Meet Our Team

Cindy McDonald

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

Cindy is the Center Director for Sylvan of Southlake and is constantly focused on improving the quality of education for the students. She has guided the center to win awards in our community as the best tutoring center in Southlake! She has over 40 years of teaching and administrative experience. At Sylvan, Cindy loves working with the students, parents, and tutors to create the best learning experience for every student. She graduated from Lamar University with her Bachelors of Art, and Pensacola Christian College with her Masters of Science in Educational Administration. Her teaching certifications are in General Elementary, Secondary English and Secondary History. When Cindy is not at Sylvan, you can find her reading a book, crocheting, or baking!

Jacob Jones

Certified Tutor

Jacob is an instructor for Sylvan of Southlake. A teacher, tutor, and education director for fifteen years, he has been a part of the Sylvan team for six. He graduated from Centenary College of Louisiana with a B.A. in psychology, minoring in neuroscience and French, received two masters degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary, studying both theology and media arts, and holds publishing certificates from the University of Denver and Columbia University. Jacob is certified for all subjects through eighth grade, as well as ELA and composite science through twelfth. With great enthusiasm for Sylvan’s strong curriculum and welcoming team, Jacob passionately brings experience in the classroom, academia, and industry to support learners in all subjects. Outside Sylvan, he also works as a professional copy editor and marketing writer for book publishers including Penguin Random House.

Mary Ann Leasman

Certified Tutor

Mary is an instructor for Sylvan of Southlake. She has a total of 18 years in education and 6 years working at Sylvan! At Sylvan Mary loves watching the students grow and succeed in their studies. She graduated from University of Texas at Arlington with her Masters of Science. Her teaching certifications are EC-8 ESL, and as a Generalist. When Mary is not at Sylvan, you can find her running, working on DIY Projects, cooking, or reading a book!

Laura Moore

Certified Tutor

Laura Moore is an instructor for Sylvan Learning of Southlake. Before coming to Sylvan, she taught in Texas and Kansas! She holds a BA in Elementary Education and MS in Special Education/Counseling from Baylor University. Education was the perfect major for her in college and she has used her knowledge for teaching in may ways throughout the years and now the past 10 years. She loves being able to share her love of teaching with her students at Sylvan which brings her great satisfaction. When Laura is not at Sylvan you will see her spending time with her grand-girls, at church activities, or exercising at the gym!

Meredith Waites

Certified Tutor

Meredith is a teacher who is passionate about all learners succeeding in accomplishing academic and social/ emotional goals. She holds her teacher certifications in EC-12 Special Education, EC-12 English as a Second Language, and 4-8 Generalist. With over 16 years working in education in various roles from private and charter college preparatory to a special education school environment, she has worked with many learning styles and differences. She has her roots from her upbringing in a parochial private college preparatory school. Her favorite subject to teach is Writing, as she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with a major in Public Relations and a minor in English. When she is not teaching during the day or tutoring, she is spending time with her family, fur babies, friends, and community. She enjoys traveling, learning new things, and relaxing with reading, journaling, and being in nature. She looks forward to her time at Sylvan, as she is passionate about seeing growth in students while building rapport

Alec Brown is an instructor for Sylvan Learning of Southlake. He has almost 2 years of teaching experience, and has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Computer Science! At Sylvan he loves being able to teach math and reading to the students and seeing how the students learn, grow, and understand the material! When Alec is not at Sylvan, you can find him doing complicated math, coding programs, and reading a book!

Ryan is a teacher at the Sylvan Southlake campus. He has been at Sylvan for 5 years! Ryan has an appreciation for Sylvan as he attended Sylvan for help in math while he was in middle school. Ryan has been a teacher and coach for 20 years. He has coached football, basketball, soccer and track. He has been in numerous leadership positions in his 20 years in education, including being a head coach at the varsity level for 13 seasons and being his campus behavioral specialist. Ryan has a degree in Special Education from Western Illinois University with endorsements in middle school and high school English. He also holds endorsements in behavioral modification. When not at Sylvan and teaching, he can be found working at Globe Life Field for the Texas Rangers.