Note: “LC” means “Learning Community.”
Jennifer Barr
2026-2027 Mentor: American and British Literature (LC 4, 5), English: Focus on Language Arts (LC 4, 5), American and British Literature (self-paced), English: Focus on Language Arts (self-paced)
Jennifer Barr graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with her Bachelor’s in University Studies with an emphasis in Business Management and has an Associates in Environmental Economics. She has a broad knowledge of marketing, accounting, education, human resources, and project management, which she has used throughout her career as a small business owner, substitute teacher and most recently as Director of her local library. Additionally, she is an active volunteer in her community, serving on local government committees, and in organizations such as the local food pantry, American Legion, Boy Scouts of America, as a wildlife rehabilitator and more. Jennifer has also volunteered for 20 years as a reading tutor, substituted at her local schools, and helped as a homeschool teacher for her extended family. She has always loved reading, learning, and the written word and has helped to foster a love of these things in others, as well.
Jennifer resides in Middleton, Idaho and is happily surrounded by her family and pets. She has four children and two grandchildren (with one more on the way). When not working, Jennifer can be seen curling up with a good book, spending time with her family in the great outdoors, gardening, and actively volunteering in her church and community. She is excited to join the students of Ensign Peak Academy on their learning journey.
April Brede
2026-2027 Mentor: Middle School Art Appreciation (live and self-paced)
April Brede earned her B.A. degree in English from the University of Utah in 2001. After graduation, April taught high school English in private institutions for nearly a decade. Most recently she has taught English as a second language for an online platform (VIPKID) for the past eight years. Despite an obvious background in English, April is also passionate about art.
April made it a point to curate a fabulous art education through continuing education courses, in person courses and online courses along with years of hard work and practice. For the past two years, April has been instructing in-person classes at Art Nook. Her students range from five year olds through adults. April feels that art is a skill that can be learned and believes that anyone can create art with the right instruction. She believes that because we were created, we have a divine need to create! April wants to inspire young artists to create art that gives hope, celebrates God’s beautiful creations, and bears witness of individual worth.
April and her husband currently live in Aiken, South Carolina where they enjoy the outdoors with their Shelties and horses. They have two return missionary sons and a daughter-in-law, all whom currently live in Provo and attend BYU.
Enjoy this Interview with April Brede to learn more.
Von Hansen
2026-2027 Mentor: US History (LC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and self-paced), World History (self-paced)
Hearing Elder Neal A. Maxwell speak during the bicentennial celebrations of the Constitution in 1987 kindled a fire in Von’s heart for learning and sharing about the hand of God in history. That led to a bachelor’s degree in History from Brigham Young University in 1999, where some of Von’s favorite classes included History and Philosophy of Science, Constitutional History, and Religion and Thought in East Asia (although his all-time favorite was probably a Shakespeare class!). In 2007, Von was inspired to quit his job as he dove into the master’s program in Political Economy at George Wythe University, where he relished the most intense year-long learning experience of his life.
Von finally crossed the “T”s and dotted the “I”s on that experience and and graduated in 2016 — a long journey from hearing Elder Maxwell speak, but well worth the trip. In 2007, Von also began designing and teaching a series of four courses on Providential History. Since then, he has held classes for homeschool students ages 11-17 and adults all across the Wasatch Front from Huntsville to Santaquin. His favorite comment from that experience came from a new student who said that a friend had told her about “this wicked-awesome history class” that she just had to come and try out. She ended up staying for three semesters.
Von has been a serious student of constitutional forms for more than twenty years — not just THE Constitution, but all societal forms (as in, “What form does our government, economy, education, media, family, religion, etc. take?”). He worked for four years as a team lead at US Synthetic, a world-renowned leader in “lean manufacturing,” where he gained an in-depth understanding of that important and growing business form. Von also has recently written an essay on the nuclear family form and its amazingly important influence on the other societal forms over the last 500 years.
Von is married to the talented and beautiful Amy Hansen (nee Hawkins), and together they have seven children and five grandchildren, for whom they both beam with pride and joy. One of Von’s most cherished activities is to discuss the topics of the day, movies, books, etc. with his family and to learn from his children and sons-in-law as they become men and women of sound understanding themselves. Von served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Republic of Korea, and he thinks that Korean food must be what the Greek myths talk about when they describe ambrosia, the food of the gods.
Benjamin Muhlestein
2026-2027 Mentor: Principles of Liberty (LC 4, 5)
Benjamin S. Muhlestein resides in Overton, Nevada and is a husband and father of a beautiful wife and six wonderful children. He served a Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. He received his Bachelor’s of Paralegal Studies from Utah Valley University in 2002, and earned his Master’s Degree in Classical Liberal Arts from George Wythe University in 2016. He has mentored youth and adults nationally and internationally for many years. He taught Seminary for an entire school year as a student teacher. He is the Founder of Illuminating the Light Within, Restoringthefounders.com, The Quintilian School of Oratory, and The George Washington Character Curricula. Benjamin has a deep passion for learning and teaching principles of liberty and freedom, and has great faith in the rising generation of youth to rise to the full potential of who God needs them to become.
Lisa Oilar
2026-2027 Mentor: Chemistry and Ecology, Geology and Astronomy, (LC 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and self-paced), Cells and Classificaiton of Living Things (self-paced), Genetics and Heredity (self-paced)
Lisa Oilar is an experienced educator who has taught students at all levels from kindergarten through 12th grade over the past 25 years in both traditional classroom settings and as a homeschool teacher. She grew up in Northern California and was actively involved in sports throughout her youth, later playing basketball at the collegiate level. Lisa earned her teaching credential from Chico State and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Simpson University. She has also worked extensively with gifted students at the middle and high school levels.
Lisa considers her most meaningful role to be that of a mother to her seven children—six boys and one girl—most of whom are now pursuing their own paths and accomplishments. She has a deep love for learning and is especially passionate about the Savior, the temple, and living the restored gospel, which she embraced at the age of 16. She enjoys a wide range of activities including reading, traveling, knitting, gardening, skiing, swimming, and exploring new places. Lisa and her family enjoy life in both Wyoming and Montana.
Kim Reeder
2026-2027 Mentor: American and British Literature (LC 2), English: Focus on Language Arts (LC 2)
Kim Reeder loves learning and helping others get an education to match their mission. She has been happily married to Randy Reeder since 1999. They live near Boise, Idaho where they have raised their five amazing children who are becoming awesome young adults.
Kim graduated from Idaho State University in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene. She worked as a dental hygienist while Randy finished up his masters degree and realized that her true passion lies in teaching, not teeth. She retired from dental hygiene the summer of 2002, when Randy graduated and their 2nd child was born, thus beginning her real education.
Homeschooling her own kids has led to many wonderful adventures and opportunities she couldn’t have anticipated – things like milking dairy goats, worm farming, and coaching FLL robotics teams to name a few. As the kids got older and wanted to take classes with other kids, Kim began teaching a variety of classes through various hybrid schools. She has taught book clubs, science, PE, and leadership classes.
In 2017, she began teaching leadership classes online to 10 – 14 year olds and has enjoyed learning with kids all over the world since. Having the online teaching experience was a huge blessing when the pandemic hit and Relief Society lessons were moved online. As the 1st councilor in the Relief Society of her ward, Kim was able to seamlessly adapt to teaching the sisters in her ward through Zoom during that time. Kim has recently been teaching leadership principles online to adults as a fleet trainer for WIRA. She is super excited to be bringing her online teaching experience to Ensign Peak Academy to learn with the 3rd and 4th graders this year.
When she is not teaching online classes, Kim enjoys serving as an ordinance worker in the Boise Temple, gardening, running trails, and reading great books. She loves the Come Follow Me program and currently serves as the 14-16 year old Sunday School teacher at church.
Enjoy this Interview with Kim Reeder to learn more.
Denning Burton
2026-2027 Mentor: Middle School Music Appreciation (live and self-paced), English: Focus on Language Arts (LC 1), American and British Literature (LC 1)
Denning Burton is a passionate musician and lifelong learner with a Bachelor’s degree in Marriage and Family Studies. He studied songwriting and studio guitar recording in Nashville, TN, under the tutelage of Mike Payne. Denning is the creator of “Sherlock the Musical,” an original musical based on the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This production has been performed by numerous theaters in the United States and Canada and has amassed over 3 million streams on its cast album on Spotify and Apple Music. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Composing for Film, TV, & Video Games from Thinkspace Education and the University of Bournemouth, U.K. Denning resides in Alberta, Canada, with his wife and two children.
Laura Waite
K-12 Language Arts Specialist
Laura Waite is an enthusiastic educator who loves to teach and learn every day. She grew up in California, earned an Associate Degree from Ricks College (Brigham Young University-Idaho), married a very handsome and talented man, and raised six children – all girls except five! After 20 years, she returned to college through Grand Canyon University’s online program and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English Education. She holds endorsements in business and marketing as well as gifted and talented education. She has a deep appreciation for literature and is passionate about helping others to express their thoughts and feelings through writing.
When she’s not at school, Laura loves walking on the beach, hiking to waterfalls, and paddling her kayak. She also enjoys quilting, traveling, reading, watching movies, and playing games with her family- especially the grandchildren. One of her more ambitious goals is to visit all of the temples in the United States. She currently lives in Richfield, Utah, where she looks forward to many new adventures.
Marie Withers
2026-2027 Mentor: Art Projects, US Geography (LC 1 and 2)
Marie Withers has been a teaching artist most of her adult life—sometimes teaching, sometimes making art, sometimes doing both. She holds an MA Degree in Art Education from Brigham Young University. As a life-long learner, she has participated in structured academic study as well as workshops and online classes. In recent years, she has been able to travel to Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Thailand, Israel and Egypt, and considers those experiences as an important part of her education. While in some of these countries, she was able to visit art museums and locations such as The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Borghesi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, Uffizi Gallery, and several others. She also attended an international conference in Reggio Emilia, Italy on the educational approach named after that city.
Marie worked for 20 years as a graphic designer at Brigham Young University, collaborating with student designers and cohorts in campus projects. She has been involved with Ensign Peak Academy as a developer and mentor since 2019. Most recently she completed a year of teaching and serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art in the Art and Design Department of Southern Virginia University, in which she loved working with the students and fellow faculty members in an enriching environment.
She believes in the power of co-mingling concepts learned in her own art practice with the art of teaching. These activities inform each other and bring a richer experience in helping students to learn from each other as well as with guidance from a mentor.
Currently Marie lives in Eastern Idaho. Her love of the outdoors informs her artwork as well, and she can be found taking photos and painting in nature, referring to it as “field research.” Through these experiences, she is reminded of the scriptural text that says, “…all things denote there is a God;…(Alma 30:44). She loves hiking and traveling. She also enjoys being an aunt, sister, daughter, and friend.
Charelle Krüger
2026-2027 Mentor Middle School Art (EMEA LC), Middle School Music Appreciation (EMEA LC)
I am from sunny South Africa, of which the hot climate matches my warm, bubbly, compassionate and curious personality. I have a degree in Fine Arts and Ancient History and am always eager to learn.
I love sharing my passion for art, history, literature (and general knowledge where applicable), igniting a similar sense of love for these subjects in my students.
Ensign Peak Academy gives me the opportunity to build on the students’ understanding and interest in the subjects I mentor in and I love every minute of it. In respect of experience, I have been tutoring for many years, including special needs children, and my love for teaching has only grown.
Michelle Jardine
2026-2027 Mentor: German Basics, English: Focus on Language Arts (LC 3, EMEA LC), American and British Literature (LC 3, EMEA LC)
I hale from South Africa, where I have had many years of experience tutoring students both in physical classrooms and online learning within my learning centre.
My passion is teaching languages (English, Afrikaans and German) as well as History and Literature. It is wonderful to see how students grow during the year, coming out of their shells and starting to interact as they become more confident in their subjects.
I am an avid reader and tend to be pedantic when it comes to grammar. I firmly believe that our children need to be well educated to prepare them to become the leaders of the future. Being a part of Ensign Peak Academy is such a blessing, as the structure of the lessons assist us in creating a strong foundation of learning and faith, which is not seen in public schools.
Céline Rachelle
2026-2027 Mentor: French Basics, US Geography (LC 3, 4, 5 and self-paced), World Geography (self-paced)
Céline Rachelle is a French-American lifelong traveler and student of the world who holds a BA in French with minors in International Development, Global Business, and Family Science from Brigham Young University. Since she was a child, she has traveled and lived between various states in the US and France. In her adolescence, she moved to China to teach ESL and then served a mission in Tahiti, French Polynesia. In recent years, she has been able to travel through and experience life in over 35 other countries on 6 continents and considers each of those experiences as an important part of her education and service in the world. Céline enjoys teaching French and yoga and cooking, gardening, writing, and family and wedding portraiture.
While at BYU, she worked at the MTC as the Lead French Interpreter, and at BYUCE as French Curriculum Designer for online high school courses. Most recently she completed an internship in the UK Parliament where she was invited to be a Parliamentary Officer for the APPG on the Freedom of Religion of Belief worldwide after doing independent FoRB research in Pakistan in 2023. During her time living in London, she went on delegations to EU Parliament and learned a great deal about the status of FoRB worldwide.
She enjoys adventure travel, going home to France, trekking in Nepal, exploring the UK, Canada, Western and Northern Europe, India and Australia. Her friends and family know there is no distance she won’t travel for them, especially if it means she can help them with their homes and gardens.
Eghosa Oghodo
2026-2027 Mentor: Chemistry and Ecology, Geology and Astronomy (EMEA LC)
Eghosa Oghodo is the founder of Ena Technologies Co. a solar energy company in Benin City, Nigeria. He obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Benin and is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers. While in college he taught high school math, physics and chemistry part time in private schools across his city. Eghosa is passionate about youth development and mentoring and this passion inspired him to launch the Ena Technologies Scholarship a program that offers free solar PV installation training, mentorship and internship opportunities for recent high school graduates. He volunteers as a Sunday school teacher in his local branch and enjoys reading and singing.
Jill Zwygart
2026-2027 Mentor: US History (EMEA LC), US Geography (EMEA LC)