More than academic growth —
building confident, capable self-advocates.
I grew up as the oldest of eight children in New York, an experience that shaped how I think about learning, patience, and meeting people where they are. I earned a degree in Inclusive Education and Spanish from St. John Fisher University and built my career supporting students who learn differently and advocating for those too often overlooked.
Over the past decade, I’ve served as a licensed special education teacher, administrator, and educational consultant, working across diverse schools and communities. That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of both what students need to thrive and where gaps in support continue to exist.
While academic growth is important, my greatest passion is helping students become confident self-advocates. I want every child to understand how they learn, recognize their strengths, communicate their needs, and develop the confidence to take ownership of their education long after our work together ends.
Mighty Minds was founded to bridge the gap between potential and opportunity. My mission is simple: ensure every child has access to the individualized support, encouragement, and tools they need to succeed — in school, and beyond it. Nashville is home, and this work is deeply personal. The students and families we serve are my neighbors, and I believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive.
“I want every student to go from saying ‘I think’ to saying ‘I know’ — with the evidence to back it up.”
Great teachers are everywhere. Truly individualized instruction is harder to find.
Having worked inside schools as both a teacher and an administrator, I have the deepest respect for what educators do every day. The commitment is real. The care is real. But the reality is that even the most talented teacher, working inside a system built around pacing guides and standardized outcomes, has limits on how individualized they can truly be.
The student who needs the most support and the student ready to race ahead are often moving through the same curriculum, at the same pace, in the same way. That is not a failure of teachers — it is a structural constraint of the system. Mighty Minds exists to fill that gap.
“I still work alongside schools every day, and I believe in that partnership deeply. What I wanted to create was something that could go further — instruction that is truly built around one child, without compromise.”
Gaps I noticed working in schools across Nashville.
Beyond content knowledge, I noticed something again and again: students were missing the foundational study skills that make learning stick. Annotating a text. Process of elimination. How to organize their thinking before a test. How to approach a problem they’ve never seen before.
These are not skills that get taught when you’re racing through a pacing guide. But they are the skills that travel with a student into every classroom, every subject, and every stage of their academic life.
At Mighty Minds, we teach the whole learner — the content, the strategies, and the confidence to use both.
I also love to travel and have always believed that learning happens everywhere. My time teaching abroad taught me to meet students exactly where they are — culturally, academically, and personally.
Three things that guide everything
we do at Mighty Minds.
Every child deserves truly individualized instruction.
Not differentiated. Not modified. Truly individualized — built from scratch around who this child is, how they learn, and where they want to go. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to with every single student.
Study skills are just as important as subject knowledge.
Knowing how to annotate, how to eliminate wrong answers, how to organize your thinking — these skills follow students everywhere. We teach them explicitly, because most schools simply don’t have the time.
Confidence is not a bonus. It’s the whole point.
Academic growth means very little if a student still doesn’t believe in themselves. Our goal is the moment a child stops saying “I think” and starts saying “I know” — because they have the understanding and evidence to back it up.
A process built around
your child, not a template.
Free phone consultation
We start with a conversation — about your child, your concerns, your goals, and what hasn’t been working. No forms, no pressure. Just a real talk so we can understand what your family needs before anything else happens.
Assessment with Alicia
Alicia personally meets with every new student for an informal assessment. We look at academic skills, learning style, strengths, gaps, and confidence — building a complete picture of where this student is and where they’re ready to go.
Assessment review & goal setting
We walk you through exactly what we found, what it means, and what we recommend. Together, we write goals that are specific, meaningful, and built around your child — not a generic checklist.
Tutor match
We match your child with the licensed educator who is the best fit for their needs, learning style, and personality. This is not random assignment — it’s a thoughtful match designed to build a strong, lasting relationship.
Ongoing sessions with active communication
Sessions begin, and so does the communication. Families receive detailed session notes after every appointment. We stay in close contact with parents and, when appropriate, collaborate directly with teachers and schools to make sure support is consistent everywhere your child learns.
Continuous adjustment as students grow
Students change. Goals evolve. What a child needs in September is not always what they need in March. We continuously review progress, adjust our approach, and update goals so the support always reflects exactly where your child is — and where they’re headed next.
From “I think”
to “I know.”
Confidence is not something we add at the end. It is built into every session, every interaction, every moment we choose to celebrate progress instead of rushing past it.
I want to hear the shift. The moment a student stops hedging their answer and starts owning it — because they have the understanding, the skills, and the evidence to back it up. That shift is what Mighty Minds is built for.
Academic skills matter deeply. But a child who knows the material and doesn’t believe in themselves will always hold back. A child who has both? There is no ceiling on what they can do.
This is not about false praise. It’s about building the real understanding that makes confidence earned — and lasting.
Let’s find the right fit for your child.
Your first consultation is free. No commitment, no pressure — just a real conversation about your child and what is possible.