Meet Our Team

Anthea Rose

Director of Admissions

Anthea graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Education Studies & Human Relations, Creative Writing/English, and a certificate in Resilience & Trauma-Informed Perspectives. She is currently pursuing a masters in School Counseling from Western Carolina University. At Sylvan, she enjoys making a fun and adaptive learning environment for all students. In her free time, she enjoys painting and playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Frankie Gazaway

Director of Education

Frankie has 25 years of experience in education including public & private schooling as well as homeschooling. Her degree is in Early Childhood Education from Bob Jones University. Her greatest interest is her family- she has five sons, the oldest of whom is a Marine. She is a huge advocate of teaching the whole child and ensuring the best education for all students. In her spare time, she is an avid reader and loves to cook and try new recipes.

Meredith Vessely

Tutor/Admin Assistant

Meredith is a Boutique owner in Weaverville, NC with a gift for working with kids. While Meredith has many tutoring talents, she finds the greatest joy in upper level math tutoring. She studied accounting at Portland Community College. When Meredith isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her painting, knitting and crafting. She also enjoys hanging out with her two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Megan Barker

Tutor

Ms. Baker’s interest in special edcation began while in high school when she volunteered with the Special Olympics.  She got her Bachelor of Science degree in Deaf Education K-12 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2007, and Pre-K add-on license in 2010 at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  Megan is a native to Asheville.  She lives in West Asheville with her daughter, cat, and dog.

Kena Grooms

Tutor

Kena Grooms has been an educator for over 30 years.  She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Mars Hill Collene in Elementary Education.  Kena enjoys teaching and tutoring learners and watching them grow in their learning.  Kena enjoys spending time with family exercising, and loving on her three poodles.  She is a Breast-Cancer Survivor!

Sveta graduated in 2018 from Mars Hill University with a degree in Elementary Education.  She was a teacher for seven years before deciding to pursue a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics from Liberty University.  She grew up with eight older siblings and is an aunt to twenty-three nieces and nephews.  Sveta enjoys reading, art and crafts, and spending time with her family.

Melissa Deloach

SAT/ACT - College Prep LIVE, Online Director/Professor

Melissa Deloach joined the Sylvan team in May 2019. By day she’s the Director of the Scholar’s Academy for Spartanburg County, but in the evenings and on Sundays, she manages our college prep program, including SAT/ACT prep and College Reading Strategies. Melissa holds degrees from Clemson University and Converse College. When she isn’t helping teens prepare for college either here or at the Scholar’s Academy, she enjoys reading and spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Dr. Jeff French

SAT/ACT - College Prep LIVE, Online Professor

Dr. Jeff, as his Sylvan students call him, graduated from Furman University in 1995. He then held a variety of college-level roles as a graduate student, program coordinator, and instructor for the University of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College while also serving as a zookeeper at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. With a focus on genetics and ecology, Dr. French finished his graduate work in biology and currently serves as Chair of Biology and Assistant Dean of Science and Math at North Greenville University. In his “free time”, he enjoys preparing students for the SAT and ACT as a LIVE, online instructor for Sylvan.