Lisa Maren Thompson. 리사 마렌 톰슨
Upper School Principal & International Baccalaureate (IB) Coordinator
lthompson@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Thompson (she/her/hers) holds a BA Fine Arts from St. Olaf College, a Masters of Arts in Teaching from the University of St. Thomas, the Certificate of Advanced Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Specialist in Educational Leadership degree (EdS) with Minnesota K-12 Principal license. She has lived in the US, Thailand, Mauritania, Gabon, South Korea, Ghana, and Switzerland, and has participated in International Baccalaureate training events and conferences in Princeton, Vancouver, Florence, The Hague, Accra, Les Tapies, Vienna, and Minneapolis. Ms. Thompson enjoys spending time with her husband Andy, their two adult sons, and keeping in touch with friends here in Minnesota, and all around the world.

Kate Brogan
Whole School Counselor & MTSS Coordinator
kbrogan@sejongacademy.org

Mrs. Brogan graduated with her master’s degree in school counseling in May of 2022 from the University of Wisconsin River Falls and was thrilled to start as the Lower School Counselor at Sejong shortly after. She grew up in Saint Paul and went to college at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. After she graduated, she moved back to Saint Paul and has been here since. This August she got married and her new last name is Brogan-Brown but students still know her as Mrs. Brogan! She loves reading, coffee, and spending time with her loved ones.

Deanna Ginter
School Social Worker
dginter@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Deanna is a second generation Cambodian American born and raised in the Twin Cities. After finishing her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of St. Thomas, she moved to Washington state where she lived for 6 years. After returning in 2021 to be closer to family, Ms. Deanna completed her Masters of Social Work degree in 2023. She has been working in the social services and mental health professions since 2015. Her goal as a school social worker is to provide a safe, judgement free environment for students to process their emotions. Ms. Deanna loves connecting with families to provide access to community resources. She enjoys going for walks, spending time with family and friends, cooking, and doing a variety of activities outside. 

Yejin Hong. 홍예진
Korean Language Arts Teacher & Korean Language Arts Coordinator
yhong@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Hong was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. She studied journalism and mass communication at Sogang University. She worked for an online news company, Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, and an international non-profit organization. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. She taught at Saint John’s University and College of Saint Benedict. Until recently, she wrote global media columns in a Korean industry magazine -Newspaper and Broadcasting, published by the Korea Press Foundation. She loves to read novels and write essays. She lives in Woodbury with her husband, two daughters, and a 14 year-old beagle.

Han Joon Kim
Math Teacher
hkim@sejongacademy.org

Mr. Kim was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. He had more than ten years of education in the United States, including elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate schools. He received his Bachelor's in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Indiana University, and a Master's in Secondary Education and Teaching from the University of St. Thomas. His ongoing interest is in effective global math education in the 21st century. He is a lifelong learner with a belief in each student's continuous improvement through meaningful connections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he moved from Seoul to Minnesota. He lives in Eden Prairie with his wife, two daughters, relatives, and friends. He enjoys spending time at church, home, and school.

Hyunsook Hong
Math and Computer Science Teacher
hhong@sejongacademy.org

She is from the beautiful city of Jeju, South Korea. Her educational journey commenced in elementary school, where her homeroom teacher discovered and nurtured her natural talent for mathematics. Encouraged by this mentorship and driven by her inherent love for numbers, she embarked on a path to explore the depths of mathematics, ultimately leading her to pursue a PhD in the field.

As a devoted mom of two wonderful daughters, ages 6 and 3, she has gained first-hand insight into the pivotal role of education in shaping future generations. With 23-24 seasons ahead of her, she is dedicated to creating learning environments that nurture, enrich, and empower young learners.

Kyle Mohs
Social Studies Teacher & GLP Core Teacher
kmohs@sejongacademy.org

Mr. Mohs was born and raised in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and has been a lifelong enjoyer of Social Studies, with sporadic interest’s across a wide range of other fields . He went to college at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he received a degree in Teaching Social Studies, with an emphasis in political science. After graduating he returned to Moorhead where he worked for the school district as a substitute, and eventually accepted a job at the new Alternative Learning Center in a long term position before applying to Sejong Academy and moving to St. Paul after he accepted the position here. He teaches 7th Grade Individuals and Society, 10th Grade US History, 11th Grade World History, and 12th Grade Government.

Sa Jin Kwok. 곽사진
Race Equity Coordinator & & Social Studies & Science Teacher
sjkwok@sejongacademy.org

Kwok Sa Jin is an Amerasian educator, activist, and scholar. He graduated from Grinnell College with a BA in East Asian Studies, and finished his master’s coursework in Sociology at Songgonghoe University before coming to Sejong Academy. He spent 12 years of his life in South Korea, fighting for the human rights of trafficked women and Amerasians outside of US military bases while also competing professionally as a mixed martial artist. Mr. Kwok is a co-founder of Asian Youth Outreach, a Saint Paul based organization devoted to breaking destructive cycles of poverty, violence, substance abuse, and hopelessness in Asian American Youth. Mr. Kwok provides trauma-informed, culturally-relevant teaching to promote healthy identity development and empower students to positively transform their communities. He lives near Bde Mka Ska with his wife, two children, and cat. During his free time, he enjoys ghost stories, cooking, and forest runs.

Ji Whi Eo. 어지휘
Music Teacher & Korean Music Ensemble Coordinator
jweo@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Eo was born and raised in South Korea. She holds a BM in music composition and her master’s in music education from Chung-Ang University. She is a licensed teacher and holds certifications in Kodaly method from Kodaly institute in Hungary and performance method of Korean traditional music from Ewha Women’s University, Korea. In Korea, she led music programs in public and private schools where she taught general music, Korean traditional instruments and lead orchestra program. She is a passionate music teacher and cares for each student's individual learning and development of social and cultural awareness through participating in music programs at Sejong Academy. As a freelancer, she is also piano accompanist at Galilee Lutheran Church, St. Paul and has a home studio. 

Kyungman Hur
Music Technology Careers Teacher
khur@sejongacademy.org

Mr. Hur has a Bachelor's degree of Arts in English Literature and a Master's degree of Music Technology - Film and digital music. He was born and raised in Seoul, he spent part of his childhood in Australia, and that's when he started to get into music. He was professionally trained by Yoon Sang, one of South Korea's top music producers, and was also a publishing writer at YG Entertainment, one of South Korea's biggest entertainment agencies. He taught music production for professional musicians such as K-POP idols, PhD & Master's students, Netflix TV show’s music composer and also taught students how to play guitar and band ensemble classes. He produced music for numerous artists and has created BGMs for the popular cosmetics company Innisfree. He has also performed instrumental sessions on various music broadcast and has modeled for a fashion brand too. He is certified as an Acoustic Specialist hosted by the Acoustical Society of Korea and a Music psychological counselor. Outside of school, he is teaching private music production lessons and making songs for artists. He is very happy to be here and want to work with students at Sejong School to help them find and develop their talents.

Anna Taddei
English Language Arts Teacher & MYP Core Teacher & MTSS Coordinator
ataddei@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Taddei moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, from Santa Rosa, California and has been teaching Language and Literature in an IB Immersion school for the last 7 years, working both with MYP and in DP. She is very excited to begin her first year here at Sejong Academy working with grades 7-9 in Language and Literature. Ms. Taddei has a love for lifelong learning, and has a bachelor's degree in English and Secondary Education, and is currently studying in a Masters program for Digital Education. She lives in the Hamline/Midway with her husband and very old cat, and she always loves getting recommendations for books and shows!

Madeleine Buland
IB ELA and Homeroom Teacher
mbuland@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Bakken is entering her second year as a classroom teacher, previously working in the nonprofit sector. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Education with a focus on language arts at Bethel University and hopes to finish her thesis entitled “Social Isolation and Its Effects on Adolescents” this school year. Ms. Bakken moved to Minnesota from Indiana to attend college at Northwestern University where she met her spouse. She loves her cats, her turtle, and deeply enjoys reading. 

Sebastian Montes 세바스찬 몬테스
Design Teacher
smontes@sejongacademy.org

Mr. Montes has been working as an arts and ESL instructor since 2013. In 2015 he completed an MFA degree with a focus in drawing and painting from the University of Houston where he also taught fundamental drawing and painting courses. After receiving his MFA Mr. Montes moved to Korea where he lived and worked as an ESL instructor for 6 years in multiple locations across the country. In the summer of 2022 he returned to the states in hopes of once again teaching art. Mr. Montes was thrilled to discover a Korean immersion school seeking an art teacher so near to his new home in Saint Paul Minnesota. He looks forward to combining his art and ESL background while working with the diverse staff and students of Sejong Academy.

Tyler Johnson
Physical and Health Education Teacher & Pre-Medicine Careers Teacher
tjohnson@sejongacademy.org
Mr. Tyler Johnson is half Chinese and half Vietnamese and this will be his first year teaching as the Physcial Ed/Health/Career pathways teacher for the upper students at Sejong academy. He was born and raised in St. Paul MN. He graduated from Augsburg University in 2022 with a degree in Physical Education K-12 and hold a MN teaching license. He loves to play soccer, ultimate frisbee, practice yoga, play volleyball, and jump rope to stay active and connect with my friends/family. He also loves to cook, go to farmers markets and travel a lot! He has been to 10 countries in his travels so far and look forward to many more.

Danielle Bass
Library Media Specialist
dbass@sejongacademy.org

Danielle Bass grew up in a traveling family, moving all over the United States and the world. This gave her enduring curiosity for all things related to language and culture. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Linguistics and a minor in Korean Language and Literature, she moved to South Korea with her family, where she lived for seven years. She completed her teaching licensure as a K-12 Library Media Specialist in January 2024, and is excited about bringing her love of language and information media literacy to Sejong Academy. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, cooking, and being outdoors.

Suhyun Na
Special Education Teacher
sna@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Na was born and raised in Korea. She studied special education at Ewha Womans University of Korea at BA, MA, and Doctorate level. Before moving to the US, she worked as a special education teacher in an elementary school, a community welfare center(ECFE), and a continuing education center for transition programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Also, she taught at colleges for seven years, carried out lots of research, published some books/journals about special education, and worked at Journal of Special Education Research as an assistant editor. It has broadened and deepened her knowledge and experience. She studied Waldorf special education and anthroposophy for 3 years as well. Her years of experience in the special education field have taught her the value of patience and encouragement. She holds MN teaching licenses for EBD(Emotional/Behavioral Disorder) and ABS(Academic/Behavioral Strategist). Also, she has a teaching license for Intellectual Disability from Korea. She will work closely with each student, providing the individualized support they need as a special education teacher at Sejong.

Hye Yun Lee. 이혜윤
Special Education Teacher
hylee@sejongacademy.org

Mrs. Lee was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She worked as a head teacher for an elementary school English language program and as a team coordinator at an English institute for eight years. Mrs. Lee earned a special education license from LDA of MN and a TESOL certificate from Sungkyunkwan University, which was awarded through a joint partnership with Georgetown University. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dog for walks in local parks and around lakes, as well as traveling.

Joni Wachholz
Special Education Teacher
jwachholz@sejongacademy.org 

Isabelle Spencer
Special Education EA
ispencer@sejongacademy.org

Her Name Is Isabelle, Izzy for short. She was born in Frisco Colorado and lived in Michigan, Arizona, Iowa and recently moved to Minnesota about a year ago. She comes from a Polish background, my favorite Polish food is Perogies. She really enjoys listening to music. Some of her favorite artists are Chase Atlantic, DPR IAN, and Darci. She also really enjoys going to concerts. She've been to 7 concerts already. She is currently going to Normandale Community college to get her Associates Degree in Special Education. She has a cat named Dumpling who is everything to her. He is part Bengal and part Tabby. He’s a big cat and weighs about 17lbs. She has 2 siblings and has an aunt to 2 nieces.

Noelle Roubinek. 권혜승
English Language Learner Teacher, Grades 6-12 & GLP Core Creator
nroubinek@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Roubinek is starting her 5th year teaching EL at Sejong Academy and she is beyond excited to see what her students can achieve. She has a master’s degree in TESOL as well as one in Korean Studies. She is also a licensed reading teacher. A lifelong student, she is a second year PhD student in Literacy Education at the University of Minnesota. She loves experiencing different cultures, spending time with her cats, and walking around the lakes in the Twin Cities.

Brynn O'Shaughnesy
English Language Learner Teacher
bo'shaughnessy@sejongacademy.org

Ms. Brynn was born and raised in the twin cities area. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelors in Psychology and Political Science in 2022. After college, she moved to Seoul, South Korea and worked as an ESL teacher for adults and then as Kindergarten and lower elementary teacher.  She also has experience working with Pre-K here in the US. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction. After graduating, she plans on pursuing another Master's in Political Science or a degree in Audio Engineering. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time with friends, making art, playing and listening to music as well as being outdoors.

Danny Decemson
ADSIS Behavior Interventionist
ddecemson@sejongacademy.org

Mr. Decemson grew up in a Thailand refugee camp and moved to the United States in 2011. He graduated High School in 2016 and pursued his career in Law Enforcement. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor's in Degree in Criminal Justice Studies. Someday he hopes to become a police officer in the state of Minnesota and help protect the community. During his leisure he loves to go to the gym and workout. He believes staying fit and active helps promote a healthy body and mind. He also loves working with students. That's why he’s happy to work with students at Sejong!

Karen Hong. 전은혜
ADSIS Reading Teacher & Reading Corps Coach
khong@sejongacademy.org

Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Mrs. Hong is a second generation Korean-American. She graduated from DePaul University with a Bachelor's of Science in Business and focused in management information systems and marketing. She’s taught Sunday school for over ten years. She started sending her children to Sejong since the school first opened its’ doors in 2014 and has been an active member of the PTO ever since. Mrs. Hong hopes to instill a growth mindset in children where they do not fear challenges or mistakes, but rather are motivated by them and desire to learn more. She currently lives just outside of St. Paul with her husband and 3 children.

Charitha Kudapanage
ADSIS Math Teacher Grade 3-11
ckudapanage@sejongacademy.org

She was born in SriLanka and moved to U.S. in 2012. She received Bachelor’s in Applied Mathematics and pursuing masters in Data Science. She has more than 5 years of academic experience working with elementary and secondary aged students. She lives in Woodbury, MN with her husband and two wonderful sons. Her hobby is to travel around the world with her family.