TEACHERS ON RESERVE - Key Persons
Blair began with Teachers On Reserve in 2011 as a support team member and, thanks to her attention to detail, she became Support Team Supervisor in 2013. In 2019, she was promoted to Hiring Manager and her experience in school and teacher support makes her uniquely qualified to interview prospective TOR teachers. Blair currently oversees the hiring and onboarding for all TOR teachers and is a vital part of our teacher support staff.
Diane was born and educated in upstate New York. She began her education career as an arts-in-education specialist for several school districts. While teaching a gifted and talented class for one of those districts she hired Skye McKenzie for a six-week history project. They ended up working together for another 9 years before they decided to get hitched. After a move to LA, Diane worked as a Research and Development Manager for a ceramic company before joining Mount Saint Mary's College as an Education Director. In 2002, she was hired at Teachers On Reserve as the Coordinator/Operations Manager. When long-time owner Gay Hennessy decided to retire in 2018, Diane and Skye purchased TOR. Diane continues in her role as Operations Manager and supervisor of our wonderful school support team.
Patty is a California native who earned her teaching credential from CSUN. She has worked in a variety of California educational settings since graduation. As an experienced educator, Patty's understanding of the needs of schools and teachers makes her a great TOR Support Team Leader and School Liaison. In her spare time, she teaches English language learners in grades Pre-K through 8.
Shawn, a California native, was raised and educated in the High Desert. She began her career in the San Bernardino Office of the Public Defender. Shawn then transitioned to education at Loyola Law School, where she coordinated the Criminal Justice Internship program and supervised state correction facility visitations for the Social Justice Law Clinic. She now manages TOR's Support Team and is committed to supporting our excellent client schools and our fantastic teachers.
Job Titles:
- Co - Director ( COO ) & Billing Coordinator
Skye McKenzie was born into a teaching family of more than 50 educators. Teaching runs in his veins and he was helping out in his mom's special ed class by the age of 3. Skye officially began his own career in education as a teaching artist and founded upstate New York's Shakespearefest, where he introduced over 15,000 6-12th grade students to works of Shakespeare. He also designed and led teacher development workshops encouraging hundreds of teachers to teach Shakespeare through performance. Skye also founded Live History Productions, a company dedicated to illuminating the K-12 curriculum. After moving to LA with Diane, he was hired to improve and update the hiring process for TOR teachers. Since Skye and Diane purchased TOR, he now oversees the HR and Accounting departments.