TAMPA BAY HEAT HAS DEDICATED INSTRUCTORS TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN AND GROW.
Mishal Ahuja
Bio
Mishal Ahuja is the Chess coach for Board One Chess Academy. Mishal learned Chess at an academy during his elementary school years, and have been in touch with the game ever since. He has 5+ years of experience working with children in Chess, Soccer, and
Flag Football. Mishal hopes to do his best to help the next generation excel in Chess, as well as in any other field of their choosing.
Contact Infomation
2012mishal@gmail.com
Angela Adams
Bio
Angela Adams of Sew Fun Sew Cute! Angela graduated from UCF with a degree in communication. Homeschooling her four children for seven years, she has a passion for teaching this age group and has taught Geography, Kitchen Science, Entrepreneurship, and Sewing Classes.
Contact Infomation
sewfunsewcute@gmail.com
Pedro Arize
Bio
Graduated from the National University of Costa Rica in November 2011 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music with an emphasis on teaching and guitar performance.
Assigned to the Department of Public Education of Costa Rica in position: PETP MUSICA category VT-5 Music. He has been a member of the Ensemble of Guitars of the Conservatory of Fine Arts of Cali Colombia. He has performed as a soloist and performed in groups in different venues in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Florida (USA) and Costa Rica. As well as acting as a representative of Colombian music and Different genres of world music.
Contact Information
guitarizar@gmail.com
Pamela Armel
Bio
Pamela Armel is a gymnastics coach for HEAT. She has coached competitively for 23 years. She was the compulsory team director at different gymnastics training centers for more than 15 years. Pamela coaches at the Heat preschool, beginners and intermediate classes. She also provides private lessons on tumbling, steed ,agility and strength. Pamela homeschools her two kids 11 and 8, and she is a part of a teaching community. Pamela is also a member and volunteer at her church, Fellowship, in Lithia. She loves what she does!
Contact Information
pamela.armel79@gmail.com
Maria Bermudez
Bio
Maria A. Bermudez is a homeschool mom and has been teaching her kids to talk, write and read Spanish since preschool. Born in Venezuela, Spanish is her first language. She has been living in the US since 2003. Studied Journalism in Venezuela, which gave her more in-depth knowledge of grammar and language. Later, she earned a master’s Degree at Florida International University in Miami. During the last eight years, she has taught Spanish (private and group lessons) for elementary, middle, and high school homeschoolers.
Contact Information
mabm24@gmail.com
Stephanie Bridges
Bio
Stephanie Bridges coaches cheer for the Tampa Bay Heat. She is experienced in recreational cheer, cheer-nastics and has worked with girls trying out for competitive cheerleading. She has 13 years of experience and is certified in youth cheer safety. She is passionate about working with children and teaching the importance of teamwork and confidence. Before entering the homeschool world, she spent 20 years in the restaurant world. She was a pastry chef and she enjoys baking with her daughters during our downtime.
Contact Infomation
smparkman80@gmail.com
Ashley Bueno
Bio
Ashley Bueno is an Elementary Instructor for HEAT. She has three elementary-aged kids. Ashley grew up in Wisconsin, but has lived in many states from the East to West coast, and settled here in 2016. In 2018 her family started their homeschooling journey. Prior to becoming a parent, Ashley spent 13 years serving in the military in the United States and abroad. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Washington. She gained teaching and leadership skills in the military and in college through various clubs and internships. Ashley enjoys planning classes, events, and hangouts to enrich our homeschool lives. She strives to teach fun, hands-on learning experiences to encourage lifelong learning! In her spare time she enjoys hiking, exploring with her kids, and working in her garden.
Contact Information
bueno.home3@gmail.com
Nicole Cohn
Bio
Nicole Cohn is an Instructor of Heat and is the Director of our Steam program. Nicole has one daughter, and they have been homeschooling for the last three years. Most of her career has been spent in the Veterinary, Phlebotomy, and Emergency Medicine field. Nicole also has a crafting, refinishing furniture, and apparel business, where she gets to show her creative/artsy side. Nicole loves hosting the Middle School Girls group at the HRC. She is excited to teach for Heat, and she makes our classes fun and educational.
Contact Information
nicolecohn78@gmail.com
Amy Crosby
Bio
Amy is the Piano and General Music instructor for the HEAT. Amy has been teaching private piano lessons for over 30 years. She attended Belmont University in Nashville, TN, to study Piano Pedagogy before transferring to the University of Florida, where she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Elementary Education. In 2013, she began home-schooling her own children. Now her daughters are both out of high school and working through college. Amy’s philosophy about piano lessons is that they should be FUN. She strives to keep the atmosphere relaxed and encouraging. Students are rewarded for their personal achievements and encouraged to develop positive practice habits that will lead to a well-rounded music education.
Contact Information
amycrosby75@hotmail.com
Hal Granholm
Bio
Hal has been with H.E.A.T. since the beginning of 2010 as the drama Director. He has seen the program grow from a handful of students to 120+ students today. The talent he has seen go through the program is amazing. He brings everything he has learned in the local community theater (Village Players, Plant City Entertainment, The Frenzy, and Macbeth & Cheese) and shares them with the students here at Tampa Bay HEAT.
Contact Information
hmekdt@gmail.com
Jen Holmstrom
Bio
Jen is a Drama and Choir Instructor as well as an Archery Coach for HEAT. Jen is a mother of three and has been unschooling for 10+ years. She has a lifelong background in musical theatre and performing arts as a singer, dancer, and actor. Jen has an Advanced Diploma in Theatre & Acting from Austin Peay State University. She has enjoyed participating in many choirs over the years and enjoys all types of music. Jen has experience as a director, choreographer, and film producer for Hollywood music videos, community stage productions, and short films. In other miscellaneous fields, Miss Jen has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, three years experience as an insurance fraud investigator, 7+ years as a preschool/daycare teacher, and is skilled in computers and technology. She has a passion for learning about all subjects, but a special interest in the arts.”I believe performing arts are a gift from God and a powerful form of artistic expression. My hope is to inspire everyone to enjoy and develop their artistic abilities regardless of skill level.”
Contact Information
beachsidemama@gmail.com
Sheila Jones
Bio
Sheila Jones has been teaching art to children for almost a decade in various venues, including a private school where she pioneered the elementary-high school art program for four years. She is a third-generation artist who has lived in the Brandon area for over 30 years. She illustrated her first children’s book, “Here’s the Deal… Moose Aren’t Real” in 2021. She loves to paint and travel to museums around the world with her husband of 20+ years. She has three children, one of which graduated from the HEAT and is in college for Graphic Design.
Contact Information
twinklejonez@gmail.com
Amy Loesch
Bio
Amy Loesch is an English 101, 201, Creative Writing, Public Speaking, World Religions, Old Testament, New Testament, and History Instructor for HEAT. Amy graduated in 2009 with a BA in Religious Education. She continued my MA in Teaching in Secondary English, but had to stop shy of a semester of student teaching due to deployment. Since then, she has been a substitute teacher at Providence Classical Christian Academy in St. Louis, MO. Amy has been homeschooling her four children since the winter of 2016, and has taught numerous classes with the HEAT program. Amy’s philosophy is that no student learns exactly the same as another and that learning should be hard work but FUN!
Contact Information
amynsloesch@gmail.com
Kelly Mamott
Bio
Kelly Mamott is a High School Math Instructor for HEAT. She is a Christian, and former homeschooling mom. Kelly graduated in 1988 from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Mathematics Education. She was certified in Florida for Mathematics Grade 6-12. She taught in a public Middle School until her first child was born in 1993. Her family began their homeschool journey in 2002. Kelly is homeschooling her four children. During these years, she also taught several homeschool classes, including Algebra, Geometry, and Chemistry, as well as a variety of co-op style classes. She has privately tutored students in various high school math classes. Kelly is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach high school level math courses with the Tampa Bay HEAT.
Contact Information
kjmamott@gmail.com
Tanci Mishler
Bio
Tanci Mishler was a children’s librarian who worked in libraries from the age of thirteen. She worked for the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative for eight years. During that time, she taught classes for homeschoolers for six years on a variety of subjects, including history, science, public speaking, technology, and literature. Inspired by the wonderful families she met during her classes, she left the library a few years ago to teach her own children. She continues her work with libraries by providing thematic STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) programs and writing for the Collaborative Summer Learning Program, a national organization that provides summer reading programs and materials. Tanci teaches virtual classes, including Minecraft, Google Suites, Coding, and a travel class.
Contact Information
tancim@hotmail.com
Courtney Mitskewicz
Bio
Courtney Mitskewicz is a High School Science Instructor for HEAT. Courtney is a FL-certified teacher in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics. She has over 16 years of teaching experience teaching Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science, and Earth Science for Grades 9-12 at Bloomingdale High School. Courtney has always been rated as a Highly Effective teacher by the state and has been the recipient of numerous merit awards for her teaching. Courtney made the decision to resign from her full-time teaching job after the birth of her third child to focus on raising her three small children. Her son and two daughters, ages four-twelve, joined HEAT in 2020 after embarking on the homeschooling journey and have enjoyed the many programs, activities, and opportunities the HEAT has to offer. Courtney has a passion for teaching science and is known for making the intimidating sciences easy for anyone to understand and to have some fun along the way. Courtney is an Approved Step Up for Students Provider for Science.
Contact Information
courtney7483@gmail.com
Jaiden Pickard
Bio
Jaiden Pickard graduated from the University of Tampa with a BFA in animation. She is an animator, character designer and comic book artist. Jaiden grew up in a military household and over the years, as a result from moving from state to state, I developed a deep love and appreciation for nature and animals which is often reflected in my art.
Contact Information
Rafael Ramirez
Bio
Dr. Rafael Ramirez, is a music educator and an active performer (Viola/Mandolin), and is the Founder of Music Educational Tools, he has created didactic materials to aid string performers to acquire the necessary skills to develop technique.
Ramirez born in Caracas Venezuela, where he began musical studies through El Sistema (famous Venezuelan music program) in 1992.
After immigrating to the United States, he studied at the New World School for the Arts/University of Florida where he earned his Bachelor degree with honors, following his studies afterwards, Ramirez now holds a Master Degree from Florida International University, an Artist Diploma and a Doctorate in Musical Arts from University of Miami. Rafael Ramirez is also the Artistic Director of Tampa Bach Society and principal violist at Imperial Symphony Orchestra.
Contact Information
rafaelramirezviola@gmail.com
Hannah Stevens
Bio
Hannah is an Elementary Instuctor for HEAT teaching the classes of Elem. Math, Kinder Jr. 2.0, and STEAM. Hannah is a wife, a mom, and a creative thinker. She graduated from NOVA Southeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Hannah taught with the school district for four years, certified in all subjects for the K-6 age group. Hannah is ESOL certified and has taught the ESE cluster in the Elementary school as well. During her time with the district, her classes were blended with students ranging from gifted to varying learning/behavior exceptions or disabilities. Patience and teaching are in my blood, and I love seeing them reach their goals and achieve success!
Contact Information
hstevens068@gmail.com
Jon Touchton
Bio
Jon was a Tampa street cop for over 25 years and has taught martial arts and self-defense for 30. He is a 4th-degree black belt in American Karate and has black belts also in Krav Maga and jujitsu, and that training and the experience that came from a number of real fights while working as a police officer has given him a perhaps rare outlook on reality-based self-defense.
In college, he earned bachelor’s degrees in history and physics and a Master’s in history, and after graduation, he served with the CIA overseas in undercover capacities. Following that, he taught and tutored mathematics while also instructing karate. He then settled down for a career with the Tampa Police Dept. where he often dealt with dangerous criminals and thugs, from those encounters getting shot on duty in a gunfight and had staples in his head twice from two head injuries. Such experiences over the course of 2 ½ decades not only honed his personal skills but shaped his outlook on what other people would face in a perilous world, and those real-life lessons are inherent in the Paladin Karate curriculum.
Paladin Karate is an amalgam of styles, a mix of traditional taekwondo and karate (with forms or kata and board-breaking, e.g.) and modern reality-based self-defense (such as grappling and escapes). Everything in it, even the ‘old’ traditions, applies to real-life use. It is taught in an eclectic, fast-paced, and hopefully fun way and is good for everyone, for all ages, abilities, and for families. It is taught under an umbrella of Christian ethics and philosophy without any mysticism. Students will learn how to handle and escape from threatening or violent encounters of various degrees and how to fight effectively, if necessary while knowing that we are the good guys and don’t start fights but end them.
Contact Information
paladinkarate@gmail.com
Adriana Vazquez
Bio
Adriana Vazquez is a dog momma, currently pregnant with her first baby, and is married to a wonderful husband named Carlos. Adriana is the owner of a swim school, Aquatics 4U, and has been building that for almost 4 years! She can speak, read, and write Spanish fluently and loves teaching it! Adriana absolutely loves working with kids and has so much passion for the homeschool community. She strives to teach in a fun & hands-on setting. She has found that it is so important to teach children according to their learning styles and give them the freedom of creativity. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, swimming, spending time with family, and being in nature. Adriana looks forward to teaching your children and cannot wait to watch them learn & grow!
Contact Information
Shelley Whisenant
Bio
Shelley Whisenant has been married to Dave for 28 years and they have 5 children who have all been homeschooled. She has been teaching since 1993 and specializes in Spanish, English as Second Language, and Math. Shelley has taught in a variety of settings- public schools, community colleges, and homeschool co-ops.