About Us
Our Mission
At The Learning Garden, our approach provides personalized, targeted support to help learners overcome learning challenges, develop essential cognitive and academic skills, and enhance their cognitive function and critical thinking skills. By integrating research-backed techniques, like mediated learning and cognitive skill-building exercises, we aim to address the root causes of learning struggles, empowering students to thrive both academically and personally. Our goal is to foster growth, confidence, and lifelong learning skills in a nurturing, supportive environment.
Our Team
Betty Jo (BJ) Russell (she/her)
Betty Jo Russell is a dedicated and highly qualified educational therapist and board certified cognitive specialist. As a mother of two children who learn differently, she understands the challenges that families face. Driven by her commitment to find the best resources for her kids, she earned her master’s in education. She continued her training, becoming a Professional Certified Educational Therapist (PCET), a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (SLDS), and a Board Certified Cognitive Specialist with extensive training in the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) program. She is passionate about equipping parents with tailored strategies to support their children’s cognitive development and literacy, fostering a love for learning in every child.
Lily Russell (she/her)
Dr. Lily Russell has her doctorate in Educational Psychology from Penn State. She is trained and certified in several cognitive therapy techniques, including Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment, Standard 1-3, Basic 1 and 2, and Tactile-Kinesthetic.
During her time in grad school, she has worked with the Academic Development Services team at Penn State World Campus, helping to support online adult learners. Her dissertation work focused on understanding the multiple academic and nonacademic goals of online students.
Grey Cedars (they/them)
Grey Cedars has a bachelors degree in molecular and cellular biology from Cedarville University. While at Cedarville, Grey worked as a peer tutor, mediating challenging topics, such as Calculus, Anatomy and Physiology, and Organic Chemistry, to fellow students. This sparked a passion for teaching that Grey was recently given the opportunity to nurture at The Learning Gardens.
In addition to content area expertise, Grey is trained and certified in the Equipping Minds cognitive skill development program and has expertise in helping students develop their critical thinking and test taking skills for high-stakes tests (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE, MCAT, LSAT, GMAT, NCLEX, and more).
Mark Russell (he/him)
Mark Russell has been a software engineer for more than three decades. He is passionate about developing learners' problem-solving and computational thinking skills. He is certified in Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment, Standard 1.
