Secondary
Mr. Tom Dodge (USA) STEM/Math
Mr. Thomas (Tom) Dodge is excited to teach at AST for an eight year! Prior to 14 years teaching experience in high school math and physics, Tom obtained a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona conducting research and publishing papers on metal fatigue reliability of alloy steel. He also has 25 years industrial experience as a mechanical engineer in design and development of equipment used in the manufacturing of disk media and semiconductor products. Tom’s most recent classes include AP Physics, AP Statistics, Geometry and Algebra 2. Tom is looking forward to participating as faculty supervisor of the Badminton Club and Team joining in with the students' passion for the game. He lives in Dakeng and enjoys hiking and trekking in Taiwan’s mountains as well as playing the occasional game of golf.
Dr. Madeline Gonzalez (Puerto Rico) Math
Dr. Madeline Gonzalez is excited about learning and returning to teach for the 2020-2021 year. Prior to working at AST, Madeline taught mathematics in Shanghai, was a researcher for two years in Estonia, and taught at numerous universities and state colleges in Florida. She earned her BS in Mathematics Education and MA in Applied Mathematics at the University of South Florida and her PhD in Cryptography at Florida Atlantic University. Madeline believes in the potential for all students to succeed in math and ensures high expectations combined with lots of support. She finds inspiration in seeing her AST students grow academically and socially.
Mr. Patrick Herding (USA) STEM
Patrick grew up on a farm outside of Moorhead, Minnesota and graduated from Moorhead Senior High School. He followed his 3 older brothers to Arizona in 1987 and later graduated from Northern Arizona University. He taught in Arizona for 6 years, Juneau, Alaska for 8 years, Dalian China for 6 years and has currently been in Taichung for 3 years. His wife Casady teaches English, they have a son in Juneau, Alaska and a daughter in Bellingham, WA.
AST robotics club has been involved with LEGO competitions for several years and Patrick helped launch the VEX program. The team qualified for the VEX World Championship 2 years in a row. He is eager to get more students involved in robotics and engineering, and helped organize and host the first robotics competition at AST in 2019. Last year was Patrick's first year teaching a high school robotics class and this year he will also be teaching AP Environmental Science. Patrick is the proud owner of a Gogoro electric scooter and this COVID summer, he drove it all the way around Taiwan in 8 days. He met more fantastic and friendly Taiwanese people, ate delicious food and explored the breathtaking highways on the east coast of Taiwan. Electric vehicles help him reduce his carbon footprint which is just one of the topics his students will discuss this year.
AST robotics club has been involved with LEGO competitions for several years and Patrick helped launch the VEX program. The team qualified for the VEX World Championship 2 years in a row. He is eager to get more students involved in robotics and engineering, and helped organize and host the first robotics competition at AST in 2019. Last year was Patrick's first year teaching a high school robotics class and this year he will also be teaching AP Environmental Science. Patrick is the proud owner of a Gogoro electric scooter and this COVID summer, he drove it all the way around Taiwan in 8 days. He met more fantastic and friendly Taiwanese people, ate delicious food and explored the breathtaking highways on the east coast of Taiwan. Electric vehicles help him reduce his carbon footprint which is just one of the topics his students will discuss this year.
Ms. Lily Hsu (USA) STEM
Mrs. Lily Hsu is very excited to be back for her 15th year at AST (She joined AST in 2006). She is from Southern California, attended UCLA to get her bachelor of science degree in psycho-biology and her master's of education degree in science instruction. She taught in Los Angeles for three years before moving to Taiwan. This year, she is teaching high school chemistry, forensics science, personal finance, AP biology, and middle school crafts. She enjoys swimming, playing badminton, baking with her two kids, and movie watching.
Ms. Tisa Spinelli (USA) Math
您好！我是 Tisa Spinelli. Ms. Spinelli is excited to begin her fourth year at AST, and her 10th year teaching, in Middle School Mathematics. She has her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, a K-5 Math Endorsement and an ESOL Endorsement from Georgia State University. Before coming to Taiwan, Ms. Spinelli taught in the Guangxi province of China and in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). In her free time, she loves to study Mandarin and explore the islands and beaches of Taiwan!
Ms. Suzanne Pearson (USA) Science
Suzanne Pearson is returning to AST for her 3rd year as a middle school science and high school environmental science teacher. She has 13 years teaching experience. Ms. Pearson has taught high school math for 11 years in Olympia, Washington and science for 2 years at AST. She holds a B.A. in Herbal Sciences from Bastyr University in Bothell Washington, a Master's in Teaching from St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington and she is a National Board Certified Teacher in EA Mathematics. Ms. Pearson believes that experience is the best teacher and learning by doing is an important part of the process in acquiring and deepening understanding. As a triathlon and swim coach, Ms. Pearson drives home the importance of students doing the work in order to reach the finish line. Much of teaching is coaching, helping students find that they have what it takes to be successful is a skill that they will use their entire life. Suzanne was born in Taipei, as the US air force brought her family here in the early 1970s. She spent the first 45 years of her life in the great Pacific Northwest swimming, camping, hiking and biking. Ms. Pearson is now living in Taichung with her husband and youngest son. She and her husband have a total of 6 children and two grandchildren back in the United States!
Ms. Laura Moye (USA) Social Studies, Model United Nations Coordinator
Laura Moye is happy to join the AST community this summer as a new social studies teacher. Laura was born, and grew up, in Hong Kong where she attended British and American schools. She has an M.A. in History with a teaching concentration from George Mason University and participated in a two-year teaching fellowship at Stanford University. After being a student activist for human rights for five years, Laura embarked on a fifteen-year advocacy career with Amnesty International (AI). She transitioned into teaching, her "college plan A" in Washington, DC, where she taught history and geography for five years. Last school year, she took a year off from full-time teaching and traveled to several countries, consulted with AI Thailand and did some substitute teaching in Bangkok. Laura looks forward to working with AST students to support their learning and growth as engaged global citizens.
Mr. Ethan Dombkowski (USA) Social Studies and Secondary Coordinator
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Mr. Ethan Dombkowski has been passionately teaching for the past 14 years, three of which have been at AST and the rest in Florida, USA. He will begin his fourth year at AST teaching 8th grade, 11th grade and AP Social Studies courses, as well as fulfilling the role as Secondary Coordinator. He is a fervent lifelong learner, currently working on his Masters of Educational Leadership degree; and enjoys surfing, skateboarding and pretty much every sport. He is a proud father of 2 amazing boys and the lucky husband of Ximena Dombkowski who also teaches at AST.
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Mr. Tim Michael (USA) Social Studies
Timothy (Tim) Michael is happy to be starting his ninth year at AST teaching sixth and seventh grade social studies, film criticism for middle school students, and interior design for high school students. Prior to teaching at AST, Tim taught humanities at Morrison Academy Kaohsiung for seven years, and was the Library/Media Coordinator for two of those years. Tim was also a librarian before becoming a teacher. Education captured him and he received his M.Ed. from Indiana Wesleyan University through a residency program located in Tianjin and Beijing. As an Army "brat," Tim attended Kindergarten at Morrison Academy Taichung, first grade at Taipei American School and attended five different schools in the U.S. and Hong Kong. He finally returned to Taiwan and graduated from Taipei American School. Tim now considers Taiwan his permanent home. Social studies has become his most enthusiastic focus, and he presented at the EARCOS Teacher's Conference in 2018. Tim looks forward to another year of helping students discover the history of the world, and how/why it matters.
Ms. Lucy Hsu (USA) English Language Arts
Ms. Lucy Hsu is happy to be teaching English Language Arts for her 3rd year at AST, and is excited to be teaching AP Psychology for her first year! Prior to working at AST, she taught English Language Arts and AP Psychology at Yangon International School in Myanmar for 4 years. She earned her B.A.s in English and psychology from U.C.L.A. and an M.Ed. from The College of New Jersey. Lucy's parents grew up in Taiwan, but she was born in Massachusetts and raised primarily in Southern California. She has lived in the United States, Taiwan, and Myanmar and gave birth to her daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. She is expecting her second child in October of this year. Lucy and her husband, Mike McCool, 聽了懂中文 and hope to raise their children to be trilingual in English, Mandarin, and Spanish. In addition to studying languages and reading literature, Lucy enjoys cooking and eating food.
Ms. Casady Herding (USA) English Language Arts
A member of the AST community since 2017, Mrs. Casady Herding teaches English Language Arts and Leadership and serves as the HS STUGO advisor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Arizona in her hometown of Tucson and a Master of Science degree in Modern British Literature from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. This fall she will complete a graduate certificate in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language. Mrs. Herding brings 27 years of teaching experience from Arizona, Alaska, China and Taiwan, and she values reflection, collaboration and communication. An avid reader, she also enjoys traveling, journaling, systems thinking, photography, playing ukulele, and keeping in touch with family and friends.
Mr. Mazen Himyari (UK) English Language Arts
Mr. Mazen (Maz) Himyari is thrilled to be starting his second year teaching at AST. An English teacher from Guildford in the UK, it will be his second year teaching 12th grade and his first year teaching 8th grade. He is also excited about the opportunity to teach Middle School Drama. This will be Maz's fifth year in Taiwan. He has taught at every level from kindergarten to adult. Before embarking on the adventure of teaching, Maz worked in social care in the UK for ten years, the last six of which as an activities facilitator for adults with intellectual disabilities and complex needs. In that role, he made significant contributions to creating an award-winning innovative service. Maz has had a lifelong love of literature and is inspired to share that enthusiasm with his students. He holds a Masters in Modern Poetry and has had work published in British journals. In his spare time, Maz writes, practices sound design and, if the weather allows, cycles in the sunshine.
Ms. Megan McHugh (USA) English Language Arts
Megan McHugh is ecstatic to be returning to AST for the 2020-2021 school year. Megan hails from Chicago, IL where she earned her B.A. Degree in Elementary Education with an Endorsement in Middle School Education from Judson University. Always seeking a challenge, Megan worked for a Title 1 middle school as a 7th and 8th grade English/Language Arts teacher for three years where she taught inner city students from various socioeconomic backgrounds. During her time working with this population of students, Megan became the first teacher, in all of the midwest, trained to be an AVID Excel teacher. This training helps students, who speak more than one language, get on track for College and Career Readiness, as well as, build closer academic relationships with the English content. Megan is excited to bring this knowledge to her 6th grade English/Language Arts class at AST and cannot wait to see how another year of student growth unfolds for the upcoming school year.
Ms. Katie Leahy (UK) English Language Arts
Ms. Katie Leahy is a fully-qualified English and Drama teacher from Blackpool, UK. Katie has nine years of experience teaching 11-18-year-olds and is passionate about sharing her love of literature and drama with her students. To further develop her understanding of education on all levels, Katie is currently studying for her Masters in Education (Leadership and Management) degree with The University of Exeter, UK. Prior to teaching, Katie was a professional actor in the UK and also worked as a special support assistant for students with additional needs at Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in the Northwest of England for six years. Katie has been as AST since January 2015 and looks forward to continuing into her sixth year at the school. Three years ago, Katie established the AST annual overseas culture trip to London for middle and high school students; in addition to this, Katie also established the AST annual Shakespeare Experience, in collaboration with Theatre Arts UK, at the Taichung National Theatre. Katie strives to create opportunities that serve to further enrich her students' educational experiences. In her spare time, Katie likes to attend and host trivia quizzes and play netball. She hopes one day there will be a netball league in Taiwan!
Ms. Ximena Dombkowski (Colombia/USA) Spanish
Ms. Ximena is looking forward to another year at AST. This will be her 4th year as a Spanish and Latino Culture teacher for the secondary where she teaches Spanish 1-4 and AP Spanish. Before moving to Taiwan, Ximena taught Spanish to high school students in Florida, USA for 5 years. Ximena is extremely passionate about the Spanish language and its culture and enjoys teaching the different levels of Spanish while incorporating her psychology and Life Coach expertise. She uses this to understand her students and to accommodate for each one’s learning style to maximize their growth and achievement. Ximena likes to travel, cook and spend time with her husband and two teenage boys. She is Colombian and likes to share her culture and histories in and outside the classroom.
Ms. Yao-Wei Chang (Taiwan) Chinese
Ms. Yaowei Chang has been teaching Chinese at AST for 15 years and is still very enthusiastic about teaching. AST provides a great learning environment for both students and teachers, so she enjoys sharing her knowledge and keeping up her passion for teaching and self-growth. Ms. Chang teaches Chinese for native speakers in the secondary. She believes that language learning should be fun and practical so she uses authentic materials in class. For the past 7 years, she has been the supervisor of the HS Red Cross Club, working with the students to be involved in first aid training, donating food to the Food Bank and coordinating culture exchanges with Fazhi ES (from rural Nantou County). This year, she will also be supervising the Interact Rotary Club and hopes to create more opportunities for students to become involved in community service. Ms. Chang is looking forward to the 20-21 academic year!