Michele DeNiro Rosser
Director of Administration
Michele, Ready Set Grow's Director, holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and comes to us with a decade of administrative experience in leading one of Cincinnati's top early childhood development schools. In that position, she supervised every operation of the center; from personnel management to lesson plan oversight, along with inventory and supply. She has taken on a similar range of tasks her at Ready Set Grow, coordinating the entirety of center operation, and has done so ever since construction started on out New Albany site. She doesn't mind her considerable responsibilities, because with them come without question, the greatest reward of Michele's career: working with bright, curious children.
Shanda Pierce
Full-day Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Shanda comes to Ready Set Grow with a pre-K thru 3rd grade teaching licensure. She has her degree in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Ohio University. Ms. Shanda has been with us a Ready Set Grow since 2002. She had taught all ages and has been teaching Kindergarten here since 2005. She lives in Dublin with her husband and daughter, Layken. She enjoys cooking and spending time with her family and friends.
Kim Swansegar
All-day Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Kim comes to Ready Set Grow with an Early Childhood Education major and a Japanese minor from Mount Union College. After completing her student teaching Ms. Kim began working at Ready Set Grow. She has worked with infants, preschool and in school-age. She has taught the kindergarten program since 2007. Outside of school, Ms. Kim enjoys handing out with her friends, playing soccer, volleyball and going to the gym She also tries to spend as much time as possible with her family.
Lori Smith
Kindergarten Wrap-Around
Ms. Lori has been with Ready Set Grow since 2005. In that time she has taught preschool and now has been teaching the kindergarten wrap-around program since 2006. Ms. Lori lives in Alexandria Ohio with her husband, Palmer, and her son, Samuel, who is currently attending college. Ms. Lori’s hobbies include gardening and spending time with her family and friends.
Heather Hileman
Phonics Teacher
Heather attended Ohio State University and has a bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology, Human Development, Family Science and Early Childhood Education. She has been a substitute elementary teacher and has several years of experience teaching young children before joining the staff at Ready Set Grow. In her spare time Heather enjoys gardening, traveling, reading and spending time with her family.
Susan Strayer
Co-lead Preschool Science/Social Studies Teacher
Ms. Susan comes to Ready Set Grow with an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Development from Columbus State. Ms. Susan has been teaching science at Ready Set Grow since 2002. She loves children’s conversations and watching them grow, develop, and learn new things. She enjoys spending her spare time with family and friends. Her hobbies include traveling, reading and being outside!
Tonya Smith
Co-lead Infant Teacher
Ms. Tonya has over 29 years experience in caring for children in roles ranging from infant, preschool, and kindergarten teacher to child care director. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Child Psychology and Early Childhood Education, and has many continuing education hours with a focus on the care and development of special needs children. Ms. Tonya is married with two children, Ryan and Michael, and she also has a dog and a cat. She enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family.
Melissa Lloyd
Co-lead Infant Teacher
Ms. Melissa has been with Ready Set Grow since 2003 as an infant and toddler teacher. Her experiences with children have been both positive and happy! Ms. Melissa loves to be hands-on with the children in her care. She has been married for 10 years and has two wonderful children, Jeremiah and Mikayla. Her hobbies include camping, hiking, skiing, and spending time with her family and friends.
Kali Sith
Co-lead Toddler Teacher
Ms. Kali is currently attending Capital University where she is majoring in Middle Childhood Education with content areas of Social Studies and Language. Ms. Kali has been with us at Ready Set Grow since 2006 and she loves feeling like she is making a difference! There is never a dull day when you work with two year olds because they always make you laugh and they always love you! Ms. Kali recently got married in July 2010 and is currently living in Bexley with her husband C-Ron and their two dogs Eli, and Scrappy. She loves spending time with her family and friends and taking vacations on the beach.
Mary Jo Revercomb
Co-lead Preschool Prep Teacher
Ms. Mary Jo graduated from Newark Catholic High School and she continues to build her early child education by attending many hours of in-service trainings and taking online classes. Ms. Mary Jo has been caring for children for almost 30 years! She started working in a preschool setting in 1995 and she has been with us at Ready Set Grow since 2004. Ms. Mary lives in Blacklick with her life partner Michael, a roommate and a dog named Skippy. She enjoys movies, books on CD, and photography.
Lauren Bogner
School-Age Teacher
Ms. Lauren is currently attending Ohio Dominican University where she is majoring in Education. She has taught all ages of children ranging from kindergarten through middle school. Ms. Lauren’s hobbies include bike riding, scrapbooking, and spending time with her family and friends.
Hilary Youmans
Co-lead Toddler Teacher
Ms. Hilary is currently working towards her Early Childhood degree at Columbus State and plans to continue working towards her bachelors. She has been with Ready Set Grow since 2008 and enjoys working with kids and helping them to grow in all areas. She currently resides in Pickerington with her boyfriend Shaun. They enjoy going to the movies, camping, and taking their dog on nature walks. Ms. Hilary also enjoys spending time with her family especially her nieces and nephews.
Bridget Ellis
Co-Lead Preschool Language Arts Teacher
Ms. Bridget graduated from high school in 1988 and then did some course work at Columbus State. She has 19 years experience teaching a wide variety of ages including preschool and toddlers. Ms. Bridget enjoys reading, cooking, photography, flower designing and crafting.
Melissa Hobbs
Co-Lead Infant Teacher
Ms. Melissa comes to Ready Set Grow with 16 years experience working with children ranging in age from infants thru 12th grade. She has been married for 21 years and has two children both of which will be graduating in 2010 and attending college in the fall. Ms. Melissa has been a stay at home mom and has homeschooled both her children. Her husband is in the military and because of this she has traveled a lot and lived in many states and even overseas. Ms. Melissa loves spending time with her family, going to the beach, and going on mission trips with her church’s youth groups.
Ashton Wiley
Co-lead Preschool Science/Social Studies Teacher
Ms. Ashton graduated from Everest Institute for Massage Therapy and studied theater at Morehead State University. She loves working with the kids and staff at Ready Set Grow. Ms. Ashton loves to travel and comes from a large family where she has two nieces and nephews!
Beth Cashdollar
Co-lead Preschool Math Teacher
Ms. Beth is working on her Early Childhood degree and is currently taking classes. She has been at Ready Set Grow since 2007 working with our infants and toddlers. Before coming to Ready Set Grow she had 3 years teaching experience at other schools. Ms. Beth has a 3 year old daughter and she loves to travel and spend time with her!
Cassandra Wadkins
Co-lead Toddler Teacher
Before becoming a part of the staff at Ready Set Grow Ms. Cassy would babysit from time to time for family and friends. This helped her prepare for her role in the Preschool Prep class. In her spare time, Ms. Cassy likes to cook and find “hole in the wall” restaurants. Ms. Cassy moved to Ohio from Mississippi and she is enjoying Ohio and her job at Ready Set Grow.
Emily Pickard
Co-lead Preschool Art/Music Teacher
Ms. Emily attended Dublin Scioto High School and holds a BFA from Wright State University. She has held an internship at the K-12 Gallery for Young People and did an observation at Xenia High School in Fairborn, OH. Ms. Emily and her husband, Ian, were married in September of 2009 and they plan on having children in the future. She loves to go camping, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends.
Malarie Furlong
Co-lead Toddler Teacher
Ms. Malarie attends Columbus State Community College majoring in Graphic Design, and photography. She has worked at Ready Set Grow since 2007 in our toddler rooms. Ms. Malarie loves to spend time outdoors when the weather is warm. Some of her favorite activities include photography, traveling, drawing, and spending time with her friends, family and boyfriend.
Joanna Royer
Co-lead Toddler Teacher
Ms. Joanna comes to Ready Set Grow with two years of teaching experience. She has taught children ranging in age from infants to three year olds. Ms. Joanna met her husband in 2008 and they are recently married. They have a baby boy who they enjoy spending time with.
Andrea Renderos
Toddler Floater
Ms. Andrea has been with Ready Set Grow since 2008. She graduated from Beechcroft High School. Ms. Andrea has loved being a floater at RSG since it gives her the opportunity to teach different ages and meet all the children. She loves spending time with her family and friends, especially her 3 nieces and 2 nephews. Ms. Andrea enjoys playing sports like volleyball, basketball, football and especially soccer.
Ashley Martorana
Co-Lead Preschool Art/Music Teacher
Ms. Ashley comes to Ready Set Grow with a Pre-K through 3rd grade teaching licensure which she obtained from Bowling Green University. She has been a substitute teacher and has several years experience working with children of all ages. Outside of teaching she enjoys reading, swimming, and hanging out with friends and family.
Lisa Burgei
Co-Lead Toddler Teacher
Ms. Lisa comes to Ready Set Grow with a secondary education degree from the University of Cincinnati. She has taught many different grades and started working in early childhood in the spring of 2010. She has worked with both toddler and preschool ages and finds her true calling is in toddlers. Ms. Lisa is married with three daughters, the youngest of which attends Ready Set Grow. She enjoys spending time outside with her family and reading.
Erinn Gummer
Co-Lead Preschool Language Arts Teacher
Ms. Erinn comes to Ready Set Grow with a degree in Child and Family Studies which she earned at the University of Tennessee. She has recently relocated back to Newark, Ohio from Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Erinn has taught children ranging from older infants through preschool and enjoyed all age groups. In her spare time, Ms. Erinn enjoys reading and running.
Janna Williams
Co-Lead Infant Teacher
Ms. Janna comes to Ready Set Grow with her CDA in Early Childhood Education. She has been working with children of all ages since 2004. Ms. Janna has no children of her own but she enjoys being with and teaching them. In her spare time, Ms. Janna enjoys spending time with her family, singing and she is also a professional make-up artist.
Andrea Lyon
Assistant All-Day Kindergarten Teacher
Ms. Andrea has a degree in Elementary Education which she obtained from The Ohio State University along with a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Mt. Vernon Nazerene University. She has been a substitute teacher until she started working at Ready Set Grow. Ms. Andrea has a Saint Bernard dog named Waylon that she loves spending time with. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walking her dog and scrap booking.
Kayliegh Acker
School-Age Teacher
Ms. Kayliegh is currently attending Ohio State University and working on her Early Childhood degree. She has much experience caring for her younger family members and is gaining experience through the early childhood program she is attending. Ms. Kayliegh enjoys snowboarding and reading books when she is not concentrating on her studies.
Merlyn Overmyer
Preschool Floater
Ms. Merlyn comes to Ready Set Grow with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a major in Management. Ms. Merlyn has enjoyed her teaching experience here at Ready Set Grow and enjoys motivating the children’s learning experiences. She loves working with the children on a daily basis. Ms. Merlyn is married although she currently has no children of her own. She enjoys reading and bowling in her spare time.
Ashley Nader
Co-Lead Preschool Math Teacher
Ms. Ashley comes to Ready Set Grow with a degree in Early Education from the University of Akron. Ms. Ashley has worked for Lakeshore Learning where she taught teacher workshops and crafts for kid’s classes. She enjoyed the interaction with children so much she wanted an opportunity to teach full time with children in a teaching environment. Ms. Ashley is married and has a daughter, Addison. She enjoys spending time with her family and being outside swimming, running or playing sports. Ms. Ashley also loves to read good non-fiction love stories.
Michael Jackson
Gym and School Age Teacher
Mr. Jackson has been with Ready Set Grow since 2005. He attended Columbus State after graduation from high school and worked for the OSU child care facility for two years. Mr. Jackson has worked with all ages of children ranging from infants all the way to school agers. Mr. Jackson has been married for 10 years. In his spare time he is active in health training and he also enjoys reading.
Staci Mahr
Co-Lead Infant Teacher
Ms. Staci comes to Ready Set Grow with a degree in Early Childhood Education and is currently working on her master’s degree at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Ms. Staci has worked with all ages of children and has many years experience in the child care setting. She enjoys a variety of activities including photography, scrap booking, reading and swimming.
Brenda White
School Age Teacher
Ms. Brenda has been working with children for over 18 years. She is currently the secretary at the New Albany K-1 building. Ms. Brenda has brought her years of experience to our after school program and is working with our 2nd – 5th graders. Ms. Brenda enjoys relaxing on their boat with her husband, Mitch, and camping with her family. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
