About Us

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Arts Education Department Chair

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.

CHORAL MUSIC

Visit NHS Chorus Website

Michael Cohn is originally from San Diego, where received 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 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.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Visit NHS Bands Website

Noelle Imel is in her first year as Director of Bands at Northwood High School, where she directs the marching band, concert band, pep band, jazz ensemble, guitar class, and small ensembles, and teaches AP Music Theory.

She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from Georgia Southern University, serving as a Graduate Assistant for the Southern Pride Marching Band and Concert Bands.

Before joining Northwood, she taught at Beaufort Middle School and Fike High School, and worked as a music and visual technician for several programs across the Southeast. Her teaching philosophy centers on fostering musical and personal growth through performance and leadership opportunities.

Noelle serves as trumpet section leader for The Triangle Pride Band. She is a member of NAfME, NCBA, and WBDI, and an alumna of Sigma Alpha Iota and Kappa Kappa Psi. She lives with her two large cats, Sarge and Kronk.

THEATRE

Originally from Fuquay-Varina, Kyleigh McCormack is thrilled to be a member of 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.

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. In 2024 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. Leslie has presented workshops and presentations at state and national Art Education conferences, and served as 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.