ADMINISTRATION

Georgeanna was born and raised in Cary, North Carolina and now lives with her husband, Chris, and their 5 kids on a farm in Holly Springs. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 2006 and worked for 7 years as a Postpartum/Newborn nurse. After bringing their daughter home from Taiwan in 2013, Georgeanna quit her job to stay home and care for her medical needs, which marked the beginning of their family’s homeschool journey. Given life’s circumstances, homeschooling was the best option, but still not their family’s ideal.

After her second child started Kindergarten, Georgeanna began to seriously consider what her role might be in starting a hybrid school in the Apex/Holly Springs area. Over the next couple of years, God made it clear that the need was great and He wanted her to take the lead in opening a University-Model® School. It has been amazing to watch what God will do when we simply put our “yes” on the table. She is honored to play a part in the story God is writing through HLA.

A desire to serve others by using the abilities and gifts God gave Carl instilled in him a deep passion for teaching and education, which led him to the mission field of the public school system here in Wake County for the last ten years where he was a lead teacher at Cary High School. In 2014, Carl took his first trip to South Sudan where he led teacher and administration workshops to help them establish schools. It was then that God started laying on his heart a desire to work with teachers as a coach and mentor. God has opened many doors since in preparation for this new role at HLA. Carl is overwhelmed by God’s graciousness and faithfulness as He continues to do more than we could ever hope or imagine in and through HLA to make His name great here in our community and across the world.

Carl is a husband to Elizabeth and father to two nonstop, beautiful children: Zeke and Haven. He earned a Master’s of Arts in Teaching degree in 2007 and had the privilege of impacting close to 2,000 students at Cary High over the last ten years. Carl was honored as Cary High’s Teacher of the Year during his tenure there as well as taking a lead role in initiating several programs to promote teacher development and growth. He also started a club called “Students for South Sudan” as a way for students to partner with the schools in the world’s newest country and looks forward to continuing this partnership with the community at HLA. Carl is extremely excited to begin this new journey to see how God will raise up the next generation to impact the world for Christ!

Jerusha is a wife and mother of 5 beautiful children who she has been homeschooling for the past 6 years. Her husband, Tim, has been a huge support, enabling her to pursue many other dreams. They love Jesus, music and just about anything that means they get to run around and make some noise!

Her educational background is in foreign language studies, biblical studies, music and elementary education. While Jerusha’s passion has always been music, the Lord clearly led her down the path of teaching. She received her multi-subject credential for K-8 and an early childhood special education credential for birth-5 years old. She taught in an early intervention program for 10 years, and came home to be a full-time mom 6 years ago!

I am so excited to be back at HLA for my second year.  This year I am serving as site administrator on the Apex Monday/Wednesday Track.  It is a joy to be able to learn all the students and families by name!  I am also continuing to serve as the missions coordinator for the Apex campus, as well as teach geography to our Apex middle school students.  As I step into these exciting roles at HLA, I am overwhelmed with excitement to be able to be used by our LORD in a variety of different ways. It is my prayer GOD uses the gifts He has equipped me with along the way, as well as continue to grow new talents within me.

My family and I are fairly new to North Carolina, as we recently moved from Seoul, South Korea, where we served as missionaries with Network of International Christian Schools (NICS).  There I had the opportunity to teach a variety of subjects, such as science, English, and Aquatics.  My husband and I have three children, all who were born in South Korea. My love for missions and reaching out to the international community runs deep, as I have been living abroad for the past 16 years. In addition to serving in a school setting in Seoul, my family and I have taken short-term mission trips to places like Indonesia and the Philippines. We have enjoyed leisure travel abroad as well, including visiting countries like Australia and Singapore. I come to HLA with a B.A. in Education with certification in Elementary Education, as well as an M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning for the Middle School Grades. 

LaVett has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Jackson State University and a certification in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. Before joining the Heritage team, she spent over 15 years working in nonprofit management for local and statewide nonprofits. She left the traditional workforce four years ago and began transitioning into education while homeschooling her children.  That experience prompted her to blend her passion for education with her nonprofit expertise as a member of HLA’s administrative team.

In addition to her nonprofit experience, LaVett has served as an adjunct professor at Saint Augustine’s College, and her heart to encourage and equip parents led her to become a certified parent-coach through the National Center for Biblical Parenting.  LaVett loves working one-on-one with parents to help them become better equipped in raising the next generation for Christ.
She and her husband Dwayne reside in Raleigh and have four beautiful children: Darrian, Madison, Brooke, and Gabriel.

I was born and raised in north-central Texas, growing up primarily in Ft. Worth.  I graduated from Texas Tech University in 1983, and began my career in education in 1985, teaching and coaching in public school at the middle school and high school level.  School administration was always something that I felt God had gifted me with, and I had to opportunity to move into that field in 1991. After four years as an assistant principal, I was fortunate enough to secure principalships in a K-5 elementary school for 14 years, and a 6-8 middle school for 5 years.  My last year of service in Texas was as principal of our district’s alternative high school.

In the spring of 2017, God began to show us that changes were coming for the Slaters.  I had started to think about retiring from the school system and open my mind and heart to wherever He wanted to take us.  That process, facilitated by the Summit Network, led us to a one week, summer mission trip to the Triangle working with Waypoint Church primarily.  While we were here in Durham, we experienced the Holy Spirit’s subtle calling. We fell in love with the mission of bringing the Gospel to the Nations living right here among us, and also began to hear about a new University Model School coming to the area called Heritage Leadership Academy.

Donna and I relocated in July 2018 (one year to the day after leaving to travel back to Texas the summer before), and absolutely love it.  I am so encouraged by what God is doing here at HLA, and can’t wait to see what He has for us.