Our Team
Our teachers are intellectually curious, highly capable, and dedicated to student-centered learning. They are experts in their subject areas who are here because they want to help students learn deeply and find success in college and beyond. When we ask our students and parents what they value most about the school, they mention our teachers. Simply put, we have the best teachers!
At Loudoun School for Advanced Studies, students can expect unparalleled access to their teachers. We have a 4:1 student/faculty ratio, and a 3:1 student/adult ratio, so students receive more individual mentorship here than anywhere else.
Leadership
Catalina Laurenzano – Executive Director
Catalina brings together her background in business and mental health to lead with both strategy and heart. She holds a degree in Business and a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling, and has spent over 15 years working in counseling, program development, and community engagement.
Before joining LSAS full time, Catalina worked as the Director of Human Resources for the U.S. branch of a German manufacturing company. While there, she wore many hats, contributing not just to HR, but also to operations and finance, during a time of rapid growth and change.
Catalina is passionate about building inclusive, transparent environments where people feel heard, valued, and supported. At LSAS, she draws on her diverse experience to strengthen school operations and expand access to the kind of meaningful, challenging education that transformed her own family’s life. She is deeply committed to upholding the values that make LSAS so special, fostering curiosity, integrity, and a genuine respect for each student’s individuality. Her work is grounded in the belief that every learner deserves to be accepted for who they are and to thrive in a community that celebrates their unique strengths.
When Catalina is not at LSAS, she enjoys traveling, experimenting in the kitchen with her husband, or enjoying quality time with her family, preferably after a wonderful afternoon nap.
Sarah Derr – Academic Director and Chair, Department of English
Sarah received dual B.A.s in German Studies and English from Guilford College, where she was a member of the school’s selective Honors Scholarship Program. After teaching soldiers overseas at a U.S. Military base in Germany, she returned to Northern Virginia, where she went on to receive her M.A. in Secondary Education from George Mason University.
Sarah worked in Arlington Public Schools for six years, first as a summer school and substitute teacher, during graduate school, and then as a high school English teacher. She taught a variety of English courses, including AP Language and Composition (for which she is College Board certified) as well as special education-integrated courses. She served as the school’s yearbook advisor for four years, and was chosen by her English colleagues to represent them as Department Chair during her final two years at the school.
After a five-year hiatus in which she stayed home with her young children, Sarah chose to return to teaching only after visiting Loudoun School for Advanced Studies and meeting its students and staff. She has been with the school since 2017, where she has taught all secondary grade levels, in addition to serving as English Department Chair and Academic Director.
Marta MacNamara -Admissions Director
As Admissions Director at LSAS, Marta brings a deep passion for helping families find a school community where their children can thrive — academically, socially, and personally. She understands that choosing the right school is both a big decision and a deeply personal one. Marta joined LSAS due to her passionate belief in LSAS and the transformational experience that the school provides for its students and families. Marta feels privileged to support LSAS’s growth.
Prior to joining LSAS, Marta co-owned and was the Head of Strategy for a design and communications agency for seven years, where she learned that building relationships and helping others find the right solution for their needs was not only a strength but also a joy. She has over 17 years’ experience in senior management positions for multinational corporations, a Master’s in Education from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor’s in Communications.
Marta and her family have lived most of their lives in Australia, but they are now loving their home in northern Virginia. In her free time, you can find Marta exploring hiking trails with her two children, their dog and her husband. Though after a long day, you’re likely to find her cuddled up in a cozy armchair, preferably by the fire, quietly reading.
Faculty & Staff
Elizabeth Baynes - Physical Education
Originally from North Carolina, Elizabeth graduated from Mary Baldwin College and then settled in Northern Virginia. Elizabeth has been involved with sports for over 40 years, predominantly team sports. She started college as a volleyball and softball player then made the switch to field hockey where she was an AWCC all conference leader as a goalie. Elizabeth coached everything from a college club softball team to a little league baseball. She’s excited to be at LSAS as a PE teacher and coach. She says, “The LSAS students are a joy to work with and be around!”
Elizabeth is known for helping students build confidence in themselves and get them to try new things. She creates a supportive and high-energy environment where every student feels encouraged to move, explore new interests, and have fun! Whether students are learning to dribble a basketball, run a mile, or practice mindfulness and goal setting, Elizabeth emphasizes effort, respect, and personal growth above all.
In her spare time, she enjoys her own small woodworking company and spending time with her friends and family – including three very spoiled dogs.
Anne Buld – Chair, Department of World Languages and French Teacher
Anne grew up in Orléans, France. After receiving her Baccalauréat in French Literature and Philosophy with honors, she attended Law school in Paris at the Université de Droit Panthéon-Assas and earned a degree in private law. Afterward, Anne pursued a career in journalism and earned a degree in Information and Communication Sciences and is an alumna of the French Press Institute.
In 1985, Anne moved to the United States and started her professional journalism career as Assistant Editor of the Vendôme Guide travel magazine’s French publication. She later moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the French Embassy radio station, where she had an on-air position broadcasting daily segments on culture and weekly book reviews.
With her experience in media and communication, Anne transitioned to a career in training and education with Cradle Holdings, LLC where she was the Director of Training for Capital Region before joining the Executive Education team at Procter & Gamble’s Prestige division.
Prior to joining Loudoun School for Advanced Studies (LSAS) in 2020, Anne taught at Virginia Academy for three years. At LSAS she teaches all levels of French, including AP French for which she is College Board certified. She is also a member of the AATF: American Association of Teachers of French.
Anne strongly feels that teaching has been the most fulfilling experience of her career and marvels at how quickly students are able to learn a foreign language. Her goal is to engage and challenge the students and their curious minds to propel them to another level of skill and confidence, not only in the French language but the French culture, as well. Anne believes that learning world languages is the key for students to better understand the world and to help them build a better future.
Niels Christensen - English
Having taught language, literature, and culture classes at the secondary and college levels, Niels brings his academic background and vibrant personal experiences into the English classroom to help students think critically about the arts and the world around them. Niels earned his B.A., double-majoring in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Spanish, and his M.A. in Hispanic Literatures from Brigham Young University.
Niels joined the faculty of Loudoun School for Advanced Studies in 2022. His teaching philosophy revolves around the belief that engaging with the arts is a fundamental part of being a human being: that reading literature, seeing paintings and films, and listening to music has more power (perhaps than we know) to shape us into the people we become. As a believer in the encounter with the artwork before the interpretation, he hopes to guide students into the world of the poem, the painting, the novel, the film, and to allow them to primarily experience it. “The point of diving in a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore, but to be in the lake; to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is an experience beyond thought,” as Jane Campion explains in her biopic of the English poet John Keats, Bright Star. Niels believes that this approach diminishes anxiety and stress and allows students to have the enjoyable, aesthetic experience before an interpretive one.
When he’s not teaching, Niels enjoys swimming in cold water, playing music, watching movies, farming, fashion and cooking. An avid outdoorsman, Niels has also hiked the French Route of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage route across almost the entirety of Spain.
Fuming Chu – Chair, Department of Mathematics and Physics Teacher
Fuming received a B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Theoretical Physics from Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China. Since 1975, he has worked as a classroom teacher, teaching physics at the middle school, high school, and college levels. Fuming finished his advanced studies and research training at The University of Pennsylvania and received a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. He then completed his Postdoctoral training with Director Funded Postdoctoral Fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory on solid state materials research. Fuming continued working at Los Alamos National Laboratory as staff scientist in research of metals, alloys, intermetallic compounds, ceramics, composites, and other advanced materials for their structure-property relationship.
Fuming has also worked as a software and web application developer, technical architect, team lead, and project manager with several government customers.
During the last 10 years, Fuming has especially enjoyed being a volunteer and private tutor, which motivated him to join Loudoun School for Advanced Studies (LSAS), where he has been on the faculty since 2023. His courses at LSAS include AP Physics 1, AP Physics C (both Classical Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism), Linear Algebra, Precalculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and Multivariable Calculus.
When he isn’t teaching, Fuming enjoys gardening, carpentry, reading, and traveling around the world!
Linda Foltz - Science & Mathematics
Linda earned a B.S. in Community Health Education from Potsdam State and has an M.S. in Exercise Physiology from Syracuse University. She taught various undergraduate courses at Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College while living in New York.
After taking some time to stay home with her young children, Linda was excited to rekindle her passion for teaching science when she joined the Loudoun School for Advanced Studies faculty in 2024.
Besides life sciences, Linda is also interested in engineering and completed half of a Mechanical Engineering degree. She likes to combine engineering principles with physiology, crossing into the field of biomechanics. From the smallest basic cells, the systems of the human body all have mechanical and chemical properties. It’s amazing to see how everything is interrelated.
When not teaching, Linda enjoys participating in and coaching sports such as soccer, basketball, and track & field. She enjoys hiking with her family and almost any activity that gets her outside. Additionally, Linda loves to travel, explore new places, and try new things. If you’re curious, ask her about dog sledding in northern Canada or hiking in the Swiss Alps. Recently, a lot of her spare time has been spent with the family’s newest addition, a rescued puppy named Gracie.
Emily Gruessing - Performing Arts
“Ms. Emily” brings creativity, energy, and a deep love for the performing arts to Loudoun School for Advanced Studies (LSAS). She is the creator and director of LSAS’s popular Performing Arts Program. Emily made an immediate impact by producing LSAS’ theatrical production, “Rideshare Overshare,” which won first place in the middle school competition at the prestigious Virginia Thespian Festival. She has also produced and directed LSAS’s fully staged production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Emily teaches various performing arts classes at LSAS and is passionate about allowing young performers to explore their theatrical identity through song, learning valuable public speaking, auditioning, and musical skills. She inspires students to explore their voices, movement, and artistic expression both on stage and behind the scene.
A decorated performer herself, Emily has received recognition at the local, state, and international levels for both vocal performance and acting. Most recently, she earned two International Thespian Excellence Awards (Thespys) in Musical Theater and Solo Acting. Emily has years of experience as a vocal director, teaching artist and vocal coach, and she also continues to pursue her own studies in music, music technology and songwriting.
Emily believes the performing arts give students the tools to express themselves, think critically, and work as a team. From musicals and plays to music and dance, she loves helping students discover the joy of performance and the power of storytelling.
When not in the classroom, Emily enjoys writing music, playing the guitar, performing with her band, and attending live music and theatre events. She is also passionate about social justice and volunteers for several advocacy groups.
Karen LaFollette-Shumway, Chair, Department of Science
Karen received a biology degree with a minor in classical studies at Austin College. She went on to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Texas. Realizing that her passion is teaching, and that life without Latin wasn’t enough, Karen decided to bypass writing a dissertation in favor of a thesis to complete a master’s degree while earning her teaching certifications in secondary life sciences.
Karen’s first teaching positions began at STEM magnet high schools, teaching classes that prepared students for competition in the International Science and Engineering Fair as well as biology and chemistry courses. Later, finding herself an accidental homeschooler due to immunocompromised children, Karen found that following the Classical Education model allowed her to engage in a deep immersion of math, science, world history, English, art, and Latin, teaching both her children and others in small, cooperative group settings. Karen eventually co-founded the Nova Labs MakerSchool. This K-12 micro-school allowed in-person schooling in a supportive and enriching environment. Karen has two decades of experience educating children in topics ranging from (all subjects in) elementary and middle school to high school chemistry, biology, AP Biology, anatomy and physiology, comparative anatomy, and Latin I-III.
When not teaching, Karen enjoys reading, knitting, yoga, hiking, and traveling.
Dr. Kevin Oliveau - History & Computer Science
Kevin’s distinguished professional background reflects a robust and interdisciplinary intellectual curiosity, which he brings to his classes at Loudoun School for Advanced Studies (LSAS), where he has taught since 2008. He received both a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As an undergraduate, he worked at the Media Lab. In graduate school, he researched armored warfare in World War II and the 1968 military coup in Peru. His doctorate analyzed the U.S. military uses of space., Kevin was also written up in Scientific American for running large-scale Prisoner’s Dilemma games.
Kevin worked as a micro-coder at Thinking Machines, a super computer manufacturer, where he was awarded a patent for using floating-point chip support hardware to route messages between 65,000 processors. He was the fifth employee hired at WAIS Inc., one of the first companies to create searchable websites, which was bought by America Online (AOL). He founded Lifeline Games, a short-lived online computer game company using dial-up modems, and even founded and built Catoctin Creek Village, a cohousing subdivision in Northern Virginia.
Kevin is intrigued by global politics, wargaming, movies, history, philosophy, technology, comic books, and economics. His goal in life is to try to learn how everything works. Teaching at LSAS allows him to share his love of learning. He also gets a tremendous boost from the energy and enthusiasm his students bring to the classroom. When a student corrects him, or shows him something he doesn’t know, he’s thrilled.
Joe Omspach - Music
Joe has been a music educator in Northern Virginia since 2009. He graduated from George Mason University in 2016 while studying piano under Dr. Anna Balakerskaia. Since graduating, he has worked for many music schools while also running his own private studio, OmspaMusika. Along with teaching, Joe helped develop and write the music curriculum for the Bach to Rock music franchise.
Although classically trained, Joe has a broad interest in many musical styles especially those from the other half of the world: Indian, Middle eastern, African and Javanese. He is very excited to expose new music to his students, help them identify their genre, and show how they tend to fuse in modern pop and electronic music.
When Joe is not practicing classical repertoire, he enjoys experimenting with recording software and synthesizers. If he is not doing that, he is probably hiking on one of the many beautiful trails found throughout Northern VA.
“Teacher Joe,” as his students affectionately refer to him, has taught at Loudoun School for Advanced Studies since 2021, where he has expanded the music offerings to include AP Music Theory, for which he is College-Board certified.
Molly Parker - Mathematics
A dedicated and experienced mathematics educator, Molly believes in meeting her students where they are so she can facilitate their mathematics education through customized instruction and connection. She believes math is not just about memorizing formulas, but about building confidence, curiosity, and creative thinking.
Earning a Mathematics degree focused in education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Molly became a math tutor during her undergraduate studies supporting peers academically and refining her instructional approach. Through this experience, her passion for teaching was born and while living abroad Molly continued to teach, enriching her methods through global experience.
Molly recently returned from Germany after spending the past three years living overseas. In total, she has spent six years in Germany and three years in Jordan. Her time abroad, along with extensive travel, has broadened her cultural perspective and enriched her ability to connect with diverse learners. She is deeply committed to making mathematics instruction engaging, accessible, and rooted in understanding.
Outside the classroom, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, husband, and their large extended family. With her husband's Vietnamese heritage, she loves cooking dishes for her family like phở and bánh mì. She also enjoys camping, traveling, quilting, and caring for the family’s dog and cat.
James Percoco – Chair, Department of History
A nationally recognized history educator and author, Jim taught for 32 years at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County prior to joining the Loudoun School for Advanced Studies faculty in 2016.
Jim is the recipient of numerous teaching awards including: Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year at the Walt Disney Company American Teacher Awards, the Archivist's Award for Achievement presented by the National Archives and Records Administration, the Mount Vernon Teacher of the Year Award, and the Civil War Trust's Teacher of the Year to name a few. In June 2024 he was picked as the Best Middle School Teacher in “The Best of Ashburn” issue for Ashburn Magazine. He has also written a number of books, such as A Passion for the Past: Creative Teaching of US History, and Summers with Lincoln: Looking for the Man in the Monument. He has appeared on C-Span and Book TV. In 2011, Jim was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.
A devotee of Thomas Merton, Jim aspires to Merton's conviction that “We do not exist for ourselves alone, and it is only when we are fully convinced of this that we begin to love ourselves properly and thus also love others. What do I mean by loving ourselves properly? I mean, first of all, desiring to live, accepting life as a very great gift and a great good, not because of what it gives us, but because of what it enables us to give others.”
Eric Scott - Art
Eric is a working artist, writer, and educator born and raised in Washington, Pennsylvania. Having earned his B.S. in Arts Education from Edinboro University, Eric joined the Loudoun School for Advanced Studies faculty in 2022, bringing with him 26 years of teaching experience primarily in public school systems. Eric is dedicated to helping people tap into their artistic potential and cultivate their creativity.
In addition to creating 2-D and 3-D mixed media artwork, Eric also co-authored two bestselling books, The Journal Junkies Workshop and Journal Fodder 365, both published by North Light Books.
Outside of school, Eric enjoys hiking and spending time with his wife and their small menagerie of pets.
Autumn Yates - Spanish
Autumn holds a BA in Spanish from Gettysburg College and an MA in Spanish and Pedagogy from the University of Delaware. Originally from New York, she settled here in Virginia nearly two decades ago and now finds it hard to imagine living anywhere else.
Autumn has spent the vast majority of her 16-year teaching career working in small, local independent schools due to her deep appreciation for close-knit communities and meaningful traditions. Her experience spans multiple grade levels, and she is passionate about using stories, music, and authentic materials to contextualize the Spanish language and make it more comprehensible for her students. Some of the highlights of Autumn’s career include presenting best practices at both state and national conferences and serving as the recipient of two different Spanish teacher scholarships for international study in Mexico and Spain, respectively.
When not teaching, Autumn can be found reading novels of all kinds, exploring Virginia’s state parks with her husband and two daughters, drinking Starbucks strawberry açaí lemonades, and engaging in a battle of wills with her cat, Tank.