Nathan and his wife Kaitlin have two children, Reese ’29 and Bo '32. 

Dr. Nathan Faulkner earned a bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology from Duke University, a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Winston-Salem State University, a master’s degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of South Carolina. With more than 6 years of teaching experience, Nathan has taught and tutored extensively at the college level at the University of South Carolina, Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest University, and most recently, as a visiting assistant professor at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., where he taught Elementary Statistics, Pre-Calculus, Math for Liberal Arts, and Linear Algebra. He also has experience teaching College Algebra, Calculus, and Finite Mathematics. Nathan and his wife Cari have three children: August, Martin, and Brian.

Terry earned his bachelor’s degree in music and his master’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has taught choral music for almost 30 years. Prior to his 2016 return to FCDS (Terry was originally hired by Headmaster Gordon Bingham), he taught choral music at R.J. Reynolds Arts Magnet High School since 1990. He developed an extracurricular show choir, a gospel choir, and a capella ensembles and served as stage and music director for the school’s musicals. Terry chaired the Performing Arts Department from 1993-1997 and from 2001-2007 and was a certified mentor teacher from 2005-2013. Terry is extremely active on the Winston-Salem music scene. He has been the church music director at Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church since 2014. He is a volunteer rehearsal accompanist for the Winston-Salem Mozart Club’s annual production of Handel’s Messiah and he has produced the A Capella Jam for Hope from 2005-2015 to raise funds for charities through music. During his career, Terry has received numerous accolades. He won the 2015 ECHO Award for community building from the Winston-Salem Foundation; the Yale University Distinguished Music Educator Award in 2009; and twice earned Teacher of the Year at Reynolds. He was also a finalist for the WSFCS Teacher of the Year Award.

Leah earned her bachelor’s degree in public and urban affairs from Virginia Tech and her master’s degree in school counseling from UNC-Charlotte. Most recently, Leah served as Associate Director of College Counseling at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. There, she managed a caseload of 32 juniors and 32 seniors whom she advised, educated, and mentored throughout the college search and application process. This mentorship included self-reflection, values identification, application writing and strategies, organization, financial aid, and final college selection. Prior to Woodberry Forest, Leah worked at Davidson College for seven years, serving as Associate Dean of Admission and Director of the July Experience.

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Annie Jin graduated from Beijing Technology Institute with a master's degree in computer science. She remained at the university as an assistant teacher for four years before becoming a technical consultant for Hewlett Packard. However, her passion for being a teacher never died. After marrying her husband and moving to the United States, Annie held multiple positions as a private Chinese tutor before becoming the founding Mandarin Chinese teacher at FCDS in 2006. She designed and implemented all four levels of Chinese instruction. Annie has two children, Sarah and Alec.

Originally from Raeford N.C., Nikole earned her bachelor’s degree in history from UNC-Pembroke and her master’s in cultural anthropology from NC State University. A seasoned educator with 12 years of experience, Nikole most recently served as a college advisor and senior events coordinator at Thales Academy in Rolesville, N.C. In this role, Nikole mentored seniors through the college admissions process, building strong relationships to help them discover who they are and what they want to do after graduation. Using this information, Nikole successfully connected her students with the best-fit colleges and careers for them. She and her husband Brey Cooper have two children, Rowan FCDS ’36 and River FCDS ’38.  

A graduate of Williams College with a bachelor’s degree in studio art, John taught art at the Millbrook School in Millbrook, New York for five years. He taught courses ranging from beginning to Honors Photography, Advanced Drawing and Painting, Video, Art History, and Printmaking. In 2012, he earned his master’s degree in arts education from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and in 2014 he obtained his MFA in photography from California College of the Arts (CCA). Mr. Kildahl has taught and studied a broad spectrum of art, and he is passionate about helping students master new tools and techniques and to discover their artistic identities. He has presented on “Developing Independent Studio Thinking in an Honors Photography Class” at the National Art Educators Association Conference and most recently served as a teaching assistant at CCA.

After receiving his bachelor's degree in history from Mars Hill College in 1990, Joe was a teacher, coach, and dormitory head at Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Virginia from 1992-1996, and at the Orme School in Mayer, Arizona from 1996-1998. Joe has been with FCDS since 1998 as a teacher, and has coached cross country for seven years and track for three years. His family includes his wife Barbara, an FCDS alumna and former faculty member, have two sons, Will (FCDS 2021) and Sam (FCDS 2023).

Ashton holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a neuroscience minor from Gettysburg College and earned her Ph.D. in biology from Wake Forest University. She was a biology teaching assistant at WFU for three years and worked as a biology tutor. While earning her doctorate, Ashton developed a love for working with high school students. She served as an instructor of Project SEARCH Academy, a series of week-long biomedical science camps for rising ninth graders, for five years. There, she taught concepts including experimental design and critical thinking and managed labs designed to reinforce hypothesis-driven thinking. From 2010 to 2015, she volunteered at different visitation and science outreach programs for high school students, teaching microscopy skills to 6-9-year-olds at Kernersville Elementary School, serving as a Science Olympiad Judge at Atkins High School, teaching genetics concepts at Mt. Tabor High School, demonstrating lab techniques to Stokes County High School students, and demonstrating lab techniques to high school-aged students visiting Wake Forest. Ashton has also guest lectured at FCDS on bees and bee behavior, on which she is writing her doctoral dissertation. Ashton has served as an undergraduate research mentor at Wake Forest since 2011, helping undergraduate students work on independent research projects, teaching experimental design, lab techniques, and data analysis, and coaching and supporting these students through the completion of their projects. A member of the National Association of Biology Teachers, Ashton is married to Andy Bielsten, a Winston-Salem police officer. Their son Rhett is a student in the Early Advantage Program.

Rachel earned her bachelor’s degree in Hispanic studies education from Eastern Carolina University and her master’s degree in Spanish language education from Middlebury College. Rachel has taught Spanish for six years at the high school level, most recently at Western Guilford High School, where she served as World Language Department Head for two years. She taught seven different Spanish classes ranging from Spanish I to AP Spanish Language & Culture. In addition to earning her master’s degree while studying at Middlebury in Madrid, Spain, Rachel took part in the ISEP Reciprocal Exchange at the Universidad de Malaga while earning her bachelor’s degree. She attended AP Spanish Language & Culture training in 2012 at the College of William and Mary and in 2013 at Wake Forest University. She is the author of the paper “El uso de palabras/expresiones malsonantes y eufemismos en el habla de Madrid”, which was published in the Gaceta hispanica de Madrid in 2010.