Alumni Spotlight
Emin Toro ‘93
U.S. Tax Court Judge, Partner Covington & Burling, U.S. Supreme Court Law Clerk, Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel
Emin Toro serves as a Judge on the U.S. Tax Court. Formerly a partner with the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, he represented and counseled multinational companies in tax controversies. After completing his law studies, Mr. Toro served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Mr. Toro earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Palm Beach Atlantic University and his J.D., with highest honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as an articles editor of the North Carolina Law Review. He is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and speaks and writes on tax topics.
Lauren Jelencovich ’03
Professional Soprano Singer
Lauren Jelencovich graduated from The King’s Academy in 2003 and is a professional soprano singer. She is currently on tour with Yanni as his featured vocalist, performing to sold out venues all over the world such as Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and Royal Albert Hall. She can be seen on his PBS Specials/DVDs and heard on his CDs. Lauren is on his album, Inspirato, singing the song Usignolo (Nightingale) alongside artists Plácido Domingo and Renèe Fleming. Lauren was a Grand Prize winner of Ed McMahon’s Star Search and Andrea Bocelli’s World Scholarship. She was featured in People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and Teen Magazine. Lauren has garnered great acclaim for her affecting and sparkling portrayals of opera and musical theater roles throughout the United States and abroad. This past fall, in Monterrey, Mexico, Lauren was seen alongside Mauricio Martinez for Broadway Sinfonico conducted by Felipe Tristan. The Yanni tour just concluded its third visit through Saudi Arabia, where Lauren was the first woman in recent history to sing on stage for a mixed audience of men and women, a moment she and Yanni both recall as one of the most moving experiences on stage. She has a solid fan base of over 70k throughout her social media platforms. Her solo album, Wildest Dreams, along with other singles can be bought or streamed wherever you get your music!
Peter (Pete) Wellman ‘79
Former Managing Partner of Ernst & Young & TKA CFO
After graduating from The King’s Academy in 1979 Pete earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. In 1985, he moved back to West Palm Beach with his wife Cheri and began working for Ernst & Young. By 1997 Pete made partner and has held several leadership positions over the years, reaching some of the highest levels of the CPA profession.
Pete’s heart for King’s has been evident over the years as he spent 3 years on the Board Finance Committee and his two daughters Lindsey ’13 and Laurel ’16 are both TKA alumni. He retired from serving as the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s Boca Raton Office, where he worked for 35 years. In 2020 Pete became TKA’s Chief Financial Officer.
Chris Chafin ‘03
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
After graduating from TKA, where he was a standout on the varsity soccer team, Chafin attended Rollins College on a soccer scholarship. He then went on to the University of Pennsylvania for dental school, where he graduated at the top of his class with his DMD. He followed that with medical school earning his Medical Doctorate (MD) as well as completing a 6-year oral and maxillofacial surgery residency both at University of Florida. Chris was also selected to serve as chief resident during his maxillofacial training.
Chris and his wife Natalie moved back to Palm Beach County to join South Florida Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery practice. His practice provides oral surgery care to the community including wisdom teeth, dental implants, and oral reconstructive surgery.
Chris regularly spends time on medical mission trips. “The type of work we do at home and abroad has an enormous impact on people’s psychology, whether repairing cleft palates in Vietnam or doing oral reconstruction in Palm Beach Gardens. Maybe the most interesting surgery I ever did was repairing a man’s entire cheekbone and nose after he had been hit by a stray bullet in a drive by shooting. This innocent man, who was completely uninvolved, had his face wrecked. I was able to rebuild it with a lifelike implant created on a 3D printer, practice the surgery on a model, and bond the implants to his native bone. It was so gratifying to be able to use my training to impact his life!” Chris and Natalie welcomed their first child, Reese Elena Chafin on October 17th, 2018. Chris is thankful to share his birthday with his daughter.
Dr. Juli Slattery ’88
Clinical Psychologist and Broadcast Media Professional
A 1988 graduate of the school, Dr. Juli Slattery is a clinical psychologist, author, speaker, and president/ co-founder of Authentic Intimacy. Juli earned her college degree at Wheaton College, an MA in psychology from Biola University, and an MS and a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Florida Institute of Technology. She was co-host of the nationally syndicated Focus on the Family daily radio broadcast with Jim Daly from 2010 to 2012 and is President of the non-profit organization, Authentic Intimacy. She is the author of ten books and host of the weekly podcast “Java with Juli.” Juli and her husband Mike are the parents of 3 sons; they live in Akron, Ohio.
Heath Evans ’97
Founder of BUILT READY, TV analyst, NFL
Heath Evans graduated from The King’s Academy in 1997 and was a running back for 10 years in the National Football League with the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and Miami Dolphins and played college football at Auburn University. He won Super Bowl XLIV as a member of the Saints. After Heath’s retirement from the NFL, he became a TV analyst for the NFL Network.
Heath’s passion has always been helping people. That passion led him to create BUILT READY. The heart of BUILT READY is to help men master manhood through faith.
Christina Alessi ’10
Christina Alessi Matthews graduated high school from The King’s Academy where she was a standout basketball and volleyball player. Then, she attended Palm Beach Atlantic University where she started on the indoor volleyball all four years. Alessi earned a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Studio Art in 2014. After graduating with a 4.0 GPA and receiving All-American, Alessi played for the US Florida Wave Team where she continued to play overseas in Sweden (Halmstad Volley Club) and the Philippines (Super Liga Volleyball Club). In 2016, Alessi joined her mother in The King’s Academy Hall of Fame. Residing in Florida she has discovered a new passion for beach volleyball where she plays professionally for the AVP and coaches indoor and beach volleyball at PBAU. She is married to Andrew Matthews residing in Loxahatchee, Florida.
Her awards consist of The King’s Academy Athlete of the Year; AVCA All-American, AVCA All- Region, ICAA First Team.
Lea (Hulkkonen) Peters ‘84
Missionary and Church Planter in Africa
Lea and her husband Jamie live in Burundi, Africa. Since 1987 they have been making an impact on the continent of Africa planting autonomous, self-supporting churches that reach out into their communities with faith-based spiritual and humanitarian outreaches. Their work has taken them to DRC, Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi, and Zambia and they are currently establishing their central base in Burundi. The Peters have planted 16 churches, started two schools in Malawi with a third starting in Burundi this year, and run two feeding projects: one in Malawi feeding 500 children and one in Burundi feeding 702 students. Lea and Jamie have three grown children, a 12-year old adopted daughter from Malawi, and two grandchildren. “We have learned to speak 4 different languages over the years: Kiswahili, French, Chichewa, and Kirundi. I never knew that my grammar lessons at TKA would help learning languages, but they have!” says Lea. To read more about the Peters and their work in Africa visit their website Africa & Beyond. (africa-and-beyond.net)
Kent Annan ’90
Author
Kent Annan graduated from The King’s Academy in 1990 and is an author and director of humanitarian and disaster leadership at Wheaton College, where he leads an M.A. program as part of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute. He is the co-founder of Haiti Partners, a nonprofit (NGO) focused on education in Haiti. He has served as a Christian missionary and on the board of directors of Equitas Group, a philanthropic foundation that focused on ending child exploitation in Haiti and Southeast Asia. A graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University (B.A.) and Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div.), he has authored four books, Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle, After Shock, Slow Kingdom Coming, and You Welcomed Me. Kent has written for many national publications and has appeared on national TV and radio. He is a senior consultant for Development Associates International which trains Christian leaders around the world. Kent and his wife have a daughter and son.
Emmanuel Lamur ’07
National Football League Player
A 2007 graduate, Emmanuel played two years at Independence Junior College and 3 years at Kansas State University operating as Team Captain. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2012, playing as a Bengal for four years. He spent two years with the Minnesota Vikings, a season with the Oakland Raiders, and closed his season with the New York Jets. Emmanuel is the founder and CEO of the Lamur Charity, a non-profit which focuses on empowering and supporting underprivileged youth through sports and life skills. He has done most of his work in Haiti partnering with an orphanage called “Mission of Grace.” Orphans are provided with food, water, beds, clothing, & educational resources through the Lamur Charity. Recently Emmanuel and his wife collaborated on creating Reyel Estates bringing affordable housing to low income areas.
Matthew Wensing ’00
Software Developer, CEP of Riskpulse
A 2000 graduate of the school, Matthew Wensing studied humanities at the University of Chicago. A software developer, he created Riskpulse (acquired by PE & DHL); a hurricane forecasting and weather intelligence tool used by Fortune 500 companies, the White House situation room, and 6.5 million private users annually. In April 2019, he became a second-time founder of a company (Summit) and developed financial planning software and next-generation financial toolset for early-stage companies and their investors.
Tess Soltau ’05
Broadway and Television Actress
Tess Soltau is an actor and writer. She graduated from The King’s Academy in 2005 then moved to Pittsburgh, PA to double major in Acting and Musical Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University. Some of her stage credits include: Once Upon a One More Time (Broadway, Stepsister Betany), Wicked (Broadway, Glinda), The Addams Family (Broadway, Dead Bride, u/s Wednesday Addams alongside Roger Rees and Brooke Shields), Into the Woods (The Public, Rapunzel with Amy Adams and Denis O'Hare), Diner (World Premier, written by Barry Levinson and Sheryl Crow, Elyse), Romy and Michele’s: High School Reunion (World Premier, Christie Masters) Far From Heaven (Playwrights Horizons, Nancy), Rock of Ages (PCLO, Sherrie) Grease (Papermill Playhouse, Marty). Her television and film credits include: Paterno (HBO), True Detective (HBO), Love and Other Drugs (Fox 2000 Pictures), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), The Good Fight (CBS), White Collar (USA), Law and Order: SVU (NBC).
You can follow her adventures on Instagram at @tesssoltau.