Bethel Classical Academy

Our Team

Our Team

Carl Sohmer

Head of School

Carl Sohmer is the Head of School at Bethel Classical Academy. Carl holds a B.S. in Preaching, an M.A. in Philosophy from Biola University, and is a doctoral candidate in Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. He believes a robust classical Christian education is one of the greatest forms of discipleship we can offer our youth, and he is honored to have spent the past ten years trying to provide it in Classical Christian schools. He hopes BCA will be a place where children and families can experience the abundance of life Jesus talks about in John 10.

Sally Lee

Curriculum Director

Ms. Sally Lee loved her time teaching grammar students in New York and Illinois before staying home to raise her two boys. She received her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Teachers College, Columbia University. She enjoys spending time at BCA working with teachers, curriculum, and students, and helping find ways to support teachers and provide students with the best possible learning experience. She is grateful to be part of the BCA community and looks forward to continuing to serve the school and its families.

Hope Mallawong

Kindergarten Teacher

Ms. Hope is the Kindergarten teacher at BCA. When she was in 1st grade, she decided that there was nothing more she wanted to be than a great teacher. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Childhood and Special Education with a concentration in Psychology and a Minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies from New York University. Throughout her experience in private and public schools in NYC, she discovered a need to teach students to see truth, goodness and beauty amidst a world that is yearning for God’s love. Since teaching at BCA she has developed a passion for creating spaces for students to stand in awe and wonder of our Creator and all of his creation. She aims for students to leave her classroom with a yearning to discover and seek God in every aspect of their lives. When she is not teaching, Ms. Hope spends her time with her husband and two daughters. They enjoy cooking and eating good food and visiting any park with lots of space to run and a big slide!

Taylor Leal

1st Grade Teacher

Miss Leal is the 1st grade teacher at Bethel Classical Academy. She has spent most of her educational years in Christian education and is passionate to share what she has learned with her students. She Attended Vanguard University of Southern California and earned her teaching credential. She has a great passion for books, so much that her first job was at a bookstore. Her desire is to encourage young students to fall in love with literature and the joy it can bring. She has been attending her home church of Shoreline since she was a little girl and serves on the worship team.

Julia Welch

2nd Grade Teacher

Miss Julia is the 2nd-grade teacher at Bethel Classical Academy. She has a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a Bible minor from Biola University. She also has completed the Torrey Honors College, a great books program that discusses classical and theological literature. She loves children and the opportunity to share her love of learning and God to them in unique and creative ways. In her spare time she loves cooking and trying new foods, reading, embroidery, painting, and theater.

Morgan Powers

3rd Grade Teacher/Grammar School Music Teacher

Morgan Powers (B.M in Music Education, Vanguard University) is delighted to serve as third grade teacher at BCA, as well as lower elementary music. Miss Powers’ homeschooling background sparked a lifelong love of learning that eventually grew into a teaching vocation. For the past four years, she has been privileged to instruct private students ages five to seventy-five in piano, voice, and composition, as well as TK at Orange County Classical Academy and general music at the YMCA Mission Viejo. Miss Powers is certified in Kodaly music pedagogy for K-3rd grade from New Saint Andrew’s College Cheneniah Summer Music Institute in Moscow, Idaho. Her foremost passion is to see her students walk with the Lord and love Him through their studies. When she isn’t pouring into students, Miss Powers fills her cup with floristry, archery, reading, visiting art exhibits, watching classic movies with family and theatre with friends, fiddling around on the piano, and singing in church. Coram Deo.

Hugh Speed

4th Grade Teacher

Although acting, drawing and painting have always been his first loves, Hugh Speed has discovered an equally deep joy of teaching. With more than 15 years of experience teaching Middle School Language Arts, as well as Ancient and Medieval History, Hugh now serves as the 4th Grade Classroom Teacher at Bethel Classical Academy in Irvine, California.

A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Hugh has been a public school educator since 2007, serving students in Santa Ana, South Central Los Angeles, and Kuwait. Throughout his teaching career, he has had a particular passion for Literature and History. Hugh has also led professional development seminars for fellow educators on classroom teaching techniques, including “writer’s workshop” for providing meaningful student feedback and the “Jane Schaffer Method” of argumentative paragraph writing.

Outside the classroom, Hugh enjoys spending time with family and friends in Mission Viejo, reading historical fiction, searching for the next great taco truck, and filling his sketchpad with drawings. Humbled with the realization that students become more like their teachers, Mr. Speed endeavors to grow in service, love and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ – and to become more like Him. He is grateful for the opportunity to combine his love of learning, literature, history, and the arts with his passion for helping students grow as thoughtful and curious learners.

Olivia White

5th/6th Grade Teacher

Miss Olivia White is the 5th and 6th grade teacher at Bethel Classical Academy. Having attended a classical school in Texas, she witnessed the impact of classical education on herself, her friends, and her faith. She then received a B.A. in philosophy from Biola University and studied classical texts in the Torrey Honors College. She looks forward to sharing the classical Christian tradition with her students, so that they might know God better, discover His creation, and experience the joy of learning in community. Outside of her passion for education, she loves spending quality time with her friends, family, and dogs!

Daniel Pak

Grammar/Logic School Math Teacher

With two decades of experience in math education, Mr. Daniel is thrilled to bring his passion for teaching to Bethel Classical Academy. He finds immense joy in helping students discover the beauty and logic of mathematics, fostering skills that will support their academic and personal growth. Alongside teaching, he is currently in seminary, deepening his knowledge and love for theology. Outside the classroom, you might find him cheering on the Lakers, Dodgers, and Chargers, exploring hiking trails, catching a good movie, or diving into a great book. He is grateful to be part of the BCA community and looks forward to inspiring young minds each day.

Karis Lee

Logic School Math Teacher

Ms. Karis graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. Growing up in South Korea, New Zealand, and the United States gave her a broad and diverse perspective on education which sparked her desire to teach.  Her passion for teaching became a reality when she started to tutor students in math in 2007, and she has been working with students since.  Ms. Karis saw the benefits of a classical Christian education after having received training in it, and she made the decision to homeschool her son for four years.  BCA is fortunate to have Ms. Karis teaching algebra to our 8th-grade students this year.  Ms. Karis finds joy in continuing her love for teaching math.  Her son, Ian, is a current 6th grader at BCA.  In her free time, she enjoys reading alongside Ian or making espresso drinks for her husband.

Justin Chang

Humanities Teacher/Latin Teacher

Mr. Justin Chang taught himself Latin after college (Cal State LA, B.A in Business; Minors in Math and English) and believes it to be the most important subject a young student can study. During his past five years teaching, he has been blessed to meet exceedingly kind people and also learn Greek (CUNY’s LGI, 2024), and he hopes someday to read Vergil and Homer with at least one class before he dies. Some of his hobbies include hiking, reading, and drinking copious amounts of tea, and one of his favorite quotes on education is by Isaac Watts: “The children of the present age are the hope of the age to come.”

Sarah Ping

Strings Teacher

Ms. Sarah Ping is a violinist who has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras and performed recitals across North America and Europe. She completed her studies at the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) and has worked with distinguished artists such Midori, Pinchas Zukerman, Donald Weilerstein, as well as members of the Juilliard, Guarneri, Borromeo, and Orion String Quartets. Ms. Sarah gave the Boston premiere of Schuller’s Octet in Jordan Hall, a work commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She has also recorded for WGBH Boston Public Radio, Boston University, Harvard University, and Berklee College of Music. Ms. Sarah has performed with Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Peter Oundjian and Itzhak Perlman, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Haffner Sinfonietta of Boston, and currently serves as the concertmaster of the South Orange County Orchestra. In addition to her performing career, Ms. Sarah is a passionate educator. She has taught at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, North End Music and Performing Arts Center, Melrose High School, and currently directs the orchestral program at Bethel Classical Academy while maintaining an active private violin and viola studio in Orange County. Ms. Sarah is a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC). She believes in artistic excellence as a means to serve the glory of God and is excited to share glimpses of His beauty through music with her students. Ms. Sarah and her husband have a daughter and a rescue dog, and love to spend time in nature by hiking, camping, or exploring National Parks.

Kathleen Gremillion

Choir Director

Grammy-award-winning contralto Kate Gremillion was a student of Virginia Zeani at Indiana University as well as a protégé of Dr. Bruce Chamberlain. Winner of numerous awards she has performed professionally at Carnegie and Disney Hall as well as Segerstrom Center and The Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony and Pacific Chorale (with whom she toured Europe this past summer). She has been a featured soloist with the Pacific Chorale, Meistersingers, Meritage Vocal Ensemble and the Long Beach Symphony and Camerata.
Kate is a cantor at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Newport Beach. As a dramatic artist she created the role of Lindsay in the original musical Fanny at Chez Panisse (alongside Tom Hulce and Jill Eikenberry) and has performed roles such as Despina, Rosina, Carmen and Dido. She also served as backup singer for Josh Groban during his “Harmony” Tour.
Ms. Gremillion runs a private voice and piano studio and is the founder of the St. Matthews Choir School, which has the distinction of being the most awarded program in the United States by the Royal School of Church Music. Her newest venture is founder and director of the Orange County Choral Academy in Irvine, CA.

Joy Kang

Art Teacher

Joy Kang received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communication Design and Illustration from Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. She had been working in the graphic design field for many years in the Greater Los Angeles Area before she settled in Orange County to start a family. While devoting herself to full-time childrearing years, she found her natural talent in teaching art. She has been teaching visual arts to students of all ages for the last 15 years. She finds great joy when she sees sparkles in her students’ eyes as they concentrate on creating their own masterpieces. She hopes that they continue to be able to see beauty around them as they grow older. She is married with two grown-up children. She loves taking photographs, hiking in nature, and visiting museums.

Soo Jung Lee

Director of Finance

As Director of Finance at Bethel Classical Academy, Ms. Soo Lee brings extensive corporate experience from her career in public accounting- PricewaterhouseCoopers, specializing in audits, M&A, and Real Estate Investment Trust funds. She is dedicated to leveraging her financial stewardship to support the school’s mission and vibrant learning environment.

A lifelong art lover, Ms. Soo spends her free time painting in acrylic and oil, and studying art history. Her favorite journeys have taken her through the great art museums of Europe, where she spent more than ten years backpacking and soaking in classical culture—a tradition she eagerly anticipates resuming with her daughter. At home, she stays active in nature with her family and opens her heart to rescuing Labrador retrievers as a foster mom.