Introducing Our Experts!
At The Forest School and Forest School Online, we regularly invite experts into our Studios not only to share about the meaningful work they’re doing, but also so that they can give our heroes feedback on their work. Through this process, our heroes increasingly learn real world demands and see relevance in learning.
We are pleased to announce our experts for our Middle School Shark Tank exhibition!
Experts help us blur the lines between school and real life. Read their bios below!
Valerie Wright
Valerie Wright is a serial entrepreneur and the owner of The Selfie Xperience — the first interactive photo studio in Henry County, Georgia! She has been an entrepreneur in some sense of the word since she was 14 years old. She is an Army combat Veteran. She holds a Master's degree in Human Resources and a Bachelor of Art in Business Administration as well as countless other certifications. Her experience and education have allowed her to create, develop and run multiple successful businesses. The Selfie Xperience is her new venture. She owns a successful barbershop, juice bar, yard greeting company, trucking company, and few real estate projects!
Evan Jarecki
Evan Jarecki is the co-founder of Gimme, an innovative approach to the vending industry. Gimme has been listed as one of Georgia’s “Top 40 Most Innovative Companies” five different years; has been recognized as one of “Atlanta’s Coolest Companies” in 2019; and their vending and grocery delivery solutions have been named as Automatic Merchandiser’s “Readers’ Choice New Product of the Year” for three consecutive years. Evan is on the board of Startup Atlanta, a non-profit helping young startups succeed.
Fantasia McGuffie
Fantasia McGuffie is the definition of a multi-hyphenate; she’s a mom of four, co-founder of Noiresh, (pronounced nourish), P.E. Guide at the Forest School, and is actively building a personal brand of her own.
As the CEO of Noiresh…a production company that amplifies black voices in health, Fantasia holds the vision for the company and focuses her daily efforts on scouting talent & building strategic partnerships. She is passionate about storytelling, mainly in the areas of hope, healing, and building resilience and is currently cultivating her newfound skills of scripting and producing.
She thoroughly enjoys reading, solitude, and savoring life through hands-on experiences.
Jesse Lindsley
Jesse Lindsley is founder and CEO of Thrust Media, an award-winning video game company with 10 years of experience and over 100 titles to their name. Thrust is a collective of game developers, behavioral designers, and research scientists who believe that innovation through collaboration can make a difference. They want our games to help solve problems and create solutions in the worlds of health, education, and fun. Their latest game, Hemanauts, can be found on the app store. Jesse also serves on the boards of many local organizations.