Peter Hauge
Executive Director
Peter helped found ALPS in 1992 and has worked here ever since. His favorite thing about working at ALPS is meeting students from around the world and doing his best to provide a learning atmosphere where every student gains something useful from being here and where every student feels welcome. He loves teaching English and treasures every opportunity to be in the classroom. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family, messing about on boats of any kind, skiing and DIY home improvements.
Kerry Philben
Director / Admissions
Kerry started working at ALPS in 2018. She is originally from Redding, California. Her favorite thing about teaching English is hearing students' interesting opinions and experiences in speaking classes. In her spare time she enjoys playing the bassoon, reading long Russian novels, and brewing beer.
Jarrett Hopewell
Academic Coordinator / Instructor
Jarrett grew up in the Seattle area. Before joining ALPS in 2023, he taught Spanish in Virginia and English to Nicaraguan and Dominican students remotely from his alma mater in Montana. As a lover of languages and linguistics, he enjoys "nerding out" over grammar and vocabulary with his coworkers and students. Outside of work, Jarrett likes to ski, paddleboard, hike, spend time with his dog, and explore Seattle.
Alex Hubbard
Manager of Student Affairs / Instructor
Alex began working at ALPS in 2022. He grew up in West Virginia, spent some time teaching English in Japan, and now has been in the Seattle area since 2017. His favorite thing about teaching English is being able to give students the tools they need to achieve their goals in life, whether they be professional or personal. In his spare time, he enjoys things like hiking/backpacking, cooking, reading, bouldering, and writing.
Andy Nicks
Instructor
Andy grew up in Poulsbo, Washington. He has spent most of his life in the Puget Sound area and loves it here. He taught English in Taiwan for four years and moved back to Seattle in 2019. He started teaching at ALPS in 2021. His favorite things about teaching English are seeing students improve and hearing their opinions and stories. Outside of school, he enjoys snowboarding, watching movies, writing screenplays, reading nonfiction, and camping.
Anna Hart
Instructor
Anna started teaching at ALPS in 2021. She grew up in Seattle, lived in Turkmenistan for a year and then in northern Cyprus for about four years. She loves connecting with people from all over the world and helping people communicate in English well. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, music, and long deep conversations.
Ben Clayton
Instructor
Ben moved to the USA at the end of 2022 and started at ALPS in 2023. He has been teaching English for well over a decade and has taught in London, Oxford, Tokyo, and in the US. He loves language and communication and his passion is to help students to open the door into the next part of their lives. Teaching English gives him the opportunity to meet people from countries and cultures he would not normally be able to have contact with - and that is the most wonderful part of his job. Ben loves reading, listening to music, traveling, and going into the wilderness with his wife and dog.
David Frank
Instructor
David Frank is a writer, public speaker and teacher. Originally from Perth, Western Australia, David has taught in Japan, Vietnam, Scotland, England, Italy and the US. He moved to Seattle in 2017 and started teaching at ALPS and Seattle Public Schools in 2021. He is a former competitive sword fighter and a former radio DJ, and currently grows a lot of his own food.
Kevin O'Connor
Instructor
Kevin is happy to be teaching at ALPS! He has been a university and college English teacher in Seattle for over twenty years. Being curious, sharing interests and talking about what's going on makes for great learning! Outside the classroom, Teacher Kevin / KO plays the trumpet as well as dance music with the Yaamba African Marimba ensemble. He also enjoys local pubs and coffee and tea cafes and likes to garden and hike in the great Northwest!
Kailee Luebke
Instructor
Kailee started working at ALPS in 2024. She grew up in Tucson, Arizona, but moved to Seattle in 2015. Her favorite thing about teaching is building connections with students and providing support along their learning journey. Kailee's experience includes teaching ESL in China and Japan. She enjoys traveling, exploring restaurants and coffee shops around Seattle, and snuggling up inside to watch TV or read a good book.
Megan Wasserman
Instructor
Megan started working at ALPS in July of 2024. Originally from a small town in Ohio, Megan has been teaching English for ten years. She taught English in Cameroon with Peace Corps for three years and then moved to Florida where she taught English as well. She moved to Seattle with her family in 2024. Her favorite part of teaching English is being able to witness the way that language learning expands a student’s confidence and the opportunities available to them (whether personal or professional). Megan considers it a gift to be able to support students along this path. Megan has many hobbies including reading, writing, singing, exercising, traveling, and spending time with family.
Javi Berkman
Instructor
Javi grew up in New Jersey but moved to Washington in 2015 to attend WWU's Journalism program. After graduating, they taught English in Bundang, South Korea before moving to Seattle in 2021, and now they can't leave! Javi's favorite thing about teaching English is talking about cultural differences with their students. They've been at ALPS since 2024. In their free time, Javi loves to cook, listen to music, travel, and go to drag shows.
