WELCOME
Athena is about taking a new look at what education can be -- for both students and educators.
Most literacy challenges in secondary and postsecondary classrooms are not just “motivation issues” or “skill deficits.” They are the predictable result of earlier instructional mismatches. This work helps educators see—and address—those patterns.
true literacy
work, without
the buzz words
or fluff
Humans don’t act based on what we want. We act based on what we believe is possible.
The Joyful, Vibrant, Abundant (JVA) Life training is not toxic positivity. It is not martyrdom. And it is not the belief that burnout is the cost of caring. Instead, JVA Life invites educators to examine the narratives they’ve inherited—about work, worth, sacrifice, success, and “what good teachers do”—and to notice how those beliefs quietly shape daily choices, boundaries, and instructional risk-taking.
A Note from the Founder
Before entering education, I worked as a homeless advocate, a family advocate for a domestic violence agency, and later supported clinicians at a community mental health center while pursuing graduate studies. Across each of these roles, the work was the same at its core: connecting people with the knowledge, resources, and skills they needed to determine their own paths forward.
Over time, that work brought me closer to the classroom. I began teaching in pre-K, where I could no longer ignore the power—and responsibility—of education as both a gateway and a gatekeeper. That experience led me to pursue my teaching license and ultimately to a career teaching literacy across pre-K, K–12, and at the college level.
Literacy remains my deepest passion. Having taught across the full continuum, I see clearly how instructional gaps form, how beliefs about ability take root early, and how those beliefs follow students—and educators—far beyond any single classroom.
My work now sits at the intersection of rigorous literacy instruction and intentional belief examination. I support educators in strengthening their practice while also interrogating the narratives—about students, learning, productivity, and worth—that shape what they believe is possible.
This work matters. And when done well, it changes lives—including our own.
Let’s work together.
