Meet Our Team
Great Teachers Inspire
Our tutors and staff in Mentor consist of passionate educators who love inspiring children to succeed. Warm, caring and great at relating to kids, our tutors in Mentor know how to engage and motivate each child in a personal way—building confidence and smiles, as well as skills and better scores. We selectively choose tutors who know local curriculum and can link Sylvan lessons to what’s being taught in school.
Get to know our tutors and staff in Mentor!
Lorie Strouse
Center Director, State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Director
Lorie has overseen student programs and progress for close to 30 years at the Mentor location. She enjoys seeing students grow in their abilities and reach their potential! Working with families to meet their individual needs and goals is very gratifying. She graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Elementary Education. When Lorie isn’t at Sylvan, she enjoys traveling, being with family, and playing with her Grandcats, Milo and Pooka!
Jen Arnone
Director of Education, State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Director
Jen has a true gift for working with students! She graduated from Ohio State University with her teaching degree. She loves teaching early readers and math. When she isn’t at Sylvan, you will find her cheering her boys on at their sporting events and supporting our Cleveland sports teams!!
Missy Fryer
Executive Director/Owner, State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Director
In 2001, Missy graduated from Lake Erie College with a degree in Middle School Education. It was shortly after that when she first joined Sylvan Learning Center as a teacher and then as Director of Education. In 2004, she left Sylvan to help her husband grow his business, but she is now back at Sylvan of Mentor as Director Executive Director/Owner. When she’s not helping students solve for X, you can find her at the Cedar Lee Theatre watching a documentary or at home playing with her two dogs, Harry and Ringo!
Maria Kaleal
State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Maria began as an instructor with Mentor Sylvan in April 1987. She graduated from Cleveland State University with a degree in education and has completed graduate course studies at Lake Erie College. Along with English, she speaks Greek and Spanish. Maria has a genuine and deep love for children. She enjoys cooking and baking for her family and friends.
Stacy Polasko
State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Stacy first began with Sylvan in 2017. She is a graduate of Notre Dame College of Ohio where she earned a degree in Elementary Education. In addition to her time at Sylvan of Mentor, Stacy also taught at Kenston Schools and Willoughby Eastlake Schools. When she’s not helping students at Sylvan, Stacy spends time with her family and friends.
Jonah Vincente
Sylvan Certified Teacher
Jonah has been a student favorite at Sylvan of Mentor since 2021. With degrees in Math and Music from Baldwin Wallace, he is able to help our students tackle the toughest math problems. When he isn’t sharing his love of equations at the center, you can find him writing and playing music at church or playing video and card games.
Emily Graff
State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Emily has been with Sylvan since 2019 and loves the teaching environment at Sylvan! She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Bowling Green and her Masters Degree from the University of Toledo. Her area of specialty is grades 4-9 Math and Science. She currently is a Title I intervention math tutor at Melridge Elementary. When she isn’t at Sylvan you can find her bowling, hiking, catching up with friends at a coffee shop, reading, or swimming in her pool!!
Hannah Williams
State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Hannah is currently a high school teacher and has worked and volunteered in the Mentor, Euclid, Painesville, and Fairport Harbor school districts. She graduated from Lake Erie College with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, a Bachelor of Arts in Education (7th-12th), and a minor in Music. Hannah enjoys music, including singing and playing 6 instruments! When she isn’t teaching, you can find her either playing with her two handsome nephews or three gorgeous nieces or snuggling with her cat!
Desiree Henderson
State Certified and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Desiree is currently a substitute teacher in the Fairport Harbor School District. She graduated from the Moody Bible Institute with a degree in Elementary Education. Her favorite subjects to teach are reading and math. When she isn’t teaching, Desiree likes to hike, play games, and spend time with family and friends. She enjoys playing piano, something she learned from her mother who was a piano teacher.
Wellslee Oliveras
Sylvan Certified Teacher
With degrees in psychology and neuroscience from Baldwin Wallace, Wellslee loves to learn! At Sylvan, you can find Wells teaching lots of Algebra and math. Fun fact: Wells has written FIVE books in FIVE years!
Christy Nichols
State Certified Teacher and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Christy is a graduate from BGSU with a BS in Education majoring in Special Education and Elementary Education. She also has a masters in curriculum and instruction from Ashland University. Her favorite subject to teach is Math, specifically Algebra. In her spare time, she likes to read, spend time with family and friends, and to binge watch TV shows with her family. She recently joined a couples bowling league with her husband and her bowling average is ALMOST 100 now!
Holly Hall
State Certified Teacher and Sylvan Certified Teacher
Holly has an Early Childhood Education degree from THE Ohio State University. Her favorite subjects to teach are reading writing, and emotional learning. Her in spare time, Holly can be found spending time with her family, reading novels, and exploring parks with her two fur babies. Holly also loves to travel to far places-like South America.
Start your child on the path to academic success today
Give us a call at (440) 368-0950 or fill out the form to discuss your child’s learning goals.
