Specialist Teachers

Gary Lawson

Gary Lawson brings a decade of Physical Education teaching experience and over 19 years of soccer coaching experience to Nord Anglia. This included seven years as the Department Chair of Physical Education and Girls Varsity Head Coach at Brooklyn Friends School (Brooklyn, NY). Gary also serves as the Head Women’s soccer coach at St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn (NCAA DIII) and was selected to the 'Sports 40 Under 40' Class of 2018 list from Coaches and Athletic Director Magazine highlighted as one of the top 40 coaches in the nation.

While at Brooklyn Friends School, the England native helped build a unique and exciting Physical Education program called ‘Pathways’ and turn around a soccer program guiding the Panthers to four straight Independent Schools Athletic League (ISAL) playoffs championships. In 2017, he lead the St. Joseph’s College Bears to their first Skyline Conference playoff appearance in college history.

While playing soccer semi-professionally at various league clubs in England after graduation, Gary began his coaching career at Watford FC and eventually traveled overseas to the US and joined Ashley's Soccer Camp and Soccer Domain Academy (Montclair, NJ) and began coaching various travel teams, academies and camps.

Gary graduated from Buckinghamshire Chilterns University with BA (Hons) in Leisure Management & Sport Studies followed by a PGCE in Physical Education from London Metropolitan University. He also holds an Advanced National Diploma, a National Diploma and a Goalkeeping Level One Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and holds a United States Soccer Federation Coaching License.

Gary resides in Manhattan with his wife Cindy and his son Jack Dylan.

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Kat Underwood

Before beginning her teacher training in 2013, Kat ran a successful theatre company in Bristol, UK, working with both adults and children. From here, she was inspired to broaden her horizons and learn more about education and how it can be used as a tool for creative expression. Since completing her PGCE, Kat has worked in primary and secondary schools, specialising in English and Drama teaching. 

Drama and the performing arts have always been a passion, and Kat has coordinated many productions in the settings she has worked in. Kat has introduced LAMDA speech and performance tuition to schools as well as inspiring a love of Shakespeare and performance poetry to all the children she teaches. Kat currently works at Bromsgrove International School in Thailand, where she is Head of English. She works hard to promote a kinaesthetic approach to teaching, as well as leading the progression of speaking and listening across the school. Outside of school, Kat loves reading, exploring new countries, SCUBA diving and, of course, going to the theatre. Kat is so excited to join the NAISNY family and looks forward to bringing her wealth of knowledge and love of performance to this amazing school.

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Molly Moffat

My name is Molly Moffat and I have a passion for teaching Key Stage 1 students. I began my journey to becoming a teacher at a small, private college in Minnesota, St. Olaf College. There I studied for a bachelor’s degree in Dance with a minor in Environmental Studies. From there I made a big move overseas to study for a master’s degree in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. During that time, I volunteered at many local schools as a teaching assistant and a soccer coach. That’s when I made the decision to study for my Post Graduate Certificate of Education at Exeter University. I then went on to teach at Hillyfield Primary Academy in London, teaching in Year 1 and Year 2. During my time at that school, I completed an Outstanding teacher training course, was the leader for Special Educational Needs learning in Year 1 and was a coach in the Improving Teacher program. I also started a cheerleading program, the school’s first, and started directing school plays.

I joined the British International School of Charlotte in 2013 as a Year 1 and 2 class teacher and have come to love working for the Nord Anglia family. During my time in Charlotte, I attended training at MIT help develop STEAM learning throughout the school. I really love the STEAM approach to learning and how it links subjects like Science, Art and Technology to provide cross-curricular learning experiences that are creative, engaging and memorable. I also attended training at The Juilliard School in preparation for developing and implementing the Juilliard curriculum for Dance at the Nord Anglia International School in New York. I also love all things theatrical, and have enjoyed developing and directing school plays for the younger-aged children at my school, with the Gruffalo Play being my absolute favorite!

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Catherine Beckett

Cathrine is a graduate of Canterbury College, University of Kent, with an honours degree in Music and Education. In her professional career, she has taught in a variety of schools around the UK including Cumbria, Devon and Kent. She has extensive experience in teaching pupils from the age of two to eighteen years. Nothing gives her greater pleasure than teaching music and making a difference in the musical lives of young and older children alike. It was whilst she was in Devon that she was invited to teach in a preparatory school, and it was here that she discovered her love for teaching toddlers and young children. When she was in Kent, she was asked to teach music therapy in a music hub. She found this to be a huge and highly rewarding privilege; one which has left a lasting effect on how she approaches music with children of all abilities.

Cathrine derives great fulfilment when she is working with choirs and instrumental ensembles and she relishes any opportunity to provide experiences for students to perform in public and with live musicians. She is delighted to be joining the team at NAISNY, and looks forward to the exciting opportunities, which lie ahead of her in New York.

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Silvia Brown

Silvia grew up in Peru where she graduated from Universidad Mayor de San Marcos with a bachelors degree in Social Communications. After moving to the USA, Silvia started working in a preschool and began her studies for a Masters in Early Childhood Education. Upon moving to New York, she started working as a Spanish teacher and tutor and completed many professional development courses. Throughout Silvia's Spanish teaching career, she has had many wonderful opportunities to teach a diverse group of children ranging from 18 months to middle school age. Silvia enjoys creating engaging lesson plans that motivate students, while acknowledging different learning styles, as well as instilling a love of learning the Spanish language. 

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