School of Fine Arts Faculty
Tim Unger
Music
School of Fine Arts Coordinator
MM University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
BME Baldwin-Wallace College
Tim Unger is the choral director at Lake Ridge Academy, where he oversees the Middle and Upper School vocal programs. This encompasses curricular and extra-curricular ensembles as well as the musical productions put on by the Fine Arts Department. He is also the director of the Oberlin Choristers Youth Chorale and the United Methodist Church of Berea Chancel Choir. Mr. Unger serves on the board of the Ohio Choral Directors Association and is the Coordinator of the Lake Ridge Academy School of Fine Arts and Chair of the Fine Arts Department.
Edward Leonard
Music
BM Baldwin-Wallace College
Edward Leonard directs the jazz studies program. As part of the program, his students have worked with leading area musicians and competed at Walt Disney World. He has performed at the Brother’s Lounge, The Star Restaurant The New Orleans Showboat club, and Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland for its weekly concert series.
Thomas R. Flowers
Music
MM Kent State University
BA West
Virginia University
Thomas
Flowers, director of the strings program, is a member of the Akron Symphony
Orchestra and principal bass with the Firelands Symphony Orchestra. Previously
he performed with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy,
the American Institute of Musical
Kristy Knechtges
Theater
MA Ursuline College
BA Wittenberg University
Kristy Knechtges has directed and choreographed over 20 productions throughout her career. Ms. Knechtges was selected to present at the 2010 National Theater Educators’ Conference and was selected for the 2007 Music Theater International’s Broadway Teacher’s Institute. Most recently, her production of Janey Miller’s World Tour was selected to be performed at the Ohio State Thespians Conference.
Carolyn Ballou
Visual Arts
MA Case Western Reserve University
BFA Cleveland Institute of Art
Carolyn Ballou is the school’s Technology Coordinator and runs the dual platform Dell and iMac labs equipped for graphic arts, animation, video, and photography. Each year her digital photography students receive recognitions with Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention awards from the Scholastics art and writing competition. Mrs. Ballou taught at the Cleveland School of the Arts and at the Beck Center for the Arts before beginning her career at Lake Ridge Academy.
Byron Fouts
Visual Arts
MS Bank Street College, Parsons School of Design, NYC
BFA Ohio University
Byron Fouts has taught Visual Art at Interlochen Academy,
Lorain Community
College, and Lake Ridge Academy.
Mr. Fouts has illustrated four books, the latest a work by Dr. Dan Styer
"Relativity for the Questioning Mind" published in Feb. 2011 by Johns
Hopkins Press.
Ann Bort
Visual Arts
Cleveland Institute of Art
BA Baldwin-Wallace College
Ann Bort has studied a range of media in the visual art field. Her specialization lies in Found Art Sculpture and she is also accomplished in Drawing, Ceramics, and Painting. Her experience with many materials and media has allowed Mrs. Bort to teach a variety of art courses, including Ceramics, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing and AP Studio Art. Other teaching credits include the summer gifted arts programs at Lorain County Community College and Oberlin College.
Jeff Yost
Visual Arts
BFA Columbus College of Art & Design
Jeff Yost is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design, magna cum laude. He has been engaged in the act of painting and teaching painting to others since 2004. Believing that impermeable qualities are developed through learning the Arts, he feels they carry over into any endeavor or profession that an individual may undertake. He also teaches at BAYarts, a nonprofit organization in Bay Village, OH. He lives with his wife and 2 daughters in Avon Lake.