Brenda is a dedicated Infant/Toddler Interventionist with a deep commitment to supporting early developmental growth in young children. This is her fourth year at Elizabeth Academy, following over 20 years of experience as a paraprofessional with the Emery County School District. Additionally, Brenda brings valuable experience as a youth program counselor, further enhancing her expertise in supporting and nurturing young learners.
At Elizabeth Academy, Brenda applies her extensive background in early childhood education and special education to create and implement individualized intervention plans tailored to the unique needs of infants and toddlers. Her approach emphasizes providing supportive, engaging, and developmentally appropriate strategies to help children overcome challenges and reach their full potential.
Renowned for her patience, creativity, and thorough understanding of early development, Brenda excels in collaborating with families and other professionals to ensure a cohesive and effective support system. She is dedicated to staying informed about the latest research and best practices in infant and toddler intervention to deliver exceptional care.
Outside of her professional role, Brenda enjoys traveling to new places and spending time on the ranch/farm in Idaho. These experiences enrich her perspective and contribute to her effectiveness in working with children. Her extensive experience and unwavering dedication make her a highly valued advocate for both children and their families.
Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy team, Majo taught Early Childhood for 8 years at Desert Garden Montessori in Phoenix. She has an AMS Early Childhood Montessori credential through Arizona Montessori Teacher Education Program. Majo recently completed the Foundations of Montessori Inclusion in Elementary training through the Hellbruegge Foundation (Europe), Loyola University, and the Oregon Montessori Association. She is currently continuing her education as she works towards an AMS Montessori Inclusion Endorsement through West Side Montessori School Teacher Education Program.
Majo is a Mexico City native and was able to enjoy 15 years of the Arizona sun. She and her husband Mike have three children together and enjoy spending most of their time outdoors. In her free time, you can usually find her skiing, camping, hiking, rafting, and rock climbing. She believes in the philosophy, “it takes a village.”
Dani has a Bachelor’s degree in School Age Child and Adolescent Development and Special Education from San Francisco State University. Prior to joining the Elizabeth Academy / Garfield School staff, Dani worked as a Behavior Therapist providing ABA therapy for Alternative Behavior Strategies at the Elizabeth Academy campus. She has worked as a special educator in both San Francisco and Denmark. She also has experience working with adults with severe traumatic, physical, and developmental disabilities.
Dani enjoys traveling, hiking, backpacking, snowboarding, biking, healthy cooking and playing volleyball.
Layne has her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education with an endorsement in Autism Spectrum Disorder from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. In 2021 she started teaching in a Special Education Resource room position and then taught in a Self-contained ASD classroom. She moved to Utah from Michigan and is now the upper elementary interventionist at Elizabeth Academy!
In her spare time she loves spending time with her dog Alice, hiking with her family, camping, and traveling!
Jennifer earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Canisius College of Buffalo, NY in 1999. She holds a Gifted and Talented Endorsement from The University of Utah and is certified to teach grades K-6. She has been a part of the professional community at Elizabeth Academy since 2013.
Both of Jennifer’s sons, Dennis and Dante attended Elizabeth Academy and are now at Garfield School. Jennifer has always had a profound passion for the education and development of the whole child. She is committed and eager to facilitate the growth of the students at Elizabeth Academy.
From a young girl I have always been passionate about the arts. I received a BFA from SUNY Purchase in 2001 and migrated from the east coast to SLC a year later. I began my teaching career in 2006 at UMOCA, co-teaching the KidsmART and ARTbytes programs. These programs brought students from the SLC school district, as well as children from at-risk situations such as The Road Home, to the museum to look at, talk about, and make art. In 2007 I started teaching at Bad Dog Arts, a non-profit arts organization, and eventually moved into the role of Programs Coordinator. In this position I focused on bringing arts programming into Title I schools as well as offering various art opportunities for all ages in our community. I was fortunate to be hired on as the Secondary Art Teacher at Elizabeth Academy in 2022.
I believe in the importance of art education to foster creativity, self awareness, and perseverance as well as to help develop critical thinking, confidence and creative problem solving skills. I strive to inspire my students to find their individual art language and nurture their creative journey along the way.
Rachel Kucera, SCMT, MT-BC, is a graduate of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, where she completed a Bachelors of Music Education with Music Therapy degree. She completed her music therapy internship at Primary Children’s Hospital and has worked with a variety of populations including students who have Autism, Deaf Blind students, students with physical and cognitive disabilities, as well as infants and toddlers on early development. Rachel’s passion is integrating music therapy into the school setting. She also teaches piano, guitar, and ukulele to members of the community.
Rachel loves to travel anywhere and everywhere. Rachel also enjoys hiking adventures, kayaking, and absolutely loves dogs!
* Private Music Therapy Available
Melou is currently the Director of Music Therapy at EA. Melou is a nationally Board Certified music therapist as well as State Certified Music Therapist. She received her Master of Arts degree at University of the Pacific in Stockton, University. Her Masters emphasis is in Psychology-Family Systems. Melou is a member of the Utah Music Therapy Association and the American Association of Music Therapy.
Melou has been serving her community as a Music Therapist for twenty years. Melou is a Trauma-Informed Music Therapist. In 2013-2014, she was sponsored by the Attorney General’s office and Primary Children’s Hospital, to become trained as a Traumatic Focus Cognitive Behavioral Therapist credentialed TF-CBT. Melou has her NICU-MT, a national certification to practice Music Therapy in the NICU. Melou also is a Neurologic Music Therapist, NMT, having completed additional training in Neurologic Music Therapy. Melou has worked with both adults and children with emotional, mental and physical disabilities. She has contracted her services at hospitals, assisted care facilities and schools as well as with individual patients. Melou currently maintains a private Music Therapy practice.
At Elizabeth Academy, Melou assesses individuals to create treatment plans with specific objectives. She takes data on student response and evaluates and documents progress. Melou works as a member of the school interdisciplinary team.
In addition to her Music Therapy practice, Melou is an American classical singer, composer and pianist. She has performed in world class venues such as Notre-dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and Canterbury Cathedral. She soloed throughout Brazil as well as soloing with the Utah Chamber Artists in London, France, (2008) Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (2014). Melou has been a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since 2014. She recently returned in July 2016, from a 19 day European tour with the choir performing throughout central Europe.
As a singer-songwriter, Melou has produced, written, arranged and performed on four of her own music albums. They are “Creio am Cristo,” “The Gift of Time,” “The Sleep of the Child Jesus” and “ A Celebration of Life.” Melou writes and performs music for community events and arts organizations in Utah. Melou has written an operetta for children called “The Magic Heart” based on a book by the same name.
* Private Music Therapy Available
Lauren received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. She has her certification in Ayres Sensory Integration through USC and is certified Advanced in DIR Floortime. Additionally, she has spent the last 3 years gaining extensive knowledge as a sensory based, feeding therapist. Lauren is joining the Elizabeth Academy team as an occupational therapist with over 5 years of experience. Lauren is passionate about providing neurodiverse, affirming care that supports sensory processing, play, learning, and development. Lauren is thrilled to be able to support children in their educational development, improve parents’ understanding of the child’s sensory preferences and support their regulation from the classroom to daily life.
In her free time, Lauren enjoys skiing, hiking, hanging out with her dogs and DIY home projects with her husband.
*Private Speech Therapy Available
