Jessica Akin Manotas, left, will teach seventh, ninth and 11th grade English at St. Mary’s. She spent the first 15 years of her life in Dubai, UAE, before moving to Houston. After high school, she attended Northwestern State University and earned a degree in psychology. She worked for several years as a substitute teacher and decided to become a certified teacher. She has been teaching English at Lakeview since 2014 and shared that she loves what she does. She has always had a passion for literature and writing and feels blessed that her job allows her to share that passion with others. When she is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family, weightlifting, traveling and reading. Manotas and her husband, Joshua, celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in June. In October, they adopted their 3-year-old daughter, Lyric.
Mark B. Ward, right, received a B.S. degree in chemistry from NSU in 1974. He attended Texas A&M University receiving a M.S. in chemistry in 1977 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1982. Dr. Ward has over 20 years experience as a senior scientist and director of technology for Getty, Texaco, and Baker-Hughes focusing on enhanced oil recovery and upstream chemical development. He is well published having over 20 journal articles and one US patent. He has travelled extensively across the world to support implementation of new products and technology. Ward taught chemistry and science courses at Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts for 13 years. While at LSMSA, he was science department chair for seven years and an innovator of student opportunity programs. Ward will teach physics, general chemistry and physical science.
