Meet Our Team
Jennifer Lincoln
Meet Our Director
Jennifer was raised in Anchorage, Alaska prior to moving to Florida where she attended the University of South Florida, earning her Master’s in Elementary Education with Reading and ESOL Endorsements for students in grades K-12. Prior to joining Sphinx Academy in 2017, Jennifer worked in the field of alternative education, focusing on academic differentiation as well as working with students to build organizational and study skills. In addition to her background in education, she is also trained in the Orton-Gillingham method used to help students with dyslexia and a Certified Advanced Academic Coach through NTA.
In addition to her role as Director, Jennifer is the Sphinx Academy Academic Counselor, Dual Credit Coordinator, National Honor Society advisor and the Standardized Testing Coordinator. She believes there are several pathways available to the same end goal in learning; as educators we help each student find the pathway that is the right fit for them.
Meet Our Staff
Wafaa Elghoroury
Wafaa founded Sphinx Academy in 2013 based the rising need for an alternative model geared toward gifted and twice exceptional students. She now has the role of curriculum coordinator and assistant director in addition to teaching, mentoring younger students, and organizing a variety of experiences such as electives, workshops, guest speakers, and field trips for our students.
Wafaa's background encompasses medicine, psychology, special education, and Montessori education alongside of over 15 years of experience in the field of giftedness and twice exceptionality.
Julia Saderholm
Julia grew up in small-town Kentucky and earned her BA in Mathematics and Russian from Grinnell College in Iowa. After graduating, she worked in math classrooms in a paraprofessional role for several years. She earned a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Kentucky, joining the staff at Sphinx Academy in 2018.
Julia finds beauty and joy in mathematics (though she recognizes this as a controversial view). In the classroom, she focuses on helping students repair their relationship with math by strengthening foundational skills, by making connections between areas of math, and by sharing her excitement for topics which don’t appear in standard math curricula.
Arlo Barnette
Arlo was raised in Eastern Kentucky and earned his bachelor's degree studying Biology, English, and Spanish Language and Literature at Morehead State University. During that time, he lived in Guatemala and Chile as part of the George M. Luckey Academic Honors Program and worked as a reporter for Morehead State Public Radio. He continues to contribute to NPR member station 91.3 WUKY in Lexington.
He has been a teacher of music for over a decade and began teaching Spanish at Sphinx Academy in January 2021. He joined Sphinx Academy's full time staff in 2022 and now teaches Biology, English, and Spanish, in addition to sharing his passion for music and songwriting with our students.
Marialyce Gradek
Business Manager, Registrar
Originally from Alexandria, VA, Marialyce has lived in Lexington since 2000. She has degrees from Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Marialyce started her own business, Trio Bookkeeping Solutions, LLC and became bookkeeper for Sphinx Academy in its inaugural year and continues to see to our accounting and non-profit management needs.