Cassie serves Fusion Global Academy as the Assistant Director of Academic Operations. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Michigan State University. Prior to moving into virtual teaching, Cassie taught in brick and mortar school for two years.

In 2015, she made the move to virtual teaching at a public virtual charter school in Michigan, where she served first as a mathematics teacher then moved into the role of high school mathematics lead teacher. When she’s not working, Cassie enjoys being outdoors and loves to spend time hiking and kayaking. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.

Yasmin earned her bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in secondary education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she also received her master’s degree in history. Prior to working for Fusion Global Academy, she worked in public schools in Charlotte, North Carolina as a high school social studies educator. Yasmin also has experience writing curriculum at the district level and for organizations such as Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance), Quizlet, and Studies Weekly.

Yasmin enjoys family time with her son and daughter. She also loves playing with her black cat named Huey, binge-watching television series on Netflix and Hulu, and reading nonfiction books on social justice in her spare time.

Melody Giraldo is the Assistant Director of World Languages at FGA. She is originally from Michigan, but her love for languages and learning about other cultures have taken her to study abroad in Spain, and to live and work in Colombia, South America.

Melody is a lifelong learner. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Studies from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Wayne State University, and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from American College of Education.

Melody has extensive experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and mentor in both traditional and virtual schools. She enjoys supporting and interacting with teachers and students virtually.

In her free time, she enjoys yoga, volunteering, and gardening. She now lives in California with her husband and daughter.

Russell Jaffe is the Assistant Director of English-Language Arts at Fusion Global Academy, coaching and supporting ELA teachers and developing learning materials and sequences centered around reading, writing, rhetoric, and good ol’ critical thinking. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Beloit College, an MFA in Poetry from Columbia College, and a special certificate in Designing Courses for Significant Learning from the University of Oklahoma. He’s taught since 2006 and was a full-time English teacher at Fusion Oak Brook from 2017-2018, but spent 2019 as the on-air Literature Instructor for Course Hero, making summary and analysis videos of classic books, most of which are free to watch on YouTube.

Russell loves writing poetry, reading (he tries to read 100 books a year), going to art galleries, cooking, adventures with his wife and their 6-year-old daughter, and watching pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. In 2013, a piece of art he created and sold in Iowa City was left in an “art share box” downtown during a large art festival. The box’s purpose was to take a piece and leave one in its place, a fun and free way to enjoy art. But it went terribly wrong, as his piece was a painted-on old portable TV. Someone saw the antenna poking out of the box, and that led to the bomb squad being called, the entire downtown Iowa City area going on lockdown, and the story making international news of the weird headlines and art infamy!

Larissa is the Assistant Director of Sciences at Fusion Global Academy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Anthropology from Boston University and a Master of Science in Biology from the University of St Joseph. She has a graduate certificate in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Clinical Educator Certification in Florida, and holds professional Biology certification in both New York and Florida. Larissa has been an educator for 18 years, working as a science teacher, curriculum coordinator, department head, instructional talent developer and adjunct professor.

In her free time, you can find Larissa with her husband, son and cats on their olive, fig and eucalyptus farm. She and her son also love making homemade soap while listening to heavy metal music.