Dena

Hi, my name is Dena, and I am a Learning Specialist/Educational Therapist working in Los Angeles for the last 10 years. I have always had a passion for helping others. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rollins College, and upon graduation, I started working with emotionally-troubled teenage girls in a group home setting. That role helped develop my love for working with kids. Around that time, I knew I wanted to use my psychology knowledge, but I also became passionate about helping students with reading difficulties. In 2013, I went back to school and received my Master of Arts in Education from Loyola Marymount University with a specialty in Reading and Language Arts. Upon graduation I worked with a wide range of students with Dyslexia using multisensory reading programs such as Wilson and Orton Gillingham.

I was really drawn to the idea of helping students with learning differences, but I also wanted to help students with the social emotional aspects of learning as well. In 2015, while working as a Reading/Math Specialist at a revered Los Angeles private school, I received my Educational Therapy certification from Cal State Northridge. This additional certification not only helped strengthen my knowledge and expertise to address and remediate my students' reading, writing, math, and executive functioning challenges, but it also helped me understand these students on an emotional level. As a life-long learner, I enjoy keeping up with the latest programs and research to make my teaching stronger. I love working 1:1 with students and getting to know their learning styles, personalities, and strengths to tailor lessons to meet each students’ individual needs.

In my spare time I love the outdoors, karaoke, kickboxing and spending time with family and friends.