Dawn Leonard
Co-Founder, Director, Facilitator
Dawn Leonard worked in public schools as a Florida licensed teacher before seeking alternatives to traditional schooling. Feeling disenchanted with the outdated structures and confines of the public school system, she sought an educational environment that fostered curiosity, inquiry, and natural learning through play and living life to the fullest. Spark ALC was created from the desire for a self-directed learning environment inspired by the philosophies of John Holt and Peter Gray. Dawn loves sharing joyful "a-ha" moments with young people, designing immersive project-based learning experiences, and creating imaginative play environments at Spark ALC. She feels very thankful to spend her days doing what she loves and building a wonderful community of life-long learners.
Amy Korenman
President of the Board of Directors
Amy Korenman has always enjoyed helping people of all ages reach their full potential as a therapist with a background in social work. Early in her career, she discovered the rewards of working with at-risk youth through 8 years of experience in the Outward Bound program. Once Amy had school-aged children of her own, she knew that she wanted to find a safe, creative, and fun place where her family could build long-lasting friendships. Amy shared a joint vision with Dawn and co-founded Spark ALC to build a community of self-directed learners in Manatee County.
Erika Moyer
School Operations Manager and Facilitator
Having been born and raised in Miami, and then adventured in Vermont, Georgia, and Ontario, Erika loved settling down in beautiful and sunny Bradenton. Disliking her experience of school as a child, she started a successful daycare in Canada that she ran for 4 years in order to stay home with her firstborn son and then began homeschooling the following year. She moved back to the U.S. and has been happily homeschooling or "Sparking" ever since – now going on 12 years and with the addition of a daughter. Erika is a native Spanish speaker and holds a diploma in medical transcription and editing. She has worked professionally in the medical, education, and corporate fields providing writing, editing, project management, event planning, administration, and social media services, as well as tutoring in ELA and Spanish. In her spare time, she loves to sit outside on a sunny day, swing lazily under her oak tree or porch swing, bird-watch, read everything from novels to self-help books, practice yoga, and work on her edible garden. Some of her favorite things to offer at Spark include Spanish, writing, anatomy, edible gardening and sustainability, and just having super interesting conversations with all our awesome kids.
Debbie Leonard
Facilitator of Culinary Arts
Debbie Leonard has always found it rewarding to care for and help others. She started her career as a medical surgical intensive care nurse. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to learn about different cultures and cuisine. Traveling furthered her interest in cooking and increased her culinary skills by taking various classes such as pasta making in Siena, Italy and classes at California Cooking Academy and the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. After raising her children, she started a catering business fueled by her passion for cooking. Currently, Debbie is the instructor of the Culinary Arts Program at Spark ALC. She enjoys sharing her love of cooking with young people and helping them become independent in the kitchen. One of her favorite quotes is from Julia Child, “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”
Lauren Criswell
Branches Facilitator
Lauren Criswell was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and just recently moved to the Sarasota area. She is beyond excited for her first year of teaching to be with the wonderful students and staff of Spark ALC. Lauren has worked within child care for about 10 years. With the experience of working with children in a school system and within extracurricular programs for children with mental and physical disabilities, she has found her passion is working alongside children to explore their full potential in their own individual journeys of education. She looks forward to guiding students to explore new passions and interests within the classroom. When Lauren is not teaching, she enjoys playing volleyball, hiking, and continuing her passion of art through painting and drawing.
Krista Bertelson
Branches Facilitator
Krista Bertelson is a passionate alternative educator with over 20 years of experience teaching in several settings across the country. With experience in leading learning in outdoor settings to robotics and coding, she is a diverse facilitator. Krista holds a Masters degree in Experiential Education that focuses on the power of alternative education. With a deep pedagogical background in Montessori, Reggio-inspired, Waldorf, and Customized Learning, Krista is able to bring authentic learning opportunities for children to grow and develop in age appropriate settings. When not digging deep into educational strategies and engaging lesson creation, she can be found cheering on her family, enjoying time in water, and on hiking trails.
Amanda Thress
Speech Language Pathologist
Amanda’s passion is connecting with young people and earning their trust. She received her Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology from State University College of New York at Geneseo in 1995, and has held a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) since 1996. She has completed several advanced continuing education courses in order to enhance her skills including but not limited to: Orton Gillingham training through Institute for Multi-sensory Education (IMSE), Certified ADHD Professional training through Professional Education Systems Institute (PESI) and other conferences, The Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) Training through Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute, Anxiety training through conferences and PESI, and Trauma Informed Care training through Empowered to Connect and PESI. Amanda has also co-treated with many Occupational therapists and has learned to combine sensory and movement activities into her therapeutic activities. For the past 8 years, Amanda has been teaching Language Arts/Reading/Writing and acting as Speech Language Pathologist at Woodland Academy in Lakewood Ranch. Having the freedom to offer meaningful and motivating activities based on children’s needs instead of a predetermined curriculum was empowering to her. She enjoys watching children’s curiosity and creativity ignite, and their confidence increase. Amanda believes in creating a safe and supportive environment so that people are willing to take risks to grow and explore. She is looking forward to joining the team at Spark, eager to find inspiration through a multi age community who desires to bring out the best in each other. Working closer to her home in NW Bradenton will allow more free time with family to travel, hike, boat, garden, play games and read.
Salina Robbins
FT Administrative Volunteer
Salina Robbins knew when she had kids that traditional school was not the best option for her family. After a few years, she decided to begin homeschooling her oldest son. Eventually, she found herself at Spark. When her son first started, he wanted her to stay on campus just to provide support. As she worked from Spark, she began helping the facilitators with small tasks that needed to be completed. She came to enjoy working with the kids and using her administrative skills to help. Prior to Spark, she was the office manager for her family run business for 20+ years. She has also worked with kids through Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Children and Family Services, and Boys & Girls Club.
Keiandra Williams
Assistant Facilitator
Keiandra Williams was born in Huntsville, Alabama and moved to Sarasota, Florida at an early age. She is currently in her last year of completing her Biomedical Sciences degree at State College of Florida. Keiandra has always been a resource that friends and family turn to when they are requiring educational guidance. Keiandra is the embodiment of a true life-long learner. She is a public servant who chose to serve students in many organizations such as Avid and Trio, which presented her the opportunity of tutoring students of all ages and being a catalyst that helped spark young students into developing positive habits of mind. Keiandra has spoken to at-risk youngsters about the benefits of having a growth mind-set and becoming college and career ready. She is beyond eager to become an asset that the entire Spark family, students, and community, can rely and depend on. During Keiandra’s free time she enjoys improving her physical and mental health. Keiandra enjoys going on long runs, swimming and/or surfing, rock climbing, and reading. One of her favorites books is from Dr. Seuss “Oh the Places You’ll Go” Keiandra attempts to fuse her most memorable quote into students everyday which is “You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!”.
