ABOUT
ExecuInsight LLC was formed in 2004 to meet the needs of today's organizations that are moving fast and need an executive's expertise, experience and skills to assess, plan and execute new strategies, initiatives and programs to achieve current and future success.
ExecuInsight LLC provides you with executive expertise that spans your organizational scope with seasoned executives that each have over 24+ years in their various fields. Don’t go it alone, get the advice and insight of those that have been there.
Michele Hanson
Ms. Hanson is the business owner of ExecuInsight, LLC, which is the premier resource for effective strategies for bringing people together, executive level coaching and conflict resolution in all facets of individual, organizational and business performance. For more than thirteen years, ExecuInsight has offered a full range of customized solutions ranging from high powered individual and executive coaching, women’s advocacy tools, networking programs, and mentoring initiatives, to training on gender, workstyle, generational & other differences and assessment/coaching/training to optimize organizational and individual performance potential.
Ms. Hanson built her career leading top-producing sales and marketing teams for companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, The Pillsbury Company, The McLane Company, Inc. and First Data Corporation. In 2001, she founded the Network for Executive Women for the Consumer Products & Retail Food Industry, a dynamic organization that has been passionately embraced by professional women & men nationwide and has expedited connections that have changed careers and lives. She has served as the President of this organization, on the Board of Directors, and as a Champion. Ms. Hanson also developed a successful Facilitated Mentoring Program which received the Minute Maid Company’s President’s Award and she has been instrumental in forming Discover YOU, a program designed to bring executive level leadership learning to teens.
Ms. Hanson is certified in the Birkman Method®, Gender Speak and the Franklin Covey program.
Zina Garrison
Zina Garrison got her start in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Houston, TX at age 10. While her brother was playing baseball, she stumbled upon John Wilkerson's free tennis program in MacGregor Park. Zina had to overcome more than the average tennis player. She had to break through many barriers as a young black woman from a community that had seen no similar success in the sport of tennis.
She made her mark on the tennis world by winning both the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles. She was propelled to #1 in the junior World tennis rankings. A year later in 1982, she skipped her graduation from Sterling High School to begin her professional career at the French Open. Zina's success began when she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open during her first year on tour. She finished out 1983 ranked World No. 10 and remained in the top 10 until 1995. She continued to claim titles and dominate as one of the top professionals in the world.
Zina joined the ranks of fellow Olympians and competed at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. She and her teammate Pam Shriver won the gold in women's doubles. She later went on to defeat Shriver in the quarterfinals of women's singles, which won her the bronze. Zina reached the peak of her career at Wimbledon in 1990, defeating defending French Open champion Monica Seles and World No. 1 Steffi Graf to reach the Wimbledon finals where the fell to Martina Navratilova. She claimed her third Grand Slam mixed doubled title at Wimbledon in 1990 as well.
In 1993, Zina was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Council of Physical Fitness and Sports. Zina retired from tennis in 1996 with 14 top-level singles titles and 20 top-level doubles titles. She devoted her life to giving back to the community in which she grew up and founded the Zina Garrison All Court Tennis Foundation and the Zina Garrison Foundation for the Homeless. She served on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for four years and was the two-time Director at Large of the USTA (2001-2002, 2003-2004). She went on to be Fed Cup captain and Olympic Captain and led both teams to championships and a gold medal.
She is currently located in Houston, TX and continues to support her community as president of her free tennis program, the Zina Garrison Academy which has been in existence for over 26 years.. She is a radio personality and appears weekly on the Best You Journey Talk Show on Amazing 102.5 FM.
Cynthia McCloud
Cynthia McCloud joined the Marshall School of Business as the Executive Education Director, Food Industry programs in July 2014. Cynthia graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California and later completed her MBA from the University of California, Irvine. She is also a 1990 graduate of the USC Food Industry Management program.
Cynthia built her career in sales and marketing specializing in the food retail and manufacturing industries in both the U.S. and also in several international markets where she managed teams in France, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, Singapore and Australia. Over the years, she has held roles at several startups as well as at MarketTools, Catalina Marketing Europe, Catalina Marketing U.S. and at The Vons Companies in Southern California where she began her career.
Cynthia has a successful track record of building highly-effective collaborative teams. She has deep experience developing future leaders through self-reflection/assessment, motivation, education, and creating strong innovative solutions through technology to compete more aggressively in industries that are changing faster than ever before. She is a certified trainer and consultant in both Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership and in the Birkman Method. She is also passionate about teaching Servant Leadership to executives eager for actionable leadership development.
Cynthia has deep experience in loyalty marketing and is passionate about working with her retail and manufacturer associates to continue building awareness in the food industry around health & wellness. In her spare time, Cynthia enjoys running, hiking and traveling with her husband, and spending time with her grandchildren. She also works closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where she helped build the CF ShelbyUSA team and is determined to help the organization find a cure for this deadly childhood disease.
Sandra Bushby
Sandra Bushby serves as head of Diversity and Inclusion at Overstock. Her career is centered around developing a work culture that better leverages the skills of all employees, regardless of background or demographics, to enhance productivity, innovation, and employee engagement. Within her previous roles, Bushby completed cross-disciplinary research to understand the impact of “workplace mobbing” focusing on the impact to the advancement of diverse talent. She advised Fortune 500 organizations on diversity and inclusion strategy and has advanced skills in the facilitation of workstyles diversity training. With several initiatives highlighted in Harvard Business publications and NYU’s Law Review Symposium, Bushby’s work leads employers and colleagues to increase workplace inclusion and minimize unconscious bias. Known for running into the fire when everyone else is evacuating, Bushby addresses organizational challenges head-first, transforming diversity and inclusion “next” practices into workplace solutions.
Bushby has earned advanced certifications including: Certified Diversity Professional / Advanced Practitioner (CCD/AP), Cornell Certified Diversity Professional, a Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and during her tenure at KPMG the firm received the Catalyst Award for the sustainable advancement of diverse talent. She is a founding Board Member for the Network of Executive Women where she managed the mentor program to help advance women into executive-level positions.
Amanda Martinez
Amanda has grown up in the CPG Industry and has had a vast experience base ranging from selling, to training, to broker management and merchandising. She has a talent for connecting with clients and team members and helping them to understand key concepts that will assist them in achieving their goals. Amanda has seen much success in her career with well-known companies like the Clif Bar & Company, Presence Marketing, and BWX USA which carries popular lines like Mineral Fusion, Andalou Naturals and Sukin.
Ms. Martinez is a Millennial with a passion for customer service, helping others in need and serving her local community. She has traveled to Brazil and Kenya to educate and assist the poor in living healthy lifestyles. She values the mind-body connection and is an advocate for best practices in building strong and viable relationships, staying active and eating foods that nourish your body. Ms. Martinez volunteers within her community with the local food bank, blood donations, and animal rescue groups. She also serves as a Board Member for Eye Opening Films which is a non-profit group that provides informational films to all for free regarding key social issues affecting people’s lives in our world today.
Amanda is a graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in Community Health. She and her husband, Mario, enjoy their beautiful pets in their home in the Dallas area. In addition to being an avid athlete, Ms. Martinez enjoys creating unique works of art through her macramé talents.
Jamice Obianyo
Jamice Obianyo is the former Director, Grants Management, Community Relations for Ecolab Inc. (www.ecolab.com). Recently retiring from Ecolab after 20 years of service, she managed the Ecolab Foundation’s small and mid-sized grants as well as the regional grant programs, including the signature Visions for Learning teacher grant program. She has held corporate leadership positions with increasing responsibilities in Corporate Account Sales, Marketing, Research, Development and Engineering (RD&E), Global Communication, Sustainability and Corporate Finance at Ecolab, SC Johnson Wax and Amoco as well as academic research experience working for Georgia State University. Jamice has over 35 years comprehensive experience within the Hospitality, Industrial and Institutional industries and academia. She is an accomplished, enthusiastic business leader who thrives on challenges to deliver organizational growth, innovation, and profitability.
Jamice has served faithfully in community Board leadership roles for numerous non-profit organizations including the F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Children’s Home Society, City of Saint Paul Right Track, Neighborhood House, Ronald McDonald House Charities Upper Midwest Care Mobile, Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation, SciMathMN, Science Museum of Minnesota, University of Minnesota STEM Education Center, and YWCA of Minneapolis.
With her passion to elevate women everywhere, Jamice is a Founding member and past Board of Director of the Network of Executive Women (NEW). NEW is a powerful and growing community of nearly 13,000 members, 925 companies, 260 corporate partners and 21 regions dedicated to achieving gender equality in the workplace and advancing women into leadership roles in retail, consumer products goods, financial services and technology.
Mrs. Obianyo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Spelman College in Atlanta, GA and a MBA from the E. Philip Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. Jamice is always seeking new ways to encourage and uplift everyone she encounters. “Serving with Excellence” really summarizes her purpose and life legacy.
Karen Milley
Karen Milley is an accomplished Senior Executive and Consultant with more than 33 years of success in the food and beverage, food processing, consumer goods, and manufacturing industries. Leveraging extensive experience with M&A and integration, Karen is a valuable asset for companies seeking guidance on acquisition issues, implementation of new platforms, quality control, and innovation. Her broad areas of expertise include R&D, product innovation, product and package implementation, strategic planning, cross-functional team leadership and coaching for compassion in performance at all levels.
Throughout her executive career, Karen has held various leadership positions with the J.M. Smucker Company; RJR Nabisco, Ross Laboratories, and General Mills, Inc. In her most recent role as Vice President, Research and Development at J.M. Smucker, she has been responsible for all aspects of product, process and package development for retail branded categories in a $2B+ sales business unit of a $8B company, delivering $240MM+ in profit annually, as well as open innovation, external contacts, technical training for sales, marketing and customers, and the recipe test kitchen. Karen has served as QC Supervisor, Project Leader, Group Leader, Project Consultant, Manager of Industrial Product Development, and Director of Product Development with iconic brands in the Food Industry, combining a unique blend of science, marketing, and innovation in leadership for the effective launch of new products.
Karen holds a BS in Food Science (cum laude) from Ohio State University and a MBA in Marketing from Indiana University (Dean’s list). She has served on the Advisory Board of United Way, as Secretary, President and past President; Advisory Board at Ohio State - Food Science Department; Advisory Board at Ohio State Food Industry Center – an industry support facility for food startup companies, an Advisory Board Member for the Industrial Research Institute, and an Advisory Council Member for Boy Scouts of America’s STEM program.
Joy Nicholas
Principal of JN Retail Connections, Joy has been engaged in the food retail industry for more than 35 years. Her extensive network of grocery retail and consumer packaged goods industry leaders gives her a 360° perspective of retail technology solutions. She was named a senior level executive Top Woman in Grocery in 2017 from Progressive Grocer magazine as a result of her knowledge, experience, leadership, mentoring and many significant contributions to the supermarket retail industry.
Joy was SVP/VP of business development for retail technology providers and VP research & technology for the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the leading US supermarket trade association, representing more than 26,000 grocery stores. She was directly responsible for industry research, retail technology, electronic payments (representing grocers on swipe fee initiatives), industry standards and supporting CIO, CFO, retail payments and board-level committees.
As a co-founder, former board member, scholarship committee chair, and active advocate for the Network of Executive Women (NEW), Joy has formed long-term relationships and earned respect among many of its 10,000+ members.
Joy’s additional retail experience includes management positions in I/T project management, accounting, cash management, pricing and marketing while at Ralphs Grocery Company (a division of The Kroger Company), Denny’s Restaurants and Taco Bell.
She earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BBA from Western Michigan University. She is currently an Associate Adjunct Professor of Business Management and Instructional Associate at Austin Community College.
Joan Toth
Joan Toth is a purpose-and-performance-driven leader with extensive experience in diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) work and leadership roles in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Joan approaches D&I as a business imperative and value driver. She has led research and data -driven solutions to drive change and improvement in all facets of diversity, including gender, race/ethnicity, generational/millennial, LGBTQ, and diversity of thought. She spearheaded the “It’s Time” movement for gender equality in the retail and consumer goods and services industry.
She is currently leading DEI assessments and strategic planning with a focus on companies that are new to the DEI journey. She is able to create DEI strategies that are scalable, actionable and achievable. Joan also is a noted speaker and trainer on topics like Inclusive Leadership, Unconscious Bias, Coaching Senior Leaders for DEI Success, and many others.
Joan is an active advisory board member for Gender Fair, the first metrics- based certification program that measures companies on their fairness practices in leadership roles, employee benefits, advertising images, and philanthropy.
Joan is often tapped as a coach, mentor, and advisor to individuals and companies alike. She has provided strategic guidance in revenue development, governance, programming, membership and other facets of nonprofit leadership.
She was the founding president and CEO of the Network of Executive Women (NEW), the premier women’s leadership community in the retail and consumer goods and services, from 2002 – 2016. NEW’s mission is “To advance women, grow business and transform our industry’s workplace through the power of our community.” Under Joan’s leadership, NEW grew from a start up to more than 10,000 members, 100+ corporate partners, and 21 regional groups across the US and Canada.
Kimberly Roberts
Kimberly Roberts is a learning and development professional with over 20 years’ experience working with several international trade associations in the Washington, DC area. She has held leadership roles in education, learning and professional development for the food retail, physical security and credit union industries. Kimberly has created live instructor-led programming, online courseware and conference programming with internal teams and volunteer committees on many topics. She enjoys collaborating with stakeholders to deliver programs to meet learning needs and align with business goals.
Ms. Roberts has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) with a concentration in Marketing from Howard University and a training specialist certificate from Georgetown University. She is also a proud member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD)in Alexandria, VA.
Tim Beattie
Tim Beattie is a people-focused leader from the CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) Industry with 38 years of diverse experience spanning New Plant construction, Plant Operations, Global Operations Planning, Innovation Process management, Product Development, Project management, M&A Integration and Quality Assurance. He has managed global teams and been a facilitator of “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” training while working for industry-leading companies, including J. M. Smucker, Proctor and Gamble, and Ralston Foods.
Tim managed the construction and start-up of a $100 million manufacturing plant that was set up to be 100% employee managed – eliminating multiple layers of management. The plant started up under budget and ahead of schedule, quickly becoming the lowest-cost and most efficient plant in the Ralston network.
He also Spearheaded the turnaround of an Iams Pet Food plant that was struggling to survive by implementing key organizational changes and training the entire plant in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. This training helped to clarify the plant’s vision and mission within the plant network and had a significant positive impact on the employees’ approach to work and their personal lives. The plant went from the highest cost / most unreliable plant of the network to a top performing plant in 2 years.
Tim lead the development and production start-up of the Folgers K-cup line of coffee in partnership with Green Mountain Coffee. Conception to start-up of this product line was 12 weeks and created a new product line with over $300 million in sales its first full year.
He has also Implemented a new product innovation and launch process across the entire Smucker company (4 business units) that allowed leadership to evaluate, manage, and prioritize projects and resources much more effectively and efficiently. This required the implementation of software that captured and presented, in a consistent/comparable way , all relevant data for decision making. It also required training over 270 people to use the software and stage gate process. Approval of the project to going live was 20 weeks.
Tim’s extensive experience at both the plant and corporate levels allow him to bring a broad perspective to any challenge or situation. His success and positive results have always been a result of how he worked with his teams to be successful together. Tim’s passion is to help people be successful in all aspects of their lives.
Tim has a BBA from Western Michigan University in Operations Management/Finance and an MBA from Ohio University with an emphasis on Operations Management, Human Resource Management, and Organizational Effectiveness.
Monica E. Ewing
Monica Ewing is a successful attorney, professor, author and judge. She has been a legal powerhouse with extensive experience in trial practice, academic and judicial areas in the Atlanta, GA region for over 30 years. She is also an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and ethics advisor for the various organizations she is affiliated with.
Prior to her current roles as a judge in multiple municipal courtrooms in Atlanta, Monica had a private practice focused on multi-media law, with clients spanning various entertainment and athletic professions. In addition to successfully serving her many clients, she also spent many years as an adjunct professor at Georgia State University teaching legal courses for the College of Law and the School of Music.
As a certified Arbitrator and Mediator, Monica has the unique ability to listen to, and quickly analyze, all aspects of a conflict. Her experience, legal knowledge and ethical compass effectively resolve most conflicts with amicable solutions. She has been on a life-long journey to satisfy her incredible thirst to learn and expand her knowledge of various fields of law, ethical behavior and cultural norms. To this end, Monica is currently a 2019 candidate for an Ethical Leadership Master of Arts degree from Claremont Lincoln University.
In addition to being very active in her multiple judicial roles, Monica is a published author, member of the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities, board member of the South Fulton Bar Association and serves on the advisory board for the True Colors Theater Company in Atlanta. As an entrepreneur, she developed a line of skin care products, owned and operated foodservice, retail and women’s wellness businesses.
Monica, an honors college and Deans List scholar, received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University and her Juris Doctorate from Emory University of Law.
Nereida "Neddy" Perez
Neddy Perez has more than 25 years of experience developing and leading global diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Fortune 50, 100 and 500 companies. She has worked as a Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer in various industries, including the utilities, manufacturing, financial, national department defense, and food service. Additionally, she has worked in Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, China and India.
Neddy has built a number of award-winning leadership programs to advance women and ethnically diverse talent globally. An active civic leader who serves on the Board of Directors for Diversity MBA Magazine, Diversity in Higher Education Magazine and on the Talent Acquisition Advisory Board of the Asia Society. In the past, she has also served on the Society of Human Resources Management’s Foundation board, as well the Center for Accounting Excellence Advisory Board at Howard University, Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina board.
In 2021, Neddy was inducted in the Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fame for her contributions in developing and implement programs to advance women and remove cultural barriers. More recently, Neddy has been named one of the top 20 Chief Diversity Officers in the United States. In 2015, she was recognized as one of the Top Corporate Hispanic Executives in the U.S. and in 2014 was recognized as one of the top Global Chief Diversity Officers.
Neddy has a Bachelor’s in Public Relations from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Human Resources Management and International Business from Nova Southeastern University.
Erika Walker
For entrepreneurs, executives and professionals, Erika Walker brings a wealth of experience to her clients. As President and CEO of The Walker Thomas Group, she has earned a stellar reputation for engaging public speaking, experiential facilitation, meaningful coaching, and practical consulting. Erika also has an in-depth understanding of diversity and inclusive intelligence with a passion for addressing women’s issues in both business and society.
Erika is a native Chicagoan with over 24 years of professional experience providing consulting and facilitation to a variety of small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, colleges/universities and municipalities. She is the author of A Woman’s Vault and partner in a whole person health platform.
Prior to The Walker Thomas Group, Erika was Vice President of The Kaleidoscope Group, a niche diversity consulting firm and has held multiple consulting positions with Aon Hewitt, one of the leading human resource consulting firms in the world. Her work has provided opportunities to work with entrepreneurs, C-level executives, HR managers, and external partners. Erika has designed gender and diversity strategies, conducted cultural assessments, global learning strategies, and addressed attraction and retention issues for general and diverse populations. She has delivered solutions to clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. She is certified to administer Myers-Briggs, DiSC and is a certified coach.
Erika is passionate about people, especially women and children. She is Ambassador at Large for Gender Equality for the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, has served on the Board of Directors for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and was the most recent President of the Board of We Will, an organization that helps women and children become a part of the Legislative process. Erika wrote her first Bill, HB4454, requiring all elected officials in Illinois to participate in a Diversity Awareness in- person training class. She launched the R3 Movement to Reunite, Reconcile, and Reimage a future that works for everyone. Erika attended Howard University, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Ingrid Emmons
Inclusion through inspiration is Ingrid's mantra. As an award-winning DEI leader and Employee Engagement strategist with over 25 years of deep people expertise and the proven ability to deliver across several industries including healthcare, hospitality, financial services, and telecom.
Ingrid is considered a culturally humble leader and an influential problem solver with an ability to facilitate complex and courageous conversations at all levels including the C-Suite. Ingrid has delivered business outcomes through senior leadership roles in DEI, HR Operations, Employee Experience, HR Technology, and Total Rewards throughout her career.
Having lived in three countries, Ingrid is an avid traveler and has visited over 20 countries but her favorite place is home with her three children, Chandler, Tristan, and Schaefer, and the family dog Kingston.
Kevin Coale
I believe in the inherent capacity of people and in the positive impact of choice and voice on their growth and development. My mission: To help elite artists and builders create the lives that they want, articulating their purpose and honing their practices.
With a background in high-performing schools — as a classroom teacher, athletics coach, dean of students, and director of student leadership — I'm an educator at my core. In my coaching practice, respect for the learner, admiration for teams, and engagement with the learning process have primacy.
Studying at the University of Virginia, I concentrated on East Asian history and played lacrosse as a member of the men’s varsity team. Winning a National Championship with my teammates in 2006 helped shape my understanding of team excellence. Also formatively, I earned a Master’s Degree in Independent School Leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University’s Teachers College in 2015.
Maylene Peña
Maylene Peña, PHR (MAY-leen PE-nyuh), is a proud Latina and a Chicago native who grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and has over 15 years of experience with working with people and is an industry expert in People Operations. Her focus is on attracting, building, and sustaining relationships in her circle. Maylene prides herself on her ability to connect with individuals on many levels and aid them in the realization of their goals and aspirations.
As the President and CEO of her own consultancy, Levi Group LLC., Maylene specializes in being a service provider for the Latinx community by helping ordinary people, small businesses, and property owners to organize and educate themselves for the future. As a People Operations consultant, she is able to empower her clients using the best tools available, to catapult them into becoming the best version of themselves.
Maylene’s training and facilitation career spans 20+ years in the US and Central America. Maylene has created and facilitated a vast number of workshops, training programs, and seminars for individuals and organization leaders. She is currently the Vice President of The Walker Thomas Group, a firm that focuses on DEI, Leadership Development, and Coaching.
Over the years Maylene has worked in various industries as a subject matter expert in the field of Human Resources, Operations, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Process Improvement, Training & Development, Organizational Design, and Facility Management. Maylene is certified as an OSHA Trainer, a PHR and is also certified as an Instructor through the ACA (Association of Credit and Collection Professionals).
Maylene is a mother and a wife – a lover of all people and is passionate about social justice. She is happy to marry her love for people and her need to see them excel and finally live their customized version of the “American dream”. When she is not busy helping others, she is most likely to be found soaking in the sun or spending the day outdoors simply enjoying nature.
Scott Virano
After double majoring in Education and Psychology, I began my teaching career 23 years ago in Jupiter, Florida. After teaching Geography of the Western Hemisphere for five years, I expanded the use of my Social Science teaching certification to include Civics and Career Development for 10 years at the Middle School level. Since 2017, I have taught History of the Americas from European exploration through the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Embedded within each of these subject areas, my focus was in developing the writing skills of students. It is with pride that I developed beginning writers’ skills and enhanced the abilities of advanced students. This was so much so that several of my students were admitted to Ivy League Schools, Duke Law, and M.I.T. Other students had their writing works published and were nationally recognized for their writing achievements. After retiring from the Palm Beach County School System, I sought and achieved a leadership position as the Campus Supervisor of Summit High School in Breckenridge, Colorado. My teaching certifications include secondary History, Micro/Macro Economics, Civics, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, International Relations, and World Geography. My professional goals continue to be committed to the educational growth and development of students in helping them achieve their educational and holistic career goals.
Personally, I am a married dog-loving outdoorsman. My interests include skiing, distance running, cycling, hiking, political science, real-estate, art, and music. I am also a supporter of various organizations that advocate for the advancements of human rights, voting rights, and equal rights.
Dr. Alicia Gayadeen
Upon graduating from college with a Bachelors of Arts degree in English, I went into the field of upper retail management for a few years. During this time, I worked mostly as a training manager. This position afforded me a path to mentor associates in strengthening skills such as time management and effectiveness in the work environment. Since most retail associates at the time were high school and college students, they were able to utilize these skills at school as well.
My journey provided me with the opportunity to later transition into the teaching profession. I pursued my passion in the field of education by joining the School District of Palm Beach County. I taught English at the high school level at first. After a year, I moved on to teach English Language Arts at the middle school level. I taught English Language Arts for sixteen years at the same middle school in Palm Beach County, Florida.
During my years as an educator in the classroom, I graduated with a Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in English as a Second Language. Immediately after, I went on to complete a Doctoral of Education degree, also with a concentration in English as a Second Language. Throughout my years as a secondary school educator, I've been fortunate to teach and mentor a diverse population of students. Many of my former students now study and work in the field of education, law, finance, medicine, counseling, journalism and engineering.
In addition, I am the mom of an amazing teenager, and own a swim school franchise.
My goal is to always strive to help my students achieve their goals and dreams.