If you are interested in becoming a Mosaic Freeschool Class Facilitator, please email us with class ideas or proposals and a brief description of your background and/or experience in homeschooling or education.
Meet the Facilitators!
Jayne Besjak |
Jayne is co-founder of Mosaic Freeschool and homeschooling mom to three wonderful children. She and her husband Chuck decided to explore homeschooling as a transition vehicle when their family relocated from the Midwest to New Jersey in 2008. What began as a temporary and pragmatic choice has evolved into a highly rewarding and welcomed lifestyle of personal freedom and enthusiastic, engaged learning.
Prior to diving into the world of alternative education, Jayne worked for 13 years as an Environmental Research Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, and lectured in the School of Continuing Studies at Northwestern University. She holds an M.S. in Geoscience from Oregon State University where she worked with the EPA's Global Climate Research Program and has completed PhD coursework in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland. From 2011 to 2012 Jayne served as the president of a large homeschooling cooperative in New Jersey, where she continues to be actively involved as an instructor. She is passionate about fostering a life-long love of learning in her own children, and is dedicated to the development of learning communities and academic enrichment opportunities for homeschooling families. |
Angela Harris |
Angela is co-founder of Mosaic Freeschool and a homeschooling mom to two never-been-to school kids. Born in Southern California and raised on the East Coast, Angela had a bit of an unconventional education, but did not consider homeschooling seriously until her first child was born. Believing that young children learn best from those that love them most, Angela and her husband John chose homeschooling for their two boys.
Her education background is a B.A. in Speech, with an emphasis in Theater Arts from Northwestern State University. She worked for many years in the financial services industry for firms such as Lehman Brothers and Charles Schwab before becoming a stay-at-home mom in 2000. In the spring of 2013, she relocated with her family to Texas and offered the first Mosaic Texas class in September of the same year. She is dedicated to the advancement of alternative education choices, creating the web-site Raising Autodidacts in 2011 to further explore the idea of fostering the self-taught individual. She has been a regular contributor to the on-line magazine Education Revolution and The Homeschool Post. In June of 2013, she started an instructional writing service called Gathering Ink. Angela was also a staff teacher for Brave Writer, LLC from 2015-2017. |
Susan Kuney |
Susan began homeschooling her two children in early elementary, desiring a more relaxed and intentional rhythm to their days where they could spend more time in nature, read rich and diverse literature, and follow their interests. After sending her children to Mosaic for years, she is thrilled to teach at this cherished institution where her children have found so much joy, connection and engaged learning!
Susan has lived in the New York City metropolitan area for over 20 years. Her career before having children began in Investment Research at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. She completed her Masters at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in Economic Development. Following the birth of her second child she has taken on her most rewarding path yet - becoming basically a full time volunteer! Her positions have married her skills in research and business with her desire to help all people reach their highest potential. Over the years, Susan has written strategic plans, served on a Board of Trustees, tutored at an inner city school, taught social justice and world religions for 10 years, and has generally followed her heart to causes and initiatives that she believes in and where there were opportunities for her to contribute. She enjoys reading, design, traveling with her family and finding any excuse to be outdoors! |
Heather Marvell |
Heather is a mom of three girls, two of whom she educates at home, while the third has significant special needs and is primarily educated at school. Heather’s children all have a love of workbooks, despite sporadic parental efforts to unschool.
Heather is also a lawyer by trade, and currently has a small solo practice focusing on special education disputes, insurance and reinsurance research and drafting, and wills. Before homeschooling, she worked in private practice at a large law firm in New York City, then as a in-house counsel for a reinsurer. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in French Studies from New York University, and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School. She lives with her family in South Orange, where she volunteers on her public library’s Board of Trustees |
Cristen Pantano |
Cristen received her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Vermont in 2005. While she loved the lab environment, her true passion has always been teaching. Cristen began homeschooling her own children in 2011, and that same year began teaching biology to local homeschooling middle-schoolers and loved the experience. Since then, she has developed hands on, child centered, science curriculum for the nonprofit Curiosity Hacked while teaching middle school and high school biology online.
A few years ago her good friend was teaching Big History to a group of local homeschoolers, and since then, Cristen has been waiting for the right time and place to teach this dynamic course. She is excited to have the opportunity to teach this course at Mosaic. Cristen is passionate about science education, science literacy and making sure that each of her students comes out of her classes with a deeper understanding of the world around them, and their connection to that world. When not teaching, Cristen can be found driving her kids around and feeding the family chicks, bunnies, and sheep. |
Jenifer Pascal |
A lifetime New Jersey resident, Jenifer is a mom to four diverse learners who have collectively experienced public, private and home schooling. She began home schooling to meet the individual educational needs of her children and has continued for over a decade because she’s found it fosters a love of learning as well as enhances family relationships.
She experienced small group learning first hand when she transferred from a large, impersonal university to a more intimate school, The College of New Jersey, to complete her degree in Business Administration. She assisted her husband in the opening of his restaurant where she worked until the birth of her second child. During her homeschooling career she has taught a variety of classes from public speaking to math club and has been active in a home school cooperative for the past nine years. Among her many volunteer activities, her favorite is being an Odyssey of the Mind coach. A perfect day involves good food, old friends and the great outdoors. |
Lisa Young |
Lisa is the founder and owner of Artfully Young Art Studio in Warren, NJ and has been specializing in teaching art to adults and children for over ten years. She is a member of the New Jersey Pastel and Watercolor Societies and her art work is held in private collections in North America and Europe. Lisa is a regular exhibitor at Art Fairs and exhibitions across the Tri-State area. |
