Mr. Shawn Minks joined Cambridge Christian School after serving for six years as Headmaster at Foundation Academy in Winter Garden, FL. He arrived at Foundation in the summer of 2007 after serving for two years as the Upper School Principal at Bridgeway Christian Academy in Alpharetta, GA. This followed three years at the same school as Middle School Principal. Before migrating to Bridgeway, Mr. Minks was the Dean of Students for five years for grades 7-12 at Warner Christian Academy in Daytona Beach, FL. In addition to his administrative duties there, Mr. Minks taught Health, Bible, and Leadership classes to middle and high school students.

Furthermore, he coached the high school varsity girls’ basketball and tennis teams and coordinated all chapel programs. Prior to becoming the Dean of Students, Mr. Minks taught sixth grade (in the elementary) for four years at the same school. While doing this, he also implemented and supervised an intramural athletics program for the upper elementary students.

Mr. Minks received his Masters in Educational Administration from Columbia International University in 2001. He earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Elementary Education and Bible from Northwestern College in 1993. Mr. Minks holds a Lifetime ACSI All Levels Principal Certificate. He sits on the ACSI Regional Commission, and he has served on five accreditation teams to other schools.

Mr. Minks is happily married to his wife of 23 years, Carol, who is also on staff at Cambridge. Mr. and Mrs. Minks have three children. Tal attends UCF, Tiana attends Florida Southern, and Tate is a 10th grader at CCS.

Mr. Valdez has been in the field of education for over ten years.  During this time, he taught a variety of elementary school grades, coached numerous sports at the elementary and middle school level including softball, basketball and swimming.  He has also served as a reading and math tutor, and led various educational groups and committees.  Most recently, he served fourth grade as the Team Leader, math and bible instructor. 

Mr. Valdez has been married to his wife Karen for over seventeen years and together have three children: Arianna, Alex, and Anthony, who are all students here at CCS.  

Mrs. Moss is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Masters in Educational Leadership. For the past 18 years, she has taught grades first, second, and fourth. She has also worked as an Intern Supervisor for The University of Tampa. On a personal note, Mrs. Moss has been happily married to her husband, Evan, for over 18 years. Their two children also attend Cambridge.

Mrs. Gibson has been in education for 17 years and earned her Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education. She and her husband, Gary, are parents to three daughters and one son. Her oldest recently graduated from CCS. She says, "I believe “learning” is a godly principle and it should be celebrated!  Learning has not always come easy to me, so  I understand how important its process is in our lives.  As a result, I became an educator to serve as an instrument which would guide others towards learning.  Everyone has a God- given curiosity to learn and explore knowledge. This desire is, as an educator, what I am committed to developing  in my students.  I became an educator to encourage others to learn and to achieve their highest potential.  I became a Christian educator to encourage young Christians to fulfill God’s will for their lives,  as they discover the fullness and depth of God’s great love for us.  I believe it is a privilege to be an educator!"

This is Mr. Campbell’s third year at CCS. He is celebrating his 23rd year in education and his 22nd year in Christian education. Mr. Campbell has a Master’s of Education degree in Curriculum and Instructional Technology from the University of South Florida. Prior to coming to Cambridge, he served as a Computer Science teacher for 17 years, a middle school History teacher, a middle school Science and Math teacher, and worked as an instructional coach on a math research study for Southern Methodist University. He is married to Laurie Campbell, who is an education professor at the University of Central Florida and together they have one son, Stephen Campbell, who is a middle school teacher at CCS. Mr. Campbell loves Cambridge because of its focus on Christian values.  “Administrators, faculty, staff, and students alike, all demonstrate Christ’s love towards each other. It is great to be at a place where Christ is seen on every face and demonstrated in all that is done.”

Mrs. Shiver is a graduate from Samford University from where she obtained her BS in Business Management & Marketing. She went on to the University of Scranton to pursue her Masters in Educational Leadership and just recently completed the High School College Placement Counselor Certification with NACCAP at Anderson University. She has over nine years experience in Guidance & College Placement. Mrs. Shiver has been married to her husband, Brent, for 14 years and together they have two sons, Asa and Kade. Asa will be going to third grade and Kade will be in first grade.

Mrs. Turk has been with CCS for 9 years and has worked in the business office as the Payroll and Benefits Coordinator and at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Tax Process Specialist.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of South Florida and recently attained her CPA license. She has been married to her husband, Robert for 5 years and loves Cambridge because of the “close family environment and the wonderful people I get to work with every day.”

Mrs. Hillier has been working at CCS for over 10 years. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A. in Mass Communications and a major in Advertising. She was in sales and sales management for over 10 years before joining our team and is mother to two boys, Ethan and Tyler.  Ethan is currently in middle school at Cambridge, and Tyler '14, is a senior at Florida Southern College; both boys started Cambridge in K-3. Mrs. Hillier loves CCS because of the strong foundation it offers students. “It is the perfect combination of rigorous academics and faith in action. It allows your student to be involved, lead, and be mentored by an incredibly talented and godly faculty and staff. On top of that, it’s a wonderful place to work. CCS has been a blessing to our family in so many ways.”

Lisa has worked at CCS for ten years and graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A in Mass Communications. She worked in sales at USF and has been a parent here for 14 years. Her son Ethan graduated from Cambridge Christian and is a junior in college. She loves Cambridge because of the close atmosphere and the opportunity she has to introduce others to Cambridge. “The best part of my job is meeting new families and welcoming them to be part of Cambridge Christian School.”

Mark Butler has a 27-year history in Christian Education with 18 years specifically being a Director of Athletics. Over the years, Mr. Butler has gained experience in coaching, teaching, and being a Principal. Mr. Butler brings to CCS a vast knowledge in Florida High School Athletics and in all aspects of building championship programs. Mr. Butler’s former school has won the 2A Private School Sunshine Cup in Florida for being the best overall athletic program in the state of Florida each of the last two school years. Mr. Butler has been a Director of Athletics in schools serving 1,000 students or more and in schools the same size as Cambridge. Cambridge is blessed to have been able to hire a leader with Mr. Butler’s résumé, success, and diversity in leadership experience.  Mr. Butler will be joined at Cambridge by his wife, Karen.

Mr. Shears has been working at CCS for 10 years and has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Mott Community College. He is a retired Detective from the City of Tampa Police Department and has been married to his wife, Shelley, for 33 years. They have two children, Tabatha and Erik ‘08 and two grandchildren. Mr. Shears loves Cambridge because this is where he accepted the Lord into his life. He says, “This school will always have a special place in my heart.  I feel God’s presence every day that I am here.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to disciple your children.”

Mrs. Cortner received a Bachelor's degree in Health Science Education from the University of Florida and a Master's degree in Education from Mercy College in New York. Mrs. Cortner also received training at Columbia Teacher's College and has seven years of classroom teaching experience. She has three children who attend Cambridge Christian School - Chase, Olivia, and William.

Mrs. Fabian has been part of the Cambridge Christian faculty for six years and has had children here for 13 years.

Mrs. Gartner's undergraduate degree is from Bryan College in Dayton,Tennessee in Elementary Education. She then went on to receive further training to be a Professionally Certified Educational Therapist through the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD). For the last 18 years, she has served in a variety of roles—classroom teacher, educational therapist, and administration. She has two married children, one here in Florida and another in Virginia, and her youngest will be a senior at Liberty University this school year. She just celebrated the birth of a granddaughter and says,

Mrs. Mas-Beazel has been teaching in Hillsborough County for 6 years. Her experience relates to teaching Reading, ESOL, and Intensive - Intensive Reading (Block Class), which involves teaching Language Arts with a strong focus on understanding difficult text. Students in a block class must write essays in the main modes of writing supporting their claim with heavy textual evidence.

Mrs. Phinney has been teaching English and journalism for nine years in the public school system as a five-star educator. She is passionate about the arts and has a Secondary English Education degree cum laude from The University of South Florida. Currently, she is working on her M.Ed in English from Liberty University. She is a professional fine-art and family photographer and loves capturing God's masterpieces with her lens. She and her husband are high school sweethearts and have been married for ten years. They have three rescued pit bull terriers: Grace, Caesar, and Harper Lee.

Mrs. Raffa will be teaching Algebra 1, Algebra 1 Honors and Geometry in the Upper School this year. She received her M.Ed. from the University of South Florida and her BA from the University of Florida. This will be her 24th year of teaching. She has taught middle and high school, public and private schools in Tampa and rural Idaho. She has three adult daughters, three grandchildren and loves the outdoors, especially hiking and kayaking. She is excited and feels blessed to be teaching at Cambridge Christian School this year.

Mrs. Rowland graduated from Southeastern University with a BA in Elementary Education and will be teaching 6th grade Language Arts at CCS. She has over 25 years of teaching experience in kindergarten through 9th grade. Her love for literature and language arts prompted her to enroll in summer symposiums that focused on this area, and she has spent the past 14 years teaching middle school language arts. Mrs. Rowland has been married for 30 years and has 3 children who all graduated from a Christian school very similar to Cambridge. She has also been blessed with 3 beautiful granddaughters. Her family recently located to the Tampa area from Orlando, and she knows that God has placed her here at Cambridge. Many of her students pursue careers in education and writing. A few of them have gone on to become published authors, and she has had the privilege of helping edit one of their books. She hopes to continue inspiring young minds for many more years.

Her favorite quote is from William Butler Yeats, "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." She says,

Mrs. Ruiz has been working at CCS for over 19 years as an Executive Assistant and in various other responsibilities throughout campus including Summer Camp Director. She has three children, Nathan, Sarah ’09 and Aaron '15. She also has a grandchild, Zane. Mrs. Ruiz loves Cambridge because her children have learned so much academically and spiritually. She says, “The faculty invests their knowledge and time into your child. This school is truly unique. Our sacrifices have been rewarded in the confidence we see in our children. The values we teach at home have been reinforced at school on a daily basis.”

Mrs. Stone is a native of South Africa. She has 7 years' experience in teaching and 4 years of medical research expertise. She received her B.S. in Biology from the College of Charleston and was the Science Department Chair and Teacher of the Year at her previous school. She and her husband met on the mission field and they have two beautiful daughters.

Tiesha Watson is a California native, but has been living in Tampa for over a decade. She was called into teaching during the last eighteen months of pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Biology at St. Petersburg Junior College. Tiesha and her husband have two young children, Zoe and Andrew, and love taking road trips together.

Mr. Willeke has been teaching for 10 years in Hillsborough County schools, and has volunteered with the middle school children of his church for over 20 years.  He has taken students on mission trips to feed the homeless in Chicago, South Carolina and Washington DC.  He has also served on mission trips to Italy and Fiji. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida where he received a BA in History, and is an avid Bulls football fan.

Mr. Willeke will also be the Offensive Coordinator for the CCS Middle School Football Team where he hopes to develop players who will not only be leaders, but followers of God.