Now in her 17th year of teaching, Julia DeLaney has given valued experience and knowledge to the Learning Resource Department.
Mrs. DeLaney is originally from Statesville, N.C. She received a degree in history and secondary education from Appalachian State University, where she met her husband, Glenn.
Mrs. Delaney began her career in the North Carolina public school system, teaching middle school Social Studies, Science, and English, and then spent five years teaching 6th grade U.S. History at Ravenscroft School, an independent day school in Raleigh. When she and her husband moved to Vermont Academy, Mrs. DeLaney taught History and Learning Resources, coached girls soccer, served as a dorm parent, and supervised the winter recreation ski program. After four years in Vermont, she moved back to North Carolina when her husband became director of the Outdoor Academy in Pisgah Forest.
Mrs. DeLaney enjoys traveling and has skied on multiple continents. She and her husband have a son, Elem.
Mary Dillon has presided over Christ School's Theater Department since 2001. Audiences have enjoyed close to 40 plays directed by her during that time. She is not afraid to innovate either.
It was Mrs. Dillon's idea to introduce Winter Film as an after-school option to Greenies starting with the 2018-19 school year and Broadcast Journalism was added for 2020-21.
Mrs. Dillon teaches World Literature, Honors World Literature, Journalism, Film as Literature, and English as a Second Language (ESL). She is the faculty advisor for The Stump student news organization, which includes a print newspaper as well as streamed newscasts.
Mrs. Dillon is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas and the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. She has directed five productions for the Montford Park Players in Asheville.
Betsy Ellis P'24 has taken fundraising at Christ School to unprecedented levels since becoming Director of Advancement in 2018.
Each resulting fiscal year has reached new highs for the school, an upward trend that continued in 2021-22 with more than $5.6 million in total giving. Starting this year, she will expand her partnership with Head of School Dr. Sean Jenkins on key strategic initiatives as Assistant Head for External Affairs.
Mrs. Ellis previously worked in the Advancement Office from 2002 to 2004, assisting with fundraising for the renovation to St. Joseph’s Chapel. In 2004, Mrs. Ellis became Director of Advancement at Asheville's Evergreen Charter School. After the birth of her son, Ben, Mrs. Ellis joined Asheville's Pisgah Legal Services, where she worked for 11 years. Her job grew to Director of Philanthropy, managing a talented team, 1,600 donors, and increasing the non-profit's annual campaign from $200,000 to more than $1.4 million a year.
Mrs. Ellis was ready for a new challenge and the opportunity to return to Christ School came at the right time.
Mrs. Ellis, her husband James (an attorney in Black Mountain, N.C.), and their three sons live in Van Every House. When she is not working, Ellis loves to travel, cook, and entertain. She also enjoys spending time at the family's place on Lake Champlain in Vermont.
Cissy Elmer and her family are ingrained in the Christ School community.
Now in her 17th year, Mrs. Elmer handles all purchasing for the school as Bookstore Manager. Mrs. Elmer’s husband, Danny, is Director of Human Resources and Facilities. Their two sons, Ben ’09 and Sam ’13, attended Christ School from the eighth through 12th grade.
Mrs. Elmer received her A.A. degree in Arts from St. Mary’s College in 1980.
In her spare time, Mrs. Elmer enjoys beekeeping, hiking, spending time with her family, and checking out Asheville’s ever-growing culinary scene.
As the Director of Human Resources and Facilities, Danny Elmer manages the employee personnel files, the company health and benefits packages, as well as the progress of all new construction.
Look around campus and you can tell he has been busy lately with the renovation of Beaver Student Center (pending, 2022), Stolz Dining Hall (completed, 2016), the renovation of ’30 House (completed, 2017), the Close-Krieger Athletic Center (completed, 2018), Father Kirk Brown Outdoor Chapel (completed, 2018), and new on-campus housing for faculty and staff. With the help of his maintenance and grounds crews, Mr. Elmer keeps every Christ School building – academic, residential, athletics – in working order and ensures the grounds are well-manicured.
Being in the wilderness is Mr. Elmer’s great passion, and when he finds the time, he shares that passion with Christ School students, either taking a group fishing or to the skeet-shooting range. These trips keep Mr. Elmer connected to the community, and the love the boys have for him was acknowledged in 2016, when they dedicated the Angelus, Christ School’s yearbook, to him. You can see his effect on his sons, too. Sam ’13, a fanatical fly-fisherman himself, works for Vanguard Financial. Ben ’09 is a professional fly-fishing guide in Cashiers, N.C.
Mr. Elmer graduated from N.C. State in 1985 with a double major in Business Management and Economics. After managing the financial operations for businesses in Asheville and Raleigh, Mr. Elmer worked as the Director of Finance for an all-boys summer camp in Flat Rock, N.C. He joined Christ School in 2007, and what’s kept him here is “Hands down, the people – great faculty and staff, great kids!”
Cissy Elmer, his wife of more than 30 years, manages the Student Center and Bookstore.
Allegiances can change over time, even in the Christ School-Asheville School rivalry.
Doug Embler P'19 grew up in west Asheville as the son of legendary Blues coach and teacher William "Doc" Embler. But he has worked at Christ School for 15 years now, primarily in the bookstore.
The 2022-23 academic year will represent a change with Mr. Embler becoming Assistant Athletic Director for Logistics.
Mr. Embler and his wife, Tina, live in Asheville. Their son is Hunter '19.
Tina Evans brought a deep background in teaching and administrative work when she became Chair of the Learning Resource Department in 2018.
Early in her career, Mrs. Evans served as Admissions Director of Carolina Day School’s Key School, in addition to teaching students with learning differences at the school. From there, she moved overseas to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to teach English and direct a writing center at an international baccalaureate school. Most recently, she was a founding teacher of Buncombe County’s first public STEM high school, Nesbitt Discovery Academy. During her tenure there, she was chosen as the school’s 2016 Teacher of the Year. Included in Mrs. Evans’s impressive skills is a thorough understanding of the Orton-Gillingham approach to language.
Along with her husband, Bill, and their children, Zachary and Mariah, Mrs. Evans enjoys exploring new places, hiking, gardening, and learning how to play the didgeridoo.
Prospective families will find that James Garland ’10 speaks from experience when he talks glowingly about Christ School.
Ten years after his own graduation, Mr. Garland returned as Assistant Director of Admission in 2020. He has also been a Dorm Parent and an assistant JV basketball coach.
Mr. Garland is a former Headmaster's Cup winner who attended Christ School for four years. During that time, he was active in the Theater Department and played basketball.
Mr. Garland had been involved in corporate sales since graduating with a B.S. in Business Economics from Wofford College in 2014. His primary hobby is basketball (Mr. Garland is a diehard UNC-Chapel Hill fan).
Dr. Lisa Garner P’24 hopes that every Christ School boy will grow and develop into the best version of themselves as Director of Student Counseling and Wellness Programming.
She is a native of western North Carolina and was happy to return home and join the Christ School community starting with the 2021-22 academic year. Prior to this, Dr. Garner spent more than 20 years living and working in Chicago with a professional practice that focused exclusively on work with children, teens and families in residential, community mental health, and school settings.
Outside of school, she enjoys travel with her family to locations near and far, exploring local trails, gardening, reading historical fiction, and snuggling with her dog, Clover.
Dr. Garner and her husband, Lee, are proud parents to Lawson, Lily, and Luke '24.
Many of the fondest Christ School memories are made during the weekends and evenings.
Jim Goodrum looks to provide the best entertainment and leisure possible for the boys in his role as Director of Student Engagement and Summer Programs.
Even though he is a Georgia native, Mr. Goodrum spent much of his childhood going to the Falling Creek Summer Camp in Henderson County, N.C. He later worked at the camp as an activity leader, program director, and staffing director.
Mr. Goodrum attended Mercer University, earning a B.A. in History. He returned to his college alma mater in 2002, serving as Assistant Director of Admissions and Recreational Sports and Wellness. Most recently, Mr. Goodrum was in charge of student enrichment and summer programming at Carolina Day School.
Mr. Goodrum and his wife, Kristi, have a son, Thompson, and a daughter, Alice.
Will Gordon started as a Learning Resource and English teacher at Christ School in 2020 with a stated goal to empower his students inside and outside the classroom.
Mr. Gordon graduated from Clemson University in May 2020 with a B.A. in English and minors in Film and Sports Communication. At Christ School, Mr. Gordon teaches ninth grade English as well as assisting the Learning Resource Program. He also works as a dorm parent in Cuningham House.
Mr. Gordon has coached JV Soccer and golf here, and his favorite pastimes include spending time with loved ones, watching movies, and golfing.
Carrying on Christ School lacrosse’s winning tradition spoke to Patrick Haley, as did the Greenie value system, which mirrors his own.
Along with Head Varsity Lacrosse Coach and Program Director, Mr. Haley will be Assistant Athletic Director for Student Life starting with the 2022-23 school year.
Mr. Haley comes to Christ School from St. John’s College High School near Washington, D.C., where he was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator for the country’s No. 1 ranked high school team, according to Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse. Prior to his eight years at St. John’s, Mr. Haley was offensive coordinator and the first coach and employee of IMG Academy’s program in Bradenton, Fla. He was responsible for launching IMG Academy’s residential lacrosse student program. Mr. Haley has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Maryland University College.
Mr. Haley brings 14 years of coaching experience to Christ School and comes from an extensive lacrosse family. Mr. Haley has mentored dozens of NCAA lacrosse players, including two of his younger brothers (Georgetown University and University of Maryland) and four of his cousins (University of Denver, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University, and United States Naval Academy).
Mr. Haley played collegiate lacrosse at Towson University. Through his education and work experience, he has built a network will support and build Christ School lacrosse.
Mr. Haley and his wife, Kellie, will live on campus with their sons, Pax and Rowe.
Brent Harris has quickly made his presence felt in the Christ School community. He was voted our 2018-19 Teacher of the Year following just his second year with the faculty and promoted to Head Swimming Coach in 2020.
During his doctoral work in Astrochemistry at the University of Virginia, where he received his Ph. D in 2014, Dr. Harris was a National Science Foundation Fellow. For four years after that, Dr. Harris employed his research as a principal investigator, commercializing and inventing new instrumentation for chemical sensing. As a result of his entrepreneurial and technical experience, Dr. Harris served as an expert reviewer for the National Science Foundation engineering directorate.
Dr. Harris teaches AP and Honors Chemistry at Christ School. He and his wife, Robin Pulliam-Harris have three children – Charlie, Kathleen, and Simon. In his spare time, Dr. Harris enjoys choir-singing as well as hiking and running Asheville trails.
Longtime Asheville resident Lisbeth Harrison joined the Christ School College Guidance Office in 2019. As Office Manager, she works closely with Director Kirk Blackard and Associate Director Tracy Weldon.
Ms. Harrison came to Christ School after 23 years at Carolina Day School where she was a teachers assistant and also worked in the Advancement and Admission offices.
Outside of work, Ms. Harrison likes to travel, work in her garden, hike, read, and spend time with her family. She is involved in the French Broad River Garden Club and serves on the hospitality team at St. Eugene's Catholic Church. Ms. Harrison has lived in Asheville since 1975 and has three sons.
Peter Hartwig will wear many hats in his first year at Christ School, teaching Humanities and serving as Assistant Chaplain.
He was previously at Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash., and the Westminster Theological Centre in the United Kingdom. Mr. Hartwig was most recently a Communications Associate for Global Endowment Management, LP out of Charlotte.
Mr. Hartwig was an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia, receiving his B.A. in Religious Studies & Classics in 2016. He then went on to receive master’s degrees from the University of Cambridge (Theology, Religion & Philosophy of Religion) and the Princeton Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity).
He will live on campus.
Matt Houston added to the strength of Christ School's Math Department in 2020 after spending a decade as an Associate Professor at Middle Georgia State University.
Mr. Houston earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tennessee Tech University. He received a Ph.D. in Math from the University of Georgia in 2018.
Mr. Houston's hobbies include reading, coding, tinkering with electronics, and traveling. His wife, Melissa, is a local artist.
Christ School alumnus Drew Hyche '94 is a beloved mainstay of the administration as Dean of Students.
After graduating from Clemson University in 1998, Mr. Hyche came back to his alma mater to work as an intern in Residential Life and to coach basketball and tennis. Since then, he has worked in Student Activities, Admissions, and Student Life.
Currently, Mr. Hyche is head coach of the Middle School basketball team. Mr. Hyche also serves as one of the Administrators on Duty and as one of the advisors to Form VI (12th grade). He and his wife, Mary Kinsey, live on campus with their two children, Harper and Burns.
Dr. Sean Jenkins became the 14th Head of School at Christ School in July 2021.
Originally from Knoxville, Tenn., Dr. Jenkins received his B.A. in English from Wake Forest University and his M.Ed. from North Carolina State University. He completed his Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Virginia, where he served on the honor council and was inducted into the Raven Society.
Dr. Jenkins is a graduate of the McCallie School and former member of its Board of Trustees. His other civic associations have included serving as senior warden at Christ Episcopal Church, serving on the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Episcopal School (VES), and the Charlottesville Free Clinic.
Dr. Jenkins joined the Christ School community from the University of Virginia after serving stints at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Jenkins served UVA Presidents John T. Casteen, III, Teresa A. Sullivan, and James E. Ryan as a senior assistant where his responsibilities included admissions, accreditation, development, board-governance, education policy, global programming, strategic and academic planning, and operations.
At UVA, Dr. Jenkins taught and advised undergraduate and graduate students. He was recognized for outstanding leadership and teaching by The Society of the Purple Shadows in 2015. His broad range of experience and expertise benefit our community in his role as Head of School.
Dr. Jenkins' family - wife, Lawson, a Spartanburg, S.C. native, and a fellow Wake Forest and UVA graduate, and sons Coleman and Jack - are also members of the community.
Greenie football players obviously have an incredible resource in George Johnson, who played defensive end in the NFL for nine years.
There is more to Mr. Johnson’s life than just football though, and his background in philanthropy and working with youth will aid him as the new Assistant Dean of Campus Life.
Coming to Christ School reunites Mr. Johnson with Varsity Football head coach Chad Walker – the two men were previously on the same coaching staff at Cambridge Christian School in Tampa, Fla. Mr. Johnson played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and New Orleans Saints from 2010 to 2018.
Mr. Johnson is completing his B.A. in Labor Studies and Labor Management from Rutgers University where he was a four-year starter at defensive end.
Mr. Johnson has six years of volunteer experience for the Boys and Girls Club of America and has also been involved in benefits for youth and families in need through a church food pantry. Mr. Johnson comes to Christ School with his wife, Rebecca, and their children, Olivia, George, Mae, and Bo.
Jeff Joyce looks forward to teaming with Christ School’s many passionate supporters to create opportunities for enhancement and growth as the new Associate Director of Advancement.
Mr. Joyce fell in love with the rivers and mountains of western North Carolina while working at a summer camp in college and has lived and worked in the area since 2008.
He served as the Director of Public Policy for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce for eight years, transitioned to the world of philanthropic development. Mr. Joyce has most recently been Director of Alumni Affairs and Development for nearby Brevard College.
Mr. Joyce is a 2008 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Staying active in his community has been a common theme as Mr. Joyce served as Board Chair for the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce and as President of the Young Professional of Asheville. When he’s not working, Mr. Joyce can be found whitewater kayaking or mountain biking on local rivers and trails.
