Meet new High School faculty

Yao Tan joins the High School history department after teaching at McGavock High School, Tennessee's largest public high school. Originally from Sichuan Province, China, Tan spent the latter half of her childhood growing up in Memphis, Tennessee. Outside of teaching, she loves to read, watch binge-worthy tv shows and movies, play clarinet, draw, dance (most flag twirling and hip-hop), hike, and travel. Tan is also quite the foodie and loves spending time with her husband and toddler who she says is growing up too fast. Tan earned her bachelor's degree from Emory University and her master's from Vanderbilt University. 

Born and raised in Boston, Cameron Parsons joins the history department after five years in Los Angeles teaching history in the upper school at Chadwick School. Parsons first learned of USN and fell in love with Nashville while completing is master's in independent school leadership at Vanderbilt University. He is an avid Boston sports fan and enjoys running, rock climbing, and cooking in his free time. 

Carrie Riley joins the High School faculty as a new Science Teacher. Riley joins us from previous stints at marine laboratories in Dauphin Island, Alabama and the educational platform GoNoodle. She'll be a parent in our community as her two children join USN too. Though she studied science at the University of Georgia and College of Charleston, Riley also has a minor in theater design. She's a true music fan with eclectic tastes including Otis Redding, Lizzo, The Chicks, and Madeleine Peyroux. Perhaps not a surprise, Riley is an avid birder as well. 

Julianna Lewis '14 returns to 2000 Edgehill to teach the full scope of the Latin sequence in the High School and support the school's efforts in the Tennessee Junior Classical League. She recently earned a master's in classics from the University of California, Los Angeles and is excited to return to Nashville. After leaving USN, Lewis attended Bowdoin College before teaching and coaching at Wayland Academy in Wisconsin. 

French Teacher Alissa Murdoch joined USN in January 2022. 

Get to know other new faces at USN: Meet new Lower School faculty here. Meet new Middle School faculty here. Meet the new Counseling Office here. Meet new administrators and staff here.