Meet The Faculty

Director
Brian Roach
Joined AISF in August 2019
Brian joined AISF in August 2019 and is happy to be in Freetown and at AISF. Previously Mr. Roach was Director at Verita International School in Bucharest, Romania, and prior to that at the International School of Kigali-Rwanda from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Roach has extensive administrative experience first as a secondary principal and then as a Middle school Principal at the American International School of Bucharest. Mr. Roach worked twice at the International School of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam as a teacher 1991-1994 and a vice principal1998 to 2004. Along with certifications in both education and international school leadership, Mr. Roach earned a BA in History at the University of British Columbia in 1981, a Diploma in Guidance Studies (Counselling Psychology) at the University of British Columbia in 1999, and an MA in Educational Leadership at Lehigh University. He has taught ELL (English Language Learning) in British Columbia. Brian is a Canadian and British dual national.

Grades 1 and 2
Eliza Wildman
Joined the AISF Community in September 2021
Ms. Eliza Wildman graduated a with BA degree from University College Roosevelt and a MA in English Literature and Education from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 2017. Since then, she has been teaching grade two ELL students in Kuwait while completing her Post Graduate Certificate of Education at the University of Essex. Ms. Eliza has a keen interest in inquiry-based learning, encouraging students to shape their own learning and create meaningful learning experiences.

Grade 3 and 4
Joy Kamara
Joined the AISF Community August 2019
Ms. Joy Kamara taught various grade levels in primary school for 7 years in a group of three private schools affiliated with the Anglican Church, mainly at Christchurch School in Greenwich. Ms. Kamara earned her BA (Hons) in Cultural and Media Studies at the University of the West of England where she also earned an educational qualification in Early Years. At Bristol University she completed a Masters of Education in Special and Inclusive Education. Ms. Kamara earned her Qualified Teacher Status (PGCE) at London Southbank University. Joy Kamara is deeply trained in the integration of technology into classroom learning and has experience in differentiating instruction, a skill especially important at AISF in our multi-age and grade classrooms. Ms. Kamara was the science leader for her previous school, developing curriculum, monitoring teacher quality and pupil achievement, and leading staff meetings to share ideas.

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

Class
Grades Middle and High School
Anna van Malder
Joined the AISF Community Date
Bio Here

Early Childhood Center and Kindergarten
Becky Fayose Ogundele
Joined the AISF Community in November 2015
Ms. Becky taught for 10 years in Nigeria before moving to Sierra Leone with her husband in 2015. She taught in a private school in Abuja and later taught grade one in a Montessori school in Ondo state. Teaching early years and elementary has been one of Becky’s long-term interests. She is certified in the American state of Hawaii. She earned her MA degree in education with Moreland University in the US. Becky has worked at AISF for five years and has spent three teaching early years and kindergarten class.

English and Social Studies
Grades 5&6 and Grades 7&8
Benjamin Thomas DeCoste
Joined the AISF Community September 2018
Mr. DeCoste taught English at the Ayeyarwaddy International School in Mandalay, Myanmar for two years from 2016 through 2018. His previous experience teaching was in the US, first as a writing tutor at the Calderwood Writing Center in Boston and then as a grade 11 English teacher at Chelsea High School also in the Boston area. Mr. DeCoste earned his BA degree in English at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and is certified in English grades 5 through 12. He received his M.Ed in International Education at Endicott College. He is also qualified in English Language Learning (ELL) and will be a good support for our students for whom English is their second or third language

High School: Grades 9 to 12
University of Nebraska High School Proctor
Elena Roach
Joined AISF Community in August 2019
Mrs. Roach graduated with her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Romanian and English Language and Literature from the University of Bucharest, Romania in 1994. Since then, she has been working as a teacher of Romanian and English, mostly at the Secondary level. She has also completed her TOEFL certification with Cambridge. Mrs. Roach taught in the Romanian Mother-Tongue program at the American International School of Bucharest for 7 years, teaching in both the IB Primary and Middle Years programs. She taught ELL at Kigali International Community School and worked as an Elementary assistant at the International School of Kigali-Rwanda. Presently, she is the High School proctor and site coordinator for our University of Nebraska and VHS High School programs.

PreK
Grade 4
Hassanatou Bah
Joined the AISF Community September 2017
Bio Here

Kathrin van Rensburg
Specialist Teacher (Art)
Joined AISF: January 2022
Bio Here