Mary Ellen Murray - Art Director
     Mary Ellen Murray holds a Master of Fine Arts in education from Boston University and a Bachelors of Fine Arts  from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, studying directly under Chris Van Allsburg, author/illustrator of The Polar Express and Jumangi.
     Murray was the director of advertising for Highlands Resort Village in New Hampshire, and was the president/co-owner of a New England based jewelry company that sold original designs on national television.  She was the exhibit coordinator for the Northeast Crayola “Dreamakers” show and the assistant director of the Summer Visual Arts Institute for Boston University. She was an active member of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and Very Special Arts Festival. She was asked by the mayor to serve on the Human Relations Diversity Board for the City of Ocoee, and wrote a monthly column that was featured in the city newsletter. She is a past award recipient of the West Orange Chamber’s “Jewels of Our School” teacher of the year.
     Since coming to Foundation Academy, her students have won top state and local awards including the ACSI Best of Show 2-D and ACSI Best of Show 3-D, First Place for the American Patriotic Creative Art Contest, First and Third Place in the Windermere Art Show, Florida All State Art Expo, Winter Park Art Festival, and the Congressional Art Competition.
     Murray is happily married to former Disney animation artist and author David Murray. Together they have three children, all of whom were educated at Foundation Academy.

Vinny Siracusano 
    Elementary & Middle School Art 
  Before joining the faculty of Foundation Academy, Vincent Siracusano worked as an animation artist for Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios, for twelve years, in both California and Florida. His contributions can be seen in ten feature films and several short films, including twice leading a team of artists animating Donald Duck. First in the short segment "Pomp and Circumstance" from "Fantasia 2000", then again in a Goofy short made for television, "How to Haunt a House".
   Mr. Siracusano’s Disney contributions can be seen on the films, "Aladdin", "The Lion King", "Pocahontas", “The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules", "Fantasia 2000", "Mulan", "Tarzan", "Lilo and Stitch", and "Brother Bear". Also, to his Disney credit, he led the clean-up animation department for the artistic short film, "The Little Match Girl".
   Prior to work at Disney, Mr. Siracusano was hired by renowned animator Ralph Bakshi in California, to work on his film for Paramount Studios, entitled "Cool World".
   Currently he has turned his attention toward teaching art to Foundation Academy students in grades three through eight and storytelling through three-dimensional wall sculpture for his own design-and-build firm, Kablooie Design Group, Inc. He has also been recognized by the Orlando Museum of Art as a featured “Artist of the Month” for October, 2007.

Mark Goff - Chorus Director

     Joining the faculty at Foundation Academy in the Fall of 2010, Mark Goff brings 25 years of experience in the entertainment world as a vocalist, vocal coach and musician. After 4 years as a public school music/choir teacher from Illinois 1986-1990, Goff set out to become a full time professional musician pursuing a career as a vocalist and musician. His travels brought him to Orlando, Florida and Walt Disney World Entertainment at first as a vocalist with the world renown “Voices of Liberty” and award winning acapella group “Four for a Dollar” otherwise known as “Return to Zero”.
     Over the next several years Mark continued to coach, sing and lead recording sessions and work as a professional bassist. His work as a vocal coach has included assisting with the careers of over 40 recording artists – The Backstreet Boys, N Sync, O-Town, Britney Spears and Creed to name a few!
     Currently, Mark continues to work for Walt Disney Entertainment as a vocal coach and music director and continues to develop artists in the secular and Christian recording industries. He teaches private voice to upcoming and already established professional singers and still sings for recording sessions, jingles, records and theme parks and gigs as a professional bassist. In addition to his music industry endeavors, Mark has been serving for 20 years in many churches in the Central Florida area as a bassist, vocalist and worship leader.
He is currently on staff at First Baptist Winter Garden for the contemporary service.
     “I am so excited to work with the students at Foundation Academy! Together we can really build a great vocal program and with God at the helm, the possibilities are endless!” Mark Goff, ProVocals, Inc.

Debra Winningham
 Elementary Music

     Mrs. Winningham is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia where she obtained her B.A. in music.  She began singing in area churches with her family at the age of seven.  It was these childhood experiences that stirred a passion in her to develop the natural musical gifts God gave her.  Before heading off to college, she had already been doing Christian concerts on her own as a teenager in local churches and traveled overseas to New Zealand and Australia as a soloist and flutist with The Baptist Festival Singers under the direction of Bob Burroughs, Stan Pethel, and Mark Hayes. She was a member of the Chamber Choir as a Liberty University freshman and traveled with them on a month tour of England and Ireland.  While in college, she performed in musicals such as “Oklahoma!” and "La Traviata".  Eventually she received a full scholarship as an alto on The Sounds of Liberty for her remaining years at LU.  During her years on The Sounds of Liberty she appeared weekly on the television program called The Old Time Gospel Hour with the late Dr. Jerry Falwell.  The group also toured the USA and traveled outside the US for missions outreach. She has enjoyed years of recording experience as an alto with this group either creating their own records for distribution or working in the studio with Christian companies such as Brentwood-Bensen, Word, and Integrity.  In more recent years, she has directed adult and children’s choirs in various churches.  God has given her a desire to help equip the next generation of believers.  Coordinating elementary chapel for the north campus of FA, teaching elementary music, and serving as the Interim Worship Leader and Choir Director at The First Baptist Church of Montverde alongside her husband, Pastor Jonathan Winningham, give her numerous opportunities to help equip the next generation of believers.  Debra and Jonathan have one daughter and recently added two crazy black kittens to their family mix.

Jon Territo - Band Director

     Jon Territo has been a part of music and the arts in Central Florida for over 20 years. Originally from the Detroit area, Jon and wife Michelle, moved to Orlando to pursue careers as entertainers at Walt Disney World. After 5 years at Disney, Jon was called to start the band program at The First Academy, at First Baptist Church of Orlando. While at TFA, Mr. Territo also became the Orchestra Director at the church. After 8 years teaching, he joined the church staff full time, as a pastor on the worship staff. In 2009 he left FBCO and became the Minister of Creative Arts at FBC Lakeland. Now, Jon is active artistically in Central Florida, serving as the Music Director of the Orlando Concert Band, Associate Conductor of the Florida Young Artist Orchestra, and in various capacities at Walt Disney World as a conductor and clinician. Jon holds a Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Michigan, and a Masters of Music Education from Rollins College. He and Michelle have 3 children, Marino, Mariolina and Josephine, and live in a historic home in the beautiful town of Oakland, Florida.

Mike Thomas - Band Director

     Mike is a full time Minister of Music at First Baptist Church Windermere and will be joining the staff at Foundation Academy this year as co-director of bands. He has lived in the Orlando area with his wife Amy and 3 children, Abby, Lyndsay and Ethan for 5 years.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas in Jazz studies in 1989. From there, he travelled and played trumpet with the Christian group TRUTH for 3 years. After that, he moved to Orlando in 1991, where he played trumpet professionally for various Disney entertainment groups. In 1994, he felt a calling from God to go into ministry work full time. Mike has been associate music minister at several churches. He has directed church orchestras, written and arranged music, and performed many different instrumental concerts with these groups. In his current position he is directing all aspects of the Music department.