Lacy is a devout Catholic and Lover of Jesus Christ. She is a wife and mother of four awe-inspiring children, sixteen to two. Lacy has homeschooled all of her kids since her youngest was 4. Prior to moving to Minnesota two and a half years ago, she was a self-employed massage therapist for twenty years. She continues to hold her National Board Certification and Wisconsin State license and specializes in CranioSacral and NeuroMuscular therapy. Lacy loves all things body! Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically! She is currently working on launching an online support group ministry, edge of the Red Sea Ministries. It is to help adults and teens cross their "Red Sea" of Emotional, Spiritual, or Physical healing. Lacy is committed to being the best version of herself and helping to see others do the same. In her teens, she was a committed athlete and a National Curler. She looks forward to helping your kiddos discover the joy of moving their bodies and learning some of the techniques of professional athletes.
Mary Fink is in her eighth year as a licensed English teacher in Minnesota. She loves writing and grammar! She has a passion for the IEW method of writing as well as books and poetry. Miss Fink was homeschooled herself and believes in the mission and families of VIA. Besides teaching, Miss Fink stays busy with some chickens, a Catholic young adult group, hiking, dancing, and going to plays.
Jenni received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (SCSU) with a minor in Mathematics. During and after college, she traveled to 10 different countries, including working for nine months in Australia. Converting to the faith as a young adult made her passionate about sharing and defending the Catholic faith. She has spent many years doing that in various ways, such as in the church choir, as a lector, catechist, small group leader, and apologist – doing sought-after talks and classes for both youth and adults. For nine years, she worked in the computer software field, rising from Programmer to Designer, to Customer Liaison, to Quality Assurance Manager. When her son was born, she felt called to pursue homeschooling full-time and join her husband, Jeff, in their video and photography business, where she not only does photo and video but also handles the accounting, taxes, and contracts. Having a penchant for leadership, she has helped lead the JP2 Homeschool Group, and coached an FLL robotics team for seven years. Her FLL robotics team consistently performed well, advancing to the State level every year but their first and advancing to the World tournament in both 2017 and 2019. As with all things she is passionate about, she loves sharing and mentoring. She has helped start a new FLL team almost every year she coached, helped run the 4H STEM Club, tutors, and leads faith-sharing small groups. In her little free time, she enjoys nature, arts and crafts, and spending time with her husband and two children
Home schooling for twenty years, Jen Kellar loves all things Catholic, child-related, classical, and deep. Her degrees are in psychology and English and she holds a Master’s degree in Vocational Rehabilitation. In the secular world, this means that she helped people who were disabled either plan a path for training or work, or determine what career path they would be best suited to enter. The first year of college she spent her summer in a course that helped her understand how to study, organize her time,
establish priorities, and work under pressure. This course has come in handy her whole life!! Her passions include Jesus, her family, reading, gardening, keeping up with friends, and working in youth ministry particularly in small group studies and coordinating retreats. She enjoys starting new ventures and cannot wait to meet you and your children to see what God has in store!
Jenna grew up in a homeschooling household. She is the middle (and best) child of the Leighton family. In 2014, Jenna earned her B.A. in Theology and Catechists with a minor in Philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. During her college years she had the opportunity to study abroad in Austria, to join a women’s faith community called Madonna of the Streets, and to serve as the president of the Students for Life club on campus. Jenna served in parish youth ministry for eight years but beginning Summer 2022 she will begin a new adventure of being a stay-at-home mom of their expected little one! She and her husband Ben were married at the Church of Saint Anne in Hamel in July 2021. They are parents of twins, one baby in eternity and one baby on earth.
Nichole Moudry is a mom of 6 (10 to 24) who has been homeschooling for 8 years. She graduated from Georgia Tech with an Earth and Atmospheric Science degree and has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey and as a hydrologist for an engineering firm. She loves the richness of the Catholic Faith, reading, hiking, and board games.
Ana Grace is a native Spanish speaker, born in San Jose, Costa Rica. She
earned a Master of International Management from Thunderbird School of
Global Management, and a Master of Business Administration from Arizona
State University. She has traveled throughout five continents, visited
26 countries, and enjoys learning about other cultures. She is the
mother of six children (one in heaven) and has been homeschooling for 10
years.
Mrs. Weber earned her BA in education, is certified in all three levels of Montessori Training: Level I (ages 3-6), Level II (ages 6-9), Level III (ages 9-12) and in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: Levels I and II. She has many years of experience teaching in public Montessori grade schools and Catholic schools. She is passionate about being a catechist in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium and a directress in the Montessori Children's House.
Pat is first and foremost a husband and father. Professionally he has spent more years than he's willing to admit writing, architecting, and building teams to create, software products. His passions include working with teen aged youth with many years working with his parish youth group, preparing confirmation students, helping put Camp Veritas on, leading scouting high adventures, helping with theatrical productions, coaching track, and 19 years coaching baseball. In 2014 Pat helped found, and continues to help guide, VIA. Pat and his wife, Terese, homeschooled their four sons for 16 years, with Pat schooling the first seven and last one of those years. He earned a BA in Quantitative Methods and Computer Science form UST and subsequently worked on an additional undergrad degree in mathematics and a masters in education, although both of these were interrupted just prior to completion by the family's first year trial into homschooling.
Shelly Westrich earned a Bachelor’s degree in Math with a minor in Quantitative Methods and Computer Science from the University of St. Thomas. She has been homeschooling her kids for over 20 years and coaching FLL robotics for 8. She has fun helping out at VIA, doing various behind the scenes things. She enjoys raising broilers with her family, spending time in the vegetable garden, and preserving food. She has 8 children, 3 of which are married, 2 in college, and homeschools the other 3.
Sherry Zeisel used to teach math and science at Holy Spirit Academy, but traded that in for being a full-time mom a couple of years ago. While her children are still too young for school, she is still passionate about all things science, and is working on bringing Catholicism and science together for homeschoolers in a brand-new set of high-school courses, starting with biology. In private life, she is an incorrigible collector of skills, from music, to spinning and weaving, to gluten-free baking...because one can never have too many interests and hobbies, right? Sherry has a B.S. in Microbiology from MSU Mankato, and lives in Montrose with her family.