Phil Chia is in his 10th year as the Activities Director at Lincoln and in his 20th overall at the school. Prior to taking over the position of AD he was a coach and a business teacher for 10 years with the Rails. Phil grew up on the south side of Des Moines, and like several of the staff at Lincoln, he is a Railsplitter alumni. Phil attended the University of Northern Iowa receiving his degree in Business Education and later received his Masters degree at Drake in Education Administration. Phil is married with four children.

My name is Qynne Kelly and I am an assistant principal at Lincoln Main. After graduating from Preston High School in 2005, I attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in German Education with a minor in TESOL. While attending UW-P, I had the opportunity to live and study in Berlin, Germany. Following my graduation, I moved to the Bronx, New York where I taught English Language Learners at Manhattan College through Language Studies International. When I returned to Iowa, I taught German and ELL for Waterloo Community School District while simultaneously completing my Master’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Northern Iowa. In 2015, I moved to Des Moines after having heard that Des Moines Public Schools was making a commitment to equity work. I was an ELL instructional coach for the district and was also finishing a Master of Science Degree in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University. This is my first year as a school administrator and I could not be more excited to be at Lincoln! #SouthsidePride

I began my career in education back in 1997 as a high school instrumental music teacher after graduating from the University of Tulsa. After nine years of teaching in Tulsa, OK and Colorado Springs, CO, I entered the administration side of the profession after completing my Masters degree from Grand Canyon University. In 2011 I had the honor of becoming the Principal of Abraham Lincoln High School after serving four years as an Assistant Principal in Colorado Springs. My son Luke graduated from LHS in 2013; my wife and I have five children with the two youngest being 11 & 16 along with three wonderful grandchildren.