Leadership, Faculty & Staff

Ashley Yuan has served as the President of Springdale Preparatory School since the 2018-19 school year. In this role, she oversees all operations and programs for the school, including curriculum, pedagogy, marketing, development, and business operations. She is supported in this work by a senior leadership team of experienced educators, who assists Ms. Yuan on curricular questions and the daily issues of the school. Ms. Yuan’s deep and wide-ranging experience in businesses and schools in different cultures make her especially well-suited to oversee the Springdale experience for students and faculty alike. Ms. Yuan has a diverse and impressive professional background. Since 2016, she has been the CEO of Yulun Education and Technology Development, the majority owner of Springdale Prep, which is how she came to serve the school as President. She has also been the managing partner and founder of the first Chinese American owned real estate development company in Washington, DC, and developed many residential and commercial properties. Ms. Yuan has additional experience in financial management consulting at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s largest accounting and consulting firms. While at PWC, she assisted many organizations and corporations with their business issues. A graduate of the prestigious and highly selective Peking University in Beijing, Ms. Yuan received her B.S. in Chemistry, before earning a Master’s degree (also in Chemistry) from the University of Maryland at College Park. Following those studies, she earned her MBA from Cornell University where she was awarded a Merit Fellowship. Ms. Yuan lives near the Springdale campus and is the mother of three school-age children.

Dr. Boarman comes to us from Bullis School in Potomac, MD., a K-12 independent day school with 812 students, where he served as President and Head of School from 2010 until 2020. During his time at Bullis, Dr. Boarman expanded student opportunities in the academic program through initiatives including four signature programs (in Entrepreneurship, STEM, Humanities and Global Studies, and Visual and Performing Arts), rotating class schedules, data-driven practices for personalized instruction, and project-based learning. Under Dr. Boarman’s leadership, the school’s enrollment grew by more than 20% and added grades K-2. Dr. Boarman led the school’s largest capital campaign to date, raising over $28 million for the school’s first new building in 15 years: the 70,000 sq. ft. LEED-certified Boarman Discovery Center. Prior to Bullis School, Dr. Boarman served as Chancellor for the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He also served as Chief Educational Administrator for Eleanor Roosevelt Community of Schools in Greenbelt, MD, and Principal for Eleanor Roosevelt Science & Technology High School. Dr. Boarman holds a Doctorate in Education degree from Nova Southeastern University and Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Maryland.

Tyrone Johnson is an experienced independent school dean who has served upper and middle independent schools. For 17 years, he held a variety of positions at Whitefield Academy in Mableton, Georgia. As dean of students, he managed upper school disciplinary programs, monitored academic enhancement programs and mentored male students as a form of discipleship. He also interviewed and trained new teachers in classroom management and provided leadership and direction for the upper school advisory system. He oversaw the honor council for the upper school and coordinated all academic support details for student athletes. Johnson served Whitefield as the head varsity boys basketball head coach and garnered several coaching awards. He serves as Springdale Preparatory School’s inaugural boys basketball coach this fall.

Wei Mao leads the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Department of Springdale Preparatory School. He holds a Master's degree in mathematics and a Master's degree in computer sciences from Purdue University. He received his Bachelor's degree from the top ranking mathematics department of Peking University in China. He is an experienced college and high school math educator and also has more than 20 years of experience in the IT (Information Technology) industry. He emphasizes on teaching the background and reasoning behind math and science theories and formulas, and always encourages students to explore and experiment on their own innovative ways to solve problems. Besides teaching high school and IB DP math, he also teaches computer science, and has been providing professional guidance to students who wanted to develop a career in the IT industry. Back in college and high school, he was an active participant and award winner of various math competitions. He enjoys passing down his math knowledge and skills to interested students.

Jason Lawson came from the mountains of Kingston, Jamaica. From a young age, he has pursued his passions in math, physics, tennis and chess, participating in many international competitions. He received his Bachelor's degree in physics with minors in mathematics and global management. He believes that success comes when one pursues his/her passions and works as hard as possible to achieve them. He also believes that it is most important to treat people how you would want to be treated, and no act of kindness is ever overlooked in the grand scheme. He enjoys travelling to new places and his favorite view is of Lake Constance in Europe. He is also an epicurean, which is a cool word for saying that he likes good food and trying new things.

Sobia Zia brings an interdisciplinary approach to mathematics at Springdale Preparatory School. She collaborates with learning facilitators in other areas to create cross-curricular projects for our students. Zia has experience working with students with learning differences, scaffolding their learning so that they can make step-by-step progress toward learning goals. Zia received her Master’s degree in statistics at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.

Dalin Chen has more than ten years of experience in business management. She received a master’s degree in Management from University of Management and Technology after her Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering & Business studies in University of Warwick, UK. At Springdale Preparatory School, she serves as Market Research Analyst. She is leading the international programs and summer/winter camps, and she is also working as CAS coordinator and DP coordinator associate.  

Bill Ford is an experienced educator with 10 years of experience and a master’s degree in military history. At Springdale Preparatory School, he teaches middle school and high school level history. He is known for leveraging teamwork, classroom technology and individualized educational programs to elicit success from his students. Most recently, he served as a substitute teacher at Springdale, following service to the Harbour School in Owings Mills for nearly a decade.

Rhea Phillips brings her passion for Romance languages and linguistics to the World Language Program. Originally from California, she earned her B.A. in Latin American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she focused on Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. She later earned her M.A. in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where she developed her interest in phonology and sociolinguistics. She continued to teach Spanish and Heritage Spanish courses at UIC as a lecturer. Ms.Phillips demonstrates through her teaching that cultural competency and acquisition cannot be pieced apart, a lesson she learned herself from her work and studies abroad. She studied and worked in Granada, Spain for two years, studied abroad in Bahia, Brazil and earned a Fulbright grant to assist in teaching university phonology courses in the south of Brazil. She also began learning French during her undergraduate years and has continued to foster this interest until she was able to teach it herself this past year.

As the Librarian and Research Development Coordinator, Monica Johnson provides cross-curricular programming for student research skills development. She supports classroom instruction and works to help develop strong student research skills. This includes performing effective information searches, gathering and sorting raw data, judging usefulness, validity, and reliability of data/resources, overseeing copyright ethics and citation instruction. In addition, she manages information technology resources for students and faculty, maintains and grows the school’s print and electronic resource collection and serves as liaison with outside sources including local library systems. Johnson most recently served as Middle and Upper school Assistant Librarian at Whitefield Academy in Smyrna, Georgia.

For more than 15 years, Michaela King has advocated for children and adults in a variety of situations of need. As a social worker for Fresno County Child Welfare, King advocated for abused and neglected children. She also served as a rehabilitation counselor for an adult facility in Novato, California, and a youth counselor in Floral City, Florida. She has a passion for helping individuals better themselves through reflective insight and confidence in personal strengths and abilities.

Krisha Davis serves as Assistant to the Arts Facilitator. A working artist, she has served in a variety of artistic capacities for local companies and used media as diverse as computer programs, foam core, insulation foam, cement, plaster, resin and lacquers, wood, and PVC. Her class programs incorporate various artists and genres to integrate artistic skills with cultural understanding. She emphasizes interdisciplinary learning through her approach to teaching art as well as through collaborations with colleagues in various disciplines. Davis also has experience tutoring a variety of subjects in a school setting, including Science, Math, Latin, Geography, History, English, and Art. She has managerial experience and also teaches fitness, motivating her students and creating results in their fitness level and diet.

Ben Kohn serves as performing arts learning facilitator. He coordinates the arts programming at Springdale Preparatory School, facilitating courses in voice, instrumental music and music appreciation. Kohn works with elementary to high school age students of varying skill levels and experience. His lessons are based on making music and music appreciation fun for all students. His background includes work in music production, video editing and production, conducting, cinematography and information technology. Also, he has served as a drone instructor and he provides private instrumental and vocal instruction for students.

Doris has thirty years of experience working for the State of Maryland. During her twenty-Four year of working for the Carroll County Board of Education, she oversaw the Medical aspects of 600+ students each day from Pre-K to Fifth Grade. Her responsibility includes recording and maintaining all student's medical records, administrating medicines, monitoring student allergies, and notifying doctors and parents when students develop symptoms. Doris enjoys working with Students. Her biggest joy is seeing their success.

Valerie Tucker is a seasoned office management professional with more than 35 years of corporate experience working with executives at the VP level, personnel departments, full offices, and school administration in Houston, Texas. Among her expertise is overseeing and coordinating all of the offices’ administrative activities including organizing meetings, scheduling, managing databases, logistics management, and communicating effectively with staff, suppliers, and clients. She holds a certificate in business management from the Powelson Business Institute in Syracuse, New York.

Tyrone Johnson is an experienced independent school dean who has served upper and middle independent schools. For 17 years, he held a variety of positions at Whitefield Academy in Mableton, Georgia. As dean of students, he managed upper school disciplinary programs, monitored academic enhancement programs and mentored male students as a form of discipleship. He also interviewed and trained new teachers in classroom management and provided leadership and direction for the upper school advisory system. He oversaw the honor council for the upper school and coordinated all academic support details for student athletes. Johnson served Whitefield as the head varsity boys basketball head coach and garnered several coaching awards. He serves as Springdale Preparatory School’s inaugural boys basketball coach this fall.

Brandon brings over a decade of coaching and athletic experience to Springdale. He serves as the physical education teacher as well as the strength and conditioning coach. He graduated from Salisbury University with a degree in Business Management. Brandon has previously served as the JV and assistant Varsity coach for over ten years at Westminster High School. He has also been personal training athletes for over 5 years and will continue to do so for Springdale’s student athletes.

Dan is an experienced residential life supervisor and former middle/high school English & journalism teacher.  He brings thirty years of experience working with middle and high school students. Dan has extensive experience in the development and oversight of academic programs and educational initiatives to promote student growth and achievement. An accomplished communicator, presenter and negotiator, he is skilled in building and strengthening relationships and building consensus across multiple organizational levels.   As a student life supervisor, Dan created weekend activities based on student input, advocated for student interests, and ensured students had a voice in residential life.  Dan was an assistant golf coach and helped with track and swim teams.  His interests include developing youth leadership skills, teen entrepreneurship, and traveling with student groups.

A seasoned expert in building construction and maintenance, Timothy R. Gifford serves as facilties director for Springdale Preparatory School. In this capacity, he ensures that all buildings and operations on both Springdale Preparatory School campuses remain in the best possible condition and function. He oversees a broad range of services including facility maintenance in all trades; facilities scheduling; day-to-day custodial service and operations; security systems, information technology systems for operations; energy and utilities systems; recycling and waste management; event services; grounds maintenance; and facility condition assessment and tracking. For the last 18 years, Gifford has served as project manager and developer of construction and remodeling projects throughout Carroll County.

Neal Roop is responsible for managing student transportation and buses, overseeing grants and donations, organizing and managing school events including the annual gala, and liaising with the local community. Prior to joining Springdale Preparatory School, he served in an administrative capacity with the Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association. Roop has also served for eight years as a manager for the Carroll Area Transit System. He is currently serving his eleventh year as mayor of New Windsor where he continues to representing and advocating for the town. As mayor he also supervises financial decisions, future locality planning and public relations. He is a member of Leadership Carroll through the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, holds PennSCORE Master Trainer Certification through PennTRAIN-PennSCORE, and is an advanced Public Information Officer (PIO) through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A chef and manager throughout the East Coast, David Luscher serves as Springdale Preparatory School’s lead chef. His culinary program uses fresh ingredients and offers creative and healthy menu options that excites students, parents, and faculty. Luscher’s award-winning food service career spans school culinary management on preparatory school and college campuses and restaurant executive chef experience. Prior to joining Springdale Prep, he spent more than seven years with Metz Culinary Management, where he assisted in developing the company’s food standards and received multiple awards. He was chef and manager at a college preparatory school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he implemented many new programs, including a food composting program and a salsa garden where students were able to grow, cook, and eat their own produce.  He is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York.