Meet Our Staff

Art Cacossa

Arthur received a Master’s Degree in English from Brown University, and has extensive Psychology and Education certification from The New School for Social Research and Montclair University.  He has taught English for over 15 years and was English Department chair in a prestigious public school in New Jersey, where he developed and delivered AP, College Prep and writing courses, as well as innovative English classes for Middle School students.  Arthur also has over 10 years of experience as Learning Head for Johnson and Johnson’s Pharmaceutical division, where he designed and developed online courses for medical clients globally, managing training teams in England, Belgium, India and Japan.

Arthur has a passion for international cultures and cuisine, loves to travel, and to cook, and has studied classical piano for over 15 years.

Leigh Ann Conner

Leigh Ann received her Bachelor of Science degree from UNC-Asheville. She holds an NC teaching license and has been teaching in local public schools and online through NC Virtual Public School for twenty years. She was named teacher of the year in 2009 at the Career Education Center in Asheville. Leigh Ann loves to teach and tutor science to middle and high school students. She loves being outdoors hiking, running, and walking her dog. 

James Foust

James has been teaching all levels of math to middle and high school students for over 30 years. After earning his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Messiah University in Pennsylvania, he taught in private schools for 17 years. James has a passion for helping students achieve their goals for university admission and strives to help build math confidence in those he teaches. He is known by his students for his ability to apply math to real-world experiences, often bringing clarity and self-assurance to students who find math challenging. James has an impressive 1500 chess rating and enjoys coaching chess students.

Karen Foust

Karen has taught grades K-8 over the last 25 years in a variety of settings including public and private school, homeschool, and one-on-one tutoring. Karen graduated with her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Cedarville University and holds a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certificate. A fluent speaker of Mandarin, Karen is often found sharing her passion for Asian culture with her students through hands on ethnic experiences.

Deborah Holcombe

Deborah holds a master's degree in education from North Georgia University, a bachelor's degree in speech communications from The University of Georgia, and a bachelor's degree in secondary English education from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Deborah also holds a TESOL diploma, as well as a Self-Reg Foundations certification through the MEHRIT Centre in Ontario, Canada.

From 2013 until 2021, Deborah and her family were living in Hong Kong, where she founded a tutoring initiative with asylum seekers in the city. Deborah tutored reading and writing privately in her home. While in Hong Kong, she served on the steering committee of the Adoptive Families of Hong Kong, a well as well as serving with the exceptional children program in her church.

Deborah and her family have recently relocated to the east coast. Deborah continues to tutor ACT/SAT prep online. 

Bill Moore

Bill graduated from the University of Tennessee after returning from some time in Vietnam where he flew helicopters for Air America. His father was an airline pilot which stirred his interested in aviation from a young age. Bill has always enjoyed teaching World and American History as well as English Literature and Writing. Mr. Moore once came within one question of making it on the TV show Jeopardy.