Educators and Professionals

Traci Korhonen, Ed.D.

Founder

Dr. Traci Korhonen has pursued her dreams of positively impacting education in a variety of ways through public, private, and non-profit programs. In 2013, she started Dream AcadeME Summer Camp. Since then, Dream AcadeME has expanded with Homeschool, Tutoring, Afterschool classes, and consulting services. The next adventure will be opening Charter Schools with a unique nature and holistic model inspired by Reggio.

Dr. Korhonen received her Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in K-12 Education Leadership at USC in 2015. With over 25 years of teaching experience, her most memorable experiences have been teaching Pre-K at Harvard University and creating microschools in collaboration with parents. Traci weaves the Reggio philosophy with nature and a holistic approach to create a curriculum that meets the needs of 21st century learners with personalized Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math project-based experiences. She incorporates the latest research and consistently evolves the curriculum to meet the students’ interests and needs.

Teaching children literacy and math skills is one of the most rewarding experiences for Dr. Korhonen as an educator. She facilitates a blended program of science of reading, creative writing, process drama, and social constructivism, and to maintain motivation for reading and writing. In mathematics she derives lessons from cognitively guided instruction (CGI) incorporated with math fluency and manipulatives, as well as real world experiences and projects. By incorporating the child's interests and moving at a pace that maintains the child's confidence, Traci has observed numerous children make leaps and bounds in their academic development. With a strong foundation in reading, writing, and math, students are better able to research, document, and experiment with STEAM learning projects.

Most importantly, Dr. Korhonen respects and highly values the parent-teacher partnership and works closely in regular communication with parents about their children’s experiences. In addition to her credentials in education, Traci is also a certified pilates, yoga, and fitness instructor. Many elements of yoga, movement, dance, meditation, and mindfulness are integrated into daily practices at Dream AcadeME.

To her fullest ability, Dr. Korhonen creates an authentic and honest approach to education to prepare children to navigate today’s challenging world, while evolving her understanding of best practices along the way. Traci hopes you will join her endeavor in education reform and expresses her gratitude for sharing in these dreams.

Nancy Fleming

Marketer, Educator, Consultant

Nancy has a lifelong passion for working with children. After teaching dance and summer camp throughout high school and college, she graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Mathematics. During her program at CSULB, she volunteered over 180 hours at an inner city public school where she gained experience teaching in a Japanese immersion Kindergarten classroom. Nancy worked as a program coordinator for a public school summer camp program in Orange County at SVUSD overseeing nine school sites, hiring staff, coordinating events, and organizing school activities.

When she moved to LA Nancy taught at a private school in Culver City called, Turning Point School. Here she taught preschool through middle-school grades and specialized classes in gardening and the arts for the enrichment program. After giving the better part of a decade to Turning Point, she took on a new role at the Reggio inspired PeaPods Schoolhouse as Associate Director working closely with parents and guiding preschoolers through STEAM and Reggio-inspired explorations. Nancy became a mother in 2019, which influenced her to take extended courses in ECE studying infant, toddler, and preschool child development. Nancy’s education and background give her experience understanding the development of children of all ages.
One of Nancy’s fondest memories of a child was making mud pies with loose materials her mother gave her in the backyard. She enjoyed the creative and open-ended, messy play. Nancy also loved dance classes, performing and competing in all genres as early as five years old, and by high school she was teaching jazz, hip-hop, and ballet to all ages. After moving to LA, Nancy took her dance to the next level appearing and choreographing for numerous music videos. Today she remains active in dance as a way of releasing her creativity. 

With her background, education, and passions, Nancy teaches math, literacy, dance, art, cooking, and gardening to children. Nancy’s personal teaching philosophy is to not tell children the answers, and instead guide them to learn the answers through their experiences, surrounding environments, and interests. Nancy is thrilled to be a part of Dream AcadeME since it’s early days in 2016 and has worked closely with Dr. Korhonen in various roles since 2012. She’s exhilarated to bring her experiences in the garden and with pollinators to Dream AcadeME students. Nancy will be sharing her passion and creativity of dance along with her love for cooking and baking. She’s a firm believer that the memories that children create in their young minds are the ones that mold and shape who they become.

Jeddin White

MAKER & Art EDUCATOR

Jeddin has been working with others sharing his skills as a maker for over a decade. He branched out his teaching from adults to children a few years ago when he started working for Dream AcadeME. Jeddin is an artist and craftsman who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 to share his sense of wonder and beauty with the world. Raised in the meditation hub of Fairfield, Iowa, he is familiar with both rural, small-town America and the introspective spirituality of the Far East. Always enthusiastic about science and technology, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and ran various studies in perception at the University of Iowa for three years. It was around this time he rekindled a passion for art and began a lifelong self-education of craftsmanship techniques old and new.

Jeddin has spent countless hours on film sets building installations for display and honing his craft in the art department. He has worked on fun projects like when he built hanging beds for the Teen Choice Awards and assembled interactive displays for HyperloopTT. Jeddin continues to build and maintain HyperloopTT's showroom, which serves to make their technology palpable for visitors. He is handy behind many large and dangerous tools, such as woodworking machines, welders, and laser cutters. Jeddin is equally capable with finer tools such as sewing, soldering, and creating art with a variety of mediums. He regularly shows his works at art fairs, festivals, and online. As a maker, Jeddin was featured in the DIY book "Handmade" building a lamp of his own design. He also completed an Instructables DIY Infinity Mirror for Dream AcadeME's submission to the Infy Maker Awards in 2018 where Dream AcadeME made it to the top 25 finalists. With such a wide variety of tools under his belt, he is comfortable bringing just about any concept to reality, and showing others how to do it too!

Jeddin aims to nurture his students' creativity, a quality that is increasingly essential in our automation-driven world. His teaching style is centered around the students’ motivation and goals. He gives them space to lead the way while supporting them with the knowledge and tools they need to make their dream a reality. Jeddin enjoys a good philosophical conversation and always has a new and original, clever joke to break the ice and spark the imaginations of his students.

Leelou Wisemyn

Educator

Dear families, I hear a call from within to weave a collaborative educational environment, where we offer children a solid foundation of connection to nature and to themselves, to build a rooted sense of life purpose in each child. 

For over twenty years I have worked with children of all ages, in a variety of subjects and settings -- ranging from dance and movement, nature and science exploration, handcrafts and arts, puppetry and storytelling, song, therapeutic healing arts, and general education.

I have taught in Waldorf schools, a Reggio-inspired school, homeschool cooperatives, unschooling programs, charter and public schools, and in home, forest, and farm programs. I am also mama to an amazing eleven year old human! I am passionate about engaging learning in ways that are intuitive, developmentally informed, inspired by natural rhythms and beauty, and that nurture each child's potential to meet their needs for connected meaning, learning, and joy. 

I feel blessed by the opportunity to welcome your children into my classroom, and am looking forward to the future with great joy.

Emily Potter

Educator Assistant

Emily L. Potter grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, before moving to Milford, where she is set to graduate from Milford High School in 2025. As a Career and Technical (CT) student, she has explored various business fields, gaining valuable experience working with different people. Through this journey, she discovered a passion for networking, which naturally led her to a love for leadership and working with children.

Emily has a deep appreciation for the culinary world, particularly international cuisine and diverse food groups. Through her experiences in different restaurants, she developed a love for cooking and now aspires to teach children about nutrition, health, and global flavors. She believes that food is a gateway to creativity and cultural appreciation, and she is eager to share this knowledge with young learners.

Beyond her culinary interests, Emily has a strong passion for art. She enjoys teaching children different artistic techniques, such as drawing, and incorporating STEM concepts into creative projects. She strives to create a well-rounded, calming environment where children feel inspired to explore, express themselves, and develop new skills. As a leader and mentor, Emily is dedicated to fostering creativity, curiosity, and confidence in the next generation.

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