Meet the Montana Hybrid Academy Team
Spanish
MHA's teachers/facilitators join us from around the globe. They have years of experience teaching online and are passionate experts in their respective fields.
All of our teachers go through MHA's Edu-Scrum teacher training and have experience creating engaging learning spaces for tweens and teens.
Music
Carlos Sunza
A native Spanish speaker with 6 + years of experience teaching Elementary and Middle School.
His career began while still in high school, and he discovered his love for teaching while tutoring 5th and 6th grade.
In 2017 he started a project to help disadvantaged kids, teaching them English and music in his community.
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Linnea Carlson deRoche
Paz Chentnik
After moving her family to China to work as a founding teacher of an early education startup, Paz has been a part of multiple educational institutions in 5 countries.
MHA is the collaboration of all the things she experienced that worked for students across the globe.
Using technology, Edu-Scrum techniques, hands-on activities, and meeting children where they are, are some of the pieces that Paz is most passionate about.
After moving her family to Montana, Paz saw the multitude of benefits that outdoor experiences provided for tweens and teens.
Paz worked with world-renowned Bushcraft teachers and education specialists to develop the Bushcraft Kid™ curriculum.
Director & Teacher - Self-Directed Projects, Bushcraft and High School
Linnea has a Masters's in Education and has spent summers traveling to Thailand, New Zealand, and Europe while teaching in Philadelphia.
Linnea‘s teaching experience extends to giving tours as a National Park Ranger. In addition to international travel, Linnea, along with their partner and three children, have spent several winters visiting National Parks in a minibus that they converted into a camping castle.
Linnea believes that learning happens everywhere and works with various groups of people to create self-directed learning opportunities, always with a focus on social justice and playful self-inquiry.
Philadelphia
Teacher - Social Studies, Science, Dramatic Reading, Life Skills, and SEL
Teacher - Spanish
Montana
Indiana
Indiana
Teacher - Spanish
Montana
Education Specialist
Virginie Bellec
France
Teacher - Economics, Finance, Cryptocurrency, and NFT
Virginie was a Financial Analyst and Project Manager at Bloomberg LP before quitting her corporate career in London, UK, to complete her Masters in Business Administration at Queen's University in Canada. After co-founding a digital branding and web design firm with a friend, she is now back in France to work in the FinTech industry. Originally from France, Virginie moved to NJ, USA, to complete her finance bachelor's degree when she was 21.
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In her free time, you'll find Virginie reading, cross-stitching, fixing up her place, or learning new skills, as well as enjoying some time outdoors, mostly surfing or kite surfing in the summer and snowboarding in the winter.
Jo Nelson
Born in New Jersey and currently living in western Pennsylvania, Jo has been working in special education since 2018, when they discovered their passion for education. They are currently in school earning their B.S.Ed. in Earth and Space Science Education and M.Ed. in Special Education at Indiana
University of Pennsylvania.
They also earned a B.A. in Theatre from the same institution in 2016. Jo also works for a western Pennsylvanian school as their color guard instructor and musical director. Jo loves the ocean, tiramisu, and her dog, Willow, and their guilty pleasure is
watching the movie Frozen 2!
Pennsylvania
Teacher - Reading Specialist, Science, and Homeroom
Hannah Miller
Hannah Miller is a third-generation world schooler and education hacker who has been defying norms and forging her own path from early on. She is wildly passionate about travel, creative arts, and education, and intentionally works to encourage others to find innovative ways to make their dreams a reality.
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Hannah started her first business (in cookie sales) at age 11 and by 16 had begun an online career in content management and design. By 19, her online business had grown to the point where she could sustainably live and travel anywhere in the world.
Canada
Teacher - Language Arts, History, Art, and SEL
Kellie Barker
Kellie made Montana home in 2013 and fell in love instantly. When she isn’t skinning the mountain or hiking trails with her two girls she helps individuals find strength and knowledge through her functional medicine practice in Whitefish.
Functional medicine approaches health by looking at a whole individual, not just a set of symptoms. With this process a person can learn how sleep, stress, food and other variables come together to help or hinder a healthy path through life.
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Missy Jonson
Missy has been a math teacher since 2001. Teaching students from diverse backgrounds in an inner-city high school and taught in one of the top prestigious public schools.
Missy earned her Masters' degree in Counseling (Secondary Education) to help guide her while in the classroom. After starting her family, she created and opened up her own private math tutoring company called Valley To Peak Math Tutoring. Missy has been a private tutor since 2008 and has since partnered with different private schools.
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Lorenze Jefferson
Lorenze M. Jefferson graduated from Duquesne University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Sound Engineering and Music Technology with a minor in French Horn and Bass Performance. While in college, Lorenze studied French Horn under Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s, Zachery Smith, and Upright and Electric Bass guitar under Duquesne University faculty member, Jeffrey Mangone.
Lorenze currently works for a youth-focused non-profit called The Urban Impact Foundation where he serves as the Instrumental Coordinator for the Performing Arts Department. He works with children and teens leading their Jazz Band Ensemble and Orchestra in and out of the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Montana
Montana
Teaches - Health and Functional Medicine
Teacher - Math
Pittsburgh
Teacher - Music
Wesley J. Hays
Bushcraft Kid™ Curriculum Lead
Wesley grew up in the Sierra mountains of CA and moved to MT starting high school. Finding many ways to live in the world, Wes favored experiential learning and sought out many teachers and paths to create the ideal lifestyle for himself, that fit with his values of simplicity and creativity. Through the study of history, primitive and ancestral skills, herbalism, permaculture, music, and carpentry, Wes is hoping to bring health and happiness to his community and family. He has been a youth mentor for many years and teaches various skills, and runs his business Sanctuary Spaces LLC providing knowledge of natural and sustainable solutions to today’s building and home space design needs.
Montana
Teacher - Bushcraft Kid™ Curriculum Lead
A multi-instrumentalist, instrument maker, and music educator, Teilhard Frost specializes in traditional Appalachian folk music. He was raised on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario, spending time with the elder fiddlers in the area.
At the age of three he was given a jaw harp and harmonica by his father, his mother gave him a fiddle, and a record of Kentucky fiddle tunes. He has continued to play them all ever since.
Jennifer Deemer
Jen has an MLA in Landscape Architecture and is a leader in her homeschooling community in Pittsburgh, PA. She loves education because it connects us to the natural world around us while celebrating intellectual risk-taking.
With over a decade of experience, Jen uses science in her landscape architecture practice as well as teaching science to a wide variety of ages from physics camp for kindergarten to natural sciences for middle school. She excels at making science a hands-on learning experience and using her student's interests to get them excited about learning inside and outside of the classroom.
Pennsylvania
Teacher - Cooking, Life-Skills, and Outdoor Education
Skylee Russell
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Skylee has been learning and practicing primitive skills from a young age. She spends a lot of her time honing her skills backpacking and living off the grid throughout the North and Southwest.
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With experience in varying topography, climates, and knowledge of flora and fauna, Skylee is not only wonderful with kids but a wealth of knowledge.
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Skylee is dedicated to sharing her skillsets with those who feel that they don't fit in traditional spaces due to their interest in the outdoors.
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