Ms. Everett graduated from the University of Houston at Houston with bachelor’s degrees in political science, early childhood education, and a minor in women studies. She also holds a degree as a Certified Professional Nanny, from the English Nanny and Governess School in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Ms. Everett has over ten years of teaching experience in grades pre-kindergarten through third grade. In those ten years as a teacher, she has worked in public schools, Montessori schools, as well as Reggio Emilia schools. Ms. Everett has taught in her home state of Texas, on the North Slope of Alaska in a native village, as well as at an international school in Cambodia. Her hobbies include traveling the world, meeting new people, swimming, going to the beach, and trying unique foods.

Ms. Furusawa earned her Bachelor of Arts from Massey University, New Zealand, as well as a Master of Education and Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is certified to teach both Japanese and Chinese languages. Ms. Furusawa taught Japanese in Taiwan for seven years and was also a writer for a monthly Japanese magazine published nationally in Taiwan. She has been with APIS since 2011 and moved to APIS Hawai'i campus after serving in Seoul campus for 8 years. Always fascinated by languages and new cultures, Ms. Furusawa enjoys teaching and researching various aspects of language acquisition and usage. Her other interests include traveling, cooking traditional Japanese food, photography, and reading.

Mr. Heffernan has nearly a decade of aquatic coaching experience, teaching both private and group swim lessons to all ages and abilities as well as serving as an assistant swim coach for the Greater Nebraska Swim Team for six years. Mr. Heffernan has coached several Nebraska state champions and qualifiers at both the age group and high school levels, as well as served as a Midwestern Swimming All-Stars and Central Zones USA swimming coach. As a competitive swimmer since the age of six, whose parents owned and operated a USA Swim Club in Nebraska since before Mr. Heffernan was born, the pool has been a part of his life since day one. He has been a certified lifeguard for over five years, serving as a head guard at a large municipal outdoor pool. Mr. Heffernan is currently completing his bachelor's degree in education with an endorsement in coaching. He grew up with a variety of academic models, including homeschool, parochial, and public (both onsite and fully online models), and has wide range of teaching experience, including elementary assistant at a Nebraska school and student-teacher in grades kindergarten through 12. In addition to swimming, his hobbies include watching sports, with his favorites being Lakers basketball and Raiders football. As an avid sports fan, Mr. Heffernan has experience hosting several podcasts, a YouTube channel, and other social media content platforms with sports-related themes.

Mr. Hughes graduated from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire with a CACREP-accredited master’s degree in school counseling and K-12 certification. He is a member of the American School Counselor Association. He received his bachelor’s degree in international relations and political science at the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Hughes taught English in Nagasaki, Japan, developing extracurricular language camps and providing interpretation, cultural outreach and curricular consultation services. Mr. Hughes has also worked in outdoor education where he guided students through adventure therapy courses along the famous Appalachian Trail in the Eastern United States. He has worked with Multi-Tiered System of Supports and Social-Emotional Learning curricula in several New Hampshire schools, providing data-driven interventions tailored specifically to the needs of his students and school communities. As a counselor, he combines his professional training with his personal background as a former international school student. Mr. Hughes’ hobbies include karate, snorkeling, cooking, foreign languages and travel. He was raised in six different countries and completed his secondary education in Cairo, Egypt.