Administrators

Rosanne Manus, M.A., Owner

Rosanne has worked in the field of special education since 1979. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in special education from Columbia University in New York City.

After four years of teaching students with emotional and behavioral difficulties in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, she began a private tutoring practice, which grew into a tutoring center and, eventually, a school and tutoring center for students with academic barriers.

Rosanne has developed, tested and published teacher-training programs and student curricula for almost every subject and skill from kindergarten through grade twelve. She has trained numerous teachers and home-school parents in how to effectively teach students with learning barriers.

For fun, Rosanne enjoys gardening, cycling, reading and telling other people what to do.

Jeremy Ervin, M.Ed., Principal / Teacher

Jeremy received his bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania and his master’s degree in middle and secondary social studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

His extensive teaching and leadership experience includes teaching at Fort Mill Alternative School, teaching and assisting a principal in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and providing one-to-one therapeutic interventions while working at several private social service companies. Since 2005, he has been the principal at Manus Academy.

Jeremy enjoys music and spends some of his spare time as a DJ. His other interests include tennis, volleyball, doing volunteer work for his church and civic association and spending time with his wife and friends. Being a well-balanced person, Jeremy takes great pains to align the sticky notes on his desk with perfect symmetry.

Lisa Solis, B.A.
Office Manager

Lisa received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Aquinas Collage in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After getting married, she and her husband moved to Miami where she worked for a travel marketing company as an office manager and took courses toward her teaching certificate in Florida. Shortly after completing her classes, she started a family and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. While raising her boys, she worked as a part-time preschool teacher.

Lisa is very excited to be here at Manus Academy and is glad to have an opportunity to use her organizational skills and work with children. When not working, Lisa likes to spend time with her family and friends, practice yoga, read and cook. Her favorite activity is checking off a finished task on her “To Do” list. Her second favorite activity is writing the list itself because she knows she’ll then get to write more checks.

Teachers

Lesley Taylor, M.Ed., Lead Teacher

Lesley received her bachelor’s degree at Furman University and her master’s degree in special education at Converse College. She served as a resource teacher for three years in the public schools in Spartanburg, South Carolina then began teaching our high school students at Manus Academy in 2001. Since 2005, she has served as our lead teacher. Her duties include administering educational evaluations, developing students’ instructional programs, consulting with parents, assisting teachers in monitoring student progress and adjusting their programs, as needed.

Lesley enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking and socializing with family and friends. Being an avid animal lover, she positively melts when we ask her about her dog, two cats and turtle . . . and she never goes anywhere without her chap stick.

Bridget Ervin, B.S., Teacher

Upon receiving her bachelor’s degree in special education from Appalachian State University in 1997, Bridget taught as a special education teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Charleston County School System. Since joining us at Manus Academy in 2006, Bridget has worked with a wide range of students of different ages and learning profiles. Her special projects include training students to develop transitional skills to help them successfully prepare for life after high school.

Known as the “recycling czar,” Bridget makes sure that we all toss our trash into the proper cans. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, playing tennis and volunteering at her church and civic association

Allison Osborn, M.S., Teacher

Allison received a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, a master’s degree in applied educational psychology and a certificate of advanced graduate study in school psychology from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Allison worked as a school psychologist in an elementary and middle school in Fayetteville, New York before relocating to Charlotte in 2005. She recently received her school administration certificate and license and completed a principal internship in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Allison has a passion for working with students of all ages and is delighted to be a part of the team at Manus Academy. In her spare time, Allison enjoys spending time with her family. Some favorite family activities include running, hiking, playing soccer, eating Mexican food and playing the Curious George Memory Game.

Lori Chicano, M.Ed., Teacher

Lori received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and her master’s degree in education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She holds a teaching certification in guidance counseling. Lori worked for several years in the mental health field as an individual, group and family therapist and as a program coordinator for a student assistance program in Pennsylvania, where she helped to identify and remove barriers to students’ success.

After marrying in 2011, Lori and her husband relocated to Charlotte. Lori enjoys working with both children and families and is excited to be at Manus Academy. She enjoys time at the beach, reading, creating crafts, do-it-yourself projects and trying new recipes. She has never been stung by a bee and unravels when she sees pens and bottles without their caps.

Amy Bodell, B.S., Teacher

Amy received her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University in special education, K-12 with a concentration in mathematics. Before joining us at Manus Academy, Amy taught in several other settings. These positions included working as a math specialist in a private tutoring business, teaching math to students with learning disabilities in the public school system and providing lessons in both experiential math and outdoor living to at-risk students in an education facility in New Hampshire. A mountain girl at heart, Amy loves to snow ski, hike and camp. She also enjoys reading, creating small crafts, such as wind chimes, and, of course, crunching numbers. Despite her deep and abiding love for chocolate, Amy has never had any cavities!

Dori Whitman, Teacher

Dori received her bachelor’s degree of science from Drexel University in 1992 and her master’s degree in social work from Temple University in 1997. Dori has had extensive experience serving children and their families in the New York City foster care system and at Green Chimneys Therapeutic Day School in Brewster, New York. As a licensed clinical social worker, Dori provided social skills training, coping strategies and anger management tools to children and adolescents in both individual and group settings. Dori joined us in August of 2011 and is now fulfilling her dream of teaching.

In her free time, Dori enjoys activities with her family, traveling, creating pottery, practicing yoga and training for the triathlon. In Dori’s athletic training group, she is referred to as the “billy goat” because she prefers cycling uphill. This meshes well with her life philosophy: the challenge of the uphill is more exciting than the ease of the downhill. (We’re impressed and we’re still taking the downhill route.)

Mrs. Warrenfeltz, M.H.D.L., Teacher

Celia earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Clemson University and a master’s degree in human development and learning from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She holds a North Carolina teaching license in the areas of early childhood education, elementary education and academically gifted.

Mrs. Warrenfeltz has had thirteen years of elementary classroom teaching experience in kindergarten through fifth grade prior to joining the Manus Academy staff. She has taught in both public and private school settings. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Warrenfeltz enjoys reading, walking, container gardening, playing bridge, and singing in the sanctuary choir at her church. She is married and has two grown sons, Philip and David. A long, long time ago, she assisted Mrs. Manus in a special education classroom in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (a time when neither of them had a clue of what they were doing.)

Sue Lynn Denoux, B.A., Teacher

Sue Lynn received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of South Florida and has been working in the field of education for many years, both as a teaching assistant and teacher in Florida and North Carolina. Among her many interests, Sue Lynn enjoys baking pies: cherry, apple, lemon, banana and chocolate pies, to name a few. We are trying to convince her that baking pies is a science and that she should hold these “science lessons” with us in our kitchen at least once a week.

Tina Hummel, M.A., Teacher

Tina received her bachelor’s degree in history from College Misericordia in Pennsylvania in 1989 and her master’s degree in history from American University in 1991. For fifteen years, she worked as an historical researcher for historians and novelists in Washington, D.C.

Pursuing her dream of teaching, Tina joined us at Manus Academy in 2007. She has taught students in both our college preparatory and basic high school program and has tutored students after school in all subjects and skills. When not teaching, she helps Rosanne develop different curricula, including curricula for hands-on science and geography.

Being very competitive, Tina tries as hard as she can to win when playing outdoor sports with her teenage students. She also frequently gets ahead of herself and blurts out the answers to her own questions, which students find helpful. In her free time, Tina gardens, cooks and reads.

Deb Sullivan, Teacher

Deb is an internship away from receiving her bachelor’s degree in education and has been working with our students for several years, teaching them anything from beginning reading skills to high school mathematics. She loves to cook, particularly Italian food, and enjoys walking, weight lifting, yoga and reading the classics and time travel books. Being from New York, she has what is called a “Bronx accent.” Her students say that, when she gets excited, she drops her r’s more than usual. Deb says that she simply doesn’t have time to pronounce them.

Marianne E. Raispis, B.A., Teaching Assistant
(and assistant for curriculum development)

Marianne received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs. After a career in public service, including working directly for the mayor of the City of Indianapolis in the 1980’s, she embarked on a career working for an international consulting firm. Her area of specialty was Total Quality Management, which is now known as Six Sigma Improvement. She applied this specialty to the industries of health care, finance, nuclear energy and the United States Postal Service. For over five years, Marianne has also worked with pre-school children and students in elementary and middle school.

Marianne enjoys watching, learning and investing in the markets, which she has done since she was in grade school. She enjoys cooking (eating really), entertaining friends and family, traveling, gardening and reading. Friends tell her she is a world class treasure hunter but her greatest pleasure is chilling with her family at the lake (and probably looking for treasure in the lake). 

Tutors

Christine Aquilanti, B.A.

Chris received her bachelor’s degree from Duff’s University in Pennsylvania. Before joining our team at Manus Academy this past year, she worked as both a teaching assistant and job coach for students with academic barriers in Indian Trail, North Carolina. Chris is an ardent sports enthusiast (Pittsburgh Steelers’ fan) and loves outdoor activities, including hiking and swimming. Born as a “keep-the-peace-at-all-costs” middle child, Chris is a consummate diplomat. Whenever her family got into a state of high alert, her father would say, “Okay, Chris, you take that corner and I’ll take this one.”

Leslie Barrell, B.S.

Leslie, our resident artist, received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania. Before joining us in 2005, she worked as a teaching assistant at Saint Ann’s Catholic School in Charlotte and as a graphic artist. Leslie loves to grow vegetables and flowers in her garden and go to the mountains and beach with her family. She’s also an incorrigible pencil thief. Students must guard their pencils closely during their lessons with Mrs. Barrell.

Ruth Ann Kelly

Ruth Ann studied at the University of Pittsburgh and has over eight years of experience as a teaching assistant working with students, including those with academic, emotional and behavioral challenges. Before joining us at Manus Academy, Ruth Ann worked in two school districts in New York. She loves watching football and basketball and enjoys cycling, walking, swimming and hiking. She’s a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and could have bought a beach house with the money she spent on Springsteen concert tickets.

Margaret Melando, M.Ed.

Margaret received her bachelor’s degree in speech pathology from Montclair University and a master’s degree in special education from North Texas State University. She taught in two school districts in Texas as a speech pathologist and resource teacher. Her interests include hiking, camping with her sons and their Boy Scout troops, cooking and sewing. When we asked her students in what way she is unique, they said she is frighteningly cheerful and could not fathom how anyone could be that happy.

Lyudmyla Rekut

Lyudmyla comes to us from the Ukraine with advanced degrees in special education. Before joining us, she worked for a number of years with students with a wide range of learning needs in the Ukraine. At Manus Academy, Lyudmyla teaches our cooking and nutrition and horticulture classes. She also works one-to-one with students in basic skills and higher-level math and with small groups of students on social skills and etiquette. A skilled cook, Lyudmyla and her students provide us with a steady supply of delicious treats, ranging from freshly baked bread to salads made from the greens in our garden.

The School Dog

Jada, Master’s Degree in Canine Concerns
Jada, the school dog, is everyone’s favorite member of the Manus Academy staff. She readily obeys students’ commands to stand, sit up, lie down or “go to your blanket.” Having a long-term case of separation anxiety, Jada just has to be with people. Students and staff find her to be a comfortable companion and know that when she carries her green octopus in her mouth, she’s excited!