British Columbia Certified Teachers
Shauna Chandler
Shauna’s teaching experiences range from canoes to classrooms, and from Japan to Brazil. She has taught carpentry, gardening, math, science, language arts, social studies, and art. Her love of traveling and exploring have led Shauna to live in France, Japan, South Korea and on both coasts of Canada. Through these travels she has become adept at both French and Japanese. She aims to inspire and foster creativity in learning through the integration of the arts across the curriculum. Shauna loves to explore British Columbia’s beautiful forests and beaches, and can often be found riding her bicycle around the city.
Greg Colombo
Greg Colombo came to teaching after working as a wildlife biologist, spending time flying in helicopters to locations where he could chase porcupines, squeeze fish, count birds and cruise timber. His spirit of adventure lives on in pursuits such as mountaineering, cross-country motorcycle touring, and a wide variety of sporting
activities.
His career in education began 10 years ago, working in high schools and community colleges, teaching senior level mathematics, physics, chemistry and, of course, biology. In the early years of teaching, Greg took a side trip into the world of journalism, working as a managing editor of a burgeoning internet company (one that exists to this day!) and has continued on editing books whenever he has the opportunity.
Greg believes that learning can and, when possible, should be fun. He knows that making learning relevant makes it come alive. And that most of us learn best by doing, especially if we’re having fun at the same time.
Erica Hargreave (Ahimsa Kid’s Principal)
Erica has worked in the film and television industry as a set teacher, child coordinator, creative producer, writer, and actor. She is a passionate educator with specialties in Science, Biology, Writing, Technology and the Dramatic Arts. Erica has worked with preschoolers to adults on a wide variety of subjects from interactive storytelling and new media to science and history. Early on in her teaching career, Erica was integral in the development of a new school in which she held the position of Head Teacher. She has also been a Program Director for numerous organizations. Aside from her work, Erica enjoys many outdoor pursuits from scuba diving to skiing.
Jennifer Ryan
Jennifer Ryan is back in Vancouver! This is where she began her teaching career, teaching children in the film and television industry right here in the Vancouver area. She has taught in the traditional school setting in Orange County, California and most recently in the Atlanta, Georgia area. She has taught students from 2nd grade to 12th grade. She holds several degrees, including an AA in Criminology, a BA in Theatre, a BS in Education and an MS in Technology in the Classroom. She has professional affiliations with SAG, UBCP, and BCCT.
Lori Yearwood (Ahimsa Kid’s VP / Studio Teacher)
Lori has been enjoying a journey of education for many years. She first discovered her love of teaching in high school where she taught dance to students as young as 4 ranging all the way to adults at recreational and competitive levels. This is where she developed her “Enthusiasm is Contagious” motto that she still applies to her teaching today. Lori believes that if a teacher is excited about what she is teaching, the students will be excited to learn. She went on to study education at the Institute of Child Study affiliated with OISE/University of Toronto. This is a research based program that equipped her with a thorough understanding of the learning process. Upon graduating, Lori wanted to explore a variety of teaching opportunities. She began by teaching students on location during film and television shoots in Toronto with Laurelwood Productions. Lori then became the Director of Education for Sylvan Learning Centre where she applied her skills and witnessed education from the perspective of the student, parent and fellow teachers. Putting her knowledge to the ultimate test, Lori created a family and had two children of her own! This has proven to be her greatest adventure yet. Throughout the years, Lori has maintained her interest in theatrical arts and has acted as creative consultant for various productions, both live and media related. Her family relocated to Los Angeles and lived there for 5 years. She pushed her own studies forward by obtaining a California Studio Teacher’s license. A return to working with school-age actors has been the perfect fit for Lori. She views her position from many angles. Her husband and her own children have acted in film and television, so she understands the needs of the students she works with and knows the concerns of the parents. Having experience on the production side, she also relates to the intricacies involved in completing a project.
Lori’s latest expedition has brought her and her family back to Canada to reside in Vancouver. She has found a great support system with Ahimsa Media and has been enjoying working with students from Canada as well as the United States. If you see Lori on set you are likely to realize she is meeting her goals of fostering a fun, nurturing environment for both students and fellow crew and creating an atmosphere that is safe for self-expression and growth, while promoting confidence in learners of all abilities.
