Meet The Faculty

ECC

Cornelia Alu-Conteh

Joined the AISF Community August 2002

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Mrs. Cornelia Alu-Conteh has been a member of the AISF Comunity for over two decades and is a cornerstone of the Early Childhood Center. Throughout her 23 years at the school, she has shown unwavering dedication to nurturing young learners through a warm, child-centered approach. Cornelia has completed extensive professional training in early years education, including the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC), ICT in Education, and First Aid, ensuring her practice remains aligned with international best standards. Her wealth of classroom experience, combined with her ongoing professional development, makes her ideally suited to lead learning in the ECC. As Lead Practitioner, she supports colleagues, enriches the classroom environment, and ensures that our youngest learners begin their school journey in a setting built on excellence, care, and curiosity.

Grade 1 and 2

Nachelle Thomas

Joined the AISF Community September 2021

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Ms. Nachelle joined AISF in 2021 but before that she was in the United States pursuing a career in Criminal Justice. She graduated with honors with a B.A of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Legal studies from Georgia State University in Atlanta. After working with a well-known legal aid organization in Sierra Leone she quickly found an interest in teaching elementary and went on to pursue a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education with a certification in teaching from Kindergarten through grade 6 from Moreland University in the U.S. Ms. Nachelle is most passionate about student-led learning as she believes that the classroom should be more reflective of a community where we each learn from each other and grow together. 

Grade 3 and 4

SENCO

Gemma Sinnott Joined the AISF Community in August 2025

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Ms. Gemma is a qualified and experienced teacher of both secondary and primary school, having taught in New Zealand, Australia, East and West Africa. Gemma has a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Language Therapy and was the SENCO at her most recent international school where she was also a Grade 3 and then Grade 6 homeroom teacher.

From 2002 – 2009, Gemma taught science for 7 years to middle school students in an Australian secondary school, and from 2010 – 2012, she was the science and education for sustainability teacher at a G1 to 13 area school in New Zealand.

Gemma’s teaching style is very hands-on; she enjoys challenging students to engage in their own inquiry learning. She enjoys outdoor learning, the environment and participating in Service projects. She is excited to be coming back to West Africa from New Zealand to join the AISF community in Sierra Leone.

Math and Science
Grades 5&6 and Grades 7&8
DeMetria Hopkins
Joined the AISF Community September 2020

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Ms. Hopkins joined AISF in 2020 as the middle school Math and Science teacher.  Upon graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.S. in Business Management minoring in Mathematics, she worked as a claims adjuster for 8 years before finding her passion in teaching.  She completed her teacher certification training in Atlanta, Georgia in conjunction with Georgia’s Department of Education. Ms. Hopkins is bringing to Sierra Leone 10 years of experience teaching Math at a high school level and 2 years of teaching Math and Science on an elementary/middle school level. During those 12 years, she served as department chair, worked as part of the school leadership team, worked as a liaison to obtain grants for her school as well as sponsored various clubs to include a leadership academy, step team and a mentoring group.

English and Social Studies 
Grades 5&6 and Grades 7&8
Nicholas Ingram
Joined the AISF Community September 2023

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After completing his B.A. in History at the University of Guelph in Canada, Mr. Ingram completed his PCGE in the United Kingdom. Before joining AISF he taught Middle School Social Studies in Cambodia. Prior to embarking into the world of education, Mr. Ingram was employed in a variety of jobs, from working on a horse farm, in factories, as a delivery driver, and even opening an art studio. Mr. Ingram believes that a student-centered approach to learning that is guided by a genuine curiosity is the best way to keep students engaged in the classroom and to become life-long learners outside of it. The variety of his experiences before teaching, and as someone who has worked, read, and travelled widely, allows Mr. Ingram to bring a unique maturity and depth to the classroom.

High School
Ludovic Brouilloux
Joined the AISF Community September 2024

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Mr. Brouilloux joined Freetown and AISF in September 2024. Born near Saint-Etienne in
France, he studied contemporary history in Lyon, where he obtained a master's degree.
After several years abroad, in Portugal and Peru, he worked as a history-geography
teacher in middle and high school in Lyon. During these years he studied linguistics,
specializing in French as a foreign language, and did a first-year master's degree at
Grenoble University. He then moved to Germany, to join his partner, where he taught
French for almost ten years. In 2020, he and his family moved to Cameroon where, for
two years, he taught French (to natives and beginners) at the American School of
Yaounde (ASOY). At this school, he discovered the IB system, which he greatly
appreciated, and which will be very useful to him in his new role as proctor.