Interested in becoming a guide or assistant guide at The Studio®? If so, please email Tiffany Cortright at BusinessDirector@StudioPrep.org.
Program Director & High School Guide
Alecia Baptiste loves all things math and science. Her love of these sometimes-scary subjects helps to guide the Studio Prep students to move from fear and avoidance to comfort and success.
Before joining the team, she created curricula for Duke University’s TIP Program (Talent Identification Program for gifted students), served as Director of a Classical Conversations chapter, worked as an Application Engineer with NameAvant!, taught electronics in the public school setting, and helped struggling students as an instructor with Brain Balance.
Mrs. Baptiste has been a conference speaker in Tanzania, empowering women in evangelism, parenting, and their personal relationship with the Lord. She is an accomplished singer, mother of four, and passionate encourager.
Formal Education:
Music and Songwriting Guide
Felecia Baptiste graduated from Studio Preparatory in 2022 and is currently teaching a songwriting class available to Highschool and Lower school 2. She is preparing to study esthiology at Aveda Institute to become a licensed skin care specialist. In her free time she enjoys listening to music, singing, reading, and cooking for family and friends.
Business Director & High School Guide
Tiffany Cortright is not only the glue that holds our administrative pieces together, but she’s also a true servant leader. You’d never know she worked long hours at The Studio while homeschooling her children because she’s the first one to bring a meal, make a comforting call, or attend your child’s event.
Tiffany is a Certified Information Systems Auditor and has worked for corporations such as Ernst & Young and Dell Computer Corporation. She left corporate life to homeschool her three daughters and two sons, but her strong leadership skills helped her become a Director with Classical Conversations while homeschooling.
She left CC to join The Studio and has shaped the program from its foundations. She’s worn every hat imaginable while having the unique ability to nurture relationships to build a tight Studio Prep community.
Formal Education:
Elementary & Middle School Guide
Sharon Ellerby is a native Austinite, dedicated wife, mother of three and grandmother of eight. Sharon’s faith and personal relationship with Christ is her core and has resulted in a lifetime commitment to her ongoing spiritual growth as well as the lives others she has touched along her journey. She has a deep passion for family history and drive for helping others that was cultivated from her experience as a caregiver for her beloved Grandmother.
Sharon’s gift of connecting with people especially young people has allowed her to empower many along her path. From a young age as a big sister she began developing creative ways of inspiring and awaking others to embrace their education while tapping into their own creativity. Sharon’s natural leadership abilities at a young age led to being a successful cheerleader coach of young girls and now as her Husband calls her a cheerleader for God thru Christ.
As a teenage parent Sharon developed very creative teaching techniques to spark her Son’s passion for learning. She is a vibrant leader and volunteer for the Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas, “A Better Me” program supporting participants making a healthier lifestyle change. Sharon’s dedicated work contribution as a Practitioner with the Austin Health Commons includes the facilitation of multiple Truth Racial Healing Transformation Circles designed to lead participates to develop a deeper understanding of our shared humanity through telling their stories.
Founder & Managing Director
Megan Johntz thought she could change the world by becoming a TV newscaster, but soon realized her hero’s journey was to be in psychology. After returning to school for her Master’s Degree, Megan is now a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, and a Licensed Professional Counselor. Before transitioning into full-time public speaking, Megan ran a successful private practice in Dallas.
With the birth of her two sons, she cut back on public speaking but still enjoys bringing solid psych tools to a conference room of a thousand people since many of them will never seek counseling. Her past clients include Fina Oil, Delta Airlines, Mensa, McKinsey and Company Consulting, and the FBI
With young children and no local family, God called Megan to start a ministry, Moms Mentoring Moms, which is still thriving in the Tampa Bay area today.
Megan has been homeschooling for 16 years, was a Classical Conversations Tutor, a Bible Study Fellowship Discussion Leader and Children’s Leader, and started a homeschooling mom’s support group. In 2015, God led Megan and her husband to start the first Christian, homeschool-hybrid Acton.
Believing travel is one of the best teachers, Megan and her husband enjoy showing their two sons as much of the world as they can.
Kind words from Public Speaking Clients:
How students describe Mrs. Johntz:
Formal Education:
Elementary & Middle School Guide
Before children, Courtney taught public middle school math and science in Durham, N.C. Curious about adult education as well, Courtney worked for ExecuTrain developing and implementing computer training programs for companies throughout North Carolina. With a new itch to enter the business world, Courtney eventually went back to school for her Masters in Accounting and worked in finance for Northern Telecom.
In 2000, Courtney and her husband decided it was time to return to Texas to start a business and focus their attention on being new parents. Once Courtney’s kids were school-aged, she volunteered in their schools creating after-hours programs to support the arts and sciences and enrichment math programs for 2nd and 3rd grades. The past three years, Courtney worked as a substitute teacher in elementary and middle schools in the Lake Travis ISD.
When not volunteering or watching her children play sports from the sidelines, Courtney enjoys traveling, gardening, jogging, sudokus, handiwork, and backpacking/camping.
Certification:
Formal Education:
Middle & High School Guide
Gwyneth Lenfest is an engineer who loves to teach. Her professional experience as an engineer includes designing HVAC systems, construction management, and RF and cell network testing. Her experience as a teacher runs the gamut from remedial geometry and long-term substituting AP physics, to homeschooling her four children through early elementary. She has tutored calculus, taught American Heritage Girls skills ranging from how to recycle jeans into quilts to basic aerodynamics, and she established the pre-engineering program at Walton High school in Marietta, GA.
In her spare time, she is a crocheter who loves listening to various history podcasts. She loves to camp and hike with her family, enjoying the amazing world the Lord has created.
Certification
Formal Education
Creative Director
Haven Mass is Studio Prep’s perfect marriage of left and right brain: her engaging projects are creative works of art, and yet her research and technical skills help strengthen the bridge between home and Studio Prep. Prior to joining Imprimis, Haven used her creative, organizational, technical and research skills in such ministry/education organizations as Young Life, Hope Chapel, and City School as well in the corporate sector. She was an admissions counselor at her alma mater, Missouri State University, worked on Springfield City Utilities Wellness Program and worked with students at the Springfield Family Violence Center.
She’s been homeschooling her two daughters since kindergarten, teaches community computer classes at the Austin Library, is active in her church, and is married to a man dedicated to keeping her laughing.
How students describe Mrs. Mass:
Formal Education:
Elementary & High School Guide
A boy mom through and through, Amy McAllister is happiest when adventuring with her family—exploring nearby hikes, or finding last-minute cheap flights to somewhere new.
While attending Utah Valley University, Amy traveled the country competing in business case study competitions, and spent a semester in China teaching English. She graduated with a B.S. in Business and Hospitality Management.
The funniest person she’s ever met is her husband, Cort, and they laugh all the time. After getting married, Amy and Cort moved to Columbus, Ohio for Cort to attend graduate school at The Ohio State University. While there, Amy worked for the admissions committee for the Fisher College of Business and frequently uses this background to help high school seniors draft their college admissions essays.
Always active in the church community, Amy has held positions teaching all ages, including two years where she taught a daily Bible study to high school students.
After a brief stint in Washington, D.C., the McAllisters headed to Austin in 2013 and haven’t looked back since. They have never lived by family but love creating family wherever they are, referring to them as “Fram-ily” (friends who are family).
Serving in the community has always been a mainstay for Amy—most recently she has been an active volunteer with refugee resettlement in Austin and enjoys delivering Meals on Wheels with her sons.
Amy has been a teacher at The Rock Enrichment Academy for several years and considers teaching a creative art. She loves Jesus Christ, and He helps her do all kinds of things she never thought she could do, like homeschooling!
Amy started out as a parent at Studio Prep but then loved it so much that she was determined to play a bigger role. She thinks it’s one of the coolest places she’s ever worked.
Middle & High School Guide
Jeanette grew up in Carrollton, TX, attended Tarleton State University (2014), studying chemistry, and most recently graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with an MS in nutritional sciences (2018). She taught in various capacities throughout undergrad and grad school and is delighted to join Studio Prep as the HS biology guide.
She also works as the administrative assistant at her church and is active in ministry. In her free time she enjoys working out, reading, crocheting, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
High School Guide
Co-Founder
Professionally, Heath is an entrepreneurial executive with experience founding start-ups, creating and expanding new businesses, and leading a Fortune 500 enterprise.
Currently, he is a partner at the Pilot Wall Group which invests in healthcare and other sectors. Previously, he led the Integrated Care Group for Fresenius Medical Care, the largest dialysis equipment manufacturer and treatment provider in the US and globally. As President, he oversaw the creation of a division to manage the full cost of caring for dialysis patients, divisions providing national lab and pharmacy services to dialysis patients, and MedSpring Urgent Care centers. Heath joined Fresenius in 2014 when it acquired MedSpring, the Austin-based company he co-founded in 2011.
Previously, Heath served as CEO at Tampa-based WellCare (NYSE:WCG) in 2008 and 2009, where the team stabilized the $6.8 billion, Fortune 500 health insurer while it resolved a federal investigation concurrent with the 2008 credit-market crisis and 2009 turmoil of health reform. He returned to the company after retiring and spending a year in Spain with his family. Before that time, he led a team in the successful launch of a $950 mm prescription drug division and oversaw marketing and sales during the LBO, IPO, and rapid expansion of the company.
Prior experience includes five years at McKinsey & Co., co-founder of an online pharmacy in the first Internet frenzy, a six-month life lesson at Enron as it imploded in 2001, and a start in the glamorous world of agricultural mowing equipment.
The best deal he ever managed to close was his wife, Megan Johntz, with whom he has had two boys and many wonderful adventures.
Formal Education:
Middle & High School Guide
Since 2008, Kelly has worked as a freelance writer and editor for corporations, small businesses, bloggers, and other writers. She began her career by teaching English Language Arts for public and private high school and middle school students.
Kelly most closely identifies as a reader — she loves books and libraries and book shops. She loves to talk about books and write about books and recommend books to others. She has homeschooled her three children from the get-go, so coming to Studio Prep has been a blessing to her entire family.
RECENT WRITING PROJECTS:
EDUCATION:
EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE