Administrator and Team Leader
Debra Sarno is the Administrator of Team Teach Haiti. She is a former high school band director and retired school counselor from Quincy Community Schools, Quincy, Michigan. She was honored as Teacher of the Year for Branch County in 2000. Deb plays many musical instruments and is a member of some very unique music ensembles including Midwest Alphorn Retreat and Dodworth Saxhorn Band, a Civil War band. Also, she is a member of Kalamazoo Concert Band, Monroe Concert Band, Washtenaw Community Concert Band and Crossroads on 23 Community Church worship team.
Deb taught psychology at Kellogg Community College. She first traveled to Haiti in 2015 with an eye and dental team. After learning of the need to develop good teachers in Haiti, she immediately started TEAM TEACH HAITI. She continually recruits American teachers to share the skills God has developed through their productive careers as educators. Deb leads the American team in curriculum development, training programs, video production, and several administrative duties. She works closely with our Haitian team on the ground in Haiti to bring the best of educational practices to schools in the Dessalines, Haiti area.
Our American Teaching Team
Frances Heires is a former high school French teacher. She is very dedicated to serving Team Teach Haiti in any way possible. Her skills in French are very valuable as we build a Teacher Resource Center filled with books in French for our Haitian students.
Robin Holbrook is a retired special education teacher specializing in early childhood development. She assists children with disabilities to thrive to the best of their abilities. She is very interested in children in Haiti who may have developmental disabilities. Currently, she is working on training Haitian teachers and care-workers to better understand disabilities and the value of these wonderful children.
Cathy Glei is a Kindergarten teacher. Her class is one of our stops as we bring our Haitian team to the USA to train and observe US teachers in action. She is an expert in the area of assessments and understanding student data.
Marcia Ohler is a retired educator. She has made several trips to Haiti to help teach teachers on the ground in Haiti. She was one of the first teachers to serve in Haiti with Team Teach Haiti.
Karin Canfield is an elementary teacher with advanced skills in teaching young children. Her innovative ideas in the classroom will continually help our Haitian teachers develop advanced skills as they education Haiti's next generation.
Andrea Saska is a special education teacher for the Wayne-Westland School District. She has been involved in many mission trips serving a variety of needs. She brings many great skills and mission insights to Team Teach Haiti.
Donna Brigman is a retired middle school teacher. She taught Language Arts, Film, and Creative Arts. While teaching in New York City, she enjoyed working with several Haitian students. She believes good teachers are patient, knowledgeable, and creative.
Erin Mosher is a 3rd grade teacher in Battle Creek, Michigan. She has a great interest in education in Haiti and serves on our Critical Thinking team to develop workbooks and videos to help our Haitian teacher better understand these skills.
Cindy Longenecker is currently a Field Supervisor for the University of Toledo who oversees university students during their semester of student teaching and other methods courses within the area's public schools. Her teaching experience includes three years teaching at Quisqueya Christian School in Port-Au- Prince Haiti in the mids 1980's and she returns to Haiti regularly and has a passion for the Haitian people.
Kimberely Cole is a Special Education teacher for the Wayne-Westland School District. She has worked in many different Early Childhood/Preschool classrooms throughout her teaching experience where she has been able to study the many different ways that children learn as well as been able to implement different teaching techniques to best fit the children's needs.
Dawn Leno lives in Michigan in the USA. She is a retired art and music teacher with a love for painting; working with various mediums including clay, alcohol inks, and fiber arts. Dawn loves to create splashes of vibrant colors thru all different techniques and to share what she knows with children! She is so very excited to have an opportunity to share her art through illustration!
Dr. Mary Brown has an impressive background in the sciences. She has taught a wealth of college course at many distinguished universities including Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University and several community colleges. Dr. Brown has authored 18 publications. She is a highly praised speaker at many science conferences. In retirement, Dr. Brown continues to be active as an advocate for voter rights policies in the United States.
Angie has taught grades K-8 during her educational career. She is devoted to bringing the best skills possible to the classroom to help children learn. She believes the best teachers are the ones with loving hearts just like her Savior, Jesus Christ. Angie has participated in missions to Mexico and hopes to visit Haiti someday.
Our Haitian Team
Pierre Dorlevil is our Director of TTH Haitian team. He is responsible for coordinating training for teachers in Haiti. He schedules training sessions, conducts training sessions and reports back to the American team. Jacquelin has studied and received credentials in Computer Sciences.
Pierre has recieved an education in Educational Sciences. He holds a diploma in French communications and Animation. Pierre graduated with credentials in theology. Currently, he serves as the administrative director of the Institution Mixte Armonie in Dessalines. Pierre teaches philosophy, French literature, and French communications in Dessalines, Saint-Marc, and Port-au-Prince. He is excited to serve and work for Team Teach Haiti as a representative to the schools and Assistant Director providing training to our Haitian teachers.
Virlande is a Haitian school teacher in Dessalines. She joined Team Teach Haiti after completing our training program. She serves as our teacher for Tan Pou Istwa (story time), an after school story time with books, games, and fun for kids. Her work with students learning to read is simply amazing.
Marie-Anne served as a teacher in Dessalines for several years. She taught 3 years olds at Mixte Institute Peavey. She loves young children and has such a gentle way with kids. She is a wonderful addition to our Haitian team in our Pou Tan Istwa and Klib Biblik.
Deslande works to translate our workbooks and other materials. He freely volunteers his time because he believes it is his duty to give back to his homeland. He is excited about the opportunities TTH provides to train Haitian teachers to better educate the next generation of Haitian leaders. He understands education will change Haiti for a productive future.