Meet the Team

Founder and CEO Genevieve is a long-time entrepreneur from the Flathead Reservation in beautiful western Montana where she grew up immersed in and connected to nature. Genevieve has over 25 years experience in early childhood education and an extensive background in environmental sustainability. She majored in Environmental Journalism and obtained her CDA credentials as well as her Preschool Teaching Certification.

Genevieve ran two preschool programs in Washington through the Seattle Public School system for 5 years before moving back to Montana. Upon returning home, she founded and ran a preschool from 2002–2008, then served as Executive Director of the non-profit Sustainable Business Council.

In 2011 she combined her passion for teaching children with her expertise in sustainability, opening Origins Education, which now has four brick-and-mortar locations with a fifth on the way.

Genevieve is passionate about the environment, organic food, gardening, photography, mindfulness, and music. When not watching over the magic happening at Origins, she is spending time with her family enjoying all the beauty that western Montana offers.

Ashley is a licensed K–12 Art Educator and Professional Artist originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She received a Bachelor's of Fine Art in Painting and Art Education along with her Montana Class 2 Teaching License from the University of Montana in 2017, and she is currently represented by the Radius Gallery in Missoula, MT. Ashley specializes in content creation, graphic design, web development, and operations management.

Ashley's personal teaching pedagogy is rooted in honoring the whole child by focusing on social-emotional and student-centered learning. She has worked as a content creator and educator for Preschool–12th grade for the past 7+ years, and has worked as an artist for the past 16 years.

Ashley enjoys helping families and educators cultivate a love of learning and establish wellness in their lives. She currently calls New Jersey home and spends her down time painting and enjoying the wonders of Mother Nature.

Gena is a licensed Pre-K–6 teacher and has nearly two decades of education and curriculum experience. She began her teaching journey working with Title 1 students in the Bronx, New York City, where she completed her Masters of Science in Elementary Education.

She taught English to university students and professors in Bali, Indonesia, then returned to the United States and completed a Masters degree in International Education with a focus on bringing global perspectives into US curriculum.

Gena worked as the Director of Global Education for the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area, bringing global education to over 2,000 students in the DC Metro Area. She now calls Colorado home and is excited to share her passion for environmental and global education with Origins Curriculum homeschool families.

Jennifer is a licensed Pre-K through 6th Grade educator with over 10 years of experience working with Title 1 students in Southern New Jersey. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science in Teaching, Learning, & Curriculum from Drexel University, Jennifer realized her passion for curriculum design and educational content creation.

She is a strong believer in the power of curiosity and exploration in creating lasting knowledge and strives to keep engaging, hands-on activities at the forefront of every lesson she develops.

Jennifer lives in New Jersey with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she loves reading, traveling, and watching true-crime documentaries.

Hillary is a curriculum writer and editor for the Homeschool team at Origins Curriculum. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of the Pacific, and is a K–8th grade credentialed teacher with eight years of experience teaching 2nd–6th grades in private and public schools.

Hillary started her education career in San Francisco, where she taught poetry lessons in public elementary and middle schools, ran a literacy intervention program for K–5th graders at a Title 1 elementary school, and taught 2nd–4th grades at a private elementary school.

Dedicated to developing curriculum that considers the whole child, Hillary strives to create relevant and engaging lessons that teach children about themselves and the diversity and wonder of our world. She now lives in her home state of Vermont with her partner, two children, and dog.

Amanda has been working in the early childhood education field for seven years and holds a Montana teaching certification for children Pre-K through 3rd grade. During her time teaching she has found that children learn best through play and constructing their own knowledge, and she feels that children deserve to learn at their own pace with their interests kept in mind.

Amanda has formed a mindful, informed, and holistic approach to teaching by integrating mindfulness practices into the classroom, emphasizing social-emotional learning, facilitating independent problem solving, and providing children with stability, structure, and consistency. She strives to create content that is developmentally appropriate, inclusive, relevant, and engaging.

Erin is a CELTA-Certified ESOL Instructor with over a decade of domestic and international language teaching experience, as well as a seasoned content writer, copywriter, and editor working for clients around the globe.

She began her teaching journey as a counselor and curriculum designer for wilderness and environmental summer camps. Over the years she has taught French and English to students of all ages in the US, France, Malta, and Italy. Before pursuing teaching and writing roles full-time, Erin obtained a masters degree in urban planning. An opportunity to live abroad took her to Europe, where she acquired CELTA certification and founded an English Services business that has been helping people speak and write more impactful English since 2012.

Erin now calls Montana home, along with her husband and young son. She is thrilled to share her blended background supporting parents and educators on their home-education journeys.

Ronald is a multidisciplinary artist and designer with a focus on graphic design, back-end development, copywriting, and customer support. He brings a holistic, creative approach to every project, grounded in the belief that creativity is essential to conscious development and building a more harmonious world.

Jesse has worked with successful brands for the past 19 years. Whether it is global companies like Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Don Julio, Citi Bank, and Nutella, or smaller and local brands, he brings the same creative integrity to build successful brands.

As a big thinker, Jesse keeps his focus and strategy on the long-term goals of a brand, while implementing the subtle details that drive lasting success.

A natural leader and proven innovator, Komodo Jones has a special talent for seeking out and maximizing business opportunities. Today he is a consultant utilizing his experience as the CEO at Media Monkeys Pro, a brand engineering firm. His companies redesign and implement business brand strategies that help individuals, start-ups, filmmakers, entertainers, and companies market their products, services, and brands to the world through social engagement and forward-thinking Internet media.

KOJO Entertainment has helped GRAMMY and Oscar-winning artists like Patrick Williams, Al Schmitt, and Nan Schwartz promote their work and refine their brands. Jones also helped create and oversaw the Hip Hop United Project in Indonesia with corporate partner Bakrie, a project featured in Rolling Stone and Traxx magazines.

Valerie has been engaged in teaching, learning, and dynamic curriculum development for the past two decades. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania in Anthropology, then received a Masters of Arts in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters in Education from Long Island University. Valerie holds a certification in secondary education for students with disabilities.

After seven years as a New York City mathematics and special education teacher, Valerie launched a career as a national math curriculum consultant. Her passion is helping children find confidence and engagement through the magic of math. Valerie lives in Missoula, Montana with her husband and sons, and when not writing math challenges, you will find her skiing Montana's mountains or swimming in its glacial-fed lakes.

Laura is a licensed Early Childhood and Montessori 3–6 Educator. Originally from Oklahoma, she currently resides in Denver, Colorado. Laura has worked with children in a variety of capacities since 2003, including teaching English in South Korea and teaching children's yoga. These days she teaches PreK full time and develops curriculum part time.

Laura's goal in teaching young children is to plant and nurture a life-long love of learning. When a child has learned to recognize their own needs and starts to take responsibility for having those needs met, they have the capacity to build knowledge of the world around them. Emotional intelligence is therefore essential to academic growth as well as becoming a global citizen.

When she's not teaching or writing, Laura enjoys spending time with her family through skiing, hiking, running, camping, and practicing yoga.

Ayinde Abiola has over nine years of experience working with pre-k and elementary school students. He has a master's degree in education and has worked in the public school system as a lead teacher since the beginning of his career.

Ayinde specializes in teaching reading and helping struggling students reach grade level expectations. His goal is to make sure that every student discovers the enjoyment of reading and reaches their full potential. He is an author and creates digital resources to help students learn to read, using structured literacy and decodable texts to individualize learning to each student's learning goals.

When he's not teaching or writing, he enjoys reading and traveling.

Melissa is a Licensed Professional Educator with 7+ years of experience managing classrooms of 30+ students. She is an expert at creating, developing, and implementing curriculum that encourages both academic achievement and social-emotional growth.

Melissa earned her Bachelor's in Elementary Education and her Master's in Early Childhood Education, and has dedicated recent years of her career to researching child development and creating lessons that prioritize classroom relationships and social-emotional wellness. Before joining the Origins family, she was the Curriculum Coordinator for an online early education platform focused on social and emotional development at the pre-k level.

Living in the North Carolina mountains with her husband, her toddler, and her dog, Melissa finds her zen in books, iced coffee, and Mr. Sketch markers.

PhD candidate Juliet has had over 35 years of experience in education. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Child Development and a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology and Counseling with an Early Childhood Emphasis from California State University, Northridge, and is completing a PhD in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University, where she is researching parent involvement in early education.

Juliet directed and managed three different schools for young children over the course of her career, ranging from 40 to 200 children, and has served as a Director Mentor for the California Early Childhood Mentor Program and as a board member of the California Association for the Education of Young Children.

Juliet has five children, all of whom have been homeschooled since kindergarten. She enjoys classical music, researching, hiking, yoga, and long walks with her family.

Penelope has been involved in a variety of education organizations and initiatives with the common thread of contributing to societal transformation. Her drive to contribute to positive change has led her to work with children, student-led organizations, nomadic eco-activism, ecovillage leadership, performance art, and women's initiatives, in Montana, Latin America, and Indonesia.

She earned a degree in Finance and International Relations in Colombia, her country of origin, and a masters in Integrated Arts and Education at the University of Montana. After three years living and working at the Green School in Bali, Penelope has returned to Missoula to design and implement eco-logically minded pedagogy, curricula, and artistic experiences to support the emerging movement towards ecological, regenerative consciousness.

Zach is a thought-leader in education committed to the cultivation of thriving, person-centered learning communities built on compassion and whole-person growth. He supports individuals, families, and organizations in creating supportive structures for people working to make a change in themselves and in their community.

Zach is inspired by the science of how people change and why they don't, and he aims to translate this into improved communication and awareness. His experience in the classroom ranges from the inner-city public school to rural therapeutic boarding school, from non-traditional school to individual homeschool. Zach worked as Director of Education at Conscious Pursuits LLC before founding LEARN inc and Alive at Learn. He earned his B.A. in English/Language Arts Teacher Education from Montana State University and his M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University, and holds a Montana Educator License.