About Us
Elizabeth Amabile, Owner
Academic Support
Website: niwotlearningcollective.com
Email: elizabeth@niwotlearningcollective.com
Elizabeth Amabile, MA has worked as an educator for the last eighteen years in public and private schools, as well as in private practice. Elizabeth is a licensed K-12 Special Education Generalist and has a Masters degree in education. She has had extensive training in effective, research based literacy and math interventions, with an emphasis on Structured Literacy (Orton-Gillingham approach, IMSE, Wilson reading systems) and multisensory math.
Elizabeth is also certified as a social-emotional learning facilitator and yoga instructor. Recognizing the vast need for mental health support and wellness programming for school-aged children, this became Elizabeth’s passion project. In order for children to learn and thrive academically, they must first feel safe, secure, and centered.
Elizabeth adopts a holistic approach to working with children. She helps students develop strategies to manage anxiety and stress, build self-confidence, and embrace a growth-mindset. She and her students explore how they learn best, and instruction is tailored according to each individual student’s learning style and needs. Elizabeth’s mission is to make every session she has with a student effective, meaningful, engaging, and fun!
Whitney Johansson, Owner
Academic Support
Website: niwotlearningcollective.com
Phone: 720.254.5771 (call or text)
Email: whitney@niwotlearningcollective.com
Whitney has always found joy through working with children. Understanding, appreciating, and supporting how individuals learn is a lifelong passion for her. She has worked as an educator in the Boulder area for the past 15 years, including at the Sister Carmen Community Center, Cure Organic Farm, and The Growe Foundation. Whitney earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Western Washington University. She is a Clinical Herbalist and has a Master’s degree in Science focusing on Human Nutrition. Through teaching Nutrition to kids, Whitney knew that teaching was the path for her. From there she earned her Elementary Education Teacher’s License from CU and was recognized for being in the top of her class.
Whitney went on to study the Orton-Gillingham approach extensively, finding gems in the different approaches from different organizations. Through this training, Whitney witnessed the remarkable impact that multi-sensory, direct, explicit instruction can have and how through this instruction, students’ brains can be activated in varying ways so that their learning and processing style is honored and attended to, whether the subject is literacy or math or beyond. As a Learning Specialist, she aims to connect with the whole person and hold them and their learning in the highest regard.
When she is not teaching, you will find her frolicking in her garden, playing the ukulele, sewing up a storm, reading about literacy, hugging her dogs and cats, smooching her kiddos, and dreaming of their next adventure.
Molly Filippini- Speech Therapy
Website: SpeechTherapyColorado.com
Phone: 720-806-0560 (text or call)
Email: Molly@speechtherapycolorado.com
Molly has worked for over 10 years, as a speech-language therapist in both clinic and community settings; with toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children and their families and teachers. Her practice includes both individual and group speech-language therapy. Molly honors neurodiversity and all the unique ways we experience and interact with the world around us throughout our lifespan. She is passionate about expanding children's relationships and connections through their individual strengths, interests and play. Molly facilitates exploration, problem solving and self advocacy through various communication pathways, focusing on the whole child.
Specialties:
Articulation & phonological disorders
Expressive/receptive language disorders
Social/pragmatic language disorders
Support with selective mutism
Autism spectrum disorder
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Language differences vs. Disorders
Molly is fluent in Spanish
Group offerings for both children and parents
Aliza Morrison- Occupational Therapist
Website: https://mapletonot.com/
Phone: 720-837-1157 (Call or text)
Email: AlizaMorrisonOT@gmail.com
Aliza Morrison has practiced occupational therapy for over 10 years in various settings, including pediatric outpatient clinics, home settings, schools, and in community activities. Aliza grew up speaking Spanish at home and is fluent in Spanish.
She has studied Craniosacral Therapy through the Upledger Institute since 2014. Aliza’s practice for craniosacral therapy includes people of all ages to treat multiple ailments including headaches and migraines, motor-coordination impairments, self-regulation, post-traumatic stress disorder, concussion head banging, sleeplessness, aggressive behavior, seizure activity and sensory processing dysfunction.
Aliza’s Occupational therapy practice has a focus on fine and gross motor delay, ocular motor skills, visual tracking, self-regulation, handwriting, sensory processing, and reflex integration. She has extensive experience treating children with autism, genetic disorders, low muscle tone, sensory processing dysfunction, dysgraphia, and poor handwriting.
Jenny Sandler- Parent Support
Phone: 303-335-7950 (call or text)
Website: https://www.jennyparentsupport.com
My passion is guiding parents through self-discovery and growth. I love helping others gain deeper understanding of themselves and others creating lasting change.
As a therapist and a parent, I am consistently in awe of what connection and self- discovery can do to change one’s journey.
Connection and relationship building is my foundation. I have my Masters in Social Work and have acquired a Certificate in Addiction Counseling as well. I have worked in numerous therapeutic job settings with teens, adults and family systems. I am deeply influenced by internal family systems therapy, narrative therapy, and Hand in Hand Parenting tools.
My experiences include working with both teens and adults in multiple facets of life, including: relationships, self-esteem, life transitions, parenting, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, substance use/abuse and trauma.
I have worked as a clinician at the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at Denver Family Therapy Center, Colorado West Mental Health and Kaiser Permanente. I am now thrilled to be a part of the Niwot Learning Collective where I get to share my passion for supporting parents.
I live in Boulder with my husband, two sons and six chickens. When not at the NLC you can find me working in the garden, taking long walks with friends, reading about attachment and other research that supports best parenting practices, enjoying time with my sons, making music with my husband and untangling yarn from the latest knitting project.
Addison Mayer - Math Academic Support
Email: mayer.academics@gmail.com
I’ve played a wide variety of roles over the fifteen years of my career in education. From coaching, to tutoring, to leading a classroom, I’ve found only joy and fulfillment in working with anyone that wants to learn.
I’ve spent six years as a classroom teacher, focusing my professional development around differentiating educational approaches for a multitude of learning styles and needs. I’ve had the opportunity to develop a curriculum that aims to invite play and fun, while also being robustly academic. I also have worked in outdoor education for over ten years. The time spent teaching students outside of walls and ceilings has instilled in me a belief that taking risks and making mistakes, while always practicing safety, is an essential part of growth.
In my tutoring practice, I focus mostly on mathematics, research, and science. I’ve received extensive training in teaching all core subjects, including both reading and writing. I am currently working on receiving play therapy credentials as well. Though I’ve worked with all ages K-12, my primary experience has been working with ages that range between 2nd and 8th grade.
I am a lifelong learner, who is obsessed with physics, philosophy, and astronomy. When I’m not nerding out about education or actively participating in it, you’ll find me playing board games with my friends, running a DnD campaign, reading, or playing the drums.
Ben Wolf - Literacy Academic Support
Email: wolfben03@gmail.com
Ben is thrilled to join the Niwot Learning Collective. Armed with a Master's in Learning Development and Family Sciences and certifications in OG, ALTA, and IMSLEC, he is eager to contribute to the collective's mission of fostering a love for learning and empowering students of diverse backgrounds.
Ben has pursued education through the entirety of his career. Spending time working at various summer camps, international teen service trips, directing and leading wilderness programs, coaching climbing, and teaching English as a foreign language Ben has always loved working with students. This all led him into the classroom where he spent the past five years, three in 2nd grade and two in 4th grade.
During his time as a classroom teacher Ben developed a keen understanding of differentiated learning, instilling a holistic approach to education that encompasses the whole student. His expertise in literacy intervention, informed by the Orton-Gillingham approach, has proven successful in enhancing students' reading and writing abilities. He is well-versed in effective lesson planning and program management, ensuring a comprehensive and tailored learning experience.
Ben lives in Denver where he and his Fiance Claire were born and raised. Ben enjoys a slow morning with a good cup of coffee and when he is not teaching spends most of his time climbing, traveling internationally, backcountry skiing, backpacking, canyoneering and constantly working on creating the best espresso.