Principal — Ms. Elisha Lubliner
Ms. Elisha Lubliner graduated (Summa Cum Laude) from Northwest Christian College in 2005. She has a B.A. in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, an Oregon Teaching License, ESOL endorsement (English to Speakers of Other Languages) and American Montessori Society certification for the primary level. She began teaching at Agia Sophia Academy in 2006. Her first year here was spent teaching 2nd-4th grade and enjoying ASA’s content-rich curriculum. Towards the end of 2007, Elisha became involved in updating the preschool program and used her previous Montessori experience to recommend a program for preschool and kindergarten at Agia Sophia Academy. Following the training program from the American Montessori Society, she opened and was the lead teacher for the school’s Montessori classroom. Elisha greatly enjoyed working with the 3-6 year old students and was constantly amused by their witty and wise sayings. After two years teaching in that program, Elisha moved into the position of principal at ASA. She is now excited to begin her fourth year in that position. Ms. Lubliner loves to partner with the students, families and staff of Agia Sophia Academy to build a strong Christian educational environment in which the child is able to grow and thrive spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
School Secretary — Mrs. Euphrosyne McKenzie
Mrs. Euphrosyne McKenzie was born and raised in Seward, Alaska. While attending college, she met her husband who introduced her to the Orthodox Church. She became a stay-at-home mom and in 1999 converted to the faith. In 2002, she moved with her family to beautiful Oregon. After beginning a homeschooling program for her son, she was excited to hear talk of an Orthodox school opening and jumped at the opportunity to enroll him that first year. Agia Sophia Academy was a true blessing; her son soared academically. Mrs. McKenzie began administrating ASA’s website and helped publish the school newsletters, later taking on more and more secretarial duties as the school grew. As her daughters reached enrollment age, they too loved attending ASA, and this fueled Mrs. McKenzie’s desire to be continuously involved in this wonderful ministry. In 2008, she officially became a member of ASA’s staff and loves every minute of it. Currently, her youngest daughter attends ASA’s Lower Elementary Program.
Montessori Teacher — Ms. Rusudan Miminoshvili
Ms. Rusudan Miminoshvili was born in Poti, Republic of Georgia, which is situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the mouth of the River Rioni.
She received a college degree from Poti Musical College in 1976 in choir conducting and then pursued further education by graduating from Harkov University of Arts and Culture in 1985 with degree in Academic Choir Conducting. Her previous experience includes: teaching children ages five and up through college level, working as a choir conductor (St. Nicholas church in Georgia) and directing children’s musical plays.
In 2004, Ms. Rusudan became a Montessori Teacher’s Assistant in a Primary Classroom, then was moved to Lead Teacher in a Toddler Classroom, where she spent a year and a half. In 2008, Ms. Rusudan joined ASA. She is pleased to be here, in a place where the child’s development is addressed through mind, body and spirit in an Orthodox way.
Montessori Teacher — Mrs. Padma Aisola
Mrs. Padma Aisola was born and brought up in India, living mostly in Calcutta with her parents. She studied in Madras as well, when her dad was posted there, finally receiving her Bachelors in Economics. She got married in 1987 and joined her husband in early 1989 in Phoenix, AZ. She has two girls and worked in their Montessori school in Phoenix from 1998 to 2006.
Mrs. Padma received her Montessori Primary certification from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and trainer Dr. Montanaro from San Diego. In 2001, she completed the Montessori Infant-Toddler training as well.
While in Portland, Mrs. Aisola spent a couple years substituting in Beaverton Montessori School, Providence, and Agia Sophia Academy. In January 2010, she joined our Primary Classroom full-time and greatly enjoys it. She especially loves teaching cursive handwriting, further developing the language portion of our curriculum and reading poetry with the children.
Lower Elementary Teacher — Mrs. Jean Shaffer
Mrs. Jean Shaffer grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana on her family’s dairy farm along with her parents and sisters. She wishes that everyone could experience the blessings of farm living sometime in their lifetime. Jean attended Purdue University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Early Childhood Education and later attended Valparaiso University and received a Masters Degree in Education with a minor in Diagnostic Reading. After college graduation, she married her high school sweetheart, David Shaffer. They have two young adult children, Jonathan (24 years) and Sarah (22 years). They recently celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary. The Shaffer family relocated to Portland, Oregon about 17 years ago from the Midwest. They are active members of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church community in Portland. Jean has taught in both public and private school settings in Indiana, Illinois, Portland and Hillsboro, Oregon. She just completed her 23rd year of teaching and retired from the Hillsboro School District with 10 years of service in a Title 1 School. She is very excited to join the Agia Sophia Academy where Orthodox Education fosters student growth spiritually, emotionally, physically, and academically. She welcomes the opportunity to share some of her experiences with Agia Sophia Academy families and passion for reading with her students.
Upper Elementary Teacher — Fr. Edward Hillhouse
Fr. Edward Hillhouse, was born in Wisconsin, then soon traveled to Virginia and ended up in 13 different schools from San Diego to Alaska, as a Navy brat. These enriching experiences helped make him a better teacher, which he had had a vision of doing by the age of 14. He pursued his goal of becoming a school teacher through the education department at California Baptist University. After seven years teaching third grade in Riverside, California, Fr. Ed moved to the Santa Cruz area where he worked in the cleaning, landscaping, and hardwood floors businesses before helping to start an Orthodox school. He taught grades five through eight in his parish school for 16 years before moving to the Portland area where he is in his fifth year as a teacher at Agia Sophia Academy, a position he feels privileged to fulfill. He also currently serves as an assistant priest at St George Orthodox Church in Portland.
Just as key people in Fr. Ed’s life have left profound imprints on him, his vision for being a teacher is to empower children early on to become strong individuals who are able to course through life making informed choices that lead to success on all levels. He strives to teach every lesson and manage his classroom with the awareness that how he relates to every child in every circumstance contributes to academic, personal and spiritual growth. His ultimate goal is that children read, write, think and speak well in the context of a loving relationship with God. He has endeavored to accomplish this since 2006 at ASA, having taught grades 1 through 7.
Elementary Assistant Teacher — Mrs. Christina Blankenstein
Mrs. Christina (Bournelis) Blankenstein is a native Oregonian who grew up in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church community. Mrs. Blankenstein attended Catholic elemntary and high school in the Portland Metro area. After high school, she earned a BA degree in Politics and minor in History from Whitman College. After spending a short time teaching English in China, Mrs. Blankenstein decided to return to school to earn her Master’s degree in Teaching at University of Portland. After graduation, she spent 2 1/2 years working for Project Mexico of the Orthodox Church in San Diego and Rosarito, Mexico where she met her husband. In 2001, they moved from San Diego (Project Mexico’s headquarters) to Portland where they are active members of the St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church community. She loves working with children and for the Church in this very important ministry of educating our children. She is very excited to have the opportunity to teach at Agia Sophia Academy. Mrs. Blankenstein and her husband, Paul, have two children who attend Agia Sophia Academy.
Music & PE Teacher — Mrs. Brigid Powell
Our Music & PE Instructor, Brigid Kathleen Powell, is thrilled to be teaching at Agia Sophia Academy. Her love for the Orthodox Church, for music and a healthy physical self fuels her passion to educate all children in our rich and exquisite tradition.
She earned her B.Mus. with emphases in Conducting, Vocal Pedagogy and Music Education from Western Washington University and has taught music in numerous Private and Public schools and Sunday Schools ranging in ages from preschool through university level. Frequently sought out as a judge, guest conductor and clinician, Mrs. Powell has worked with many secular and Orthodox Conductors and Choirs in various jurisdictions. She also served as the Youth Music Specialist for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco Church Music Federation for whom she organized and developed curriculum as well as taught Church Music Institutes and at the Conductor Training Academy. She continues to maintain a private singing and conducting studio.
A lifetime filled with creative and athletic activities caused Mrs. Powell to share her joy with her children by enrolling them in a summer session of Anne Green Gilbert’s BrainDance class for ages 18 months to 3 years. Since then, she has taken many courses on Teaching the BrainDance for her own edification. Who knew it would lead to the great opportunity to share the bounty with the children and families at ASA?
Greek Language Teacher — Mrs. Christina Hersey
Christina Hersey is a wife and mother of one little boy, two dogs, one cat, and four chickens! She has lived in Oregon for six years after moving around as a Navy wife for four. She attended the University of South Alabama in Mobile, where she earned her degree in Elementary Education. Since moving to Portland, Christina has become an expert business writer and developed many hobbies, including gardening, hiking, and cross-country skiing. She grew up in a Greek-speaking home, since her mother is from Gastouni in the Ilias prefecture of Greece. She has visited Greece a total of seven times, usually for extended periods of more than two months. Christina loves everything about Greece and Greek culture and she is excited to share her love of her heritage with the students at ASA.
Latin Language Teacher — Ms. Christiana Dorrance
Ms. Christiana Dorrance was born to a family of linguists, beginning with her great-grandfather who, after being fluent in both English and Greek, taught himself Spanish and French at the age of ninety. Christiana first fell in love with Latin in Magistra Mathison’s ninth grade Latin 1 class. She devoted her high school years to Latin, becoming a gold-medalist in the National Latin Exam, a prestigious Latin exam taken by students in over thirty countries, her sophomore year. Christiana is also pleased to assist in the multi-aged classroom, teaching the first graders math and language arts.
She has worked extensively with children in a variety of settings: teaching Sunday School, working at summer camps, and working as a nanny. She also enjoys, among other things, playing the piano, singing, reading, and spending time with her family. She is glad to be a part of the ASA community.
Art Teacher — Mrs. Magdalena Perussi
Mrs. Magdalena Perussi was born in Pitesti, Romania. She has been surrounded by art since her childhood. Her father is an iconographer and painter, and he helped develop her artistic inclinations. In 1998 she finished her degree in painting, with a minor in teaching art, from the University of Fine Arts in Bucharest. Soon after receiving her art degree, she married, and came to Oregon. Over the years Mrs. Perussi has painted icons for her church and parishioners, worked on religious murals at the two Romanian Orthodox churches in Portland, and created her own paintings. Mrs. Perussi has been the art teacher at Agia Sophia Academy since 2008. She is happy, and feels privileged to teach art to the ASA students, including her son who also attends the school.
