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Instructors
JULIE ANDERSON
julieofga@gmail.com
Julie is a certified social studies teacher who has been assisting her children with their education for 5 years. She has lived overseas and traveled extensively. She has also coached First Lego League teams, taught computer skills classes and taught Lego enrichment classes and camps.
KINSEY KATIE ANDERSON
katieofil@gmail.com
Kinsey is a 13 year old homeschool student who is an avid reader with an awesome imagination. When she is not swimming, she likes to spend time sewing, saving animals and hanging with friends.
She will be assisted by her 29 year old mother:)
OWEN ANDERSON
Owen is a 14 year old electronics and computer enthusiast. His love of these subjects has allowed him to become a guru at an early age. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with other children.
Owen will be assisted by his mother, Julie Anderson. Julie is a certified teacher who has been assisting her children with their education for 4 years. She has also coached First Lego League teams, taught computer skills classes and taught Lego enrichment classes and camps.
JUANITA BELLAVANCE
j.bellava@gmail.com
Juanita has been a professional decorative artist in the Atlanta area and now teaches art to kids. She has taught music in the public schools as well as five years in private Montessori schools. She has taught art to kids for the past two years and works to offer unique projects that increase the art skills in students.
CHARLIE BLEVINS
423 762 8810
Charlie received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Recording Industry Management from Middle Tennessee State University. With extensive knowledge and experience in music recording, Charlie also specializes in many instruments; most notably percussion, and violin. His drum performance credits include over ten performing groups, some of which are now signed by major independent labels. His violin performance credits include: The MTSU Symphony Orchestra, The Chattanooga Youth Symphony, and was the Concert Master for the Chattanooga School For The Arts and Sciences. He has instructed over 150 students and over 2000 lessons over the past 5 years, both children and adults, in multiple styles of drum and violin performance.
MICAH CADWELL
info@carryatunemusic.com
Micah Cadwell has been performing and teaching in Atlanta, GA for the past 10 years. He has worked and studied with some of greatest musicians in the country. As a Jazz guitarist, Micah has performed with musicians including, Matthew Kaminski, Gwen Hughes, Nicole Chillemi, Laura Coyle, and many others.
Micah began studying guitar at age 12 with many notable Florida-based guitarists and then upon arriving in Atlanta, he began to concentrate on Jazz guitar with, virtuoso, Bob Shaw.
As a veteran educator, Micah has coached young musicians from their first lesson to their first concert performance and beyond. When time allows, he is also a substitute teacher at the Atlanta Institute of Music. In addition, Micah works closely with other professional music instructors, helping them to improve and refine their pedagogical techniques.
In 2010, he opened Carry-a-Tune Music, a thriving in-home lesson academy, which continues to grow.
Today, he maintains a very active schedule, both performing music in hotels, restaurants, private events and jazz clubs and instructing and mentoring some of tomorrow's greatest musicians.
EMILY CHRISTIE
veshadana(at)mac.com
After high school, Emily became an instructor and gym manager at the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) & Karate for Kids in Mt. Pleasant where she taught ages 3-60. After 2 years, she moved to Georgia and worked as a day care teacher, a nanny, a warehouse manager, and web designer while finishing college. Emily attended Goddard College in Vermont where she created and implemented her own curriculum every semester. She was a founding member of “The Interfaith Chapel” on campus. Emily majored in World Religions and graduated from Goddard College in 2003. Shortly after graduation, she founded Ahimsa House, a domestic violence assistance organization. Ahimsa House won a national award and both Ahimsa House and Emily Christie have been featured in local, national, and international media. Emily is currently raising and teaching her young daughter, staying active in interfaith work, reading books on religion, and doing Tunisian crochet. She is excited to be teaching at LEO.
JOSEPH COUVILLION
678-207-9937
Coach Joe owns and operates North Georgia Chess Center in Cumming Georgia where he teaches, runs tournaments, holds summer camps and offers memberships to the club.
He has been playing the game of chess, as well as participating in tournaments for the past 35 years. Along with his many years of experience,Coach Joe is also a former State Champion,as well as,former Class A Champion.
CINDY FELSO
cindy@reallearningatlanta.com
Cindy has been teaching and tutoring for over 20 years, in settings from classrooms to corporate training to her favorite -- homeschooling her five children.
She holds a BA in economics, an M.Ed. in instructional technology leadership and permanent NJ teaching certification.
This summer marks the birth of her company Real Learning Atlanta dedicated to helping families find the right learning path for differently abled students, including those with learning disabilities, giftedness or both.
Cindy has been involved with competitive mathematics teams since 2005 and over the years has fallen in love with the excitement and fun of competitive problem solving.
She looks forward to continuing to share her love of learning, mathematics and problem solving with the students at LEO.
JACKIE GLAZIER
jackieblue97@gmail.com
Jackie Glazier has earned her Master of Music Degree in Clarinet Performance from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Florida. She also spent time in Germany studying clarinet from renowned former principal of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Leister. She has performed professionally with the Florida Orchestra and the Palm Beach Opera. Jackie has been teaching privately for seven years.
JULIE GRANTIER
grantier(at)bellsouth.net
Julie Grantier received her B.S. and M.S. in Physics from Georgia Tech, with additional graduate work in both education and psychology. She also holds an active master’s level teaching certificate in Georgia. A general love of knowledge is her first passion and sharing that knowledge with others runs a close second. She has had extensive tutoring and teaching experience over the past 25 years. Previous teaching jobs include physics at a college level (Kennesaw), statistics and programming at college and post-graduate levels (Georgia Tech) and high school physics, chemistry and physical science (Cobb County). In addition, she has worked in computer programming as a consultant both at Georgia Tech and in the private sector. Her most recent full-time job has been homeschooling her own 13 year old son.
DEAYNE JOHNSON
deayne.johnson@gmail.com
Deayne has a BA in Biology and has taught numerous courses in science and math. She has worked as a certified substitute teacher, a graduate student TA, a tutor, and an instructor at LEO.
MRS SACHIKO KOGURE
cocosachiko@hotmail.com
Mrs. Sachiko Kogure is a Japanese language teacher living in Roswell and has been teaching in Roswell Budokan since its opening in 2007. She taught foreign languages for Fulton County Schools for 7 years and for 3 years for “Irasshai,” a Japanese learning program of Georgia Public TV (GPTV). Before coming to the USA, she worked in the Japanese Embassy in Senegal, in the Senegalese Embassy in Japan and in a company in France. She runs Origami Christmas Trees & More.
TRACEY LOWE
tracey125@gmail.com
Tracey has a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College in Boston. Before becoming a homeschooling mother to her two children, she worked for Cobb County Schools for 10 years. She grew up with a deaf brother and first learned sign language at the age of 10 along with the rest of her family. Knitting and crocheting have been hobbies of hers since childhood.
FULVIA MANCINI-ELZA
678-682-5284
I am a board certified teacher with Georgia Professional Standards Commission educator. I have 12 years experience in education. I am one of the first teachers to have reintroduced Spanish in Elementary school with Fulton County. I have taught also high school and university level Spanish and Italian.
I am a native of Italy and have obtained my bachelor of Arts with Music Major at Emory University and done study work in Education at Kennesaw University. I have also obtained a Masters Degree in Spanish Culture and Education from La Universidad De Salamanca, Spain.
I am also an accomplished soprano and dancer.
DONNA MCGAHEE
mcgahee.donna@gmail.com
Home School Family for 5 years. 17 years SVP in Banking. Current Owner of Wholesale Distribution Company. Master of Business Administration-GA State University, Bachelor's Degree in Finance-Mercer University.
MEAGAN MICHELIS
drmeagain@yahoo.com
Meagan is mom to two wonderful boys. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with honors from the University of Florida. As a pre-veterinary student she studied many sciences including genetics, microbiology, chemistry, and physics. She has worked as a veterinary technician in both small animal clinical and surgical settings, and as a research assistant in the UF Material Sciences lab. Meagan enjoys volunteering and has worked with Operation Catnip, Habitat for Humanity, and Therapy Dogs, as well as several domestic animal and wildlife rescue groups. Her interests are animals, poetry, science, languages, and gardening.
GRETCHEN PITTENDRIGH
gpsings2@yahoo.com, 770-837-4535
I am a mother of 3 children ages 11, 7 and 4. We have been homeschooling for 5 years. We love LEO for the classes we wouldn't normally get at home, and for the great friendships we've made.
CINDY RITTENHOUSE
rittenhousec(at)mindspring.com
B.A. in Humanities (triple major--English/History/French) from Michigan State University; M.A. in Literature from Michigan State focusing on Canadian Literature with a Pulitzer Prize winner and then-Poet Laureate of Canada on my Masters Committee;national DAR award winner in American History; Chicago Suburban Symphony; award-winning advertising copywriter; head of children's and teens' departments at Barnes & Noble, Alpharetta; sponsor of Young Adult Library Services Association Teen Top Ten critique Group; literature and creative writing instructor at LEO and Rivers Academy; substitute teacher K-college.
HEATHER SOTACK
hsotack@yahoo.com
Heather Sotack has a B.A. in Art from GSU. She has been teaching after-school art classes and summer art camps since 1999. She started her career as a certified Monart Teacher in Marietta Monart School of the Arts, then branched out to homeschool groups, then public elementary schools. She currently has classes in Briarlake and Henderson Mill Elementary, Shamrock Middle, and St. Timothy's Private school.
ART STANTON
artstanton@notnats.com
Art Stanton is a technology enthusiast with a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Auburn University.
TERESA STANTON
teresastanton(at)notnats.com
Teresa Stanton is a veteran homeschooler with 14 years’ experience teaching history, science and art to children of all ages. She has a very supportive husband, four extremely intelligent children, two beautiful granddaughters, one wandering yellow lab, and an obnoxiously yippy pomeranian/sheltie mix.
CHRISTY STROMBERG
xtstromberg@gmail.com & 770.360.9150
Christy has homeschooled her children for 7 years. She has been teaching homeschool math and science classes for 5 years and has enjoyed it immensely. She has a degree in Mathematics from NGCSU.
ELIZABETH SUITT
suitt@bellsouth.net
Elizabeth Suitt earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. After working as a Probation Officer and then moving on to marketing and advertising in the corporate world; she resigned from BellSouth to raise her son and enter the world of alternative education. She welcomes the opportunity to inspire your students to lifelong learning.
CARL TESTA
carltesta(at)comcast.net
Carl Testa graduated from Indiana University School of Music as a voice major. He studied voice with Camilla Williams, Walter Cassell and Carlos Montanae. He also studied jazz piano improvisation and theory with David Baker. He started playing the piano at the age of six. He studied jazz piano with Ted Howe from 1990-2000. He has been teaching private piano and voice since 1990. As a solo artist, he has been performing throughout Atlanta and beyond since 1988. In 1990, he began performing in Europe as a solo artist.
RACHAEL TURNER
Rachael Turner graduated from UGA with a major in Journalism and a minor in Psychology and Anthropology. After graduation, she worked in the Marketing Department for a local corporation. She soon began to pursue her passion for children by working as a Teacher’s Aid and tutor full-time. In 2008, she was introduced to the Montessori approach and has been an advocate for it ever since. She earned her Elementary NAMC certification and has worked in the Montessori classroom as the Elementary teacher for three years. She also has experience in the Montessori Primary Room. She is inspired by the Montessori education because it focuses on developing well-rounded, peaceful, motivated, self-disciplined contributors of the world. She loves the arts- reading, writing, crafts, movies, organization, and traveling.
MONICA VELEZ
mvelez(at)blc123.com
I am a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City with over 15 years of experience teaching Spanish language to children, teens and adults.I have been married for 25 years to my husband and I’m a proud mother of Humberto and Marifer.
I’m eager to bring students into the Spanish language using a unique combination of education experience coupled with seven years business background in language instruction management.
I hold a bachelors degree in Infantile Psychology and I am dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong love of knowledge in children.
julieofga@gmail.com
Julie is a certified social studies teacher who has been assisting her children with their education for 5 years. She has lived overseas and traveled extensively. She has also coached First Lego League teams, taught computer skills classes and taught Lego enrichment classes and camps.
KINSEY KATIE ANDERSON
katieofil@gmail.com
Kinsey is a 13 year old homeschool student who is an avid reader with an awesome imagination. When she is not swimming, she likes to spend time sewing, saving animals and hanging with friends.
She will be assisted by her 29 year old mother:)
OWEN ANDERSON
Owen is a 14 year old electronics and computer enthusiast. His love of these subjects has allowed him to become a guru at an early age. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with other children.
Owen will be assisted by his mother, Julie Anderson. Julie is a certified teacher who has been assisting her children with their education for 4 years. She has also coached First Lego League teams, taught computer skills classes and taught Lego enrichment classes and camps.
JUANITA BELLAVANCE
j.bellava@gmail.com
Juanita has been a professional decorative artist in the Atlanta area and now teaches art to kids. She has taught music in the public schools as well as five years in private Montessori schools. She has taught art to kids for the past two years and works to offer unique projects that increase the art skills in students.
CHARLIE BLEVINS
423 762 8810
Charlie received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Recording Industry Management from Middle Tennessee State University. With extensive knowledge and experience in music recording, Charlie also specializes in many instruments; most notably percussion, and violin. His drum performance credits include over ten performing groups, some of which are now signed by major independent labels. His violin performance credits include: The MTSU Symphony Orchestra, The Chattanooga Youth Symphony, and was the Concert Master for the Chattanooga School For The Arts and Sciences. He has instructed over 150 students and over 2000 lessons over the past 5 years, both children and adults, in multiple styles of drum and violin performance.
MICAH CADWELL
info@carryatunemusic.com
Micah Cadwell has been performing and teaching in Atlanta, GA for the past 10 years. He has worked and studied with some of greatest musicians in the country. As a Jazz guitarist, Micah has performed with musicians including, Matthew Kaminski, Gwen Hughes, Nicole Chillemi, Laura Coyle, and many others.
Micah began studying guitar at age 12 with many notable Florida-based guitarists and then upon arriving in Atlanta, he began to concentrate on Jazz guitar with, virtuoso, Bob Shaw.
As a veteran educator, Micah has coached young musicians from their first lesson to their first concert performance and beyond. When time allows, he is also a substitute teacher at the Atlanta Institute of Music. In addition, Micah works closely with other professional music instructors, helping them to improve and refine their pedagogical techniques.
In 2010, he opened Carry-a-Tune Music, a thriving in-home lesson academy, which continues to grow.
Today, he maintains a very active schedule, both performing music in hotels, restaurants, private events and jazz clubs and instructing and mentoring some of tomorrow's greatest musicians.
EMILY CHRISTIE
veshadana(at)mac.com
After high school, Emily became an instructor and gym manager at the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) & Karate for Kids in Mt. Pleasant where she taught ages 3-60. After 2 years, she moved to Georgia and worked as a day care teacher, a nanny, a warehouse manager, and web designer while finishing college. Emily attended Goddard College in Vermont where she created and implemented her own curriculum every semester. She was a founding member of “The Interfaith Chapel” on campus. Emily majored in World Religions and graduated from Goddard College in 2003. Shortly after graduation, she founded Ahimsa House, a domestic violence assistance organization. Ahimsa House won a national award and both Ahimsa House and Emily Christie have been featured in local, national, and international media. Emily is currently raising and teaching her young daughter, staying active in interfaith work, reading books on religion, and doing Tunisian crochet. She is excited to be teaching at LEO.
JOSEPH COUVILLION
678-207-9937
Coach Joe owns and operates North Georgia Chess Center in Cumming Georgia where he teaches, runs tournaments, holds summer camps and offers memberships to the club.
He has been playing the game of chess, as well as participating in tournaments for the past 35 years. Along with his many years of experience,Coach Joe is also a former State Champion,as well as,former Class A Champion.
CINDY FELSO
cindy@reallearningatlanta.com
Cindy has been teaching and tutoring for over 20 years, in settings from classrooms to corporate training to her favorite -- homeschooling her five children.
She holds a BA in economics, an M.Ed. in instructional technology leadership and permanent NJ teaching certification.
This summer marks the birth of her company Real Learning Atlanta dedicated to helping families find the right learning path for differently abled students, including those with learning disabilities, giftedness or both.
Cindy has been involved with competitive mathematics teams since 2005 and over the years has fallen in love with the excitement and fun of competitive problem solving.
She looks forward to continuing to share her love of learning, mathematics and problem solving with the students at LEO.
JACKIE GLAZIER
jackieblue97@gmail.com
Jackie Glazier has earned her Master of Music Degree in Clarinet Performance from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Florida. She also spent time in Germany studying clarinet from renowned former principal of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Leister. She has performed professionally with the Florida Orchestra and the Palm Beach Opera. Jackie has been teaching privately for seven years.
JULIE GRANTIER
grantier(at)bellsouth.net
Julie Grantier received her B.S. and M.S. in Physics from Georgia Tech, with additional graduate work in both education and psychology. She also holds an active master’s level teaching certificate in Georgia. A general love of knowledge is her first passion and sharing that knowledge with others runs a close second. She has had extensive tutoring and teaching experience over the past 25 years. Previous teaching jobs include physics at a college level (Kennesaw), statistics and programming at college and post-graduate levels (Georgia Tech) and high school physics, chemistry and physical science (Cobb County). In addition, she has worked in computer programming as a consultant both at Georgia Tech and in the private sector. Her most recent full-time job has been homeschooling her own 13 year old son.
DEAYNE JOHNSON
deayne.johnson@gmail.com
Deayne has a BA in Biology and has taught numerous courses in science and math. She has worked as a certified substitute teacher, a graduate student TA, a tutor, and an instructor at LEO.
MRS SACHIKO KOGURE
cocosachiko@hotmail.com
Mrs. Sachiko Kogure is a Japanese language teacher living in Roswell and has been teaching in Roswell Budokan since its opening in 2007. She taught foreign languages for Fulton County Schools for 7 years and for 3 years for “Irasshai,” a Japanese learning program of Georgia Public TV (GPTV). Before coming to the USA, she worked in the Japanese Embassy in Senegal, in the Senegalese Embassy in Japan and in a company in France. She runs Origami Christmas Trees & More.
TRACEY LOWE
tracey125@gmail.com
Tracey has a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College in Boston. Before becoming a homeschooling mother to her two children, she worked for Cobb County Schools for 10 years. She grew up with a deaf brother and first learned sign language at the age of 10 along with the rest of her family. Knitting and crocheting have been hobbies of hers since childhood.
FULVIA MANCINI-ELZA
678-682-5284
I am a board certified teacher with Georgia Professional Standards Commission educator. I have 12 years experience in education. I am one of the first teachers to have reintroduced Spanish in Elementary school with Fulton County. I have taught also high school and university level Spanish and Italian.
I am a native of Italy and have obtained my bachelor of Arts with Music Major at Emory University and done study work in Education at Kennesaw University. I have also obtained a Masters Degree in Spanish Culture and Education from La Universidad De Salamanca, Spain.
I am also an accomplished soprano and dancer.
DONNA MCGAHEE
mcgahee.donna@gmail.com
Home School Family for 5 years. 17 years SVP in Banking. Current Owner of Wholesale Distribution Company. Master of Business Administration-GA State University, Bachelor's Degree in Finance-Mercer University.
MEAGAN MICHELIS
drmeagain@yahoo.com
Meagan is mom to two wonderful boys. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with honors from the University of Florida. As a pre-veterinary student she studied many sciences including genetics, microbiology, chemistry, and physics. She has worked as a veterinary technician in both small animal clinical and surgical settings, and as a research assistant in the UF Material Sciences lab. Meagan enjoys volunteering and has worked with Operation Catnip, Habitat for Humanity, and Therapy Dogs, as well as several domestic animal and wildlife rescue groups. Her interests are animals, poetry, science, languages, and gardening.
GRETCHEN PITTENDRIGH
gpsings2@yahoo.com, 770-837-4535
I am a mother of 3 children ages 11, 7 and 4. We have been homeschooling for 5 years. We love LEO for the classes we wouldn't normally get at home, and for the great friendships we've made.
CINDY RITTENHOUSE
rittenhousec(at)mindspring.com
B.A. in Humanities (triple major--English/History/French) from Michigan State University; M.A. in Literature from Michigan State focusing on Canadian Literature with a Pulitzer Prize winner and then-Poet Laureate of Canada on my Masters Committee;national DAR award winner in American History; Chicago Suburban Symphony; award-winning advertising copywriter; head of children's and teens' departments at Barnes & Noble, Alpharetta; sponsor of Young Adult Library Services Association Teen Top Ten critique Group; literature and creative writing instructor at LEO and Rivers Academy; substitute teacher K-college.
HEATHER SOTACK
hsotack@yahoo.com
Heather Sotack has a B.A. in Art from GSU. She has been teaching after-school art classes and summer art camps since 1999. She started her career as a certified Monart Teacher in Marietta Monart School of the Arts, then branched out to homeschool groups, then public elementary schools. She currently has classes in Briarlake and Henderson Mill Elementary, Shamrock Middle, and St. Timothy's Private school.
ART STANTON
artstanton@notnats.com
Art Stanton is a technology enthusiast with a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Auburn University.
TERESA STANTON
teresastanton(at)notnats.com
Teresa Stanton is a veteran homeschooler with 14 years’ experience teaching history, science and art to children of all ages. She has a very supportive husband, four extremely intelligent children, two beautiful granddaughters, one wandering yellow lab, and an obnoxiously yippy pomeranian/sheltie mix.
CHRISTY STROMBERG
xtstromberg@gmail.com & 770.360.9150
Christy has homeschooled her children for 7 years. She has been teaching homeschool math and science classes for 5 years and has enjoyed it immensely. She has a degree in Mathematics from NGCSU.
ELIZABETH SUITT
suitt@bellsouth.net
Elizabeth Suitt earned her B.S. in Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. After working as a Probation Officer and then moving on to marketing and advertising in the corporate world; she resigned from BellSouth to raise her son and enter the world of alternative education. She welcomes the opportunity to inspire your students to lifelong learning.
CARL TESTAcarltesta(at)comcast.net
Carl Testa graduated from Indiana University School of Music as a voice major. He studied voice with Camilla Williams, Walter Cassell and Carlos Montanae. He also studied jazz piano improvisation and theory with David Baker. He started playing the piano at the age of six. He studied jazz piano with Ted Howe from 1990-2000. He has been teaching private piano and voice since 1990. As a solo artist, he has been performing throughout Atlanta and beyond since 1988. In 1990, he began performing in Europe as a solo artist.
RACHAEL TURNER
Rachael Turner graduated from UGA with a major in Journalism and a minor in Psychology and Anthropology. After graduation, she worked in the Marketing Department for a local corporation. She soon began to pursue her passion for children by working as a Teacher’s Aid and tutor full-time. In 2008, she was introduced to the Montessori approach and has been an advocate for it ever since. She earned her Elementary NAMC certification and has worked in the Montessori classroom as the Elementary teacher for three years. She also has experience in the Montessori Primary Room. She is inspired by the Montessori education because it focuses on developing well-rounded, peaceful, motivated, self-disciplined contributors of the world. She loves the arts- reading, writing, crafts, movies, organization, and traveling.
MONICA VELEZ
mvelez(at)blc123.com
I am a native Spanish speaker from Mexico City with over 15 years of experience teaching Spanish language to children, teens and adults.I have been married for 25 years to my husband and I’m a proud mother of Humberto and Marifer.
I’m eager to bring students into the Spanish language using a unique combination of education experience coupled with seven years business background in language instruction management.
I hold a bachelors degree in Infantile Psychology and I am dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of creating and nurturing a lifelong love of knowledge in children.
