Amanda Holliday is the head of the English Department and currently teaches Honors European Literature, European Literature, and Senior British Literature.  She also enjoys advising the Diversity Club and Interact Club.  Mrs. Holliday is a proud alum of CFA and graduated with honors from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and minors in Creative Writing and African-American Studies. Outside of school, Mrs. Holliday most likes spending time with her husband and new baby daughter.  She also loves reading, watching movies, camping, and spending time on the water.

After six years of teaching English in the Upper School, Audrey Holsten has been thrilled to take on her responsibilities as the Director of the Foundations Program. Her duties include administering the Schools Attuned Program, as well as working directly with faculty and students to increase the role of critical thinking in the classroom. Additionally, she coordinates the new Center for Writing and Reasoning at CFA.

In her free time, Mrs. Holsten enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time sailing and walking the beach with her husband, Kelly.

A longstanding member of the Cape Fear Academy community, Barbara Proctor teaches British literature to seniors and directs the Writing Center. In addition, she is the faculty advisor for the Judiciary Council. A graduate of Wake Forest, she is an avid ACC basketball fan, especially the years Wake is doing well.  Mrs. Proctor loves to do crossword puzzles, travel, and read.

Dr. Parsons earned his BA at the University of Connecticut, where he was awarded his Phi Beta Kappa key. After attending Trinity College for his master's degree, he went to Duke University for his doctorate. In 1992-1993 he taught at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College in England as a Fulbright Exchange teacher. Besides English, he loves art; he paints watercolors and has a museum-level collection of Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts.
He teaches AP English Language and AP English Literature at CFA.

Karson Reed joins the CFA English faculty this year as the Ninth Grade English teacher. She holds a BA from the University of Kentucky and an MA from the University of Dayton. Mrs. Reed is the costume designer for the CFA theatre productions, and she works in the Writing Center.  

Outside of school, Mrs. Reed is a Zumba instructor, and enjoys reading young adult fiction, cooking new recipes, and laughing with her husband Chad.

Mallory Tarses received her undergraduate degree from Brown University and master’s degrees from both Johns Hopkins University and UNC-Wilmington, both in Fiction Writing.  She teaches American Literature at CFA and is a Learning Skills teacherr for the Upper School.  She also teaches the Verbal and Writing Skills components of the school’s SAT Preparation courses and works in the Center for Writing and Reasoning. In addition to spending time with her fabulous daughter, Ms. Tarses enjoys fiction writing, photography, and tennis.