Trainers

Lindsay Amey received her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 2005. From 2005-2018, she worked as a school health therapist with Closing the Gap Healthcare Group in Collingwood, ON. In 2006, she received her training and certification in the LWT Pre-K through Grade 5 curriculum as well as in the administration of the Print Tool Assessment. Lindsay has had great success using the Learning Without Tears curriculum in consultation with schools, school boards and families as well as working one-to-one with children aged 3-21 yrs. She was thrilled to join the LWT team as a Canadian National Presenter in 2010. Realizing her passion for teaching and inspiring adult learners, Lindsay joined the faculty at Georgian College, as part of the OTA/PTA program in 2016. In her spare time, Lindsay enjoys hiking, travelling, mountain biking and downhill skiing. She feeds her passion coaching Special Olympics skiing and building wheelchairs as a volunteer for Team Canada Healing Hands’ International seating clinics.

*Received a speaking fee from Learning Without Tears and receives a salary from Georgian College where she is a faculty member*

Nina Isaac has been at Learning Without Tears (LWT) since 2009.  She started on the LWT Product Ideation Team and then moved to the Customer Success Team for Keyboarding Without Tears when the product was launched in 2014.  Nina has been an integral part of the implementation of Keyboarding Without Tears, focusing on strategic customers in school districts around the country. With over 11 years of experience working with educators and learners, combined with her passion for technology in education, Nina consistently strives for customer satisfaction and product evolution.   In her newest role as Lead Curriculum Implementation Manager on the Professional Services Team at Learning Without Tears, Nina is able to share her subject matter expertise and enthusiasm around the Learning Without Tears digital products. 

Hilary Price received her Bachelor of Arts in Education in 2002 as well as her Master of Education in 2005 from National-Louis University in Chicago. She spent the first few years of her teaching career in bilingual Spanish early childhood classrooms in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. After moving to Colorado, Hilary continued her work in the classroom until 2020 as the full day kindergarten teacher at a local charter school. Today, she continues to positively impact the lives of children as a writing tutor, specializing in early childhood education.

Hilary has been enthusiastically utilizing the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum with children of various ages and abilities since 2002, in general education as well as special education settings in both public and charter schools. She also used the HWT curriculum at home with her own twin daughters throughout their early years, and truly saw a difference in their engagement and motivation to communicate in writing.

In the spring of 2021, Hilary was thrilled to join Learning Without Tears as a National Workshop Presenter, as she loves to share her passion of teaching and learning with others.

In her spare time, Hilary enjoys traveling with her husband and daughters, competing in triathlons, attempting to garden, and training her 2 Australian cattle dogs.

Cheryl Lundy Swift is a 1993 graduate of the University of Virginia, where she double majored in Sociology and Rhetoric & Communication Studies. She received a Master of Education in Administration & Supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University. Cheryl is currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Kean University in Union, NJ.

Cheryl has been a dedicated educator for over 20 years. Cheryl has worked in leadership and executive roles for various educational organizations including public schools, post-secondary institutions, and education companies including several leading tutoring and supplemental education service companies. Cheryl is the founder and CEO of EduPower, an education consulting firm that empowers school and business leaders, teachers, parents, and students to reach their fullest potential through professional development, coaching and curriculum. Cheryl is an award winning educational leader, curriculum developer, motivational speaker and trainer. She has developed and delivered leadership, team building, and a variety of instructional topics to help transform leadership teams and instructional practices to improve culture and climate, instructional effectiveness, parent involvement and student outcomes for thousands of school leaders and teachers across the country. She has designed, developed and delivered literacy and math curriculum to benefit thousands of students, teachers and parents across the country. She served as the Lead Curriculum Developer for Learning Without Tears’ Get Set for School’s Language and Literacy curriculum, which received an AEP Distinguished Achievement award. In 2017, Cheryl was awarded the Investor Bank’s Educator of the Year Award.

While Cheryl continues to support schools around the country, most recently, Cheryl took on a principalship of one of her clients, Summit Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, New York. She led turnaround efforts to improve the overall school culture, parental involvement and state assessment scores. Summit Academy Charter School has recently received national attention on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart awarded the school $25,000 and the biggest award ever given by the Ellen DeGeneres Show- 4 year scholarships for the entire senior Class of 2017. Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart have continued to pour into Summit Academy and its scholars by following six of Summit Academy’s scholars to college. Cheryl has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show five times.

Cheryl enjoys playing golf, singing, dancing, reading, traveling and spending quality time with her family and friends. Cheryl resides in New Jersey with her husband, Hassan. They are proud parents of their nephew, Sid and their calico cat, Dashboard.

Emily Hayes is a Kindergarten teacher in Durham, North Carolina.  She holds a BS in Business Administration from SUNY Buffalo and a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education and Inclusion from the University of Rochester.  She is a certified teacher in both general and special education and has worked in classrooms with a variety of physical abilities and neurodiversities.  In 2016, Emily began using Handwriting Without Tears with her Kindergarten students and her love of handwriting and how much it can open educational doors for all students grew.  She began her own business at the beginning of the pandemic to support students virtually continue to grow with their handwriting abilities.  When not in the classroom, Emily and her husband, Ben, can be found explore local culture with their two kids, Sloane and Lex.  When home, Emily enjoys to bake, watch reality television, to build IKEA furniture, and make memories with her kids.  Emily loves the Handwriting Without Tears Program and how it has enhanced how she supports students within the classroom and looks forward to sharing it with you!

Dr. Suzanne Asherson is a pediatric occupational therapist with a Clinical Doctorate and Masters from the University of Southern California. She co-wrote the chapter “Evidence-Based Practice and Accountability” in the Guidelines for Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy in the California Public Schools published by the California Department of Education and is SIPT certified (Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests). Suzanne has been prominently featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and appears in on-air news segments around the country regarding handwriting in today’s world. Suzanne spent eight years at the Beverly Hills Unified School District practicing as a school based OT, has been a National Presenter for Learning Without Tears since 2008 and currently has a private pediatric OT practice in Beverly Hills and the surrounding neighborhoods.