About Us

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VISUAL ARTS

Arts Education Department Chair

Leslie Burwell received her bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in art and theatre at the University of South Carolina. She received her Arts Education certification at Meredith College  in 1991. Leslie taught theater at Zebulon Elementary Arts Magnet and taught elementary art in Hoke County for two years. 

She began teaching Visual Arts at Northwood in 2002. She is a National Board Certified teacher in Art for young and adult learners. In 2015, she served as a member of the NC Governor's Teacher Network, NCAAT's One Amazing Year, Northwood's Teacher of the Year, and Chatham County Teacher of the Year for 2015 and 2016,

In 2016, she traveled to South Africa as a 

Go Global NC Borchardt Fund Awardee and was a part of the first alumni trip with Go Global NC to Morocco. In 2019, she was selected to travel with SCAD at their Hong Kong campus. She has also led art-focused trips to Europe with students. She served on SAL and School for Art leaders with a capstone project on slow listening. Last year, she was awarded NCAEA's Secondary Teacher of the Year and the National Art Educator Association's Southeast Regional Secondary Art Educator of the Year. She has presented workshops and presentations at several state and national Art Education conferences. This past summer, she became an AP reader for the AP Studio Art Portfolio in Salt Lake City. She earned her Master of Education in Visual Art Education at East Carolina as a thesis student.

 She teaches in an Inquiry-based art method, believing that students ask essential questions and explore how to communicate these ideas visually using the creative cycle. Over eleven Northwood graduates have become visual art educators, and 30+ work in visual art and media arts industries.

Leslie is the proud mom of two NHS Alumni! Rebecca, a graduate of NYU with a master's in higher education, works as an Education Program Manager at Clinical and Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Daniel received his Master's in public policy at George Washington University and works at Deloitte in Washington, D.C.  She spends her free time with her husband, Lee, traveling, hiking, reading, creating art, and gardening.

CHORAL MUSIC

This is Michael Cohn’s 3rd year teaching at Northwood High School. Originally from San Diego, CA, Michael received both his MFA and BA in Classical Piano Performance at the University of California, Irvine ’21 and University of California, San Diego ’17 respectively. Piano is his main instrument, but he also has a love for jazz which led him to play the saxophone, clarinet, and flute growing up. Favorite composers include Brahms, Beethoven, Clara Schumann, and Antonin Dvorak, although his musical interests are not solely focused on classical music. He also enjoys alternative and classic rock, especially the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Who and Weezer. Cohn has been teaching music since 2012 during his freshman year of college. His teaching is solely student-centered, with a focus on making music fun and engaging, while diving deeply into skills and technique along the way. 

Growing up in San Diego, he spent most of his time delving into the world of music, or competitively swimming, where he competed at the collegiate level at UCSD. In June of 2022, he moved to NC with his wife, Rachel so she could begin med school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Now in his free time, you can usually find him outdoors, hiking, cycling, running or swimming.

DANCE

Kristen Oakes found her love of dance during her time as a student here at Northwood High. She went on to attend East Carolina University where she received a bachelor’s degree in Dance Education. This is her 15th year teaching and she could not be happier to share her dream job with such an amazing and supportive arts department. 

When she is not teaching dance, Kristen enjoys spending time with her husband Stephen and her children, Grady and Charlie Jo.

THEATRE

Originally from Fuquay-Varina, Kyleigh McCormack is thrilled to join the Northwood family as the Theatre Arts teacher. Kyleigh is a recent graduate from East Carolina University, where she received a BFA in Theatre Arts Education and a BFA in Professional Acting, which included a two-year study of the Sanford Meisner technique. Kyleigh performed in multiple productions at East Carolina during her time there, including Lysistrata, Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, and more. 

Aside from theatre, Kyleigh loves to crochet, cook, craft, go thrifting, and spend time with her cat,Winnie.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Hagan Zoellers is in his third year as Director of Bands at Northwood High School. He directs the Marching Chargers, the Wind Ensemble, the Symphonic Band, the Concert Band, the Musical Pit, and the Jazz Band. He also teaches AP Music Theory at Northwood. Under his leadership, the Marching Chargers and the concert ensembles have received superior ratings, and students taking the AP Music Theory exam have had a 100% pass rate.

Originally from London, KY, Zoellers completed his studies at the University of Louisville, the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, and The Ohio State University. Before coming to Northwood, he taught students of all ages privately and as part of the instructional staff at successful band programs in Kentucky and Ohio. He also serves as an arranger and show designer for marching bands in the Triangle area.

Hagan has performed with the Cincinnati (formerly Fillmore) Wind Band, the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music Wind Symphony, and the University of Louisville Wind Ensemble, in addition to his work as a professional multi-instrumentalist. He was one of two American oboists invited in 2015 to perform in Muri, Switzerland as part of the Muri Masterclasses, and he presented his research on historical practices of music education at the Sibelius Academy’s 2018 Symposium on Music History. He also presented at the 2023 North Carolina Music Educators Association conference alongside then-principal Dr. Brad Walston on strategies for integrating into a school environment as an early-career band director. His professional affiliations include NAfME, Phi Mu Alpha, The Society for Music Theory, and The American Musicological Society.