Our Admin Team
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Andy Mirhaj
Principal
amirhaj@luaky.org Mr. Andy Mirhaj is an experienced educational leader with more than 20 years of service in school administration. Throughout his career, he has served in leadership positions- including…
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Hope Omran
Office Manager
office@luaky.org Mrs. Hope Omran was born in Illinois and moved to Lexington at the young age of three. She graduated from Tates Creek High School and attended the University…
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Briana Raissi
Dean of Lower School
braissi@luaky.org Ms. Briana has worked in the education field as a teacher and administrator for over 20 years, teaching at the elementary, middle, high school, and post secondary levels.…
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Basimah Shalash
Preschool Director, Middle School Dean
bshalash@luaky.org Basimah Shalash has been part of the LUA staff since 2010. She began as a long term substitute for middle school math and science. Then joined as a…
Our Teachers
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Sunshine Al-Jumaily
Middle School Social Studies
saljumaily@luaky.org Ustathah Sunshine Al-Jumaily is a Lexington, Kentucky native who graduated from Bryan Station High School. At the University of Kentucky, she received a BA in history and a minor…
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Shahla Alshakarchi
Pre-K 4 Teacher
salshakarchi@luaky.org Usthathah Shahla Alshakarchi is one of the pre-k 4 teachers at LUA. She has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, two CDA (child development association) credentials in Early Childhood…
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Islam Al Burai
Pre-K 4
ialburai@luaky.org Ustathah Islam Al Burai is one of the PreK-4 at Lexington Universal Academy. She has a bachelor’s degree in Education. Previously, she worked as an ESL teacher in…
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Dana Shalash
Pre-K 3
dshalash@luaky.org Dana Shalash joined the LUA team in 2025. She has taught Pre-K 3 and has a passion for young children. Dana was born and raised in Lexington and graduated…
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Amani Shalash
Pre-K 3 Teacher
ashalash@luaky.org Ustathah Amani Shalash has been a teacher at LUA since 2021. She has taught both Pre-K 3 and 4. She is a proud alumnus of LUA and was a…
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Christy Hendrickson
Middle School Language Arts
chendrickson@luaky.org Christy Hendrickson teaches middle school English Language Arts (ELA). She has been a teacher for over twenty vears in both the private and public school systems. Mrs. Hendrickson…
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Mahmoud Shalash
Middle School Math
mshalash@luaky.org Ustath Mahmoud serves at Lexington Universal Academy as the Middle School Math Teacher, Middle School Quran Resource, and the 7th Grade Islamic Studies Teacher. After having spent his…
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Courtney Crump
Middle School Science
ccrump@luaky.org Ustathah Courtney Crump has been part of the LUA family for over 10 years and has served in many positions. She began her time here as the Pre-K…
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Sarah Ahmad
Fifth Grade
sahmad@luaky.org This is Ustathah Ahmad’s first year teaching at LUA. She was born in Lexington and attended LUA K-8th grade. She previously taught 4th grade ELA in Fayette County Public…
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Cheryl Paul
Fourth Grade
cpaul@luaky.org Mrs. Cheryl Paul is the fourth grade teacher at Lexington Universal Academy. This is her third year at LUA, but her 13th year as a teacher, and her…