Home » Six keys to unlock learning potential
The six keys for unlocking learning potential are ways to promote your brain health and optimize thinking skills. These keys are an integrative approach to improving learning capacity and benefit children and adults of all ages.
1.
What we put in our mouth provides the fuel and the building blocks to keep our brains running in top condition. Consuming whole, non-processed, unadulterated food results in improved health and brain function.
2.
Regular physical activity helps improve our overall health and fitness, including our brain fitness, while reducing our risks for many chronic diseases.
3.
As we address our stress, have fun, practice relaxation, and use healthy coping skills, we build our resilience to future stress and avoid the harm to our brains that stress can incur.
4.
Our brains have neuroplasticity, meaning they are moldable and malleable. They respond to use or disuse much like a muscle, either atrophying or growing and strengthening based on how we use it. Mental exercise is vital to repair damage or to overcome learning difficulties, disorders, and disabilities.
5.
The health benefits, including brain benefits, of getting adequate and restful sleep impacts all aspects of our mental, physical, emotional, and social selves.
6.
The air, water, and land that surround us, impact brain development and brain function, including our thinking and learning abilities. Taking control of what we can by limiting exposure to toxins in our homes can make a marked difference in optimizing learning through brain health.
Go deeper with our digital course, Six Keys to Unlocking Learning Potential: How optimizing brain health can improve thinking and learning skills or explore Integrated Health and Wellness Coaching.
Learn more by visiting our Digital Courses page, Integrated Health and Wellness Coaching page or contact us to register.
Born and Raised: Highland, Utah
Current Home: Highland, Utah
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Utah Valley University and teaching certification
Hobbies: Board games, puzzles, and swimming
Family and Pets: Me and my husband
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love being on the team and helping students reach their full potential!
Born and Raised: Lexington, NC
Current Home: Clemmons, NC
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from UNC Charlotte and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Duke University and UNC Pembroke, Teaching certification
Hobbies: Reading, knitting, sewing, baking, and board games
Family and Pets: My husband, Chris, and our son, Hugh, and dogs Winston and Johnny
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Word puzzles and Sudoku
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love watching students grow every session and the new opportunities that each session brings!
Born and Raised: Born in California and raised in the Air Force
Current Home: Fairfield, Ohio
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in Russian from Miami University and Novgorod Language Institute
Hobbies: Playing board games, gardening, canning, crafting, cake decorating, hiking, and language learning. I also volunteer with American Heritage Girls.
Family and Pets: Husband Franklin and our four daughters: Emerald, Jade, Sapphire, and Amethyst, and our dog Scamp
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Blueberries and avocados
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I enjoy lots of different games: word games, logic puzzles, and board games.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love celebrating the ways we’re created different and encouraging growth and development of skills that enhance each client’s gifts and talents.
Born and Raised: Topeka, KS
Current Home: Saint Hedwig, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Newman University and currently completing a Master of Arts in Counseling at Concordia University
Hobbies: My hobbies include hiking, taking day trips, and spending time with my family. I enjoy container gardening, reading, and being outdoors.
Family and Pets: Four daughters and our dog, Maizie
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Dark chocolate
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Challenging myself to continue to learn new things.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love the opportunity to work with people of all ages to facilitate cognitive growth through a holistic approach. I am passionate about getting to the root causes of life’s challenges. Working with clients at Nectar is a blessing as we work together to bring about change through applying neuroscientific techniques that positively impact the neuroplasticity of the brain.
Born and Raised: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Current Home: Lilburn, Georgia
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Western Kentucky University and teaching certification
Hobbies: Bible study and Women’s Groups at church
Family and Pets: Aaron, my college sweetheart and husband of 21 years, our daughter Carolin, son Landon, son Liam, cats Twinkle, Luna, and Max, and Dog Lilli
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocado, cheese, and watermelon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love that I am able to grow cognitively myself while helping others with their cognitive growth.
Dr. Andrea “Andi” McDaniel is a licensed clinical psychologist, with a focus in neuropsychological assessment. She earned an MS in Counseling Psychology from Capella University and an MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. She completed an APA accredited internship at Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems, specializing in neuropsychological, psychological, and forensic assessment, as well as inpatient and outpatient counseling. She then completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with Easterseals that focused on assessment and counseling for active and veteran military members and their families. Dr. McDaniel also completed two one-year postdoctoral residencies through Lucid Clinical Services and BayCare Medical Systems that focused on neuropsychological, forensic, and psychoeducational assessments, and the provision of outpatient counseling services in the community mental health and primary care settings. In addition to the continued provision of clinical counseling for clients in the community mental health and primary care settings, Dr. McDaniel provides neuropsychological and psychological assessments across the lifespan at The Nectar Group. Dr. McDaniel’s passion is to improve access to evidence-based clinical services by ensuring accurate diagnosis, effective treatment planning, and identification of appropriate resources tailored to meet the needs of each unique individual.
Hobbies: I enjoy engaging in various outdoor physical activities, dancing, ice stating, and water sports with her husband and dog.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: A balanced meal of protein and vegetables, especially when the protein in seafood.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I enjoy exercising my brain through the completion of puzzles and solving mysteries.
Born and Raised: Easton, PA
Current Home: Middletown, DE
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelors Degree in Marketing Management from Goldey Beacom College and a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Wilmington University plus teaching certification
Hobbies: I enjoy gardening, reading, baking/cooking, and spending time with my family.
Family and Pets: My son Grayson, our dog Clark, and 2 hermit crabs
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Coffee and fruit
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I have endless opportunities to fulfill my passion of helping students and people.
Born and Raised: Iowa
Current Home: Exline, IA
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Buena Vista University, K-8 Instructional Strategist I: Mild/Moderate and teaching certification K-6 Elementary Classroom, K-8 Reading
Hobbies: I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family and quiet evenings reading or writing.
Family and Pets: My husband, three children, and a miniature dachshund named Minnow!
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: We love broccoli in our house.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading books of all genres.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love working with clients to help them meet their personal and educational goals. I also love the joy the clients have when realizing their progress and achievements!
Born and Raised: Denver, CO
Current Home: Denver, CO
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Arts degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver, Teaching Certification in Secondary Social Studies, and TEFL 120 Hour Certificate
Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, camping and taking my dogs for long walks. I also read, and play video, board, and table top games with friends.
Family and Pets: I have two chihuahua mixes and a parrot.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love artichokes.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading, sudoku, and solving riddles and puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I enjoy helping people grow to their maximum potential!
Born and Raised: Venice, FL
Current Home: Venice, FL
College/Degrees/Certifications: Education Specialist in School Psychology from the University of Central Florida, teaching certification, and educator certification in school psychology.
Hobbies: Cooking, baking, and traveling
Family and Pets: My husband, Bernard, daughter, Ryleigh, and a cat named Mowgli.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocado Toast
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Word puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: My favorite thing about Nectar is forming relationships with clients, watching them progress every session, and seeing them do things with ease that were once challenging. I am grateful to be part of their story in reaching their full potential.
Born and Raised: Miami and Orlando, FL
Current Home: Waynesville, NC
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in Art History from University of West Florida, Master’s of Education in Art Education from University of Central Florida, and Professional Teaching Certification for Art K-12 and English 6-12.
Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, drawing and painting, traveling, working out, and spending time with my family and pets.
Family and Pets: Husband of 28 years, Greg, daughter Megan, son Tyler, and 3 dogs: Walter (English Lab), Ruby (Australian Shepherd mix), and Mrs. K (pug)
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I like to do escape rooms with my daughter and play word games like Bananagrams
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love being able to work one-on-one with students and see them reach their full potential. I love seeing them gain pride in their accomplishment after working together.
Born and Raised: Tahlequah, OK
Current Home: Ector, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies EC-6 from Texas A&M – Commerce and Teacher Certification for EC-6 and ELL
Hobbies: I love painting, reading, gaming, and more! I am always up for finding a new hobby.
Family and Pets: Four cats: Minxie, Katniss, Callie, and Gracie.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Berrier and pistachios
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: It’s a tie between reading and puzzles.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: My favorite thing is that at Nectar we work to address the underlying issues that cause challenges for people. By addressing these underlying issues, we can help people build a love of learning and change their lives for the better.
Born and Raised: Ohio
Current Home: Wooster, OH
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education from Youngstown State University with teacher licensure in Ohio, North Carolina, and Maryland.
Hobbies: My family likes to camp together in our RV. I love baking everything from cakes and cookies to our daily bread. I enjoy creating amazing cakes for my children’s
birthday parties. One of my favorite authors is J.R.R. Tolkien and I love discussing his many works as well as Peter Jackson’s movies that are based on his books.
Family and Pets: I have a husband, three kids, and three fish.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Fish
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Word puzzles and puns
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: My favorite thing about working at Nectar is that we identify what each client needs and then I get to work with each client individually on their specific plan for success. Every day I have the joy of seeing my clients improve, grow in confidence, and succeed! seeing clients become more confident as they persevere and conquer challenges.
Born and Raised: Pryor, OK
Current Home: Canon City, CO
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Science in Business from Pensacola Christian College, Master’s of Education in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University and Teaching Certification Elementary K-8 with endorsement in Structured English Immersion PreK-12
Hobbies: Hiking, Volunteering at a literacy center and AWANA, Reading, Baking, Thrifting
Family and Pets: My husband, Daryl Swantz
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love fresh fruit.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love seeing clients become more confident as they persevere and conquer challenges.
Standard School dates: (We offer Rolling Admissions and Year-Round Options so you can start whenever needed a long as we have openings.)
Fall 2024: August 12-December 13 with no classes on 09/02, 10/14-10/18, 11/25-11/29
Spring 2025: January 7-May 9 with no classes on 01/20, 02/17, 03/17-03/21, 04/18
Additional holidays will follow student’s home school district or other school if you’d like to align schedules with other siblings.
*These dates are general recommendations but may be adjusted to accommodate individual student needs.
Born: Charleston, SC
Raised: Columbia, SC
Current Home: Lexington, SC
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in English, University of South Carolina
Hobbies: Reading, Walking
Family and Pets: Husband – Andy; 4 Children – David, Emily, Anna, and Josh; pet kitty – Boe
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love veggies – especially avocado in just about anything.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I love getting outdoors and walking or reading a good book.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working one-on-one and building rapport with each client and celebrating with them as they reach and/or surpass a goal.
Born and Raised: I was born in Layton, Utah and raised in Clovis, California.
Current Home: Eagle Mountain, Utah
College/Degrees/Certifications: BA in Elementary Education and MEd in Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy Studies
Hobbies: I enjoy baking, music, and being in nature (hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking, etc.)
Family and Pets: My husband Ryan, our baby girl Abigail, and our Bernedoodle Moose
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love salmon, avocado, and whatever fruit is in season.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Learning to play the piano, NYT games (wordle, connections, crossword, etc.), reading, and strategy board games.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I never knew that changing lives could be this much fun! The time flies by in such a perfect combination of satisfying hard work and enjoyment.
Born and Raised: Born in Sterling, IL and raised in Chattanooga, TN
Current Home: Chickamauga, GA
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in English: Writing
Hobbies: I love spending time with my family, playing anything competitive, watching my daughter barrel race, and watching my son play football and basketball.
Family and Pets: I’m married with 2 kids (18 and 16), 1 dog, and 4 horses
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Loaded salads, blackberries, almonds, and dark chocolate
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading, listening to music, and word puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The opportunity to connect with amazing clients and be a part of supporting them to accomplish their goals!
Born and Raised: Haddon Heights, NJ
Current Home: Newtown Square, PA
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in English, Ursinus College; Master of Arts of Teaching Program in Elementary Education, The College of New Jersey, and Teaching Certification
Hobbies: Reading, hiking, and planning trips to National Parks
Family and Pets: Spouse & two children
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocados, blueberries & strawberries (with yogurt!)
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Sudoko, word puzzles and logic games. I also love to play BANANAGRAMS or scrabble with my kids!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working at Nectar has been a great opportunity to learn more about our brains-I love to learn new things! I have really enjoyed being able to meet and coach a wide variety of ages. I love witnessing goals being met and hard work paying off each day for my clients!
Born and Raised: Delaware
Current Home: Newark, DE
College/Degrees/Certifications: Wilmington University: Bachelor’s in Primary Education K-6, Wilmington University: Master’s in Reading , LaVerne University: +45 with concentration in Special Education
Hobbies: I love reading, gardening, taking Skillshare classes, playing board games, practicing and teaching yoga, graphic design projects, painting, and writing
Family and Pets: I live with my two pet ferrets Burt & Bob
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Pumpkin seeds
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Daily meditation
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: It is so uplifting and inspiring to witness the amazing potential of our brains daily!
Born and Raised: Born in St. Petersburg, FL, raised in Fort Myers, FL
Current Home: Fort Myers, FL
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Science in Physical Education and Master’s of Education in Educational Leadership, Teaching Certification
Hobbies: Going for a run, playing pickleball and disc golf with my husband, going to the pool and beach with my family, spending time with family
Family and Pets: Husband, Jay, and daughter, Ellie
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocado toast for breakfast, almonds for a snack, salmon anytime, and anything dark chocolate for dessert!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Exercising outdoors, trying new skills and activities with my daughter, spending time with friends, playing card and boardgames
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The opportunity to get to know and encourage students’ strengths as well as help students develop their specific skills that are needing further refinement… all while engaging them in a fast-paced and fun learning environment!
Born and Raised: I was born in Maryland and moved to Georgia when I was 1 year old.
Current Home: Cleveland, GA
College/Degrees/Certifications: I received my Master’s of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Piedmont University.
Hobbies: Gardening, yoga, and watching movies with my family
Family and Pets: My husband’s name is Mike. I have 2 adult stepchildren, Ashley and Dustin. Mike and I have 8 fur babies (2 dogs and 6 cats)!
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Fish
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Online puzzles and engaging in conversation.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I like meeting new clients and knowing I am helping them achieve their personal goals.
Born and Raised: Union City, TN
Current Home: Clarksville, TN
College/Degrees/Certifications: Austin Peay State University, Bachelor of Science in Education and Certified Teacher for K-6
Hobbies: Family time going on walks, visiting parks, and doing puzzles. Knitting when I get time to myself.
Family and Pets: Husband, 3 boys (6 years, 2 years, and 5 months), 2 dogs: Oscar and Layla, and 1 cat: Romy
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Eggs cooked in any form and dark chocolate
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Jigsaw puzzles and word games
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Picking one seems impossible! I love how quickly clients show growth and seeing their confidence soar when they crush their personal records.
Born and Raised: Coweta, Oklahoma
Current Home: Arrow, Oklahoma
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Science in Mathematics from Northeastern State University
Hobbies: Hanging out with my family, playing card games and old-school Nintendo games, and refinishing furniture.
Family and Pets: My husband and I met early in college. We have been married 19 years and have 4 kids, and 2 husky/malamutes.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Strawberries and dark chocolate.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I love logic puzzles, crypto families, and grading my kids’ schoolwork without a key.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love working with people to make their brain’s stronger!
Born and Raised: Arlington, TX and Cleghorn, IA
Current Home: Grand Prairie, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management, and TESOL Certification
Hobbies: I love hiking and exploring with my boys, doing yoga, and snuggling up with a good book. Historical fiction is my fav.
Family and Pets: I have three boys, Vann, Chayce, and Ash.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love all fruits and veggies.
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I enjoy playing card games and board games with my kids. We’re all pretty competitive, so it’s always a fun time!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love being a part of something that is truly changing people’s lives in the most amazing way.
Born and Raised: I was born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan – a beach town along Lake Michigan’s eastern shoreline
Current Home: Clarksville, Tennessee
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Child Development/Elementary Education from Michigan State University; TN Professional Teaching License: Elementary (K-6), Middle (4-8), Early Childhood Education
Hobbies: I love spending time with my family, going for walks, strength training, reading, and organizing.
Family and Pets: My husband, Conner, and I have two daughters together, Avery and Camden. We also have a dog named Ellie.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Berries, nuts, salmon, and dark chocolate!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I love word games, crossword puzzles, logic puzzles, reading, and learning new skills!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Helping clients overcome challenges to meet their individual learning goals is an incredibly rewarding and impactful experience. Each session presents a new opportunity to help make a positive and beneficial impact on the lives of the clients and their families.
Born and Raised: Menahga, Minnesota
Current Home: Menahga, Minnesota
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. Master’s in Literacy (expected in May 2024)
Hobbies: Yoga, drawing, reading, and spending time with loved ones.
Family and Pets: My partner Elliot and our 25 houseplants
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Carrots and ranch!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles, sudoku, and reading.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The support administration and my coworkers and helping clients get excited about their growth!
Born and Raised: I was born and raised in the central valley of California. I grew up in a small farm town and enjoyed the beauty of farming all around me.
Current Home: North Carolina
College/Degrees/Certifications: Vanguard University: Bachelor’s of Arts in Liberal Studies, Union University: Master of Education degree.
Hobbies: I love to run, bike, and I am currently perfecting my sourdough recipe.
Family and Pets: My wonderful husband and a large extended family back in California.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Blueberries
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Crossword Puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love to watch clients grow every single session and how every session is different.
Born and Raised: Whitehall, Ohio
Current Home: Columbus, Ohio
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in Children’s Ministry with a minor in Child Development Administration, TESOL Certified
Hobbies: Coloring, Reading, Organizing, spending time with family and pets!
Family and Pets: My husband, Jason and our two family dogs.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love a good cobb salad with avocados!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Brain Teasers! The obvious answers always give me a good laugh!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I absolutely love connecting with clients and watching them grow! It brings such joy to my heart when they reach and surpass milestones that they have been striving towards! The lifelong impact is truly wonderful!
Born and Raised: El Paso, TX
Current Home: El Paso, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s in Multidisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at El Paso and Teacher’s Certification in Special Education and General Education
Hobbies: Golfing, Fishing, Spending time with family
Family and Pets: Wife-Pamela, 3-year-old Son-Christian, 10-month-old son-Cameron
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon, Avocado, and Eggs
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Staying in school and continuing my education.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working with students and helping them build that confidence to become independent lifelong learners by using critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Born and Raised: Wahpeton, ND
Current Home: Raleigh, NC
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s Degree Double Major (Criminal Justice/Psychology), currently in process of Master’s in Counseling
Hobbies: Time with wife and son, martial arts, movies, music, sports of all kinds, drawing, video games
Family and Pets: Wife and son.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Trivia, puzzles, and riddles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working with people and assisting in their successes. I enjoy getting to cheer them on!
Born and Raised: Born in Walla Walla, WA and raised in Plano, TX
Current Home: Dallas, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Music, Florida State University; Master of Music, University of North Texas, Currently working on a Master in Actuarial Science at University of Texas at Dallas, Teaching Certification
Hobbies: Music, Gardening
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Fruit
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles, including jigsaw, sudoku, crosswords, Wordle, and Quordle
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Watching clients grow and develop.
Born and Raised: Davidson, North Carolina
Current Home: Wichita, Kansas
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Arts in History, Magna Cum Laude, from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio; Bachelor of Arts in Education, Magna Cum Laude, from Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas
Hobbies: Cycling, swimming, hiking, kayaking, reading, yoga
Family and Pets: Two sons: Elyas (18) and Ali (20); two dogs: Melvin (medium) and Boomer (large); one cat: Crabby Patty (aka Kitty)
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Tuna
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading books, exploring, solving math problems
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: One of the greatest things about working as an academic coach for the Nectar Group is having really great, one-on-one conversations about math with my students. Because I personally enjoy finding the patterns in mathematical relationships and using them to solve problems successfully, I find it doubly satisfying to elicit the same joy from others–when a student has an “aha moment” as a result of a productive math conversation–that makes for the best day ever!
Born and Raised: I was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Peachtree City, Georgia and Dripping Springs, Texas.
Current Home: Lubbock, Texas
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Tech University
Hobbies: Walking my dog, cooking, playing boardgames, skincare and cosmetics!
Family and Pets: My wonderful husband Alex and I have a 1 year old yellow lab mix named Daisy.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Strawberries, Kiwis, and Dark Chocolate
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Crossword puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The amazing culture, team members, and mission that supports professional and developmental growth!
Born and Raised: Born in Longmont, CO and Raised in Berthoud, CO
Current Home: Orlando, FL
College/Degrees/Certifications: BA in Journalism and Technical Communications from Colorado State University, MA in Elementary Education from The University of Denver, and Teacher Certification
Hobbies: Going to the gym, reading, jigsaw puzzles, brunch, live music, and trivia
Family and Pets: Two daughters (8 and 11), two chihuahuas, and a leopard gecko
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Sushi, poke bowls, acai bowls, and kale salads
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Lots of reading, all kinds of puzzles, and board games
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working one-on-one with clients to help them reach their goals and fullest potential!
Born and Raised: Born in Oklahoma City, OK and Raised in Dallas, TX
Current Home: Dallas, Texas
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor’s of Science in Physics and Master’s of Science in Physics
Hobbies: Lifting weights, playing video games, and making YouTube videos
Family and Pets: I have awesome friends!
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I like to learn things in my spare time by watching videos, reading textbooks, and engaging with those ideas.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I really like how Nectar views education from the ground up. To us, it isn’t about just getting a good grade in a class; it’s about helping people improve their lives and become better learners even outside of the classroom.
Continued:
An example of accommodations would be to give a student who struggles to complete a timed test extra time on a test. This allows them to finish the test which can help them demonstrate what they know more successfully but it doesn’t treat the issue of why they need more time to begin with. Compensatory measures never resolve the cause and utilizing only this approach results in the need for never-ending work arounds for learning weaknesses.
The alternative that contemporary science has given us is to identify and overcome the cause of learning struggles. By pinpointing and targeting the root causes, there is hope for a real solution to allow individuals to reach their full learning potential!
Many of our clients come to us and have had IEPs, 504 plans, years of tutoring, counseling, vision therapy, neurofeedback, and other interventions and yet the struggle has still continued year-after-year. Adults graduate high school and move on to higher level learning and or the workplace and find that the same difficulties they experienced in school as children have followed them forward. Others have had a brain injury or medical condition that has compromised their learning and thinking skills. It is not that the interventions that have been tried are not valid or helpful but if they are not targeting the cause of the struggle then they will be limited in their effectiveness.
Continued:
An example of accommodations would be to give a student who struggles to complete a timed test extra time on a test. This allows them to finish the test which can help them demonstrate what they know more successfully but it doesn’t treat the issue of why they need more time to begin with. Compensatory measures never resolve the cause and utilizing only this approach results in the need for never-ending work arounds for learning weaknesses.
The alternative that contemporary science has given us is to identify and overcome the cause of learning struggles. By pinpointing and targeting the root causes, there is hope for a real solution to allow individuals to reach their full learning potential!
Many of our clients come to us and have had IEPs, 504 plans, years of tutoring, counseling, vision therapy, neurofeedback, and other interventions and yet the struggle has still continued year-after-year. Adults graduate high school and move on to higher level learning and or the workplace and find that the same difficulties they experienced in school as children have followed them forward. Others have had a brain injury or medical condition that has compromised their learning and thinking skills. It is not that the interventions that have been tried are not valid or helpful but if they are not targeting the cause of the struggle then they will be limited in their effectiveness.
Symptoms: Homework takes significantly longer than intended or expected. For example, the teacher has assigned 20 minutes of homework and your child spend 2 hours to complete it and only finishes after much prompting and prodding from parents or parents getting involved and muscling the assignment out to get it completed.
What causes it? Most of the time the root cause is slow processing speed. This is the rate that we can complete academic and rote tasks. Our executive processing speed also impacts our ability to focus and ignore distractions which when low, slows us down and makes it difficult to stay on task. Additionally, a student with weak study skills and executive function skills may struggle with time management, organization, and prioritization causing further difficulty managing homework successfully.
Testing needed? A comprehensive cognitive assessment will allow the root issue to be pinpointed so that intervention can be strategically targeted.
How we treat it: If slow processing speed is the root issue, then the treatment is cognitive training. This treatment in a sense upgrades your brain to high-speed internet and allows for optimal speed and performance. Homework time can be significantly decreased and focused increases with this type of intervention. Study skills and executive function coaching are also helpful after processing speed is improved or in the case where processing speed is not the culprit. We also offer Homework Help services where a student can have a tutor work with them to complete homework in a timely and efficient manner.
Born and Raised: Leander, Texas
Current Home: Lone Tree, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: Southwestern University, B.A. in Composite Social Studies – quadruple major in History, Economics, Geography, and Political Science, Teaching Certification – Secondary, Master Level Certified Brain Trainer, University of Arizona Dr. Andrew Weil Center for Integrated Wellness Lifestyle Series Certificate, Certificate in Pediatric Neurology – ADHD and Autism, and is a Certified Integrative Health and Wellness Coach from the University of Arizona program of Integrative Medicine.
Hobbies: Cooking, food sourcing, reading, mind/body medicine, and puzzles
Family and Pets: My two cats named Paddington Bear and Sterling Fox
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: All vegetables but especially broccoli
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Board games – Taboo is my favorite and jigsaw puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The hope that we are able to give our clients! Hope to overcome limitations that have held them back in the past. Hope for a better future where they can achieve their full potential!
Born and Raised: Garner, North Carolina
Current Home: Burnsville, North Carolina.
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.S. in Education with a minor in Spanish, and a M.A. in Executive Leadership
Hobbies: Cooking, reading, writing, running, traveling, singing, creating, and playing with children
Family and Pets: Homeschool mom of three children (ages 10, 8, and 3), one chihuahua, and one rabbit
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Almonds
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Solving math problems and doing research
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Seeing the progress from my students over a period of time and getting my children involved with Nectar
Born and Raised: Punta Gorda, FL
Current Home: Orlando, FL
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Associate in Science in Occupational Therapy Assistant
Hobbies: Reading, Crochet, Cooking, Playing Games, Walking with Friends
Family and Pets: I live with my husband, Jason, our 3 kids, 2 guinea pigs, and a fish
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love smoothies and salads! I also love trying new fruits and vegetables all the time, especially exotic ones!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Lateral Thinking Puzzles, Word Puzzles, Word Games, and Riddles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I absolutely love having so much fun with the clients, especially when they are excited for new challenges! I love the moments when they realize how much they have improved and how that growth has helped them in other areas of their life!
Born and Raised: I was born and raised in the beautiful Western North Carolina mountains.
Current Home: I currently still live in my hometown of Burnsville, North Carolina.
College/Degrees/Certifications: I attended Mars Hill University and obtained a B.S. in Mathematics with an honors minor.
Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, painting, karate, and music.
Family and Pets: I have an older brother and 3 sisters, lots of foster siblings, and my wonderful boyfriend, Shane. I also have two dogs—Maple and Dundee—and a cat named Zorro.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Pomegranates, blueberries, and hummus
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I love doing jigsaw puzzles, logic and reasoning games, and reading whodunnits.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working at Nectar gives me the opportunity to have a positive and beneficial impact on the lives of others, enjoy a supportive network of coworkers, and continually learn more about our brains and how they work.
Born and Raised: I am a Kansas farm girl who recently achieved her dream to live in the mountains of Colorado. I have also lived in Germany, Austria, and Italy, along with a few states along the East Coast, but nothing compares to Kansas sunsets and to the Rocky Mountains.
Current Home: South Fork, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, a Master’s degree in Adult Education, a Master’s degree in Curriculum & Instruction, a Doctorate of Education (EdD) in Leadership, and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction, Teacher Education.
Hobbies: I love all things outdoors–hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and yoga. I am also an avid reader!
Family and Pets: I have a wonderful husband (Martin) of 34 years and counting, three amazing grown children (Austin, Cameron, and Savana), one granddaughter (Henlie), one grandson on the way (Hudson), and two Brittany Spaniels (Kimber and Khalee) who love to run with me.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: I love all kinds of fruit—the more colorful, the better!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Read, read, and read some more
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Every day offers a wonderful variety of learning experiences with our clients!
Born and Raised: I was born in Arizona. My family moved around the country a lot when I was growing up!
Current Home: Kingman, AZ
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Music from Thomas Edison State University, NJ, Master of Secondary Education from Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ, Teaching Certification in AK and AZ, and currently completing a Doctorate of Music Education from Liberty University, VA
Hobbies: Singing and playing instruments, bowling, church, playing games, spending time with my family, travel, and watching movies
Family and Pets: My husband Troy, and five kids: James, Elena, Aurora, Magnus, and Elicia.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Sushi, halibut, salmon, avocado, and cashews
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles, meditation, reading, singing and playing instruments.
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Having the ability to make a difference in client’s lives everyday and in every session!
Born and Raised: Colorado and New Mexico
Current Home: Denver, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from New Mexico State University, Certified Teacher in New Mexico K-12 and in Colorado K-8
Hobbies: Spending time with friends, family, and my dog, game nights, watching live sports – football is my favorite (go Broncos!), traveling, movies, bowling, mini-golf, ax-throwing, and any social/group activity
Family and Pets: My dog – a Chiweenie named Maggie, parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my nephew
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocados and oats
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: I love solving clues, so logic puzzle games/activities are my go-to
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love the fact that I get the opportunity to work and create relationships with amazing people every day, helping them to improve on their current skill set, overcome obstacles, increase their self-confidence, and accomplish goals – to create the life they want to live and reach their full potential.
Born and Raised: Miami, FL
Current Home: Asheville, NC
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, currently at the University of Florida completing a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology
Hobbies: Roller skating and roller derby, anything outdoors, music, painting, reading, anime
Family and Pets: Wonderful Latinx family, great friends, a partner, and a tri-pawed kitty named Seuss
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: All the fruits, perhaps with a slight bias towards mango with some salt and lemon on it!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Studying for school and learning new things on guitar
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Having fun with clients while also pushing them to grow!
Born and Raised: Mesa, AZ
Current Home: Show Low, AZ
College/Degrees/Certifications: Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in speech and language technologies and a speech and language pathology assistant certificate from Northern Arizona University
Hobbies: Where do I begin? I love reading. I do enjoy spending time in the kitchen by canning, baking, and testing out a new recipe. I also love camping and making smores by the fire.
Family and Pets: My husband, Mark, and our 4 kids, along with a dog and cat
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Breakfast smoothies or a big salad with a variety of toppings
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Learning something new and puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Seeing clients set new personal records, especially if it’s been a level they have struggled on
Born and Raised: Desloge, MO
Current Home: Traveling Full Time in RV
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Education from Central Methodist University, M.Ed. from Walden University
Hobbies: Reading, quilting, scuba diving and riding my Harley
Family and Pets: Married to Ronnie with 3 kids: Victoria, Lane and Reid, 1 son-in-law: Taylor, and 1 dog: Lupa
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Smoothies with fruits and veggies
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Card games with my family
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I love being a part of a client’s “light bulb moment”…that moment when everything makes sense and he/she accomplishes greatness.
This depends on each individual or family’s goals and needs. However, we offer coaching packages that start at 6 sessions. Additional sessions and larger packages are available. Some clients want to work on a single area such as nutrition, and others desire to work on multiple areas. Some need a complete overhaul, and some just need a few suggestions and some accountability fine tuning an area.
Our coaches receive training and are certified from schools that have been approved by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching. They have completed:
We offer coaching for the following:
Born and Raised: Swindon (It’s ok if you don’t know where it is), England
Current Home: Dallas, TX
College/Degrees/Certifications: BA (Hons) Education and Youth Studies
Hobbies: Gardening, Exploring, Cooking, Swimming
Family and Pets: Two dogs, Alfred and Daphne and 2 Lizards, Athena and Agamemnon
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Smoked Salmon all the way!
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Geo-Guessing Games, Word Puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Every day is a new challenge and a new experience!
“Our daughter reads in the car on the way to school. She sneaks books under her covers to read after bedtime. Yesterday she begged me to buy her a dozen books from Amazon. When she started Nectar, she didn’t even have foundational reading skills. Your team provided such support and expertise in a fun and loving manner. You turned a struggling student into a book worm. EVERY penny we spent with Nectar was a bargain. You have positively impacted the rest of her education and life. Thank you for all you do!”
-Mom of a 6-year-old girl
“As a teacher, I meet with each of my sophomores each year to discuss with them their academic goals and how specifically I can assist them through their 10th grade year. This last year alone I taught 9 sophomores and 1 junior that had either completed or were in process or completing cognitive training from The Nectar Group. Countless times I heard these students say that their training helped them academically, one student saying that without Nectar she would not have been able to stay at Valor, it would have simply been too hard. I know that these students are a drop in the bucket compared to all of the other students in the building that have been positively changed because of this training and the relationship that Valor has with The Nectar Group. The students that are able to use an off period to complete their coaching, all while staying on campus meaning that those kids still stay in sports and arts productions, are able to complete their therapy during the school day. This partnership is so valuable for students and their families.”
-Beth Hutchison, Teacher, Valor Christian High School
“Anastasis Academy has greatly appreciated and benefited from our partnership with The Nectar Group. The Nectar school wide cognitive screening has been invaluable in expanding our insight into each learner and helps us see them in more nuanced ways. More than that, the team at Nectar provides phenomenal training that is immediately applicable and actionable in the classroom for the learning needs revealed by the screening. Should a learner take advantage of the therapy options, teachers are kept up-to-date and supported by the team. We’ve been thrilled to have the opportunity to partner in a way that broadens our support of learners and teachers.”
-Kelly Tenkley, Executive Director, Anastasis Academy
Dr. Alison Kennedy is a licensed psychologist in Colorado with specialization in neuropsychological assessment. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and went on to complete her MA in Psychology at Pepperdine University. She then completed her MS and PsyD in Forensic Psychology at Alliant International University. She completed an APA accredited internship at Porterville Developmental Center, specializing in neurodevelopmental and psychological assessment. She then completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at the University of the Rockies. While there, she also received training and certification in neurofeedback, supervised clinical psychology interns, and assisted in teaching neuropsychology and psychological assessment courses at the graduate level. Dr. Kennedy worked at the Colorado Mental Health Institute (CMHI) for five years, performing forensic and neuropsychological evaluations, and supervising clinical psychology interns. Dr. Kennedy assisted in developing and directing the neurodevelopmental assessment program at the Shandy Clinic for the past several years. She has had the pleasure of training and overseeing multiple multi-disciplinary evaluation teams, while continuing to work as an evaluator herself. Dr. Kennedy provides evidence-based, individualized neuropsychological and pediatric neuropsychological assessments. In her free time, Dr. Kennedy can be found spending time with her husband and two children.
Dr. Rachel Tenenbaum is a licensed clinical psychologist in Colorado and PSYPACT states. She received her B.S. from Florida State University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Florida International University with a specialization in child and adolescent clinical science. Dr. Tenenbaum completed an American Psychological Association-certified internship at Children’s Hospital Colorado, specializing in health psychology and post-doctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital. She has also worked on a variety of psychological, neuropsychological, and neurodevelopmental assessment teams at academic medical centers, university clinics, and primary care centers. Dr. Tenenbaum enjoys providing clinical services to a diverse range of children, adolescents, and adults with a focus on individuals with impairing chronic medical conditions. Dr. Tenenbaum maintains active membership in the Society of Pediatric Psychology and continues to participate in research endeavors through partnerships at academic medical centers. Her passion is to increase access to evidence-based clinical services by providing high-quality assessment and accurate diagnosis as a bridge to treatment. She enjoys hiking throughout Colorado with her husband and dog.
One-to-one with an expert college prep coach
Completely customized to individual student needs
If your student doesn’t need all 3 modules, program may be set up a la carte to cover individual 8-session modules of your choice
Born and Raised: Deming, New Mexico
Current Home: Las Cruces, New Mexico
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.S. of Secondary Education with an emphasis in Math and a M.A. of Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Learning Technologies from New Mexico State University
Hobbies: Spending time with my family, hiking, eating Mexican food, trying new restaurants, baking, and exercising
Family and Pets: I’m married and have three boys – ages 12, 10, 2, and we have a dog
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Berries, melon, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, salmon, and tuna
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Playing board games with my family, teaching mathematics (trigonometry is my favorite and always challenging for my brain), reading books, and studying Japanese
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Meeting and working with clients and the uniqueness that each client brings to every Nectar session. I thoroughly enjoy seeing the progress that clients make from session to session.
Born and Raised: Tucson, Arizona and Virginia Beach, Virginia
Current Home: Florence, Arizona
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Education from Virginia Wesleyan College, and M.A. in Reading from Grand Canyon University
Hobbies: Hiking, swimming, dancing, and being involved with my congregation
Family and Pets: I’m married, have a son and daughter, and we have a cat, dog, and gecko lizard
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Homemade oatmeal with almond butter and organic honey
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Practicing Spanish on Duolingo
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Getting to help people improve in areas that the education system may have dismissed.
Born and Raised: Shreveport, Louisiana and Plano, Texas
Current Home: Plano, Texas
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.B.A. in Business Management from University of Texas at Arlington
Hobbies: Traveling, kayaking, hiking, and taking my dogs on adventures
Family and Pets: My husband Neil and our two dogs – a Pitbull mix named Ellie and a black lab named Leo
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Berries and other fruit
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Phone apps, board games, and jigsaw puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Being able to provide support to families and children! I have a niece with Autism and cognitive disabilities, so I know how important it is that they get the help they need.
Brain Injuries can range in severity from mild to severe and include concussions.
Symptoms: There is a wide variety of symptoms associated with brain injury and concussion. However, long term cognitive effects associated with post concussive syndrome can include: Difficulties with attention and concentration, processing and understanding information, short and long memory, planning and organization, logic and reasoning, judgment, decision-making, feeling slow and/or foggy, and clear spoken or written communication.
How is it diagnosed? Comprehensive cognitive testing is used to pinpoint which cognitive skills have been impacted and to what degree.
What causes it? The impact to the brain damages the neural circuitry in the brain. This circuitry is responsible for cognitive function.
How we treat it: Cognitive skills are repaired and strengthened by a therapy called cognitive training or sometimes called cognitive rehabilitation in the case of tbi/concussion. Regardless of how long ago the injury occurred, there is hope for improvement with this treatment. Click here to learn more about brain injury treatment at Nectar.
Students may get extremely anxious and fail to perform at their full capacity on tests or may study and work hard to learn all the information for a test but then bomb it despite their efforts.
What causes it? This is most often caused by a weakness in the cognitive skills of processing speed and long-term memory or due to poor study and test taking strategies. Processing speed weaknesses causes a student to work slower than average and so they may struggle to finish tests in the allotted time. They may also be able to finish but only by rushing and not having enough time left over to check their work can lead to careless errors and mistakes that otherwise could be caught. Of course, if a student has a weak long-term memory, they may study and know the information in the short-term but forget it by test time.
Testing needed? Comprehensive Cognitive Testing allows us to pinpoint the root cause and determine if memory or processing speed are impacting test performance.
How it is treated: If the problem is due to a weakness in one or more cognitive skills, the treatment is to engage in cognitive training to strengthen the weaknesses. Then we strengthen study strategies and test taking skills through study skills coaching. If the issue is simply poor study strategies and testing taking skills, then we can begin with study skills coaching. Once a student has a strong memory, fast processing speed and knows how to prepare and take tests, test anxiety is almost always alleviated. However, some students benefit from learning some mindfulness strategies to help them engage their para sympathetic nervous system and manage the anxiety successfully.
Born and Raised: Detroit, Michigan
Current Home: Peyton, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.S. in Business Management with Minors in Accounting and Computer Science from Oakland University (Michigan), Masters in Secondary Education from University of Phoenix. Teaching Certifications in AZ, CO and DODEA – Secondary Mathematics, Career Technical, Computer Applications and AVID Instruction, Scrum Certification
Hobbies: Crafting, travel, RVing, fly fishing, hiking, dancing, singing, reading, gardening, pets, theatre, video games, and movies
Family and Pets: My husband Greg, our dog – a Border Collie named Roxie, and two cats named Scout and Cleo.
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salads of all kinds
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Logic games, card games, puzzles, learning new languages, and learning to play guitar
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Having the opportunity to work one-on-one with clients and seeing them light up as they grow!
Also called 2E, twice exceptional refers to intellectually gifted children who also have one or more learning disabilities.
Symptoms: Twice exceptional students think differently than other students and can have a variety of challenges due to this duplicity of skills. Most commonly these students will have strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills and a strong sense of curiosity. They will typically be able to hyper focus on areas of interest. They may struggle with work taking longer than expected or have difficulty with reading and writing due to processing issues. Some of these students may exhibit behavioral problems due to the strain of having these skills at extreme ends of the spectrum and can also become bored and lack motivation.
How it is diagnosed: Comprehensive cognitive testing allows us to see the individual skill areas to understand the areas, both low and high, of exceptionality. Psychoeducational Testing is required for diagnosing any specific disabilities.
What causes it: Genetics
How we treat it: We can close the gap between the highs and lows by strengthening the weak skills areas and treating any learning disabilities through cognitive skills training.
Set of mental skills that help us in every aspect of life, includes memory, flexible thinking, ability to reason, organize, impulse inhibition and time management.
Symptoms: Some of the most common challenges are difficulty with self-management and self-regulation, struggles with organizing tasks, completing homework on time, and planning ahead.
How it is diagnosed: Comprehensive cognitive testing and observation of symptoms.
What causes it: These skills are most commonly underdeveloped due to weaknesses in the key cognitive skills of working memory, logic and reasoning, and executive processing speed. Weaknesses are also caused by lack of relationships and unstable or traumatic home environments and a lack of opportunity to develop independence and problem-solving skills.
How we treat it: Study Skills and Executive Function Difficulties are treated through explicit instruction, modeling best practices, and application of skills learned to actual schoolwork. Intervention focuses on developing the following skills: Time management and organization, test taking, study strategies, note taking, critical thinking skills, study habits, study hacks, and self-advocacy and responsibility. Visit our study skills page to learn more.
Seeing apathy, disinterest, or downright resistance to school, learning, or homework can be stressful and frustrating for parents and kids alike. Maybe you see it in missing assignments, poor test scores, or in endless arguments to get homework done after school.
What causes it: This lack of motivation may leave parents scratching their heads and wondering if there is something they could have done differently or if school just “isn’t their child’s thing.” There are many causes for low motivation for learning but the most common is that motivation typically comes crashing down when learning is harder than it should be. This could be caused by one of three issues or a combination. First, there may be deficits in the underlying skills (cognitive skills) that make up how a student learns. These deficits can make learning difficult and unenjoyable when they go untreated. Second, is the student may have gaps in their content or subject matter. For example, if they didn’t adequately learn some of the foundational math skills, Algebra can be nearly impossible and thus miserable for the student. Finally, executive function and study skills are skills like testing taking, note-taking, time management and prioritization, and how to study and these can impact a student’s school performance if they are underdeveloped and thus weaknesses here can result in low motivation as the student might be trying but not seeing success which will result in a lack of motivation to continue trying.
Testing needed? Cognitive and academic testing will help us sort out what the root issue is. If there are more significant emotional and behavioral concerns, psychoeducational testing may be warranted.
How do we treat it? Depending on the cause, cognitive skills training, academic tutoring, and/or study skills and executive function coaching will prove beneficial.
A student may struggle with low self-confidence when it comes to learning and school performance. This typically shows up in a myriad of ways based on the individual child’s personality. It can be heartbreaking for a parent to hear their child say they are “dumb” or that they “can’t” do something or learn something.
What causes it: This lack of self-esteem is almost always caused by school and learning being harder for a student than it should be. When their full-time job is to be a student and they struggle with being a student even when they try, self-confidence typically craters. The learning issues that impact a child’s ability to be a successful student could be caused by one of three issues or a combination. First, there may be deficits in the underlying skills (cognitive skills) that make up how a student learns. These deficits can make learning difficult and to next to impossible depending on the severity of the deficit. Low cognitive skills are the cause of most learning disabilities so a learning disability in reading, writing, or math could be issue. Second, is the student may have gaps in their content or subject matter. For example, if they didn’t adequately learn some of the foundational math skills, Algebra can be nearly impossible causing poor grades and test performance and lowered self-esteem due to these failures. Finally, executive function and study skills are skills like testing taking, note-taking, time management and prioritization, and how to study can impact a student’s school performance if they are underdeveloped and thus weaknesses here can result in low confidence. The student might be trying their best but not seeing success which will result in a lowered self-esteem as a child will begin to perceive themselves as incapable of school success.
Testing needed? Cognitive and academic testing will help us sort out what the root issue is. If there are more significant emotional and behavioral concerns, psychoeducational testing may be warranted.
How we treat it: Depending on the cause, cognitive training, academic tutoring, and/or study skills and executive function coaching will prove beneficial.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Inattentive Type (also called ADD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of childhood that may carry into adulthood.
Symptoms: Difficulty paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors, initiating or completing tasks, zones out, disorganization, and trouble with executive function skills.
How is it diagnosed? Psychoeducational Testing
What causes it? There are a lot of risk factors for ADHD such as being born prematurely, genetics, or environmental factors (exposure to toxins and toxicants). The most common impact of these causes which results in the symptoms of ADHD/ADD are poor cognitive skill function, specifically in the areas of processing speed and working memory.
How do we treat it: Treatment for ADHD is highly effective when we target the root causes rather than focus on symptom management as is done with pharmaceuticals. ADHD/ADD treatment begins with tackling the root causes of the symptoms through cognitive training of the processing speed and working memory. Then once the brain is functioning as it should, students benefit tremendously from Study Skills and Executive Function coaching to explicitly teach skills such as time management, organization, prioritization, study strategies, and self-advocacy and responsibility.
A learning disability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending math and number relations.
Symptoms: Difficulty understanding or recognizing patterns or relationships in numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, or performing calculations. Difficulty memorizing and recalling math facts.
How is it diagnosed: Psychoeducational Testing
What causes it: Cognitive deficits in memory, processing speed, and mathematical logic and reasoning.
How we treat it: Math struggles and math disabilities are treated through a two-step process. Step one is to treat the cognitive deficiencies causing the math difficulties through a therapy called cognitive skills training. Step two is to fill in any math gaps to bring all skills up to current grade level and create a strong mathematical foundation through academic tutoring (only after the cognitive issues have been resolved.)
Much to the disappointment of parents who enjoy reading, many kids are resistant to and do not enjoy reading.
What causes it: This is almost always caused by weaknesses in the underlying skills that make up how one reads. These weaknesses make reading tedious and laborious and therefor, not very enjoyable. For example, if a child has poor visual processing skills, they will struggle to make a movie in their minds eye of what they are reading. This negatively impacts their ability to comprehend what they are reading because they just simply cannot picture it. This also makes it hard to remember what they’ve read, again impacting comprehension and making it a chore. Slow processing speed prohibits reading fluency, and phonological processing issues make sounding out and the mechanics of reading difficult.
Testing needed? We recommended a cognitive assessment to see if there are any underlying deficits causing reading to be harder than it should and a reading evaluation to look at decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension skills.
How we treat it: If there are underlying cognitive weaknesses that are causing the issue, then we’d treat the responsible cognitive skills through a therapy called cognitive skills training. Once those are improved, academic tutoring to teach strong reading comprehension skills give the student everything they need to be a successful reader and significantly increases the odds that they develop a love for reading.
A learning disability in writing. It does not involve technical skills like spelling or handwriting. It is a difficulty with expressing their thoughts in writing.
Symptoms: Good ideas but can’t get those ideas from head to paper. Writing may be disorganized and full of grammar and punctuation mistakes. Frustrated with or avoids writing.
How is it diagnosed: Psychoeducational Testing
What causes it: Cognitive deficits in processing speed and logic and reasoning are the most common cause. These deficits are most commonly caused by genetics.
How we treat it: Writing disorders are treated through a two-step process. Step one is to treat the cognitive deficiencies causing the writing issue through a therapy called cognitive skills training. Step two is to learn effective and efficient writing strategies by mastering a system for the writing process through academic tutoring (only after the cognitive issues have been resolved.)
A learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words that is neurobiological and rooted in weaknesses in phonological processing, phonemic awareness, and phonological memory.
Symptoms: Difficulty with reading fluency, comprehension when reading to self, resistant or shies away from reading out loud in front of others, poor speller, mispronounces words, in some cases history of speech therapy
How is it diagnosed: Psychoeducational Testing
What causes it: Most often caused by deficits in Auditory Processing Skills and its subset Phonological Processing skills. These deficits are most commonly caused by genetics (heritable) or frequent ear infections
How we treat it: Dyslexia is treated through a two-step process. Step one is to treat the cognitive deficiencies causing the dyslexia to begin with through cognitive skills training. Step two is to build reading strategies for comprehension through academic tutoring (only after the cognitive issues have been resolved.)
Born and Raised: Eastampton, New Jersey and Warminster, Pennsylvania
Current Home: Warminster, Pennsylvania
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.S. in Biology with Minors in Neuroscience and Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, graduate studies in Medical and Clinical Sciences
Hobbies: Reading and sketching
Family and Pets: Parents and two brothers
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Almonds, walnuts and cashews
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading and logic puzzles
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Having the opportunity to help people! Working at Nectar lets me help people with their brain health in a way that will carry on through the rest of their lives. The best stories are when a client, months or years later, lets us know what they have accomplished because of their program.
Dr. Anne Khalifeh is a Board Certified Clinical Psychologist in Colorado through the American Board of Professional Psychology. She received her BA in Psychology from Antioch University Santa Barbara, and went on to receive her MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology, both from Biola University. She completed an American Psychological Association-certified internship at the University of Colorado, Boulder at the Wardenburg Health Center, specializing in psychological assessments. She has also worked on psychological and neuropsychological assessment teams at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Aurora Mental Health, and other institutions. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Khalifeh has had the pleasure of teaching both Master’s and doctoral level clinical psychology students for the past eight years. She also recently completed a Master’s in Healthcare Administration and Management from Colorado State University, and maintains active membership in the National Academy of Neuropsychology, Colorado Neuropsychological Society, and International Neuropsychological Society.
Born and Raised: Port Lavaca, Texas
Current Home: Fort Collins, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: M.S. in Psychology from University of Texas at San Antonio
Hobbies: Music (composition, performance), visual arts, gardening, board games, and video games
Family and Pets: My two kids and a Siamese cat named Smokey
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Walnuts
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Music composition and performance
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The direct reward that is obtained from helping and seeing progress in clients.
Born and Raised: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Amarillo, Texas
Current Home: Denver, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: A.S. in Mathematics from Amarillo College, B.S. in Mathematics and M.S. in Mathematics from West Texas A&M University, and currently working on Developmental Education Administration Ed. D. from Sam Houston State University
Hobbies: Knitting and crocheting, reading fiction and young adult literature
Family and Pets: My dog named Bino
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Beets – great in smoothies, juices, and salads
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Learning Japanese on Duolingo
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The unique aspect of each program – every student has a program tailored specifically to their strengths and weaknesses and uses a more holistic approach to targeted tutoring than any traditional tutoring/educational service.
Born and Raised: George West, Texas
Current Home: San Antonio, Texas
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Our Lady of the Lake University, Alternative Teacher Certification EC-8
Hobbies: Reading, observer of nature, watching history shows, listening to old folks talk about the past and sharing their wisdom
Family and Pets: My son (18)
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Tart berry smoothies
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: The exciting approach to cognitive health through quick procedures that challenge brain function and are enjoyable. It’s like a HITT exercise for the brain, with really fun coaches!
Born and Raised: Denver, Colorado
Current Home: Parker, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Elementary Education and M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from University of Colorado
Hobbies: Running, hiking, spinning, being outside with my dogs and son, watching football, skiing, reading, doing puzzles, and hanging with friends and family
Family and Pets: My son (10) and two dogs – a Pitt Bull named Ali and a French Bull dog named Butterball
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Broccoli or any fruit
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Puzzles and reading
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Building relationships with our clients and getting to see the growth that they make!
Born and Raised: Raleigh, North Carolina
Current Home: Lakewood, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Journalism from Appalachian State University, M.Ed. in Special Education from Fordham University New York
Hobbies: Painting, archery, and crafting
Family and Pets: My husband Travis and our dogs named Houston, Han, Shadow and Kiki
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocado
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Walking, hiking, 3-D wooden puzzles, crossword puzzles, and reading
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Seeing our clients’ confidence grow while they are working on the weakest areas of their brain! With practice and patience, people see results and feel relief and that is so powerful. By the time our clients take their final assessment, they are excited to show how much they have grown, and it is wonderful to witness!
Born and Raised: Denver, Colorado
Current Home: Colorado Springs, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in English from Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado Secondary English Education Licensure
Hobbies: Reading, trying new restaurants, playing with my dog, Clash of Clans, listening to podcasts, watching mystery tv shows, and anime
Family and Pets: My dog – a black lab puppy named Rocky
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Baked salmon and roasted broccoli
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading, puzzles, riddles and trivia
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Working with a client and sharing in their success! Nothing feels better than watching a client grow and begin to find that what once felt impossible is now more achievable. I especially love when a client comes back and shares a huge win that was made possible by their work with Nectar!
Born and Raised: Lafayette, Colorado
Current Home: Denver, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in History from Metropolitan State University of Denver, Certified Secondary Education
Hobbies: Reading, yoga, playing video games and board games
Family and Pets: Engaged, mom, younger brother and sister in-law, and two nieces
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Breakfast smoothies
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading and listening to audio books
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Seeing the growth in clients as we help them reach their full potential. Nothing beats seeing a client’s face light up as they recognize the fruit of all their hard work!
Born and Raised: San Diego, California
Current Home: Littleton, Colorado
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in English Language Arts from San Diego State, CO Professional Teaching License- Elementary Education (K-6), English Language Arts (7-12), Early Childhood Education
Hobbies: Running, photography, camping, traveling, skiing, soccer, reading, and gardening
Family and Pets: My husband Ty, daughter Emily (14), son Troy (12), son Jack (9), and dogs Bear and Rosie
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Avocado toast, berry smoothie with almond milk and hemp hearts
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Playing logic games with my kids (and trying to win); always learning something new – recently how to crochet!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: I have had the pleasure of working in cognitive training for the last 15 years and hearing from parents about the life-long changes that Nectar helps families achieve never gets old. Getting to be a part of a company that puts the client’s needs first and truly works every day to find ways to make a difference in people’s lives is another reason I love what I do.
Born and Raised: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Current Home: Dallas, Texas
College/Degrees/Certifications: B.A. in English Education from Colorado State University, M.Ed. in Reading from Regis University, Literacy Specialist
Hobbies: Reading, football, cooking, farmer’s markets, exploring new restaurants, walks/hikes with my pup
Family and Pets: My dog named Atticus
Favorite Brain Healthy Food: Salmon, avocado
Favorite Way to Exercise Your Brain: Reading, puzzles, and learning something new!
Favorite Thing About Working at Nectar: Bridging the gap between neuroscience and education in order to bring services that are life changing to families and clients all over the country.
