Staff & Board of Directors
The teaching team at Collective Learning Academy guides students to take ownership of their own learning process and challenges them based on individual needs. Our staff consists of certified teachers with bachelor’s and master’s degrees with additional certifications in Autism Spectrum Disorders and training in social skills curriculums (such as Social Thinking by Michelle Garcia Winner) and the Orton Gillingham approach. Staff are also well trained in various communication devices such as the AAC and Letter Board and on the various neuro-technologies offered at The Collective Learning Academy.
Our Staff Members
Rosemary Aybar - Cofounder, Head of School and CEO
Rosemary earned a master’s degree in general education from Framingham State University (1999) and a master’s degree in special education from Touro College (2005). She also holds a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology and is a certified autism specialist.
Rosemary has extensive experience working with children in a wide range of settings including hospitals, private schools, public schools, and private practice. She has mastered creative strategies for instructing a variety of different types of students. A few examples of her continuing education and certification include Baker’s Social Skills Training, Kowalsy’s Asperger’s Training, Newman’s Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), LindaMood Bell’s Orton Gillingham, and Handwriting and Keyboarding Without Tears. She is also certified in the Interactive Metronome (IM), Fast ForWord, The Listening Program, and Yoga for Children with special needs.
Prior to joining Collective Learning Academy, Rosemary provided effective instruction and behavioral support at the Autism Center of Metropolitan New York and taught at The Piedmont School of Atlanta.
Aarabia Banos - Teacher
Aarabia earned her undergraduate degree from Herbert H. Lehman College in New York City where she majored in Sociology and minored in Early Childhood Education.
She then earned her master’s degree in education from Mercer University (2021) and has graduate course work in Applied Behavior Analysis from Arizona State University. Read more.
She is Orton Gillingham certified and has experience working with a wide range of children. In New York City she worked in various high schools as an Oral Transliterator for deaf and hard of hearing students and is fluent in American Sign Language. She more recently worked as an all-inclusive classroom teacher for Atlanta Public Schools.
Logan Dean - Teacher
Logan Dean is a dedicated educator with a robust background in science, research, and specialized education. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Pre-Medicine Concentration from Georgia State University and a Master of Arts in Biological Sciences from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Logan is a licensed educator through the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and earned her teaching certification through the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy. Read more.
She brings extensive experience working with students of all ages and diverse needs in both supportive and academic environments. Logan is passionate about designing engaging, meaningful learning experiences and excels at creating differentiated course content tailored to individual learners. As a teacher at The Collective Learning Academy of Atlanta, she empowers students to develop academic, social, and practical skills while nurturing their confidence and independence.
LeMarcus Frazier Jr - Teacher
LeMarcus graduated from Lurleen B. Wallace College in 2015 with a degree in accounting. In 2018, he earned his degree in early childhood education and development from the University of West Georgia.
LeMarcus has extensive experience working with children in a wide range of settings including private schools and public schools, and inclusion and sensory environments. He is a certified Orton Gillingham instructor, Fast ForWord provider, and an Interactive Metronome (IM) certified provider.
Janeesha Grant - Teacher
Janeesha graduated from Valdosta State University in 2018 with a bachelor's in psychology. She has had several years of experience working as an Registered Behavior Technician. Throughout her career, she has worked in a variety of settings such as clinics, in-home, public schools, private schools, and specialized facilities. This experience have given her the opportunity to work with individuals with diverse needs and strengthened her passion for helping students grow, develop independence, and reach their individual goals. Read more.
She is currently continuing her education by pursuing her master's degree and has also completed coursework in ASL, further expanding her ability to communicate and connect with others. Janeesha is excited to be part of the CLA community and looks forward to continuing to grow!
Raven Holmes - Transition Program Director
Raven graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, concentrating in English. She later earned her Master's degree in Secondary Special Education and Transition. She has been a part of CLA since 2018 and has extensive experience working with students with exceptional needs in various settings.
As the Transition Program Director, Raven helps students transition to adulthood by improving their life skills, community skills, and job skills through various pedagogies: constructivist and social constructivist. Her goal is to help students obtain a job, maintain friendships, and eventually live independently.
Raven currently serves as an advisory board member at Spectrum Autism, where she volunteers for numerous events, including the Georgia Race for Autism, Duluth Fall Festival, Adults Social Saturdays, and Teen Social Saturdays.
In her free time, Raven enjoys traveling, hiking, reading new literary novels, and spending time with her family.
Odoey Koffie - Director of Evaluation
Odoey earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education from Kennesaw State University and later earned his Master of Public Health from Emory University. His professional background includes public health research, program management, evaluation, and health equity, with experience working across nonprofit, academic, government, and community-based settings.
Throughout his career, Odoey has focused on using data and evaluation to strengthen programs, identify opportunities for improvement, and better understand the experiences and outcomes of the people they serve. His work has included managing programs, developing evaluation strategies, analyzing and communicating data, and working collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders.
At Collective Learning Academy, Odoey brings his background in evaluation and program improvement to help the school better understand student progress, strengthen internal systems, and translate data into meaningful information for educators and families.
Lindsay Belnick - Part-Time Executive Assistant, Art Teacher, and Substitute Teacher
Lindsay Belnick graduated with her bachelor’s degree in fashion marketing and management from the Art Institute of Atlanta. She has experience as a mentor in a wide range of settings and programs which have allowed her to interact with children and adults both inside and outside of the classroom. A few examples of her continuing education training include Dialectical Behavior Therapy Training, Social Emotional Engagement Training, Transition to Adulthood Training, and Social Thinking Training.
She is Fast Forward provider, an Interactive Metronome (IM) certified provider, and a certified instructor for the Listening Program. She is also working on her Pilates certification. She motivates and guides students to reach their full potential as both athletes and individuals.
Prior to joining Collective Learning Academy, Lindsay provided instruction and behavioral support at The Faison Center in Richmond, Virginia. She also shadowed and assisted pediatric occupational therapists in day to day activities as well as served as a head coach and an assistant coach for the SOAR basketball and tennis programs.
Jordan Reed -
Communication Partner
Jordan earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University in 2023 in speech communications with a minor in communication sciences and disorders. She has extensive education in American Sign Language, working towards an interpreting certification. Jordan has worked with children in a wide range of settings including private schools and public schools, and inclusion and sensory environments. She is trained in CPR and in using the AAC device. Prior to joining CLA, Jordan worked at The Ellis School.
Blakeley Rogers -
Communication Partner
Blakeley Rogers is a communication partner here at CLA. She started working with the neurodivergent population in 2016 after becoming involved with the Scholars with Diverse Abilities Program at Appalachian State University. Though Blakeley graduated from ASU with a degree in Apparel Design and Merchandising, she realized her true passion was working with neurodivergent children and adults in the caregiving and school settings. After spending two years in the apparel industry, Blakeley pivoted full-time to caregiving. She has since provided care for individuals with varying support needs across more than 15 families. Read more.
Blakeley received a certification in Spelling to Communicate (S2C) in 2025 and plans to continue her education on nonspeaking, minimally and unreliably speaking populations so she can provide the most ethical and up-to-date care possible. Blakeley is extremely passionate about educating others on apraxia, otherwise known as the brain-body disconnect. She believes that everyone needs to learn that intelligence does not have to look a certain way.
Board Members
Maurie Drambel
Maurie Drambel graduated with a BA degree in English from The University of Georgia. She started her career in marketing as a technical writer for a global construction company and also worked as an executive assistant to the COO for a national corporate travel company. Recently, she was taking care of her beloved son, John, who had cerebral palsy and required round-the-clock care. She and her husband founded Let's Cure CP, a nonprofit dedicated to funding medical research for individuals with cerebral palsy.
She is married to Ed Drambel and they have 3 children, Will (recent Auburn graduate), Katie (rising Junior at Georgia Tech) and John (eternally 18 years old).
Laura Deisley - Consultant
Laura Deisley is Managing Consultant at Walker Deisley Strategic Consulting, an innovation thought partner and catalyst for schools and districts nationwide. She is also founder of Lab Atlanta, a non-profit startup in its second iteration designing equitable opportunities for youth to gain social innovation design skills and the agency and voice to bring about change.
Ms. Deisley brings to CLA many years of experience in small and large corporate environments, micro school development, and public and private school strategy and innovation. Read more. In addition to serving on CLA’s Board of Directors and as its CEO, she serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Hope Atlanta (a hunger and housing nonprofit serving metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia) and as founding partner in the consultancy Atlanta K12 Design Challenge. Ms. Deisley previously served on the Alumni Council and on the Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Council at Wake Forest University. She is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of Northside United Methodist Church where she and her family have been active for nearly 40 years.
Walt Deriso - Board Chair and Founding Member
Walt Deriso is senior vice president and the director of strategic growth and family office solutions for Synovus. He has 25 years of experience in serving the banking and wealth management needs of family offices.
Before returning to The Family Office in late 2022, Walt was a founding shareholder at Atlantic Capital Bank where he served first as senior vice president of Private Financial Services, and finally as the head of Family Office Banking. Walt began his career at The Family Office of Synovus where he served as the director of relationship management. Read more.
Walt currently serves as president of The Westminster Schools Catbackers and as the chair of the board of directors of The Collective Learning Academy. He is a past president of Buckhead Baseball and continues to serve as Buddy Baseball commissioner. Walt recently served on the transition team for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickins and was a long-time member of the board of trustees of the Marcus Autism Center.
Walt received his Bachelor of the Arts at Vanderbilt University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business. Walt and his wife, Anna, have two sons, Walt and Henry and live in Atlanta, GA.
Jimbo Haneklau
Jimbo Haneklau is a new Board Member with a focus on Fundraising for CLA. His current professional experience is with Imagine Communications as the Account Director of the Sports & Live Events vertical in North America. In this role, he oversees the pursuit and strategic direction of broadcast technology solutions for professional and collegiate sports organizations. Before joining Imagine, Jimbo spent 2 years at Atlantix Global, where he supported major cloud providers in effectively managing and maximizing value of their data center assets. Prior to Atlantix, Jimbo began his career at PwC, where he specialized in Risk Management and Revenue Recognition consulting for Fortune 500 entities across the Industrial, Security and Healthcare spaces. Read more.
In his free time, Jimbo is an active community coach at both Northside Youth Organization and Frankie Allen Park, and has taken a leadership role in helping to organize the Buddy Baseball league for Buckhead Baseball and their competing parks. Additionally, Jimbo is a Board Representative for his alma mater, Marist School, which he attended prior to achieving a Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Alabama.
Preston McDonald - Treasurer
As Senior Vice President with Synovus, Preston serves as a Relationship Manager for middle market businesses throughout the southeast, assisting with banking & financing needs across a variety of industries. In this role, Preston serves as a trusted advisor to owners and executive leadership teams.
Preston received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business and is a graduate of the CADE Leadership Development Program. Read more.
Preston has been involved in numerous non-profit Boards and volunteering endeavors including serving on the Collective Learning Academy, University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business Young Alumni Board, volunteering for the First Tee of Metro Atlanta, and serving as a youth soccer coach for Top Hat and Tom Cat Soccer Clubs.
Preston and his wife Mary Lorraine reside in Buckhead with their three children: Bell (7), Mac (6), and Harrison (5).