Shauna Anderson

Shauna Anderson is the Co-founder and CEO of Invata. Having founded the company alongside Janine Lyman, Co-founder and COO, she is ultimately the chief visionary. “I help make the education experience easier for families whether they choose homeschool, alternative or traditional learning systems,” she states, as her core belief is offering experiential learning that is personalized for the individual. Her own educational and work journeys, and most treasured role as a mother to six children led her to create a company founded on such principles, where she has been developing the vision, defining the mission and creating a roadmap for where they’re headed collectively. 

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Prior to becoming a high school English teacher, Shauna dropped out of college to pursue the arts as the lead singer of a touring band. Her experience of working closely with a small group of people was formative and truly resembled the startup environment - a close-knit group of individuals who dreamt the same vision and truly believed in its possibilities. Eventually, she pursued a degree at the University of Vermont, where she majored in English and minored in World Religions. She then received teaching credentials in both Vermont and California, which included an experiential learning program that provided her with a firsthand glimpse into the world of classroom teaching. By then, she had already been exposed to a variety of teaching and learning styles, which were later enriched by her upcoming life experiences.

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Shauna then got married and moved to California, where she began working at a charter school that focuses on non-classroom based independent study. The model is structured so that kids learn at home, the daily teacher is a parent, and the full program is overseen by a credentialed educator. This led to Invata’s nascency after witnessing such a successful program, where she consequently acquired the acumen to understand which families this could potentially work for. Additionally, she has trained teaching staff, as her core role has been supporting teachers who are required to have a breadth of experience and knowledge in order thrive within such an innovative system. 

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Charter school teachers possess a unique skill set since they must know all of the subjects, all grade levels, and understand all teaching philosophies. There is a great deal of experiential training and learning involved, but what is most impactful to Shauna is that they can be innovative. She believes charter schools are like sail boats that can be agile - highly adaptive to changing conditions and constantly evolving. As a mother of six, she has proudly homeschooled them all. Her personal experience is extremely helpful in coaching families because she can relate to them. She deeply understands that each child is different, stemming from her own experience of motherhood. Knowing how to work with children from the perspective of an educator in addition to a parent is what uniquely qualifies her to lead Invata.

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Shauna honors the importance of different learning styles and recognizes that each individual has a unique method of learning. From her biggest achievement, motherhood, she has experienced this on a personal level. She acknowledges that, “You want your kids to be happy and successful in the way that they can be and school is not the place for most kids to feel that way, so I’m trying to help as many families as I can.” She understands that school can be a thwarting environment when children are not allowed to express themselves and explore their own creativity.

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Aside from being a mother and her experience as a credentialed educator, Shauna runs a small boutique winery with her husband. She is extremely passionate in all that she explores and in the end she knows how to connect and empathize with others who are on their own journeys and trying to do what is best for their children.

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