Jennifer Deitz
- School Administrator and Languages
Jennifer holds a Bachelor’s degree in German and French and has also earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, a Postgraduate Diploma in the Law of Educational Management and a Master’s degree in Education Management, specializing in Curriculum Design and Assessment. Jennifer takes on a great number of responsibilities at Lee.  As school administrator, she is the focal point for communication from parents, faculty, prospective visitors and the world outside Lee.  Along with the upper and lower school coordinators, Jen is responsible for the development of curricula and class schedules.

 Linda Lacey
- Director
A graduate of Slippery Rock University, with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education, Linda founded Lee Academy in 1983. Linda has made numerous presentations on gifted education at national and international conferences.  She is a member of the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, the Florida Association for the Gifted (FLAG) and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).  She is also a committee member in the NAGC divisions on special programs & schools, early childhood and professional development. 

Brian Schmidt
 -Music
Brian is an extremely gifted musician, who is currently completing his four-year music education degree at the University of South Florida. For the last two years, Brian has been working with talented music students at Zephyrhills High School as a consultant for their marching band, the concert band and the jazz ensemble. Brian plays a wide variety of musical instruments himself and has been working with our students on recognizing the various instruments, as well as looking at different musical styles, in addition to singing and music interpretation.

Mike Moore
 - College Guidance
Mike has been part of the Lee Academy “family” for a number of years, graduating two children (Sally “01” and Spencer “04”), both National Merit Scholars in the Honors Program at the University of Florida. This fall, he will once again be helping David Deitz in assisting upper school students in their search for the best college program.

Mary Ann Ulseth
- Early Childhood
Mary Ann has worked with young children for over 20 years now, starting out with a family day care business. She holds an Early Childhood Associate Degree and Director Credentials and for a number of years was the Lower School Coordinator for seven early childhood classes for children aged 3 to 6.  Mary Ann received the accolade of Hillsborough County Early Childhood Teacher of the Year in 1997. She has a passion for working with young children.  Her aim is to encourage each child to have a zest for life-long learning, coupled with a respect for themselves and for those with whom they come into contact.

Ute Harries
- Art
Ute worked for museums in Frankfurt and Munich after achieving a degree in Museums & Science in Germany. She finished her Bachelor’s degree in fine arts at USF while teaching sculpture workshops at Lee.  Ute is revamping the art program for lower and upper schools this year and will continue to be instrumental in our theater productions.

Sonny LaRosa
 - Music – Instrumental
Sonny is a jazz musician who started out in New York City and traveled around the country as a trumpet player with many great bands during the early days of swing music. He has since spent many years as a music instructor and bandleader. In addition to being a great trumpet player, he has mastered the piano and can play several instruments. For the past 25 years he has focused his energies on teaching jazz to the youngest generation and leading America's Youngest Jazz Band.  Sonny is at Lee one day each week to provide small group instrumental instruction to students of all ages and re-form a Lee Academy Band. 

 Jennifer Ruthruff
 -Computer Instructor and Early Childhood Assistant
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from the University of Toledo. She spent five years working as a case manager with children and families.  She is assisting this year in our Early Childhood Education unit and is also teaching Information Technology classes to our lower and middle school classes.  Her aim is to have the students become familiar with a variety of computer applications in order to support their learning in other areas of the curriculum. 

Susan Nelson
- Early Childhood Assistant
Susan holds a Bachelor degree in Psychology and Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Hawaii and an Elementary Teaching Certificate from Chaminade University. She has been employed in the fields of education and social work for several years, working with children and their families.  She is assisting in the Early Childhood Education unit, working mainly with our youngest children, but also with the Kindergarten class.

 Caroline Babis
- Early Childhood
Caroline earned a Bachelor of Arts from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado. She previously taught kindergarten through third grade in public and charter school programs as a certified teacher. Caroline completed the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation’s “Trainer of Teachers” program.  As an accomplished artist, she has provided art and music instruction to young children for over 15 years, most recently as a certified Music Together teacher. Caroline is excited to build a hands-on active learning classroom community with the Primary 1 students here at Lee.

Kimberly Bull
 - Lower School and Intermediate Science
Kim holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Science and Biology from the University of South Florida.  She has taught a number of subject areas in the past, including science, math, computers, health, chorus, cooking and sign language.  Kim played field hockey, softball and volleyball throughout high school and college (including three years on the USVBA tour) and has coached these sports for various high school and junior college teams.  This past year, Kim taught Science to the P2’s through the I2’s, Earth Science to the I4’s and Honors Biology to the USA, B and D’s.  In 2007/08, she will be teaching lower school and intermediate Science, Physical Science and Physics.

Jeff Floyd
- Lower School Math & Science
Jeff received his Bachelor’s degree in Science from Manchester College in Indiana, where he participated in two college world series in baseball.  Jeff has great experience individualizing curriculum from his previous teaching position, which required individual education plans.  His teaching style is very hands-on and visual, encouraging students to be active during class on experiments and projects.  One of his planned projects is to study beaches, how they are created and what type of plants and animals live there.

Amalia Hughes
 - Spanish
Amalia was born in San Jose, Costa Rica and moved to the U.S. as a young child. She has lived in Tampa for over 15 years and taught Spanish with the Language Playhouse prior to joining Lee Academy. She is an accomplished guitarist and uses songs to teach vocabulary and structure. It is a fun way for students to acquire vocabulary almost without realizing it.
 Amalia takes the communicative approach to the teaching of Spanish, particularly in the early stages. Her students are used to hearing her speak Spanish throughout the lessons and they enjoy using the language themselves. The culture of the countries where Spanish is spoken is also an important part of the students’ education and Amalia is able to draw on her personal experiences, as well as an extensive collection of items to make language acquisition lively and effective.

Nicole Ruelo
- Physical Education
Nicole earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from East Carolina University.  She is a strong proponent of physical education for all age groups. Not only is this beneficial for the physical wellbeing of our children, but also for their intellectual development. A former soccer, basketball and softball player, Nicole works with the students on coordination, specific game skills and the all-important element of teamwork.