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Dr. Stephanie Oliver
Founder
Dr. Oliver is a homeschool mom and has been a tutorial instructor for over 10 years. She has worked with hundreds of homeschooled students over the last several years and successfully graduated two of her own. She is a Student Success Coach, Pastoral Counselor, and Mental Health Coach. She has a passion for helping students discover their unique paths. Dr. Oliver started Oliver Christian Academy to provide a relevant resource for homeschool families and students in the non-traditional education space.
Meet the Board
Carolyn Oliver
Board Member
Carolyn Oliver is a member of the Oliver Family and is committed to the mission of Oliver Christian Academy. Carolyn holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a minor in Biochemistry from Oral Roberts University. She is currently serving the community as a health external in prep for a career as a Physician's Assistant.
She is thankful for the opportunity to serve on the board and hopes her prior experience as a former homeschool student will bring additional benefit to the growth and success of Oliver Christian Academy.
Sherri Black
Board Member
Sherri Black moved to Tennessee when she was in the third grade from a small town south of New Orleans. She considers herself a proud Tennessean and a graduate of Mt. Juliet High School. Sherri received an Associate’s Degree at Nashville State and eventually completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Cumberland University. She has previous experience in corporate and most recently non-profit finance while employed at Friendship Christian School.
Sherri is married and she homeschools her 4 wonderful children. In her ‘spare time’, Sherri enjoys helping her husband run a small beef cattle farm, located in Lebanon, TN.
Lawrence (TJ) Black
Board Member
Lawrence Black holds a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Leadership from MTSU and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management from Tennessee Technological University. He has over 20 years in the telecommunication industry with a wide variety of experience in various leadership roles. He has extensive experience in Learning and Leadership Development for both classroom delivery as well as curriculum and instructional design. Lawrence is passionate about education and learning and has experience with a wide variety of learning tools and learning management systems. While most all of us have been thrown into the virtual world of learning in the last couple of years, Lawrence has been leading virtual teams and instruction for over a decade. Above all, Lawrence enjoys non-traditional learning options, witnessing the transfer of knowledge take place and those ‘light bulb’ moments that can be seen in the eyes of learners.
Lawrence is married to Sherri Black and supports her in the learning journey of their 4 wonderful children.
Meet the Operations Team
Rena Angell
Director of Operations
Rena Angell is retired from the Travel Industry with 30 years of business expertise as a Sales and Operations Manager. She is a certified mental health coach, author, Bible teacher, ministry leader, and conference speaker with a love for the word of God.
She is passionate about Christian education and is thrilled to be serving as an administrator at Oliver Christian Academy. Rena desires to establish a nurturing, safe, and healthy environment in which students and families can thrive.
Meet the Instructors
Blair Alvarado
Instructor Preschool - Substitute
Blair Alvarado has a Master's Degree in Social Work and has held many internships for teaching children all over the world, including Uganda, Dominican Republic, and virtually in China.
Along with teaching, she has fulfilled many roles with children such as caretaker for family members, nanny, tutor, child, and family case manager, school-based therapist, and recently mom to her first daughter. All of these roles have provided Blair with invaluable insights into early childhood education and have ignited a passion to pursue full-time teaching of primary-aged children.
She is honored to pursue a career in home school education with Oliver Christian Academy. She believes education is more than a classroom, and though at times useful; standardized tests do not tell the whole story.
She believes in the powerful position of parents and other role models in a child’s learning journey, and the freedom to choose methods that suit every unique learner. Her goal is to foster a deep, genuine love for learning in each student by discovering and supporting their educational needs.
Summer Blackmon
Instructor Preschool
Summer Blackmon received her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2015. She has taught in daycares, preschools, and Metro Nashville Public Schools before coming to Oliver Christian Academy. She has taught babies all the way to 4th grade, in addition to caring for children of all ages in various ways (church, nannying, etc). Summer and her husband have a 2-year-old son and are expecting another little boy this fall.
Summer loves building relationships with her students and forming those bonds that will last beyond the year she has with them. She is very passionate about working with children and loves seeing their progress and development.
Camille Lame
Instructor K-1st Grade & 2nd-3rd Grade
Camille Lame has been an Elementary school teacher for 25 years. She received her Bachelor's degree from Cumberland University and a Master's degree from Union University. She also holds an endorsement to teach English as a Second Language for K-12. Mrs. Lame loves teaching and learning, she is very excited to bring her experience to Oliver Academy.
Camille and her husband have 7 children and 7 grandchildren. She feels that the family is a child’s first and most important teacher and is looking forward to working with parents for the student’s success. Through her years she has found fun and interesting ways to help students learn.
Jana Brasser
Instructor 2nd-3rd Grade & 4th-5th Grade
Jana Brasser has had quite a range of experience in the education field. She graduated from Calvin College (now Calvin University) with a degree in Biology - Secondary Education. After the birth of her son, she received her Elementary Education Certification. She has taught from nursery - to 1st grade (in her home), Kindergarten, Middle School Science, and Math all at a Christian School, University classes in China, and “homeschooling” a missionary family in China for two years. She recently moved from Michigan to Tennessee to be closer to her only son and family. Her past few years were spent as a tutor for all subjects in a Christian High School in Michigan. With a wide variety of experiences in different grades, she is sometimes asked what's her favorite subject. The answer is all of them. There is a blessing to be a part of a young child’s life and an honor to help guide them as they begin their learning journey. There is great fun to work with teens, to be able to form deep relationships while talking seriously and humorously.
Reid Wiles
Instructor Middle School & High School ~ Private Tutor
Reid Wiles is a homeschool dad who enjoys teaching Bible, Math, and Science classes. He has been teaching Bible classes and has led devotionals for years. He grew up in the church and loves learning and sharing detailed Bible studies as well as Apologetics.
Reid earned a B.S. degree from Austin Peay State University where he majored in Physics and minored in Math. He really enjoys helping students to make a connection on how Math and Science work and to see how our Creator is involved in it all.
Reid is comfortable with in-person learning and tutoring but is also available to work with students online. One of his main objectives is for students to see how blessed they are to learn in a homeschool environment where they can not only learn academics but to see how intertwined God is in studying different subjects.
Kathy Dickens
Instructor Elementary & High School
My name is Kathy Dickens. This will be my 10th year of homeschooling. Our homeschool adventure began when my eldest was in 2nd grade(he is now a Jr at CU) I am currently homeschooling my daughter, Olivia (8th grade)
I love History, watching old movies, and reading. I am a hands-on kind of teacher and tend to use out-of-the-ordinary teaching methods ( I have let students wash my car with peanut butter ) to reiterate a lesson.
Ashleigh MacMullen
Instructor
Ashleigh MacMullen is a Christian wife and mama to three amazing children. She has a Bachelor's Degree in K-8 Education as well as P-12 Special Education from Western Washington University. Ashleigh has over fifteen years of experience as a teacher in a variety of educational settings, most recently six years of homeschooling her youngest two children. Prior to homeschooling, she enjoyed working with students of all ages in typical classrooms, resource rooms, CLCs, Sunday School, and even tutoring. She's excited about the opportunity to work in a tutorial setting here at Oliver Christian Academy.
Outside of teaching, Ashleigh loves spending time with her family exploring God's beautiful creation. She also loves reading, learning new things, coaching her kids' sports teams, spending time with her Bible study groups, and taking care of the family's pets.
Brittany Forsythe
Virtual Instructor
Hi, I am Brittany Forsythe. I am from Louisville, Kentucky. I am married to my husband Adam and we have 2 daughters Zoey and Norah. I’m a charismatic Pentecostal Christian believer in Jesus Christ. My family is currently going to Church at Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville, Kentucky a Charismatic Pentecostal church.
I have 7 years of teaching experience in the public county school system in Kentucky. I have taught elementary for 5 years and for the past two years, I have been working as an English Second Language teacher helping students to learn English who are from different countries. I am certified with my Masters's Degree in Elementary Education From Spalding University and a Masters in Teacher Leadership from Morehead State University with certification in English Second Language Teacher. I have my certification in Orton Gillingham, which is strategies and learning approaches to help teach literacy to help all students but especially students with learning differences. I am so excited about this opportunity to make a difference in your child’s life, and work for such an amazing company.
Breonna Parker
Instructor, Theater
Breonna Parker discovered her passion for theatre at a young age when her older sister enlisted her to assist with a local high school production in her hometown of Nashville, Arkansas. Captivated by the world of acting, Breonna became an active member of her high school theatre department, setting the stage for her future endeavors. In 2007, Breonna earned her bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with a specialization in theatre from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. During her college years, she made her mark with an unforgettable performance as Snug the Joiner/The Lion in A Midsummer Night's Dream, solidifying her talent and dedication. Following graduation, Breonna's commitment to the arts led her to volunteer for various community productions. She also ventured into the realm of independent movies, contributing her expertise as a production manager. Additionally, she has shared her knowledge and passion by conducting theatre workshops. Outside of her theatrical pursuits, Breonna cherishes quality time with her husband and daughter. They embark on exciting adventures together and are looking forward to what the future holds. The way to her heart is a yummy cup of coffee. Driven by her belief that theatre empowers young individuals to make a positive impact in their communities, Breonna is eagerly looking forward to imparting her love for the performing arts to a new generation of aspiring thespians.