Dr. Kaitlin Lira
Principal

Dr. Lira has worked in education since 2007 as a teacher, assistant principal, and now principal of Sonoran Virtual Academy. She has her Masters in Education from Claremont Graduate University, and Doctorate of Education from University of Southern California. She has worked in schools in California and Arizona, and is a Tucson native. In her free time, she loves watching her son play tball, and spending time outdoors hiking, camping, traveling, and visiting National Parks. She is also an avid reader and a huge fan of audiobooks. She firmly believes that schools cannot be successful without strong relationships between all stakeholders, and thus, is passionate about creating an engaging, and safe school environment for all SVA students.

Brent Garner
K-8 ESS Teacher

Mr. Garner has years of experience teaching special education online, both at SVA at a virtual school in his home state of Utah. Prior to working online, he worked at several Montessori schools as a special education teacher, both in Utah and Idaho. He has a Masters in Teaching in Special Education from Boise State University. Mr. Garner gets a kick out of helping students learn! He is married and has six children and seven grandchildren. He enjoys reading, playing chess, and talking to people.

Breena Suchsland
4th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Suchsland received her Masters in Elementary Education from National Louis University. Since graduating, Mrs. Suchsland has gained experience in both in-person and online instruction at the upper elementary level. She has also obtained several teaching certifications in secondary education. She previously lived in Arizona, and currently resides in Illinois with her husband to be closer to family and friends. In her free time, she enjoys cozying up on the couch reading a book or watching documentaries and reality television.

Marinela Nicolescu
5th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Marinela Nicolescu has lived, worked and raised her two sons on three continents: Europe (Romania and Sweden), Africa (South Africa) and North America (USA). Her life experience and professional skills are therefore very diverse. She appreciates the diversity of the student body at Sonoran Schools and embraces close communication and cultural exchange with all families. She earned a teaching degree and certification from her home country Romania and a Bachelors of Law from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania. Ms. Marinela has taught at the Elementary level at Sonoran Schools in Tucson since 2008. Ms. Marinela is currently living in Branford, CT with her family. When not teaching, she enjoys walks on the beach and gardening.

Mrs. Cordon has been teaching mathematics at the elementary and middle school levels since 2015 and holds her teacher certification from the state of Texas. She graduated with her Bachelors Degree in Applied Arts and Science in Legal Studies from The University of Texas at Brownsville. Mrs. Cordon is a Rio Grande Valley native who enjoys going to the beach with her family, reading a good book and watching Marvel movies. She loves math because it is a universal language that can be shared and understood across the world.

Christen Smith
6th, 7th and 8th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Smith teaches middle school science at Sonoran Virtual Academy. She has over 15 years of teaching experience, teaching middle school, elementary and high school. Mrs. Smith is from and lives in West Virginia. She attended West Virginia University, where she obtained her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in education. She enjoys spending time with her family and sitting on any beach with a book.

Mrs. Katie Adams has 18 years of educational experience including 12 years at an international school in Singapore. She has taught students from 3rd grade through 8th grade and served as middle school principal for a number of years. Katie has a Masters Degree in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University and is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow as an educator and share her love of lifelong learning with her students. She truly enjoys teaching middle school learners and considers it a privilege to be part of their educational journey as they explore the world around them and discover their passion.

Katie lives on a sailboat in the Seattle area of Washington state with her husband and sweet little dog. In her spare time she enjoys sailing with her husband, taking their dog for walks, and drinking delicious coffee.

After teaching Middle School English in Glendale, California, for twenty years, Mrs Lapacka has recently made a move to Arizona and is loving the online format of SVA. Mrs. Lapacka’s favorite part of teaching has always been working with students one-on-one in order to help them succeed! Mrs. Lapacka believes that in order to help students improve and succeed, you need to remember that every student learns differently; teaching is not a ‘one size fits all’ interaction.
Mrs. Lapacka holds a BA in English: Creative Writing, an MFA in Theater Management from Cal State University, Long Beach, and a secondary teaching credential from Cal State University, Northridge. In her free time, Mrs. Lapacka spends time with her husband, her two boys, and her dog Cache. She loves to read, write, and geocache.