Education: Jessica went to SUNY Albany where she got a B.S. in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work, and later obtaining a second Masters in Teaching from Pace University. After Jessica had her fabulous son, Jonas, she went back to school to become a special education teacher, working in NYC public schools with children who have intellectual disabilities and autism.

 

Background: Jessica worked as a psychiatric social worker in a residential treatment facility for children with severe emotional disabilities and as a school social worker for boys with emotional disabilities. She also ran a group home for adults with developmental disabilities and worked as an ABA Therapist with young children on the Autism spectrum. Jessica currently works as a reading interventionist in the NYC public school district. She is passionate about teaching and helping children learn in a way that best suits each child’s needs and learning style. She is trained in multiple Orton-Gillingham-based reading programs and is currently completing a two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program.

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Interests: Jessica is a staunch environmentalist and deeply passionate about learning and teaching about social and racial justice. She loves knitting, coloring, playing scrabble, and listening to NPR. Jessica practices meditation, yoga, Qi Gong, and Reiki. She loves silent retreats, using essential oils in her practice, and studying Eastern medicine.

Education: Abbey is pursuing her Master's in Speech Language Pathology in the near future. She graduated from Southeastern University with a B.S in Elementary Education and a minor in ESOL.

 

Background: Abbey is Orton-Gillingham certified, Kagan-trained and a certified K-6th teacher. Before obtaining her degree, she mentored and tutored middle and high school students, taught boating, fishing, archery, and worked at a preschool. Once Abbey graduated she began teaching third and fourth grade in all subject areas. For the past two years she has had the opportunity to stay home with her sweet two year old son while tutoring students from various ages. Abbey strives to actively engage students to meet their fullest potential academically, socially, and emotionally.

 

Interests: If she's not tutoring students, Abbey is either at the beach with her family, chasing after her little one,  at the park or watching a movie.

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"Although [my son] had worked with other tutors, the discord seemed to just continue. But working with Abbey has made all the difference! They immediately connected on so many levels and she made him feel so comfortable and special. Abbey has an amazingly positive attitude and makes the lessons so fun, that I don't even have to remind my son about the sessions." -Parent of Charlie, 13

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Education: Andrea graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.A. in
Human Development. Along with pursuing her degree, she played Division 1 Softball for the
school for two years.

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Background: Andrea was born and raised in Los Angeles, California where she has remained
active in working with children from diverse learning abilities of all ages. She has experience in
both the classroom and in a virtual setting with her experience as a Teaching Assistant, Special
Education Paraprofessional, and current role as an Instructional Literacy Aide. Andrea currently
provides instruction to build capacity of early literacy and academic language to minimize the
COVID-19 learning gap. She has experience in childcare and tutoring while bringing a mindful
approach to learning and everyday life.

 

Interests: In her free time, she loves listening to music, dancing, playing sports, working out, and
spending time with friends and family. To practice mindfulness, Andrea does paint by number
crafts, listens to meditations, values self-care, and pauses to focus on breathing.

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Education: While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Messiah College, Alyssa volunteered with an after-school tutoring program in Harrisburg, PA. Once she earned her degree and teaching certificate, she served as a substitute teacher in a number of districts for students from preschool through high school.

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Background: After gaining valuable experience teaching in various classrooms over a few years, she eventually became the lead teacher in her own preschool classroom. She was privileged to work with Pre-K Counts: a PA state sponsored program which provides preschool education for children of low-income families. Within these classrooms, her preschoolers participated in a number of mindfulness techniques throughout the day to help them get the most out of their introduction to the formal classroom. After seven years within the Pre-K Counts program for two different schools, Alyssa decided to stay at home with her girls while continuing to connect with students through online instruction and tutoring.

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Interests: Alyssa is a native of western Pennsylvania where she still resides with her husband, two young daughters and the family fish. In her time off, Alyssa enjoys spending time with her family hiking, watching movies, playing board games or dancing.

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Education: Halle is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison set to graduate in May
2021 with a B.S in Human Development and Family Studies & Psychology. After graduating she
plans to take a gap year to continue exploring her passions and hopes to one day pursue a
Master’s in counseling.

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Background: Halle is incredibly passionate about working with children to help them grow and
achieve their full potential and is excited about the opportunity to do so as part of the tutoring
team! She has 6+ years of experience working with children of varying ages and abilities as a
sleepaway camp counselor, inclusive preschool camp counselor and as a nanny for many
families. Throughout college she has also volunteered and mentored with numerous elementary
school enrichment programs where she helped assist students academically, socially, and
emotionally. Halle is a strong believer in mindful learning and the positive impacts it can have on
a child’s overall well-being. She has recently begun her own mindfulness journey, practicing
yoga and daily meditation, and is looking forward to extending these mindfulness practices into
the work that she does.. 

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Interests: In her free time, she loves being in nature, hiking, spending time with friends and
family, watching TV, reading, journaling, and practicing yoga. She loves learning and is
fascinated with the mind-body connection.

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"Halle is absolutely Amazing! She is teaching my daughter more and more mindfulness activities and coping techniques that I notice her using through her day." -Parent of Aniiya, age 10

Education: Nia is a graduate of St. Joseph’s College in New York with a B.A. in Child Study. She's a New York state certified general and special education teacher, with additional endorsements to teach multiple and severe disabilities, and ENL students. 

 

Background: Nia was born and raised in New York, and lives in both New York and Los Angeles. She has been teaching and working with children for over seven years, and is a certified Birth-6th grade teacher. In addition, she's a certified yoga teacher. Mindfulness and wellness are a frequent part of her life, and she integrates therapeutic techniques into her teaching. While obtaining her degree, she interned, taught, and provided intervention services in special needs therapeutic schools, New York public schools, and Montessori schools. She's worked with children of multiple diagnoses and needs both in full classrooms, and one-on-one, specializing in holistic, individualized education. She's been focusing this past year of the pandemic providing calming tutoring towards students in need.

 

Interests: In her free time, she loves cooking, spending time at the beach, making watercolor art, doing pilates and yoga, and being in nature. She loves studying psychology and mind-body connection somatic therapy practices, as well as Eastern medicine.

Education: Nick attended Boise State University as an undergraduate in Health Sciences, and is soon to graduate from Central Connecticut State University with a degree in General Psychology.

 

Background: Nick has worked in the healthcare field for the the past eight years. He has served as a Youth Development Professional, Caregiver, Mental Health Researcher, Family Specialist, Mediator in family legal services, Behavior Interventionist, and Tutor. Nick has been working in a middle school the past couple years, helping serve students with Learning and Cognitive Disorders. His previous positions highlight his dedication to the well being of the youth in his community. His passion in life is working with children and helping them excel to their highest potentials. When working with students and clients he makes it a point to combine various mindfulness techniques with the academic process. He has found that breathing techniques and meditation help individuals of all ages focus and control their academic environments. 

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Interests: Outside of work, Nick enjoys spending time with family, cycling, rock climbing, snowboarding and backpacking. Nick is an animal lover and he has one cat and two dogs. Nick is currently living in Boise with his pets and wife. 

Education: Noellia is currently attending her local community college and plans to transfer to a
four-year university within the next year. She is working towards obtaining a degree in chemistry
and hopes to work in the field of research pertaining to marine chemistry.

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Background: Noellia has lived in Central California for the majority of her life, but is originally
from Iowa. Ever since high school, she knew that she wanted a career in STEM. Initially, she
was interested in marine biology and ecology but is now focusing on marine chemistry and
biochemistry. Through tutoring, she hopes to spark interest and foster confidence in the
sciences. Noellia first introduced mindfulness into her routine when she started to develop
testing anxiety in her first semester of college. She found that the best way to calm her nerves
and reoriente her mind was to take a minute to just breathe before entering the exam.

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Interests: When Noellia isn’t working or in school, she loves cooking, running, reading, and
seeing friends. Some of her favorite pastimes range from going on walks around a local park or
curled up watching her favorite shows.

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Education: Tess graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. After her year off, she will begin working towards her M.S. in Speech, Language, and Learning at Northwestern University.

 

Background: Tess was born and raised in Connecticut, where her mother is a yoga teacher and has integrated mindfulness practices into her every day life for as long as she can remember. Beyond this, she has spent the past 6 years in-and-out of classrooms shadowing special education professionals and working as an aide, peer advisor, high school mentor, and tutor. After graduating this past May, she relocated to Chicago, where she is taking a year off to tutor and administer curriculum to a small group of students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After graduating from Northwestern, Tess plans to carry on her passion of working with children as a speech-language pathologist in schools.

 

Interests: In her free time, Tess loves listening to podcasts, reading, running, and eating ice cream.

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"Tess, I am excited to continue to work with you throughout the coming school year.  I look forward to my sessions with you every week, which is surprising because reading and writing are not one of my strong points. You help me put ideas together and encourage me when I’m struggling. You are very motivating and take your time with me.  You are also very kind and you know when I need a break."    -Michael, 13