THE TEAMOur teachers

Madeline Herrera grew up in the midwest and has wanted to be an educator since she was 12 years old. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from KU School of Education. Her Masters degree is in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, an area she became passionate about at a young age. Madeline is known for her high level of student engagement and strong classroom culture. She credits these close bonds to dynamic project-based learning units she designs with current students in mind. Collaboration with professionals in areas outside of education is standard practice for her as she creates her units of study. She has taught in both elementary and middle school settings, rural and urban, as a classroom teacher as well as an English Language Acquisition Specialist.

Annie Gnojek has been a music educator and professional flutist in the Lawrence and Kansas City area for 20 years. In that time she has maintained a private flute studio of over 30 students ranging from 5-75 years of age. Her students have won numerous competitions at the local, state and national level over the years and many have gone on to pursue degrees in Music Education and Flute Performance. In addition to her private teaching, Annie has also been an adjunct professor at both Ottawa University and Benedictine College.

Beyond her teaching career, Annie has also been a member of the professional flute, oboe and piano trio Allegresse for the past 16 years. Allegresse has performed countless concerts across the United States and abroad. She is also the co-founder of the Lawrence community flute choir, the Rock Chalk Flutes, which will have their debut performance in April of 2022. Annie holds both a bachelor and masters degree in Flute Performance from the University of Kansas.

Sarauniya (SA-RON-KNEE-AH) Pelts grew up on the Southside of Chicago, IL and has been a resident of Lawrence, Kansas since 2017. During this time, she has worked for Lawrence Public Schools in multiple capacities. Her experience includes working with children with multiple disabilities, children with Autism, gifted students and students with behavioral disabilities. As an educator she has devoted her time assisting all students in and outside of the classroom. She has taken her homeschooling experience and applied her knowledge with the children that she assists. Currently, she is attending Fort Hays State University where she will obtain her Elementary Education degree. In her free time Sarauniya loves spending time with her three children, reading, playing different sports and watching movies.

Jeffery Heppler (he/him/his) was born and raised in Eastern Kansas. He has an intimate knowledge of the bioregion. Graduating with a B.S. in Environmental Studies from KU in 2017, he has been in the food service, farming, finance, and landscaping industries before and since. Jeffery obtained his Permaculture Design Certification in 2016 and is currently learning about farm planning and land management through the Regrarians platform. Jeffery and his wife, Regina, live near Lake Perry on a 10-acre regenerative farm where they are establishing a botanical sanctuary and cultivating the next generation of specialty crops. They love traveling, spending time with their friends (animal and human), and learning new things. Seen here in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.