Meet the Arts Faculty
Alicia Long, Director of Performing Arts
Alicia Long is the Lower School music teacher for Grades 2-4 and serves as Chair of the Performing Arts Department. She joined the Latin faculty in 2008. An Orff certified music teacher (Level I and II), Long has more than 20 years of teaching experience in public and private schools. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina. Prior to teaching, Long was an education director for the Boston Lyric Opera and the Choral Arts Society of Washington, D.C. Long graduated from Florida State University with a B.M. in Voice Performance and received an M.A. in Arts Administration from Boston University.
Kaila Gottschling, Chair of the Visual Arts Department
Kaila Gottschling teaches both Lower and Middle School art for Grades 4-6 and serves as Chair of the Visual Arts Department. She joined the Latin faculty in 2016. Studying at Beal Art, Canada’s oldest, largest, and most innovative art school, Gottschling became proficient in textile design, lithography, intaglio, painting, drawing, and various forms of sculpture. She continued her classical training at Western University, receiving her (Honors) BFA and her post graduate Master's degree in education, with a specialization in Fine Arts. Additionally, she attended the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) and received AP certification for Studio Art - Drawing, 2D Design, and 3D Design.
Music
- Benjamin Hingle, Director of Bands
- Pamela Sweer,, Assistant Director of Bands
- Ryan Harrison, Director of Choirs
- Amy Morris, Assistant Director of Choirs
- Sabrina Howard, Director of Orchestras
- Laci Wargo, Assistant Director of Orchestras
- John Herrick, Collaborative Piano
- Aneudy Melendez, LS Music Teacher
Benjamin Hingle, Director of Bands
Benjamin Hingle has been a K-12 music educator for 15 years in South Carolina. After
graduating from Winthrop University with an undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education (’07) and a master’s degree in Tuba Performance (’09), he began his teaching career at AR Rucker Middle School and Lancaster High School in Lancaster County where he was awarded the Beginning Teacher of the Year award for the district. He has also been the Director of Bands at Cheraw High School, Rock Hill High School, and most recently the music teacher at Independence Elementary School, also in Rock Hill. Mr. Hingle maintains an active performance schedule with the Carolina’s Wind Orchestra, a local community ensemble based out of Winthrop University. He has also played tuba in the Charlotte Civic Orchestra and has subbed with the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, Mr. Hingle was a guest artist in the pit orchestra that performed with Earth, Wind, and Fire in Charlotte, NC. He also has private tuba
and euphonium students at Clover High School and Fort Mill High School. Students of Mr. Hingle’s consistently earn chairs in the South Carolina Band Directors Association Region and All-State bands. In addition to private teaching, Mr. Hingle is on the teaching staff of the Clover High School marching band. In his spare time, Mr. Hingle enjoys spending time with his wife of 15 years, Cindy. He can often be found playing dad-Uber to their two children, Alex, 12 and Elizabeth, 9. He enjoys reading, playing golf, and staying active in the Rock Region of F3, a men’s workout group.
Pamela Sweer,, Assistant Director of Bands
Pamela Sweer joined Latin in the Fall of 2017 with more than 30 years of progressive experience as a middle school band director. Sweer completed her B.M. at the University of South Carolina. Her first position was as the Band Director at Long Junior High School in Cheraw, South Carolina, and she was most recently the Band Director at South Middle School in Lancaster, South Carolina. She currently serves as a NBPTS Trainer which includes training and monitoring a team of assessors. Sweer's accomplishments include Teacher of the Year, guest clinician, recipient of the South Carolina Band Directors’ Association Outstanding Performance Award, and a member of Phi Beta Mu.
Ryan Harrison, Director of Choirs
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Ryan is Charlotte Latin School's Director of Choirs. He graduated from Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA, with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. After teaching for one year in Williamsburg, Ryan moved to Charlotte and has been teaching in the area for seven years. Ryan frequently sings with Opera Carolina and is the choir director at Unity Presbyterian Church in Denver, NC. When not teaching, he enjoys riding his motorcycles, singing karaoke, and exploring the ever-growing restaurant scene in Charlotte.
Amy Morris, Assistant Director of Choirs
Amy is Latin's collaborative pianist and AP Music Theory teacher. Before joining Latin permanently, Amy played rehearsal and orchestral piano for Latin's musicals. Amy was on the faculty at Winthrop University from 2010-2020, and prior to that was on the faculty of Queens University of Charlotte. Her many teaching responsibilities have included class piano, private piano, and voice lessons, serving as a staff pianist for studios, choirs, and opera programs, teaching audition techniques for musical theatre performers, and serving as a music director for mainstage theatre productions. In addition to her work at the collegiate level, Amy is active in the Charlotte region as a vocalist, orchestral pianist, vocal coach, music director, and private teacher for both theatre and classical/opera performers. She has sung as a chorister and soloist with Opera Carolina, Oratorio Singers of Charlotte, Oratorio Chamber Singers, Cantata Singers, the Ethos Consortium, and the chancel choir of Myers Park Baptist Church. As a pianist, Amy has been Artist-in-Residence at Opera Carolina, has played for countless theatre, opera, choral, and recital programs throughout the NC/SC region, and is an active audition accompanist for local theatres and schools. As a music director/vocal coach, Amy is currently on staff with CPCC Summer Theatre, and is a teaching artist/music director for the education wing of Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and is a private vocal coach/recording artist for musical theatre and classical/opera performers. She also serves as the assistant director and accompanist for the York County Choral Society in Rock Hill, SC. Amy holds a BM in vocal performance from Queens University and a MM in collaborative piano from UNC-Greensboro, where she was a student of Benton Hess and Andrew Harley.
Sabrina Howard, Director of Orchestras
Sabrina Howard is the director of Lower, Middle, and Upper School orchestra ensembles. Howard has more than 20 years of teaching experience. She previously served as the orchestra director at Mt. Tabor High School and Jefferson Middle School. Prior to those appointments, she served as the orchestra director at Independence High School and South Charlotte Middle School. Howard received her National Board certification in 2005 and was named the 2007 Western Region Orchestra Director of the Year. She received her B.A. in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.A. in Music Education from the University of South Carolina.
Laci Wargo, Assistant Director of Orchestras
Laci Wargo has served as the Lesson Program Coordinator and Assistant Orchestra Director since 2010. She has more than 22 years experience as a strings teacher and professional violist. She performs regularly in the Charlotte area as a freelance violist for orchestras, churches and weddings. Wargo graduated with honors from Appalachian State University with a double degree in Music Education and Viola Performance. She also has been a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Kappa Delta Pi, Sigma Alpha Iota, and NCMEA.
John Herrick, Collaborative Piano
John Herrick is a part-time accompanist in Charlotte Latin's Music Department. He has 30 years of experience in instruction, including eight years as piano instructor at Southern Park Music School and five years as faculty/piano accompanist at Wingate University. Herrick also has served as Organist and Choir Director for several churches and community organizations and currently serves as the Director of Music for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte. He earned a B.S. in Music Education from West Chester State University, with additional studies at Temple University and Westminster Choir College.
Aneudy Melendez, LS Music Teacher
Aneudy Melendez is the Lower School Music Teacher for The Nest, Transitional Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd Grade. Originally from Reading, Pennsylvania, Mr. Melendez graduated from Temple University with a B.M. in Music Education/Jazz. He also holds a certification in Orff Level 1. While initially intent on teaching secondary grades, Mr. Melendez found his passion for teaching general music to younger students. He is eager to assist with the band program, however, as he enjoys teaching new band members how to play instruments and conducting sectionals with older students alongside the current Director and Assistant Director of Bands. When not in the classroom, Mr. Melendez loves to dine at restaurants, travel, lift weights, and play pickleball.
Theater
- Jay Scott, Performing Arts Center Manager
- Matt Cosper, Upper School Theater Director
- Meredith McCarter, Middle School Theater Director
- Ryan Maloney, Technical Director
Jay Scott, Performing Arts Center Manager
Jay Scott is the Horne Performing Arts Center Manager and Audio/Video Specialist for Charlotte Latin. He has taught Upper School Technical Theater since 2000. Prior to joining Charlotte Latin's staff, Scott had a 20-year radio and television broadcasting career, which included 15 years as a producer with CBS Radio. His voice can be heard in many media. Scott continues to help build and provide sets for churches, small theaters, and charity events, and also sings in the First Baptist Church of Indian Trail Choir. Scott received his B.A. in Radio/TV/Theatre from Western Carolina University.
Matt Cosper, Upper School Theater Director
Matt Cosper joined Charlotte Latin's faculty in 2013 as the Director of Theater Arts. Professional theater credits include acting and directing with the Children's Theatre of Charlotte, the Oregon Children's Theatre, Actors Theatre of Charlotte, Carolina Actors Studio Theatre, and Theatre Charlotte. As Founding Artistic Director of critically-acclaimed experimental theater ensemble XOXO, Cosper has created eight original works for the stage since 2009, winning Charlotte Magazine’s Best of the Best Award for theater twice. In addition to his work as a theater maker, he is a member of the Goodyear Arts collective, curating exhibitions and artist residencies in uptown Charlotte. A member of the Network of Ensemble Theatres and the American Association for Theatre and Education, Cosper received a B.A. in performance from Greensboro College in 2003.
Meredith McCarter, Middle School Theater Director
Meredith McCarter teaches Drama and Enrichment in the Charlotte Latin Middle School. She joined the theater faculty in 2015 and has since directed six productions featuring talented Middle School student actors and theater technicians. McCarter has a passion for teaching middle school-aged children and the Charlotte community. She has presented on advisory programs at the North Carolina Middle School Conference and on writing strategies using the fine arts for the Writing Project held at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Presently, McCarter volunteers with Community Link, helping the homeless to gain housing, and sings every holiday season with the Carolina Voices’ “Singing Tree.” She received her B.A. in K-12 Theater Education and her M.Ed. in Middle School English instruction from Appalachian State University.
Ryan Maloney, Technical Director
Ryan joins the Latin Theatre Department in a more permanent role after being a contractor theatre set builder for theatrical productions. Ryan grew up in Florida and attended Indian River State College on a full technical theatre scholarship, graduating with his A.A. in technical theatre in 2002. Following graduation, he went back to his former high school as the Assistant Technical Director, where he first found his passion for education. He eventually moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, to serve as the Technical Director for the Davidson Community Players, before accepting a position with the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte (CTC). Following six years at CTC, Ryan started his own theatrical production company, Carolina Theatrical and Designs. His company worked with many different community, professional, and educational organizations, including Latin, building the sets for Latin’s productions of Crazy For You, Into The Woods, and Mary Poppins. His wife, Andrea, is also in the educational theatre industry, currently Vice President for Education for the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Ryan earned his Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Central Florida. His passion for arts and education has led him to this path, but he says it’s his wife Andrea and sons, Patrick and Tyler, who motivate him to keep going.
Visual Arts
- Kaila Gottschling, Department Chair
- Elizabeth Faulkner, LS Art Teacher
- Shelly Magno, LS & MS Art
- Anne Cammer, MS Art
- Richard Fletcher, US Art
- Clark Hawgood, US Art
- Heather Liebler, US Photography
Kaila Gottschling, Department Chair
Kaila Gottschling teaches Lower and Middle School art. Formerly at Carmel Christian School, she served as the Arts Academic chair, head of Visual Arts, and lead teacher Kindergarten through Grade 12. Having grown up in Canada, she earned a B.F.A. (Honors) at Western University, followed by an M.Ed. in Art Education. Gottschling is a classically-trained, practicing intaglio print maker, sculptor, textile, photographer, and watercolor artist. She sold her first piece at 16 years old. Her artwork hangs in public and private venues throughout the United States and Canada. Gottschling was taught to see the world in and out of galleries.
Elizabeth Faulkner, LS Art Teacher
Elizabeth Faulkner was born and raised in Williamsburg Virginia and graduated From Virginia Tech with a BS in Studio Art. She began her career as a social worker but found her true calling when she was asked to teach middle school art in her children’s school. Elizabeth earned her master’s certificate in art education at UNC Charlotte and has taught at all grade levels, although her very favorite is elementary! Elizabeth loves learning new skills; engaging most recently in an intensive mosaic course in Ravenna Italy. She loves traveling with her husband Dean, gardening and walking her pup Finn.
Shelly Magno, LS & MS Art
Shelly Magno is excited to join the Charlotte Latin community as a Lower and Middle School Art Teacher. Shelly received a Bachelor’s in Art from the University of Massachusetts, a graduate certificate and teacher certification from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and a Master of Art Education from Boston University. She began teaching K-8 art in 2008 and eventually founded an after-school art program that fostered cultural acceptance through a deeper understanding of local street art.
Shelly’s methodology centers on developing students as uniquely expressive artists, different from one another yet each with an important contribution to make. She garnered these principles from former professor Lois Hetland, author of “Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Art Education” and researcher under the direction of Howard Gardner at Harvard’s Project Zero.
In her personal art work, Shelly is interested in exploring movement through both abstract painting and drawing, as well as figurative sculpture. She has exhibited and sold work in Boston via group shows and had work accepted into juried exhibits at RHYS Gallery and MPG Contemporary, Boston, MA.
Anne Cammer, MS Art
Anne Cammer teaches art in the Middle School. She has been teaching at Charlotte Latin since 2000 and previously taught in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for 13 years.
Cammer's favorite media and subjects include watercolor, acrylic with drawing, figurative, and abstract. Her paintings and prints are currently exhibited at Eight Legs Gallery in Waxhaw, N.C., and her works can be found in private collections. She has participated in workshops at the McColl Center and Penland, and has taken post-graduate classes at Winthrop University.
Cammer graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dayton with a B.F.A. in art with a concentration in painting/drawing. She also received K-12 teacher certification.
Richard Fletcher, US Art
Richard Fletcher teaches Upper School Art. He is a native of Charlotte, NC, and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in ancient history and studio art. Fletcher has taught visual arts at Charlotte Latin, his high school alma mater, for more than 20 years, in addition to summer courses in Spoleto, Italy. He specializes in oil painting and ceramics, and his artwork can be found in corporate and private collections in Charlotte, Atlanta, Greensboro, Asheville, and Hong Kong.
His current series of paintings is an exploration of his Southern youth. Here he recalls a childhood spent scavenging arrowheads from the fields in the Charlotte area, as well as the wonder-filled nights on his uncle's Virginia farm. Conceptually, the paintings of the fields and farmland that were integral in his development are transformed into cathedrals of sacrosanct memories.
Clark Hawgood, US Art
Clark Hawgood’s artwork has been displayed in more than 25 group and solo shows throughout the United States, and can be found in private collections throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. His artwork also has been exhibited at at the Cabarrus County Museum of Art, and he lectured and demonstrated to Charlotte artists at the Mint Museum of Art during the Spring of 2010. Hawgood has participated in workshops throughout the United States and Europe, and has taught numerous workshops to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' art educators and other adult art groups throughout the community. He also continues to work with nationally renowned artist Andy Braitman. Hawgood and Braitman have worked directly with each other for the last 15 years teaching adults and high school students at Braitman Studio. Their students have attended universities such as the Rhode Island School of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, Carnegie-Mellon University, and the Chicago Art Institute, among many others.
Hawgood received his B.F.A. in art education with a concentration in painting from East Carolina University.
Heather Liebler, US Photography
Heather Liebler grew up in a very small town in Central Florida. She attended the University of Florida in Gainesville (Go Gators!), where she earned her degree in Marketing. She began working as a professional photographer when she and her husband lived in Charleston. Her passion for this medium has continued to grow and evolve as her family has grown. After migrating from the low country to the Queen City in 2009, she started teaching photography on a community level to both beginners and advanced photographers. Heather Liebler, is a Charlotte based Portrait Photographer. When she was ten years old she was gifted a Canon AE-1 film camera from her grandparents to record her first trip to Europe. Little did they know the importance of that beautiful gift, and how it would mold her life. With that camera, which she still has, she learned patience. Patience for the right light, the right moment, the right feeling to press the shutter release. She learned to "see" like a camera, noticing light and shadows and lines. She discovered the satisfaction of a successful photograph and the challenge of the not so successful ones. Once this skill was embedded, her artistic side took over and she started experimenting with those same lines and shadows to make them her own.
Creative Writing
I want students to have creative writing and creative thinking in their life no matter what they end up doing, because creativity is the key to finding solutions for life's obstacles.
Richard Harris,
Upper School English & Creative Writing
Richard Harris
Richard Harris is a native of Charlotte and has more than 20 years of teaching experience. He teaches Upper School English, serves as an advisor for the Creative Writing Club, advises students entering the Scholastic Writing Competition, and organizes Open Mic events to showcase student writing and encourage public speaking and performance. He also offers several writing camps for CLS Summer Day Camps.
His students annually win regional and national awards for their outstanding writing and have been published in Scholastic’s national publication Best Teen Writing. With his M.A. in English and Creative Writing, he has worked with many professional poets and writers and has both won awards and published poems in a variety of literary journals. Serving as the English department’s Latin Arts Association representative for Creative Writing, Harris regularly brings in professional poets and well-known writers for stage and screen to help him mentor our writers and keep them inspired. The Spring 2017 Latin Magazine article on Harris, as well as student-led Open Mic Readings, are a testament to the program's tradition of expertise and excellence in creative writing.
Lori Davis
Lori Davis holds an M.A. in Teaching and Learning and has been teaching Upper School English (from AP to Shakespeare to creative writing) for almost two decades. She has mentored countless young writers and published both poetry and nonfiction in various literary journals. Her students have won National Scholastic Writing Medals and Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown Awards for their literary and arts magazine work. Davis has also been recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English for Excellence in Teaching. As the Director of Publications, she advises the Eyry (yearbook), The Hawkeye (newspaper), Blue Review (literary and arts magazine), and Hawkeye TV (broadcast news).
Tiffany Fletcher
Tiffany Fletcher grew up in upstate New York and has lived and taught in the Charlotte area for more than 17 years. Twelve of those years have been spent teaching Upper School English at Charlotte Latin. In addition to teaching, Fletcher co-advises the Latin literary and art publication, The Blue Review, and is a ninth grade advisor. Fletcher has two boys in the Lower School.