Meet Our Team

Joan Russell

Director of Family Engagement

Joan Russell serves as our Director of Family Engagement in our Anderson center.  She has over 15 years of experience with Sylvan Learning Center.  She enjoys working with families to determine their goals and setting plans for our students.  When not at Sylvan, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, especially her grandchildren.  You can aldo catch her attending to her garden.

Tammy Hamilton

Director of Family Engagement

Tammy Hamilton holds a bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. She is certified by the State of South Carolina to teach multi-categorical disabilities for grades PK–12. With more than 20 years of experience in education, Tammy has homeschooled her six children, taught in private preschool, and worked in public school special education. She relocated to South Carolina in 2018 and has loved calling it home ever since. Outside of teaching, Tammy is a dedicated Star Wars fan who also enjoys reading, gardening, baking, traveling, and quilting.

Dazlin Rowles

Easley Site Coordinator

Dazlin taught elementary for 4 years before staying home with her three kids. She enjoys being able to spend focused time with students who need to overcome struggles. She loves being at home with her kids, dogs, cats, chickens, and gecko.

McKenzie Wilson

Instructor

McKenzie Wilson is originally from Aiken, South Carolina. She attended Anderson University and graduated in 2022 with a B.S. in Elementary Education. After graduating, she began my teaching career in Anderson 5 at Calhoun Academy of the Arts. She taught 5th grade for one year before transitioning to 3rd grade. In her free time, she enjoys shopping and eating Mexican food with her friends. She began working at Sylvan in 2023 and has really enjoyed extending her teaching to small groups of a wide variety of ages.

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.

David Courreges

Easley Instructior

David joined our Easley team in May 2024.  He previously worked for The Peace Center and he substituted in Georgia for 8 years.  He loves to be able to work more one-on-one with students.  In he’s free time, he loves listening to music, cooking, and eating!

Jacob Bolin

Instructor

Jacob has been working with students and substituting for the last 8 years. He loves helping students build confidence in their skills and knowledge. He loves reading and talking about stories with other people.