experiences with scientific methods, measurements, and instrumentation. Miriam has teaching experience with medical and graduate students, undergraduates, and in recent years high school students. She has completed all of her certification requirements to teach all of the scientific disciplines and will provide challenges that build self- confidence and stimulate inquiry and creativity in students.
Miriam’s hobbies include swimming, playing the piano, and gardening. She has two daughters and two stepsons, and enjoys life with her husband James, who is also a scientist/teacher.
Peter Smith
English
Peter Smith recently graduated summa cum laude from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a Master of Arts degree in English. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from WCU. Having grown up in the city of brotherly love, Mr. Smith loves the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers, although they often break his heart.
As a teacher of writing and literature, Mr. Smith enjoys inspiring his students to read between the lines in stories and connect their themes with other pieces of art. In his free time, Mr. Smith enjoys reading author biographies, listening to his favorite bands, and writing creative nonfiction. He is an avid fan of the authors Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Cormac McCarthy, and Richard Matheson.
Senor Edward King
Spanish
Ed King received his M.A. in Latin American History at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He studied Spanish and Latin American History in a doctoral program at the University of Florida in Gainesville. An avid world traveler, Ed lived in Chile for two years. He taught History at Austin College in Sherman, Texas for 7 years, taking students to Peru, Columbia, and Mexico for January term courses. He was the Regional Director of Church World Service/CROP in both Illinois and the Carolinas for 18 years. He inspected CWS relief and self help development projects in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. He helped build housing in the slums of San Felipe, Guatemala for two summers with the God’s Child school project. He traveled to Nicaragua and Cuba in Spring of 2004 with the delegation of Witness for Peace to study “Neo Liberalism” in Central America and the Carribean. He has three grown children.
Jessie Lorbacher
Art
Jessie Lorbacher recently graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art education. As a teacher, Ms. Lorbacher loves challenging students of all ages and backgrounds to reach their full potential as artists and as art advocates.
Although she favors ceramic sculpture and pottery, Ms. Lorbacher loves working with a variety of media including charcoal, pen and ink, and acrylic paint. Her work has been featured in several galleries in Greensboro and a few local galleries. In her spare time, Ms. Lorbacher enjoys watching The Walking Dead, reading, and playing with her German Shepherd, Wilhelm.
Ornella Darlington Turner
Math
Ornella Turner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from North Carolina State University and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree. She also has a teaching certification in the state of North Carolina. Mrs. Turner began her career at the North Carolina Boys’ program where she taught mathematics for 5 years before coming to Auldern. She previously has served as a mathematics tutor for Auldern Academy. While attending NCSU, Mrs. Turner was the recipient of an undergraduate research award for her project on “Water trends in the Raleigh-Durham area with the EPA”.
A native of Trinidad and Tobago, she previously worked as a statistical analyst and school counselor. Her goal is to motivate students in mathematics while accessing their inner strengths and discovering what inspires them. In her spare time, she enjoys scrapbooking, cross stitching, swimming and travelling with her husband, John.
Hannah Hall
Special Education
Hannah is a native of Greensboro, NC. She Graduated from the University of NC at Wilmington in 2010 with a bachelors in Physical Education with a concentration in Community Health. Hannah later added a Special Education licensure for teaching students with Learning Disabilities as a specialty. She worked in the public school system for 4 years before joining Auldern in 2014. Hannah is a certified CPR/First-Aid instructor and SAMA trainer and is currently studying to get Personal Trainer certified through the American College of Sports Medicine. Her hobbies include going to the gym, camping, going to the beach, and hanging out with her husband and “fur daughter” named Kiki.
