INSTRUCTORS
Grand Master O'Kelly
Grand Master Jonathan O'Kelly is an 8th degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, a certified instructor and national referee. He is the head instructor in the District of Columbia and Maryland for the Pan American Taekwondo Federation and a member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
He has been practicing Taekwondo since 1974 and has been teaching since 1981. He has taught thousands of students and has promoted more than 800 Black Belts, sixteen to 4th degree Master.
Grand Master O'Kelly is a 2nd degree instructor of Hapkido and a pioneer in Cardio Kickboxing.
Lidia O'Kelly
Master Lidia O'Kelly is a 6th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon-Do and Instructor Certified by the Pan American Tae Kwon Do Federation. She has been studying martial arts since 1992 in Guilderland, New York. She received a Silver Medal at the AAU National Championship in Toledo, Ohio in the summer of 1994. During 1996 and 1998, she received certificates from the International Combat Hapkido Federation under Grand Master John Pellegrini.
She moved to Washington, DC in 1997. In 1998 she joined the Hung Tao Choy Mei Kung Fu Academy. During her studies in the Jow Ga Kung Fu system she traveled to China and Singapore in 1999 to compete at the 1st International Zhou Jia Quan Wushu tournament, where she won a silver medal. In 2002, she helped to establish the Northeast Tae Kwon Do School in the Washington, DC area.
Nathan Hagood
Head Instructor, Master Nathan Hagood began his Taekwondo training under Grandmaster Jon O'Kelly at the age of 14 and currently holds a 6th degree Black Belt. Mstr. Hagood is an accomplished tournament competitor having won numerous trophies and medals for forms, point sparring and Olympic sparring at the Maryland AAU Championships in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009. His hobbies are built around fitness, swimming, Taekwondo, weight liftting, cycling and cooking. He is graduate of the Art Institute of Washington as a culinary major.
Lindsay Robinson
Master Lindsay Robinson has been studying martial arts under the direction of Grandmaster O'Kelly since 2003. He currently holds a 5th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He has coached and participated in Amateur Athletic Union competition. He has assisted with instructing junior students at Tyler Elementary School, St. Peter’s School, Capitol Hill Day School, and Brent Elementary School. And spent several years as the head instructor at the Beauvoir National Cathedral Elementary School Enrichment Program. Mstr. Robinson has worked in the Everybody Wins reading program and is a former President of the Norfolk State University Alumni Association Washington, DC Chapter.
Vetoria Alston-Epps
Master Epps has been training for almost fifteen years at Northeast Taekwondo. She began taking classes after her son decided not to continue his own martial arts training. She initially joined for the sake of exercise and improved personal discipline, but as she progressed through the belt ranks she realized the sport had taken hold of her in a more serious way. She now sees huge value in martial arts and her own personal advancement. To further herself as a martial artist, she began studying Aikido in 2015; as a result she has radically improved her self-defense skills. She currently holds the rank of 4th degree black belt in taekwondo, and works at the main school as a primary instructor for the advanced junior class.
Kate Kashdan
Ms. Kashdan started at Northeast Taekwondo in 2016, after previously practicing in college, at Northwestern University. She immediately felt at home in the Northeast TKD community, and continued honing her tae kwon do skills. Now a third degree black belt, Ms. Kashdan became an assistant instructor in 2021, teaching Tiny Tigers and juniors yellow and orange belts. She is a change management and communications consultant, and in addition to taekwondo, enjoys HITT and bodyweight-style workouts, plays classical piano and spoils her dog, Mila.
David Winter
Dr. David Winter has been a student of martial arts for over 30 years. In addition to his 6th Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo, he has studied Kumdo (Korean sword), Wing Chun Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, and Jujitsu. He has studied under both the World Taekwondo Federation and the International Taekwondo Federation, and has blended the styles over the years to find a balance for his own practice and teaching. Dr. Winter has taught Taekwondo in both the United States and Europe starting back in 1984, and has published on the physics and body mechanics of Taekwondo in Totally Taekwondo Magazine.
In 2011, Dr. Winter began studying Kumdo, the Art of Korean Sword, under Grand Master H.W. Kim, founder of the Korean Kumdo Federation. He is a now a certified instructor, and teaches at Kumdo in Maryland and Washington DC.
In addition to martial arts, Dr. Winter races and coaches Chinese Dragon Boats. He has twice been selected as a member of the US National Team, and has medaled in three world championships.
Derek Swanson
Mr. Swanson enrolled at Northeast Taekwondo in 2013, shortly after his four year-old son joined the school's Tiny Tigers program. Four years later both he and his son earned their black belts on the same day. Derek joined the school needing to improve his physical fitness. He lost nearly 70lbs in his first year of training and has kept the weight off since. He became an assistant instructor in 2018. When he is not practicing Taekwondo, Derek plays competitive pinball and manages a knife shop. He currently holds the rank of third degree black belt.
Nelson Mix
Mr. Mix currently holds the rank of 3rd degree blackbelt. He and his two daughters (1st & 2nd degree blackbelts) all began studying at Northeast Taekwondo in 2012. Since earning his blackbelt, Mr. Mix also began practicing Judo and Brazilian Jujitsu—ADDING (as Grand Master O’Kelly reminds us all) to his Taekwondo experience and education. He has competed in amateur and freestyle wrestling, taekwondo, judo, and in events involving dirt and two wheels (with motors or pedals). Because of his extreme value for the mental discipline and self-defense aspects of martial arts, he has dedicated a small basement room in his house to his taekwondo practice (decked out in red and blue). Mr. Mix is a recently retired engineer, and has found more time for his martial arts pursuits as a result.
Phoebe Smith
Master Smith started her Taekwondo education at Northeast Taekwondo in 2009, after a year of longingly watching her son’s classes. She currently holds a fourth degree black belt, and has been teaching (first at after school programs on Capitol Hill and now at the main school) since 2013. She has competed in a small handful of taekwondo tournaments. Her athletic career before her foray into martial arts included wrestling, gymnastics, running, rowing, weightlifting, and cycling. When not trying to look big and scary, 5’3”, 115lb Smith runs a boutique graphic design firm on Capitol Hill.