Our Teachers


Our teachers are pivotal to the success of our program.

We hire knowledgeable teachers who are passionate about their subjects, teach in a hands-on way, and love and respect our children. Our teacher credentials compare favorably with some of the most expensive private schools in the area: about 40% of our teachers have advanced degrees. In addition, we recognize the importance of small class size in maintaining a quality learning environment, and keep an average of ten students per class.

Our Teachers:


Ann Beyersdorff

Ann has been teaching for over twenty years, has participated in NKU's Teaching Math in The Middle School program, and is especially talented in teaching to various learning styles. She has been at LOL since 1998 and loves introducing the joys of math to students of all ages. Ann has a B.A. in French with minors in Secondary Education and Bible/Theology and a M. Ed from Xavier University with a concentration in math.

Lisa Boys

Lisa Boys is our resident artist extraordinaire-sharing her enthusiasm and love of art with students of all ages. Lisa has a B.A. in Fine Arts and a minor in Art History from University of Cincinnati DAPP. Lisa has three girls, all who have been home schooled in the past. She has been teaching at LOL since 1998, and enjoys gardening, decorating, stamping and creative painting.

Terri Burch

What Terri Burch (Russo) has enjoyed most in her fourteen years of teaching is the charged excitement that permeates a room as she and her students exchange enthusiasm for stories, information, concepts, and ideas...LEARNING! She has a master's degree in gifted education from Wright State University and bachelors degrees in literature and elementary education from University of Cincinnati. For her seven years as the GATES teacher in the New Richmond School District, her focus was on differentiated instruction for all learners within the classroom. Then she spent 2 years as a Gifted Intervention Specialist in Milford. While most of her time teaching has been spent facilitating the needs of identified gifted children, she celebrates the special beauty, gifts, and talents that every child brings to the world and into a dynamic classroom. In 2005, Terri took time off of teaching to have a daughter, Merina McLane, who is absolutely amazing! Terri enjoyed teaching 5th grade at the Schilling School for Gifted Children. Other teaching experiences include summer school instructor, Camp Invention director and teacher, and Super Saturday instructor. During her time as a stay-at-home mom, she was instrumental in creating Eco-babies, a naturalist group for young children and their parents. Currently she is designing summer enrichment programs and facilitating private and group instruction with children to nurture abilities and explore talents. Terri is excited to be teaching at Leaves of Learning. The children and atmosphere at the school feel like coming home. Versatility, energy, and enthusiasm are three words that describe her teaching. Outside of the classroom, she gets her joy mainly from Merina, yoga, gardening, hiking, camping, singing, spending time with friends and family, and teaching herself how to play the guitar. She can be reached at trflowers@fuse.net.

Susan Campbell

Susie worked for Landor Cincinnati,a design studio, for 15 years before staying home with her son. While at Landor, Susie worked in production and then became IT Manager, with responsibilities that included training designers on Adobe programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Now, along with home schooling and teaching at Leaves, Susie also manages IT for her husband's photography studios, Teri Studios. She has home schooled her son since he was 10. This is his second year at Leaves. Susie has traveled to Mamelodi, South Africa three times to work with children there. Besides mission work, Susie also enjoys traveling, photography, stamping, basket weaving, all kinds of arts and crafts, and reading. According to Susie, "Our family LOVES Leaves!"

Dan Carlson

Dan Carlson graduated in 1998 from the University of Cincinnati with a BFA in Fine Art specializing in Oil Painting. It was during his junior and senior college years that Dan began to develop a keen interest in colonial American history, taking a series of graduate level courses which cemented his passion for the subject. From 1998-2000 he worked as a freelance illustrator with work appearing in Mcgraw-Hill Educational Supplements and the children's magazine 'Cricket'. In 2001, Dan began working through the federally funded 21st Century Learning grant in the Norwood school district. It was here that he began to experiment with combining history, literature, and various sorts of games as an after school program for elementary and junior high school students. Dan joined Leaves of Learning as a full-time teacher in 2006. His classes combine board games, roleplaying games, creative writing, model soldiers and often Lego toys. He is an avid dog lover, coffee drinker, lego collector, and taco eater. He lives in Loveland with his wife Kim and his almost-teenaged son, Griffin.

Anna Chassagne

Bio Coming Soon

Anna Davis

Anna Lee Davis is a licensed school counselor in the state of Ohio for K-12, and has a Masters of Arts in School Counseling from Xavier University. Anna has worked in an inner-city Cincinnati elementary and middle charter school and a suburban public middle and high school. She gained experience in mental health counseling as well as college counseling, academic advising, intervention assistance, multifactor evaluations, classroom teaching and support groups for parents and students alike. Anna trained at the University of Cincinnati Counseling Center, excelling at intake interviews and diagnosis and partaking in several teams, including Body Awareness Week, Diversity Week, University Alcohol and Drug Intervention and Safe Zone Training. She has also coached middle school and high school girls cross country and track. Anna is excited to work with homeschooling students and families at Leaves of Learning. She will bring guidance in the college application process as well as academic planning, social and emotional counseling and other school-wide interventions and support services. Anna has an open office door and is always willing to listen and help. She is a caring, nurturing educator who is enthusiastic to be a part of the Leaves of Learning community. Anna is trained as a professional school counselor. Her classes will provide support to help students maximize their potential both personally/socially as well as academically. She is a warm thoughtful person who easily engages with students.

Jennifer Deming

Jennifer has been teaching for over 21 years. The first 9 years were spent full time in both public and private schools. When her first child was born she decided to become a stay at home mom - a decision that quickly led to becoming a homeschooling mom. During that time she continued to teach small groups part time, and also directed several children's choruses and theaters. Jennifer loves to help make learning come alive. She is a firm believer in hands on exploration and playing in order for learning to occur. She believes in creating a respectful environment where work is combined with active play and creativity. Jennifer is looking forward to a great adventure at Leaves this year.

Lindsay Dewald

Lindsay earned her bachelors degree from Columbia College Chicago, working in after school programs throughout her 4 years. After graduating, Lindsay moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in marketing, and soon realized her passion was working with children. After a brief stint in the marketing world, she taught at an enrichment center for kids ages 2-12 reinforcing the career change. Knowing that teaching was what Lindsay wanted to do, she then moved to New York City with her husband where she earned her Montessori Teaching Certificate and taught preschool and kindergarten for the next two years at The Montessori School of Manhattan. Lindsay is passionate about education, the Montessori philosophy and children in general. She created and writes the blog "Coffee In The Classroom" (www.coffeeintheclassroom.com) which illustrates her love for all things from education to coffee to children's design! Finally settling in her hometown of Cincinnati, Lindsay is so excited to be a part of the Leaves of Learning preschool program. When Lindsay is not at LOL she spends her time creating and teaching children's classes at a local children's clothing boutique. Other passions include her husband Nick, chocolate lab puppy Clyde, and traveling.

Julie Doughty

Julie Doughty graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. with honors in Early Childhood Education. After graduation she moved with her husband to Blacksburg, Virginia, where she took classes from a professional potter and participated in an annual art show and sale in Baltimore for several years. Although Julie started teaching at Leaves of Learning in 2008, she has been homeschooling since 1999 and involved with the program as a parent since 2001. Julie loves working with clay with her students and watching their projects evolve as they gain new skills.

Alaina/Brian Graiser

Alaina Graiser has made it her life’s work to present music to people of all ages and backgrounds in a way that is appealing and accessible to them individually. She loves sharing her passion for music with all students in a fun, personalized way that will engage, challenge and inspire. She sees music as a service and a great way to bring joy, beauty, and excitement to people’s lives. Some of the steps she has taken to implement these ideas are independently producing multiple community concerts; developing original music class curriculum and programs; producing an independent CD; giving volunteer interactive presentations at schools, assisted-living centers, and churches; teaching dozens of individual students private piano and harp lessons; taking high intensity pedagogy, Suzuki method, and education courses; completing her Bachelors at the University of Texas at Austin and Masters at University of Toronto; currently pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music; and designing current music education projects specifically related to harp. In addition to music classes, Alaina will be offering private harp and piano lessons to interested students.

Brian Graiser

Percussionist and composer Brian Graiser has developed a warm, friendly approach to teaching music that will not only motivate, but instill a sense of passion for the arts. He has performed up and down the U.S., Canada, France, Italy, and China, has several published original compositions, owns and operates the Frontier Percussion sheet music distribution company, and will watch any science fiction movie once, no matter how bad it is. Mr. Graiser is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in percussion performance at CCM, and holds a Master’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of Toronto and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Performance and Music Composition from the University of Georgia. In addition to music classes, Mr. Graiser will be offering private Percussion and Composition lessons to interested students.

Leslie Hamilton

Leslie Hamilton has been teaching at Leaves of Learning since 2002, and has been full time with subjects like history, geography, government/civics, international relations, and PeaceJam since 2003. Besides getting to work with amazing students and teachers who delight her every day with their enthusiasm, love of learning, and incredible creativity, her favorite thing about LOL is the ability to build a strong social justice and service learning component into not only PeaceJam but many other classes as well; she is also thrilled to have been able to be a part of so many conferences allowing her students to interact with Nobel Peace Laureates like Betty Williams, the Dalai Lama, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Mikhail Gorbachev, Shirin Ebadi, Muhammed Yunus, Lech Walesa, and many others!!! Outside of Leaves, Leslie coaches the 10 & Under swimmers with the Mercy HealthPlex Sea Wolves and plays with her fantasticly goofy son.

Tiffany Hanford

Tiffany is a mechanical engineer from Purdue University. She worked as a process engineer at Procter & Gamble and as a manufacturing engineer at Cummins (diesel engines) before joining Leaves. She is teaching engineering the way she wishes she had been taught, learning concepts through hands on experiments first instead of deriving equations. In addition to understanding science and engineering concepts, she believes it is important for the students to develop skills in teamwork, writing and communication, recording and interpreting data, and drawing conclusions.

Carolyn Heck

Carolyn Heck is thrilled to be a part of the Leaves of Learning staff! Prior to joining LOL, Carolyn worked in a private Montessori preschool and kindergarten for four years, and also in the public schools teaching 1st grade. She received her Early Childhood teaching license from Miami University, and her Montessori license from The Greater Cincinnati Center for Montessori Education. She has a passion for travel and incorporates her various experiences from around the world into her classroom as much as possible. Carolyn has enjoyed teaching in a variety of settings, including teaching in Madrid, as well as being a leader on a education based initiative in Honduras through the non-profit Shoulder to Shoulder. While at home, Carolyn is an avid reader, painter, and baker. She enjoys baking decorative cookies and cupcakes for events around the Cincinnati area. Carolyn is greatly looking forward to teaching in both the preschool classroom as well as the in the elementary reading and writing classes!

Evan Holzman

Evan began making films at the age of our students. He also worked as a photographer, actor, editor, lighting tech, sound tech and just about any job on a film or theater stage. The video class documents most of the events at LOL and does creative projects that are as varied as day and night. The students will see work created by professional filmmakers, artists and documentary filmmakers. The improvisation class is based on the actor as an impulse creator and controller. Evan studied acting with a number of different teachers and continues to learn, direct and act. Home schooling is a way for life for his family. Two daughters attended Leaves and one is now in university. His other daughter and son graduated from college and are working in their fields of study. Productions made by the Leaves of Learning students have received many nominations for Blue Chip video awards. Evan is the producer of WoodsSongs Coffeehouse, a local music show that appears on most of the cable access systems in the Cincinnati area. He also produces Epilepsy Today and Spectrum Puzzle: The Autism Community, medical / community informational programs for the public. His productions have won or been nominated for many Blue Chip awards. The videos produced by Leaves' students also appear regularly on these stations. Evan has a B.S. in Accounting from Ohio University.

Douglas Horner

Douglas studied Film Scoring at Berklee College of Music and holds a BFA in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory. He has worked in Boston and New York as a singer/actor, professional pianist, private coach, director, and musical director.  He has also spent his love for the creative process within and beyond the art world as a strategic consultant and project manager for freelance artists, non-profits, startups, and large corporations, driving people and projects to be better, more specific, and more awesome.  Douglas has coached performers of all ages and experience levels and has a knack for finding the unique strengths of each and choosing material and rehearsal techniques that fit.  Rather than an imitative approach, students are encouraged to identify and expand  their unique strengths while working on basic skills for sharing effectively with any audience in any setting.  This individualistic, diversity-loving approach allows for a ruthless pursuit of artistic quality and honest performance in a way that is not only fun and effective, but also useful in art and LIFE for actors, non-actors, youth, adults, and everyone in between. In addition to serving as full-time homeschooling parent for two very small persons, Douglas juggles regular work as a film composer, creative director, non-profit manager and consultant, and amateur chef.  Douglas is an enthusiastic life-long learner, an avid patron of Ohio's spectacular public library system, and rearranges his furniture entirely too often.

Sarah Kleiner

Sarah Kleiner, AIA, is a registered architect in Ohio and a LEED Certified Professional. She has a professional architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati and has over 10 years' experience in the field, focused mainly on residential and commercial projects, master planning and sustainability. She has taught similar classes at Summit Country Day School summer camp and several other elementary level enrichment courses.

Julie Klettke

Julie has over 13 years experience teaching in both public and private schools. She has an Associate Degree in Nursing and spent 4 years working in healthcare before taking time to stay home with her children. Julie received a BA in Biology and a BS in Elementary Education from UC. She has completed 12 hours of graduate work in gifted education at XU. While teaching in a public school, Julie attended a series of seminars for Assessment For Learning (Rick Stiggins) with a team of teachers from her building. The approaches used in Assessment For Learning exemplify her methods of teaching. She encourages children to take part in their learning by sharing ideas and insights, using creative methods to solve problems, and reflecting on their progress and feelings about their work. Julie uses hands on activities and critical thinking problem sets to encourage children to learn in different ways.

Jim Lawson

After a career in public administration, Jim Lawson now records and produces music in his own recording studio, and will teach guitar at LOL beginning in the fall of 2006. Jim has played guitar for more than 35 years, and is proficient in many styles of music. A multi-instrumentalist, Jim has participated in many studio sessions, both locally and nationally, and can currently be found performing with well-known musicians at many local venues. He and his wife, who also performs locally, live in Anderson Township with their two children, one of whom attends LOL. For more information, contact Jim at fcstudios@fuse.net, or 513-231-0615.

Louise LeCompte

Louise LeCompte is a registered architect in Ohio with approximately 20 years' experience in the architectural field, primarily in corporate planning, tenant development and residential modeling. She graduated from Miami University and Rice University with a Master of Architecture degree and has taught similar classes with the Super Saturday program, Summit Country Day School summer camp and several other elementary level enrichment courses. She has also team-taught 1st and 2nd year design studios at Miami University Department of Architecture.

Diana Mattson

This is Diana's eleventh year of spreading her enthusiasm for science to her LOL students. Her creative projects and experiments are well known throughout the program. Diana earned her degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and worked in the Plastics Industry for eight years. She discovered the joy of sharing her enthusiasm for science with children when she started teaching an after-school science outreach program. Diana lives in Loveland and has three children.

Sherry McHenry

Sherry has served our community for over 18 years, teaching mind-body techniques to individuals, groups and corporations. She is also trained in heart-centered communication and as a mediator for conflict resolution.

Beth McPeek

Beth graduated from Miami University with a B.S. with honors in Psychology and Sociology and later graduated from DePaul University with her Masters of Arts in Teaching with honors. As a teacher, maternity-leave substitute, assistant, mentor, and tutor, Beth has enjoyed working with students of all ages! In Illinois, she was a fifth-grade teacher at a public school; when she returned to her hometown of Cincinnati, she became a fourth-grade teacher at St. Ursula Villa School. It was during her year in Costa Rica teaching English as part of a volunteer program called WorldTeach, that she fell in love with Spanish and teaching a second language. Her subsequent travels in Central and South America solidified this love. Beth is excited to be a part of the Leaves of Learning team; this venture allows her to continue her passion for teaching as well as spend time at home with her two daughters.

Kim Miller

Kim, who has been fencing for 14 years, has been teaching beginner and intermediate level fencing at the Cincinnati Fencing Club for ten years. He is excited about the opportunity to introduce fencing to LOL students! Kim has a B.S. in Biology from the State University of New York, Binghamton and spent 32 years doing pharmaceutical research for therapies of cardiovascular disease. Kim retired from P&G Pharmaceuticals in 2006.

Melanie Moore

Melanie Moore graduated from Miami University. She has a BA in Education with a concentration in math. She taught junior high math, history and literature for thirteen years. All of her teaching experience was done in inner-city schools in St. Louis, North Hollywood and Cincinnati. She has also developed curriculum for high school students focusing on social issues. The last four years she took a break from teaching to develop her own independent business. She created, opened, ran and sold a local cafe. She is looking forward to getting back in the classroom which has been her true passion. Other passions include reading, knitting and watching classic black and white films. She lives in Amberly with her husband, two daughters and their dog, Lucy.

McLane Nagy

McLane Nagy is a recent graduate of Bowling Green State University, Ohio where she obtained a bachelors degree in theater with a specialization in stage acting. She grew up with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Co. as her inspiration and now hopes to pass on what she learned with those interested in performing as well as improving life communication skills. After being Terri Burch’s student for several years, she is very excited to now work along side her. She spent five months of last year studying German in Austria and has aspirations to one-day audition for live theater abroad.

Diana Osborn

Diana is the founder of Leaves of Learning and has been the director since the beginning of the program. She loves working with children of all ages and has a passion and commitment to individualize education. She feels that while an education certainly provides skills and opportunities for a child's future, it is also an important part of the journey, and as such, should be enjoyed. She believes that education should meet children where they are and take them where they want to go, through caring guidance, enthusiasm and support. Her favorite moments at LOL are when students discover their talents and passions for learning. She has three children in college -all former L.O.L. students. Diana has taught Hands-on Science classes for NSF and L.O.L. She was a chemist for DuBois Chemical and a pharmaceutical representative for Whitehall Robbins. She holds a BS in Chemistry.

Laura Samuels

Laura has been teaching for over twenty years in a variety of venues, with a wide age range of students, and many different subjects. Her youngest students were seven and her oldest was ninety-four. She has an undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Religious Studies. She has a master's degree from Brandeis University in Jewish Education and Communal Service. She has an Ed.D. from The University of Cincinnati in Educational Foundations with a concentration in educational anthropology. Laura's teaching experiences range from teaching graduate students about cultural differences, qualitative research methodology, and curriculum development, to teaching second graders Hebrew reading and writing. She was the Principal of a supplementary Jewish high school for seven years in one school and four years in another school. She taught in junior high schools for seven years. She was an adviser and researcher for a national program of educational change. She has worked with principals for many years facilitating study sessions about the philosophy of education and leadership. She was the recipient of a Wexner Graduate Fellowship from 1989-1993. She has been homeschooling her two children, both of whom graduated from LOL. She loves working in a caring educational environment like LOL where each child's uniqueness is truly valued and allowed to grow.

Christie Sawyer

Christie is the Assistant Director. Her positive attitude, commitment and caring attitude make her stand out as an effective teacher and administrator. She has been working at Leaves of Learning since 2003. She taught in Cabrini Green housing projects in Chicago, IL, for five years before moving to Cincinnati. She has a Masters Degree from Xavier University in Educational Administration and her Bachelors in Elementary Education from Ohio University. She believes that experiencing the excitement and joy that a child expresses when he/she learns something new is one of the greatest benefits in the business of education. Christie loves to read, run, bike, travel and experience new and exciting things. She is looking forward to watching your children grow in their knowledge and enthusiasm during the upcoming year.

Susie Schickel

Susan Schickel has been a professional musician and music instructor for over 30 years. She holds a degree in voice and music education from the University of Dayton. Her teaching experiences include both classroom and private students, grades k-12. She is currently the music/choir director at St. Veronica Church. She has been active in musical theater as both a performer and director, playing such roles as Lucy in YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL and Princess Winifred in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS.

Claire Seid

coming soon

Jennifer Showalter

Jenny graduated from Miami University with a BA in Mathematics and Statistics and a BS in Secondary Mathematics Education. She taught everything from Algebra to Calculus at Middletown High School for 4 years before becoming a stay-at-home-mom. She taught part time at Miami University Middletown. While teaching at Leaves Jenny earned her Masters degree in education. This is her fifth year at Leaves. She lives far far away in Franklin with her husband, 2 children, 3 cats and 1 dog.

Charity Smith

Charity enjoys teaching! Her professional background includes a Bachelor's degree in English Education from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana and a Master's in English Education from Miami University. Her Master's thesis focused on "The Pedagogy of Poetry," a survey of language arts teachers' views on teaching poetry. As both a student and teacher, Charity's first focus has always been on knowing more about reading and writing. She taught 7th and 8th grade Language Arts at Milford Junior High for three years, where she was also the founding coach of Power of the Pen, a creative writing team that competes with other writers all around Ohio. She also taught freshmen English for three years at Turpin High School summer school before staying home with her four children for ten years. During the time she was at home with her children, she was a writing judge for the Ohio Writing Project, Miami University and the writing portion of the SAT exam. Charity loves the creativity and curiosity in learning language arts. She also believes in lifelong learning outside of the classroom; she took a group of 30 Milford students to London and Paris for ten days through EF Educational Tours in 1999. In June of 2010, Charity took a group of LOL students on a trip to Italy and Switzerland.

Kim Taylor

Kim has been a performing songwriter for 8 years. Her songs have been used in shows such as One Tree Hill, Smallville, Flashpoint, Brothers and Sisters, Army Wives and many others.

Elizabeth Tillis-Gilland

Elizabeth loves the hands-on philosophy LOL embraces, the passion with which children are encouraged to learn, and the opportunities for success LOL provides. She is excited to meet her students and delve into learning with them! Elizabeth has a B.A. in International Affairs and a M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Cincinnati and is a certified teacher. She taught sixth grade at Freedom Elementary in the Lakota school district for 5 years. She has also tutored children in math, reading, and writing. Elizabeth believes strongly in creating a nurturing learning environment in which children are supported in their individual learning styles. As the workshop facilitator for the Bullies and Victims program, she worked with students, parents, and educators throughout the Greater Cincinnati area to teach strategies to eliminate bullying. Additionally she has been a teacher at Camp Invention. Her son, Evan, attends Leaves of Learning and is an enthusiastic learner with many, many interests! She enjoys reading, cross-stitch, playing board and card games with her son and husband and attending cultural events.

R.J. Trusty

R.J. has been studying Martial Arts for over 15 years, 12 of those years have been under Grandmaster Randolph Smith Senior. He currently studies Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwon, Kobajitsu, Hapkido, Tai Chi Chuan, and Yoga. In the past R.J. has also studied Kung Fu, & Sho Rhin Ryu for a brief time. His purpose for studying Martial Arts is for personal growth and the joy of being able to share what he has learned with others.

Christine Turpin

Christine Turpin has a BSE in Aerospace Engineering and a BA in English Literature from the University of Florida, as well as an MFA in graphic design and an MS in Journalism and Mass Communication as a Social Science from Iowa State University. She has been teaching in different capacities for the last 25 years from teaching high school physics in the Peace Corps to training astronauts at NASA, from grammar workshops for journalism students to bookmaking classes for children or adults. She believes any subject benefits from an interdisciplinary approach: creativity can be enhanced by the carefulness of science, the ideas of science can fuel the imagination, and good communication skills-verbal or visual-always come in handy. Christine grew up as an Army brat: born in Germany, high school in Korea, homes from New York to Alabama, went off to the South Pacific out of college, and since then she's lived in the Southwest, the Midwest and the wild West (Montana). Experiencing the different cultures of the world and our own country has instilled an appreciation for the power and influence of culture on our lives. She continues to take graduate classes in anthropology and enjoys integrating a cultural perspective on all topics. Christine currently teaches part time at the University of Cincinnati (DAAP) and home schools her two sons.

Lisa Wedig

Lisa comes to Leaves of Learning with a BA in History and a minor in Spanish from Bowling Green State University, which she earned in 2002. During that time, she studied abroad at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. She later completed her licensure in Secondary Integrated Social Studies from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. She is passionate about the hands-on student-focused philosophy of Leaves. She loves sharing her passion for history and culture with her students as well as watching them learn and grow while they are engaged in a variety of classroom activities. She is native to Cincinnati and resides in Deer Park with her husband and preschool-aged son. Lisa is a service-minded educator. In addition to teaching at Leaves, she volunteers every week as a 3rd grade Sunday School teacher at the Vineyard Community Church in Springdale. She also serves biweekly on the reception team at the Healing Center. She believes that an integral part of being a member of a community is taking the time to serve others in need. When she is not teaching or volunteering, Lisa is usually spending time with her family, reading, running, swimming or taking indoor cycling classes.

Robyn Williams

Robyn has been teaching at Leaves since 2005 and has loved every minute of it! She moved to Cincinnati in 1998, with her two sons and husband, who transferred here with Procter and Gamble. Prior to her move here, she owned her own business, Proactive Fitness, where she designed personal fitness programs, ran a variety of workshops as well as taught a variety of children's fitness classes. She has over 25 years in the fitness industry and currently teaches spinning classes at the YMCA. Robyn received her Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education and after 7 years working in the Recreation field, went back to school for her Business Diploma, majoring in Marketing. Being a mature student was a new, but very valuable experience! Her teaching background includes: teaching physical education for a gifted school, substitute teaching at Loveland Elementary, coaching the Loveland High School diving team, leading programs at a family summer camp and creating leisure/ cultural programs. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast, an athlete who pursues the sport of triathlons; an active volunteer in a variety of community roles and when she does sit down, her quiet time involves a good book!! "I can honestly say that my teaching experience here at Leaves has been truly rewarding. The children, teachers and staff are all very talented, highly creative, imaginative, energetic and innovative."

Mark Woods

Mark has extensive experience directing plays and musicals. He recently directed the Loveland Stage Company production of "The King & I". He is known for his creativity and kindness.