Our Team

The Forest School is guided by a group of innovative practitioners and leaders from across Georgia’s business, education, design, and nonprofit sectors. Together their experiences have led them to a calling at the crossroads of education and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Tyler Thigpen

Co-founder & Head of The Forest Schools & Institute for Self-Directed Learning

Tyler grew up in Georgia and has worked in innovative district, private, and charter schools, as well as statewide and national nonprofits. Tyler is co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy in Trilith, The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self-Directed Learning, Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and Guest Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Formerly, Tyler was partner at Transcend, a national nonprofit in school redesign, and worked closely on innovative school projects such as nXu, Whittle, The Academy Group, Washington Leadership Academy, Art in Motion, Hebrew Public, Teton Science's Place Network, EL Education, and the Brooklyn STEAM Center. Tyler also co-founded MENTOR Georgia, Transforming Teaching at Harvard, and the Chattahoochee Hills Charter School. Earlier, Tyler worked as head of the upper school at The Mount Vernon School in Atlanta, Spanish teacher in Gwinnett County public schools, and minister at the Grace family of churches where he led international development in Peru in areas of healthcare, education, poverty reduction, and infrastructure. Tyler holds a doctoral degree in education leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education, a master’s in public administration from Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a master’s in theological studies from Regent College of the University of British Columbia. Tyler has written about the future of learning in the Washington Post, Education Week, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Getting Smart, and others. Tyler lives with his four children, all of whom attended The Forest School, in Trilith, GA.

Yvette Cook Darby

Founding Board Member of The Forest School

Yvette is a seasoned executive, business strategist, coach and consultant with more than 25 years of leadership experience. She has successfully enhanced the culture of organizations to become more competitive, responsive and innovative.  She is most proud of her work with non-profits, specifically those focused on education, to improve the conditions and opportunities for those living in underserved communities. Yvette began her professional career in broadcast media sales, has owned a marketing consulting firm, and is a certified Personal and Executive Coach.  Her past positions include: President & CEO of Ushers New Look, Chief Marketing Officer of United Way of Atlanta, and Chief Strategy Officer of Georgia Public Broadcasting.  Yvette is currently coaching, consulting, and serving as Chief Operating Officer of Inspire, Inc. She earned a master’s degree in mass communications and a bachelor’s degree in public affairs and political science from the University of Denver.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors for SHRM Atlanta, Caring for Others, and the University of Denver, School of Arts and Sciences Alumni.  

Brittney Toles

High School Guide & Assistant Head of School for Culture and Enrichment

Hailing from the quaint town of Beloit, Wisconsin, Brittney embodies a wealth of experience as an outdoor educator, mentor, counselor, coach, youth advocate, and former collegiate athlete. Her academic journey led her to Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW), where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, all the while making her mark as a vital member of the Women's Basketball team.

Following her graduation, Brittney assumed the role of Teen Leadership Coordinator at Lake Valley Camp, a charitable organization dedicated to empowering underprivileged urban youth in Milwaukee. It was during this pivotal chapter that her profound affinity for interweaving outdoor education, team dynamics, and life skills first blossomed.

Subsequently, Brittney lent her expertise to Southwest Key Programs as the Crisis Management Liaison and Mentor Recruitment Specialist, entrusted with overseeing the Mentoring Program. Here, she tirelessly connected young individuals with passionate, positive, and compassionate adults, forging vital links within the community fabric.

A Master's degree in Education with an emphasis on Experiential Learning and Development, bestowed upon her by Plymouth State University, stands as a testament to her unwavering commitment to personal growth and empowerment. Throughout her journey, Brittney has ceaselessly championed the cause of spreading positivity and humility to all she encounters, in the hopes that this transformative spirit will reverberate through each individual she touches, and in turn, ripple out to uplift others.

Amber Bryant

Assistant Head of School for Learning

Amber was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended Frederick Douglass High School. Upon graduation she attended Georgia Southern University and graduated with a degree in Human and Environmental Sciences. After several years of managing and overseeing the renovation and construction of both residential and commercial properties, Amber changed careers to open a family shipping business and oversaw the first stage of operation. During this time she married NFL Cornerback Fernando Bryant, and began actively participating in his 25-Sports Foundation, which supports the encouragement of inner-city youth. Through the Foundation, she was able to participate in community clothing and food drives. This is where Amber found her passion for working with children. “Fernando’s Commando’s,” a group of high performing middle school students, was the brainchild of Amber. From the love to see children succeed, Amber began to volunteer at Meadowlands Montessori school and decided to pursue her certification in Montessori Middle Grades Education. She has served the Henry and Fayette County communities as a Montessori guide and assistant in both the Upper and Lower Elementary classes. Amber visited her high school alma mater and was shocked at the environment she encountered. This led her to start The Odyssey Program in hopes bringing the family environment she left at Douglass High School back to the forefront. The program focuses on essential life skills for high school students to carry into adulthood and become successful, contributing citizens to their community. She still volunteers with the students from Douglass. Fernando and Amber have been married for 14 years and raise Fernando’s older children, Amber’s nephew, and together have a 8 year old daughter, Griffin.

Johnny Green

Chief Operating Officer

Johnny Green is an experienced independent school leader who brings a wealth of private school and corporate experience to The Forest School.  Over the past 10+ years, he has served on the leadership teams of several metro-Atlanta independent schools, including Mount Pisgah Christian School, Brandon Hall School, and most recently, George Walton Academy.  He has amassed knowledge and skills to lead effectively in virtually all aspects of independent school operations.

Johnny graduated from Auburn University with a Business Operations Management degree and is an Auburn Tiger at heart! He earned his Master's degree in Computer Information Systems from Georgia State University.  He began his career in Information Technology and has held positions of increasing responsibility in small and large local companies, including Delta Air Lines and The Weather Channel.  After a long career in corporate office settings, Johnny's internal desire for mission, service, and making a difference led him to seek opportunities in the non-profit sector.  He has found his niche leading the operations in schools where the communities unite in providing opportunities for students to grow and thrive. Johnny hopes to help inspire young learners to develop enthusiasm for their own education and become lifelong learners who can positively impact the world around them.

Denise Ostrowski

Spark Guide

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Denise has been a professional Montessori guide in the Atlanta area for 14 years. She began her journey as an assistant (student teaching) in 2005. Denise took on a lead role in 2013 and received her first Montessori certification from NAMC. She continued on her journey to receive a second Certification from MTEI of Atlanta in 2016.

Over the past two decades working with young children, Denise observed the need for children to spend more time learning outdoors in order to best take care of themselves, each other and the Earth. This led her down an exploratory path of Waldorf and Tinkergarten methodologies given their renown for embracing nature as an optimal environment for childhood growth. She began studying the Acton model in 2018 and since then has incorporated it into her teachings.

As a true pioneer in education, Denise believes in always learning something new and growing from experiences. This philosophy applies not only to her own life but to the children she supports as well.  She pays attention to every aspect of children’s development in order to help them grow into the full expression of themselves. “My goal is to get children ready to learn (communication, focus, social and sensory development), ready to thrive (empathy, resilience and wellness), and ready for anything (problem solving, persistence, collaboration, stewardship and creativity). I trust in the process.”-Denise Ostrowski

In this way, Denise confidently yet humbly dedicates herself to education as both a teacher and a student because, as Waldorf School founder Rudolph Steiner once said, “Even the wisest can learn incalculably much from children.”

Maria Covaci-Druhora

Spark Assistant Guide

Born in the sprawling hills of the Transylvanian countryside, Marias’ parents immigrated to the US in the late 80’s to escape the Romanian communist regime in search of a better life for their eight children.

Her family made their home in the great state of Texas. Maria received her BA from The University of Texas and began a 15 year career managing businesses and property investment portfolios in Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Europe.
After moving to Georgia in 2020 and becoming her boys’ sole educator, she developed an admiration for educators but also realized a great need in the standard and dated education system. Discovering The Forest School this past year and familiarization with the self directed learning program, this partnership was a no brainer.

Having lived in several major cities in the past 17 years with her husband Samuel and three boys, Maria has never failed to find a place to plant a garden, pitch a hammock, and read a good book while sipping the local coffee because the simple pleasures in life can be found all around us. Her door is always open, lawn chairs are always out, and coffee is brewing till five.

Trey Lackey

Apprentice Guide, Math Specialist

Trey was born and raised in Coweta County, Georgia, and attended East Coweta High School. After graduating, he attended the University of Georgia and acquired a BA and an MA in Linguistics. With an additional minor in Mathematics, he has worked to apply the study of diverse cultures and languages to education. In addition to mathematics tutoring, Trey has also been involved in organizations such as Mathcounts at UGA, which work to increase excitement and engagement with math studies and math competitions in both flourishing and under-resourced schools.

Trey has always felt that attention to diverse needs, goals, and histories is essential to helping learners reach their full potential in all subjects, including mathematics. He has constantly striven to incorporate knowledge of the diverse and complex needs of individual learners with mathematics education.

When not at work, Trey loves cooking, hiking, and exploring the outdoors.

McKenna Maulden

Elementary Apprentice Guide

A native of Cartersville, GA, and a lover of all things involving creativity, the outdoors, creative movement, and holistic wellness. Her dreams before entering college were originally to become a professional athlete in the small world of competitive power tumbling (think gymnastics, but with trampolines like Cir de Soleil) as well as a coach. She tumbled for around 10 years on a competitive team and eventually did go on to win a couple of Junior Olympic and National titles, as well as become an assistant coach. These dreams came to a close in her teenage years due to a career-ending ACL injury, but the desire to pursue excellence in all things and create growth-filled, nurturing environments that propel others toward success only strengthened.

McKenna has always had a passion for education and enabling others to be successful but has never formally taught in a classroom. For her undergraduate degree, she studied the creative testing used in schools through an interdisciplinary lens, earning a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies: Creative Education focus and a minor in business and public policy from Young Harris College in 2019. After college, she went on to serve as a team and leadership development program facilitator at WinShape Teams leading activities and high ropes course experiences. She has invested in children through being on staff at camps such as SPLASH Bartow (formerly), WinShape Camps, and Camp Pinnacle, as well as volunteering for Read2Grow in the Bartow County School System.

After completing WinShape foundation’s Emerging Leader’s program in 2021 she went on to serve the staff through designing in-person and digital learning experiences. She has had the honor of designing and facilitating transformative experiences for many adults, children, and organizations stateside and globally. She has a love of learning, international travel, and outdoor adventures and is currently finding her way back into creative movement through acro yoga.

She is excited to move to Fayetteville with her two cats Nala and Smudge, and serve this learning community through cultivating a sense of unity, supportiveness, and continual improvement alongside you!

Eleah McClamb

Middle School and High School Guide

Eleah is a Georgia native and a true Georgia peach! Born in Atlanta, and raised in Fayetteville, she graduated from Sandy Creek High School. From there, she moved to Virginia to attend Hampton University, and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Marketing. After undergrad, she moved back home to Georgia, and quickly realized the corporate world was not for her. She followed her mother's footsteps in education, and attended Mercer University, where she received her certification, and Masters of Arts in Middle Grades History. It was in graduate school that she realized the realm of educating youth was her calling. She wanted to learn as much as possible her first year of graduate school, so she volunteered at a charter school in Atlanta, and helped to open its doors. She volunteered there for a year, and was eventually offered a job. When she graduated from Mercer University as a certified educator, she began her calling in Cobb County teaching 8th grade History, fell in love with the students and her content, and remained there for the last nine years. Eleah has worked in Atlanta, Cobb, and Fayette County public schools and is just now feeling like "she’s home" here at The Forest School.

Eleah loves to play tennis, indulge in profound conversations over good food, and creating... (anything).

She has a hope for the future, a vision filled with Gen Zers being caring, kind, compassionate, empathetic, self-disciplined, hard-working world leaders, and she feels she has finally found where they are housed!

Eleah works closely with our high schoolers but has connectivity to the Middle School as well, floating in and out from time to time for various learning experiences or collaborations.

Lauren Wilkins

Administrator

Lauren Wilkins is a passionate Texan educator with over a decade of experience. She holds a bachelor's degree in Education from Lamar University. Transitioning from the classroom, she now focuses on promoting self-directed learning, cherishing her role in positively impacting lives. At The Forest School, she hopes to build meaningful relationships with learners, families, and colleagues, while also relishing her role as a mother to two sons.
When she's not tackling administrative tasks, you'll find Lauren soaking up the magic of nature and diving into captivating books. She's all about promoting a healthy lifestyle, whether it's hitting the gym or pounding the pavement on a run. And when it's time to kick back, she's all about quality family time, with board game showdowns and loads of laughter!

Sadecia Yates

Math Specialist (Part-time)

Who said every teacher likes apples? Perhaps they get others going, but I like a tropical sweetness with a dash of pucker.

A PINE·apple.

In 2006, I started my journey in education, and it's been one of the realizations just like this. With an M.S. in Teaching Childhood Education and Professional Certificate - Students with Disabilities (Gr. 5-9), NYC, I have learned what works for one person might not work for the next.

I've been doing that all these years - developing ways to help education work for people. Whether supporting a 5th grader with ADHD to develop stronger writing skills, creating a curriculum tailored for a diverse group of learners, or helping a doctoral degree applicant pass the GRE, my main interest is cultivating a love of learning for all.

I have had the profound pleasure of being a classroom teacher for over 10 years. From Florida to Japan to NYC, I gained experience in a variety of classroom settings with a wide range of student abilities and ages. In 2018, I moved out of the classroom towards other educational endeavors, and wow! - what a thrill it’s been!

Gage Williams

Elementary Guide

Gage is originally from Pike County, Georgia. His rural upbringing kindled his love for the natural world and set the stage for his professional career. Gage has a background in youth development and environmental and cultural resource education. His past experiences include The University of Georgia, The Southern Conservation Trust, and the Georgia Aquarium, where he is still a volunteer. In his free time, you can find Gage hiking with his Saint Bernard, Moose, gardening, reading a good fantasy series, or working on his latest crochet project.

Lana Toler

Middle School Guide

Lana Toler is relocating to the Fayetteville area from the Northeast suburbs of Atlanta after being a certified educator for the past ten years. She has worked with learners from first grade through twelfth grade, but her favorite crew to work with is the middle school. When she is not organizing something, you can find her having a raucous dance party/jam session in the living room with her toddlers and husband, writing with Jeni’s Salted Peanut Butter ice cream in hand, or crafting experiences for the people she loves. Her vision is to cultivate curiosity, compassion, competence, and connection among her learners.

Austin & Fantasia McGuffie

PE Guides (Part-time)

Austin and Fantasia McGuffie created Building Generational Health (BGH) with the core belief that good health is everyone’s basic birthright. While certain factors prevent individuals and families from benefiting from a healthy life, they are committed to pushing past those barriers and offering education, access, and accountability to those in need. 

Through interactive courses and virtual training, they teach the fundamentals of health so good health habits and genetics are passed down from generation to generation. They remind each of their clients that physique goals are cool, but health goals are even better!

The McGuffies started their wellness journey at the onset of becoming parents 7 years ago. What started as a passion for their own family, has grown into a vision that is much bigger than they ever imagined. Currently, BGH has trainers and clients across the country on a singular mission to Build Generational Health!

Service is important to their family and is etched in the fabric of everything they do. Austin has coached recreational baseball in Clayton County for 6 years and Fantasia founded The Fresh Kids Club, a place for kids to learn about nutrition as they explore through fun activities. Their newest project is: Black Generational Health, an initiative to heal the Black community from preventable chronic illnesses. They garner support via creative storytelling, crowdfunding, and corporate sponsorships.

On their downtime, they are spending time with friends and family, enjoying the great outdoors, or recording videos for their YouTube channel, McGuffies Unfiltered where they transparently show the comical side of parenting and marriage.

More information about their business, Building Generational Health and foundation, Black Generational Health can be found at: www.BuildingGenerationalHealth.com.

Dr. Caleb Collier

Director of Institute for Self-Directed Learning and Head of Research

Caleb Collier is a co-founder and Head of Research at The Institute for Self-Directed Learning. He is also a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. He has written extensively on Self-Directed Learning and is the author of Theoretical and Historical Evolutions of Self-Directed Learning: The Case for Learner Led Education (Routledge, 2023). His interests lie in the intersections between self-directed learning, character education, and human flourishing.

Lyric Alabi

Administrative Assistant

Lyric is a seasoned professional with a degree in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design. With nine years of experience in event planning and administrative roles, including operations coordination and project management, she has a proven track record of managing complex projects and events efficiently. Currently residing in Douglasville, GA, she supports The Forest School virtually, leveraging her organizational skills and creative background.

Outside of work, Lyric is a dedicated mother to two young children, and a loving spouse of over 4 years. Passionate about DIY home projects, she enjoys crafting and finding new ways to enhance her living space. You can usually find her spending time outdoors, journaling, and meditating, embracing moments of reflection and creativity.

Jeff Sandefer

Advisor & Co-Founder of Acton Academy

Jeff Sandefer lives a dual life as an entrepreneur and a Socratic Guide. As an entrepreneur, he founded his first company at age 16 and went on to found or co-found seven successful businesses. As a Socratic teacher at the University of Texas, Jeff’s students five times voted him the school’s Outstanding Teacher and Businessweek named him one of the top Entrepreneurship professors in America. Jeff went on to co-found the Acton School of Business, an MBA program perennially ranked by the Princeton Review among the best in the nation. In 2012 The Economist honored him as one of the top fifteen Business School professors in the world. Jeff is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he served for over twenty years on the school’s governing committees. He was a longtime director of the Philanthropy Roundtable and National Review magazine and one of the youngest members ever elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame.

Laura Sandefer

Advisor & Co-Founder of Acton Academy

Laura lived on both US coasts and in between as a child, then settled into Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Science. After being awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd’s of London, Laura worked in the aviation insurance industry in New York City. Deciding to follow her calling into the world of education, Laura returned to Nashville and earned her Master of Education at Peabody College. This led her to her work at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, creating fine arts education programs for teachers and talented high school students. Laura married Jeff Sandefer and is the happy mother of Sam and Charlie and step-mother to Taite. It is the inspiration of these children that led Laura and Jeff to co-found Acton Academy. Her greatest hero is her mother who was a Master Teacher. Her wisest mentor is her father who sent her off to college with two words of advice: "Be curious."

Chrissy Schmidt

Head of The Forest School Online

Chrissy is originally from southeast Florida, but currently lives in rural Tennessee. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Education, and has been working in public, private, international, and online schools for over twelve years. She has a strong background in teaching language arts with integrations in science and social studies. During her time teaching at an IB school in Thailand, she developed a love for inquiry and project-based learning, and infusing relevant technology and life skills into daily learning. Chrissy completed some additional coursework in international development and has helped to found several non-profit organizations.  She enjoys empowering her learners to be caring leaders and global citizens. 

Chrissy loves traveling with her husband and daughter, reading good books, crafting, and tinkering with all things design and technology. 

Kenynon Webster

Elementary Apprentice Guide

Kenynon was born in Gaffney, South Carolina. After graduating highschool he attended Greenville Technical College and transferred to Midlands Technical college to complete his associates degree before transferring to the University of South Carolina to obtain his B.S. in Human Services. Kenynon has always had a passion to work with the youth to help them not make the same mistakes he made growing up.

Becoming somewhat of a ‘journeyman’ in the working world, Kenynon did not necessarily know what he wanted to do after graduating college. The one thing he always stated he wanted to do was to help others. With a creative mind, Kenynon began an eCommerce clothing line in 2020 called It’s the WRLD. It's the WRLD stands for Where Reality is Living Dreams. Meaning anyone can make their dreams a reality if they just try. This serves as a mantra to Kenynon and is the fuel behind finding his purpose and not giving up when things get tough. While the clothing line was not his lane, Kenynon decided to pursue photography. He believes in being a 'sponge' by constantly learning something new from those he interacts with. He also has a certification in UX/UI Design.

When he is not photographing events or designing, you can catch Kenynon traveling, surfing Youtube, watching sports (Go Patriots), or trying a new recipe he found online.

Brooke Harris

Lower Elementary Guide

Born in Florida, Brooke moved with her family to Georgia in her late elementary years. She later attended and graduated from Berry College with a double major in French and Public Relations. After college, Brooke spent two years in France where she met her future husband Brian while he was living and working in Germany. The two returned to the states, ironically separated only by the city of Atlanta, where they continued dating, married, and started a family. During this time, Brooke taught French at a Montessori school which served ages 3-18. It was here that Brooke began her journey of developing experiential and immersive curriculum and a love for teaching all ages.

A few years and three children later, Brooke’s family moved back overseas to the Middle East. During this time Brooke homeschooled her three children using a mix of Montessori and other curriculums. In 2019 the family moved back to the US and Brooke began her journey to use and understand the Orton-Gillingham approach to teach and support students with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties in language. Brooke received training at the Associates and Certified Levels of the Orton-Gilingham approach and began to work as a Reading Specialist. When the Pandemic hit, Brooke started her own business to offer individualized reading intervention to students virtually. Brooke loves to read and to cook; and she has also completed her RYT200 and enjoys teaching yoga in her off hours. Brooke is delighted to join the team at The Forest School and to put her many and varied skills and life experience into practice with the learners in the Lower Elementary Studio.

Tricia Boschert

Wellness Guide

Tricia was born and raised in St. Louis¸, Mo. After earning her bachelor’s degree in communications from The University of Missouri St. Louis, she moved to San Diego, California, where she enjoyed all things outdoors! Tricia’s love for fitness and wellness inspired her to pursue a career with 24 Hour Fitness, where she served as the District Operations Manager overseeing fitness facilities spanning from Miami, Florida, to Omaha, Nebraska. She was responsible for the opening and operating of their premium clubs, including those partnered with Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neil. In this role, Tricia was successful in creating and implementing processes and procedures, building talented teams, and achieving highly desirable operational results.

In 2009, she chose to put her career on hold and turn her focus to raising her children with her husband, Mike. During this time, Tricia remained active as an operator and volunteer within the community. In 2014, she founded and presided over a non-profit organization (Eagles Wings). In this role, she utilized her prior experiences to create and implement processes, recruit and engage 100+ volunteers, and fundraise through event planning and grant writing. To date, EW has provided brand-new clothing, winter coats, and tennis shoes to over 3,000 children.

In 2018, Tricia and her family relocated to Fayetteville, GA, as a result of Mike’s 20+ year career as a pilot. Shortly after settling in, the pandemic hit, and like so many others, Mike experienced a pause in his career. The one thing that made sense then was for the family to return to St. Louis. However, they had already found The Forest School and felt strongly TFS offered an educational experience that far surpassed any other educational option for their 9-year-old son (Sam). The Boschert family now says, “A career path brought us here, but TFS kept us here, and we couldn’t be more grateful.” Their son, Sam (12), is completing his 4th year at TFS. Tricia is beyond excited to join The Forest School team as the Front Office Assistant. In addition to this new role, Tricia will continue to serve as the founder and chairperson of Women of Worth.

Outside of work and volunteering, you will find Tricia spending time with her family, including their 2 doodle dogs, Mellie and Remi. Tricia is excited to continue engaging with TFS families she has known for years and can’t wait to connect with those she has not yet had the pleasure of meeting.

Joan Thigpen

Reading Specialist

Affectionately know as Gigi to the Forest community, Joan is a Georgia native who has taught children in all grades Kindergarten-College level across the southeastern United States.

She and her husband moved to Fayetteville to be near her grandchildren and support the new innovative school of her son's vision at its beginning. Joan holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education, a Master's Degree in Reading and Literacy, and a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership. She has decades of experience in all aspects of teaching, curriculum design and leadership in public and private schools. Her desire to keep learning and to be a part of the needed changes in education while serving the Forest School community keeps her engaged and energized. She loves being the school Gigi and watching the heroes find their calling that will change the world.

Hannah Cheo

Art Guide

Hannah discovered her passion for art at the age of 7. Growing up in California, she later graduated from the Laguna College of Art and Design and showcased her work at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach for seven consecutive years.

With over a decade of experience as a professional oil painter, Hannah specializes in portraiture and inspirational pieces, which have been collected worldwide. Recently, Hannah and her family of four relocated to the beautiful state of Georgia, where she is reigniting her career as an oil painter, focusing on both wholeness and creativity. Through her custom classes, private art lessons, and role as an Art Guide at The Forest School, Hannah finds immense joy in empowering and nurturing the next generation's creative identities.

Emma Fall

Art Guide

Emma Fall was born in Virginia and spent her childhood in a military family traveling around the world. She has lived in Japan, Washington state, and Minnesota to name a few. After graduating high school in Rochester, MN, Emma made a short leap south to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to attend Coe College. She graduated in 2021 with majors in Art History and Communication Studies, and a minor in Rhetoric. Emma has spent the past three years in professional marketing and reception positions, in which she was able to cultivate and grow her passion for effective interpersonal connections among others. After a few too many Midwest winters, Emma decided to move to Fayetteville, GA. As the eldest child in her family, Emma is excited to join The Forest School and flourish while advocating for children of all ages and backgrounds with her skills in creativity and office coordination. In her spare time, Emma enjoys creating playlists, planning events, and painting.

Brennan Bernard

Director of Counseling

Brennan Barnard is the Director of College Counseling at Khan Lab School, CA. He is also the College Admissions Program Advisor with the Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Director of College Counseling for the College Guidance Network. He was the founding Director of College Counseling for US Performance Academy, an on-line school for elite athletes. During over two decades in education, Brennan has worked as a teacher, coach, dorm parent, admission officer, counselor and administrator at a number of independent high schools and colleges. 

Brennan served on the Executive Committee for the Character Collaborative, and was a member of the Advisory Board for the New Hampshire College and University Council’s New Hampshire Scholars Program. A contributing writer for Forbes.com, he has written about college admission for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Thrive Global, HuffPost, San Francisco Examiner, New York Times, Concord Monitor, Journal of College Admission and other publications. He has also been featured in articles in the Boston Globe and Associated Press and an occasional featured guest on New Hampshire Public Radio. He has been interviewed about college admission by New England Cable News, New York Living, and ABC News. 

Brennan was a New England Association of College Admission Counselors Professional of the Year for 2017 and honored with the Association for College Counselors in Independent Schools’ Excellence in Counseling Award in 2021. As co-president of Educational Futures, he works independently with students and families to navigate the college admission search and application experience.  He is co-author of, "The Truth About College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together" and the companion guide “The Truth about College Admission Workbook: A Family Organizer for Your College Search.”  

A native of suburban Philadelphia and practicing Quaker, he is a graduate of Westtown Friends School. Brennan earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish from Franklin & Marshall College and a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from The University of Vermont. This father of two college students lives in Hopkinton, New Hampshire where he is a volunteer firefighter.