Abby Blount is a recent graduate from the College of William & Mary majoring in music with an emphasis in piano and piano performance. Hailing from Newport News Virginia, Abby has been playing piano since she was 5 and teaching lessons since she was 17. While at William & Mary, Abby had the opportunity to participate in numerous ensembles, accompany 5 full legth musicals, and perform in over 200 auditions. Abby is very excited to be working with W.S.A. As a music teacher and the music director this school year.

Theatre first captured Lyra’s heart in fifth grade, and has been a driving force in her life ever since. After a myriad of productions in her youth, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in English Education and taught both Drama and English in the Hampton and Newport News public school systems. She’s excited to return to the classroom and inspire students at Williamsburg School for the Arts & Innovation with the same passion for theatre that has shaped her own journey. Outside of the classroom, she’s actively involved in the Hampton Roads theatre community. Over the past five years, she’s had the joy of performing in productions with both the Williamsburg Players and Peninsula Community Theatre. In addition to acting, she serves on the board of the Williamsburg Players and has taken on production management roles for a variety of shows, gaining valuable experience both onstage and behind the scenes. She’s also really into books, tea, and cozy sweaters. 

Fiona Heller is a new arrival to the USA! Originally from Bristol, UK she has a degree in mental health nursing and worked as a mental health nurse in many areas including forensics, Correctional Mental health and most recently Perinatal. She has been sewing and creating since she was about 5 years old with the help and guidance of her Mum and Grandma. Whilst pregnant with her first child she increased her sewing/fibre arts production making a lot of clothes for herself and her (now) children! Fi has taught several of her close adult friends to sew and since being in Virginia has been giving 1:1 weekly sewing lessons to 2 young ladies who have produced a range of pieces which they wear with pride! Fi’s approach is to follow the ideas and requirements of the student taking in their ideas and suggestions to make a truly unique piece they can truly be proud of!

Valerie Kinkead is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's in Humanities with an Art History emphasis. The highlight of her University experience was completing two study abroad programs in Italy and Spain. She has been a Bibliophile all her life and won her class reading contest in 6th grade by reading over 50,000 pages. That love of literature has continued throughout her life and she is excited to share that love with others. She is the mother of three children and moved here to Virginia from Utah with her husband's position as an Air Force Civilian employee. She has homeschooled her kids off and on through the years and loves being involved in education. She enjoys working with children and has several years of teaching experience including teaching English to children in China and she currently volunteers as a music teacher at her church. She loves the outdoors, birding, hiking, gardening, biking, and of course, READING!

Krista John is an educator and school leader with nearly two decades of experience in education and curriculum design. She earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in English & Italian, her Master’s in Education from Arizona State University, and is going to begin her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Educational Leadership at William & Mary this fall. Her passion for literature, history, and the arts began in childhood and continues to shape her work today. Krista is the founder of Williamsburg School for the Arts & Innovation and also runs The Wordsmith, a mobile bookshop that brings curated books and literary events to the Williamsburg community. She homeschooled her twins, Logan and Izzy, for five years and believes deeply in hands-on, creative learning. A New York native now happily settled in Virginia, Krista enjoys reading, traveling, writing, listening to podcasts, and spending time in Colonial Williamsburg with her family.

Gina Velardi is a graduate from West Virginia University (‘24) with a concentrated study in Acting. A Delaware native, Gina has performed in over 30 shows including Cinderella, Romeo + Juliet, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She has also been seen working at various theme parks with costumed characters, including Hershey Park with Jolly Rancher (JR), and Busch Gardens Williamsburg with the Sesame Street crew. Throughout her college career she has learned and perfected voice/diction, movement of the body, accent work, Shakespeare, vocal performance, and stage combat. She is very excited to share her love for the theatre with everyone at Williamsburg School for the Arts and Innovation.

Jessica Weber has been an educator for over 10 years, specializing in both K-12 and adult education. She has her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Salisbury University and has been an entrepreneur for over 15 years. Along with her husband and her consulting firm, she brought, led, and built Wild + Free Williamsburg, VA, a thriving all-inclusive homeschool community, and sits on several boards for for-profit and non-profit organizations. Jess is passionate about inspiring others to expand their mindset, as well as push past self-imposed and societal limitations. She will be bringing her education, experience, and passion to her entrepreneurship and leadership classes and is excited to be a part of WSA’s growth.

Cedar is an aspiring costume designer who has been passionate about sewing, costume design, historical clothing, and various other fiber arts for around 5 years. He has three younger siblings and his mom runs an in home daycare, so he loves working with kids. After high school he assistant taught sewing and fiber arts classes at Tabitha Sewer Studio for a few months and he can’t wait to get back to a classroom. During Highschool he costumed four shows among other smaller design projects. Since then he has interned at the costume department (HC&D) at Colonial Williamsburg. He also interns at the Hennage auditorium in the art museum at CW, where he does costuming, acting, and stage managing for some of their shows. He also has a small crochet business with his mom, a hobby they have both enjoyed throughout their lives.