Meet the Family

Meet the Fusion Family

Jody is founder and also an instructor at Fusion. She is a homeschool mom of four and has been homeschooling since 2009. Her passion is providing a safe, fun, and engaging learning environment where homeschool families can make friends that just might feel like family!

Andréa Gross is originally from Brazil but has been in this great country since 2001. She resides in Palm Beach County with her husband and two kids, Conner and Parker. She loves Disney, dancing, reading, cooking, baking and all things house related! She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management and enjoyed her internship experience at Walt Disney World, Wilderness Lodge, where she met her husband. She looks forward to bringing her travel adventures, culture, and dancing, to our classrooms!

Abigail Andrews is a former Fusion Enrichment student, and has several years of experience in musical theatre and singing. She has a passion for performing, and loves being able to share it with others. She is also bilingual and grew up speaking Spanish at home. She is currently a Senior in high school and takes dual enrollment classes at Palm Beach State College and Harvard University.

Deserie Scianno is a Palm Beach County native, graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic college with a bachelors in education and a masters in counseling. She is a former Palm Beach County teacher, cheer coach, and counselor for 25 years. Also former Owner and Operator of DVE Cheer allstar and recreational gym for 5 years. Recently she has used her love of the arts and background as a creative arts therapist for adolescents and seniors promoting social and emotional wellness.

Karie Bliss grew up in the country, in a very small town, and spent a lot of time outdoors. So, I know the value of outdoor play, vitamin N for nature, connection to one another, and building positive, long-lasting relationships. I have also traveled to several countries and almost all 50 states to experience life through the eyes of others. I have a M.Ed from FAU and have been a practicing
counselor/therapist for over 20 years. I have taught for over 5 years in special education multi-levels, and a job coach for people who are deaf/hard of hearing for over 6 years while earning a Bachelor’s
Degree at University of Maryland.

Nicole Duclos moved from her hometown, Worcester, MA with her husband to the WPB area over twelve years ago. Now they live in Lake Worth with their two kids, Trudy and Corrina, and two old puppies. She enjoys spending time with family, camping, live music, painting, seeing new places, cooking and grilling by the pool. She taught preschool, fourth grade, and visual arts (preschool-8th grade) at St. Ann School in West Palm Beach for several years before staying home to raise and home school her children. Her Florida teaching certificate includes Elementary Education, Art (K-12), and ESE.
"It is impossible for me to separate art from science. I love sharing the process behind creating visual effects and the joy it creates."

Caroline Dopson is an actor and educator based in South Florida. She recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University with her MFA in Theatre Performance and is now teaching Acting at FAU. She earned her BA in Theatre Performance from Centenary College of Louisiana and has also studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York and the Gately/Poole Conservatory right outside of Chicago. Caroline is a performer, director, and an educator. Some of her favorite roles include Little Sally (Urinetown the Musical), Sabrina (Sabrina Fair), and Marianne (Constellations). Caroline's passion is blending together the joy of storytelling with the structure of acting techniques for artists of all ages.

Jamie Mariconda is an educator that subscribes to the mission of “lighting the spark”. Her classes are devised to promote hands on learning, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. She has degrees in History, Secondary Education with Inclusion, and Marketing and is a Florida Certified Teacher. She has taught classes from preschool to college. Jamie has been homeschooling her daughters since 2013. Her family enjoys living an eclectic Brave Writer lifestyle, which you will see reflected in many of the original classes she develops for Fusion.

Isabelle De Souza is originally from Brazil, but currently lives in Boca Raton with her family. She currently attends Southeastern University and is set to graduate Spring 2022. She is a music director at VOUS Church in Miami, and has been teaching/coaching kids since 2016. She loves music and loves teaching piano, guitar, voice, drums, ukulele.

“I’m very excited to teach ukulele to the little ones! My heart gets so full when I see them going from not knowing the strings to playing a full song. They get happy and excited and it makes teaching all the more enjoyable”

Mattea Foy is originally from Australia and spent her childhood traveling around the world on a motorbike and sidecar. She was homeschooled during her travels as well as when she first came to the United States at 12 years old. She graduated from high school in Palm Beach county and earned her bachelor's in Education from the University of West Georgia. She taught Pre-K until she started homeschooling in 2018. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and all their pets. She enjoys all things art, reading, organizing, and teaching.

Amy Sexton is a mom of 4. After completing a BA in Elementary Education with minors in mathematics, French and Russian and a MA in Library and Information Science, she moved to Florida from Iowa with her husband and daughter in 1998. She’s been homeschooling since 2002 and teaches part-time for IMACS since 2014. In her spare time she reads copiously, leads a homeschool support group and volunteers as a breastfeeding counselor and at church. Over the years she’s helped in small ways with various homeschool co-ops.

Val Komar is in her second year of homeschooling. She has a BFA with a jazz minor from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, She has sung in many houses, such as New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, The Dallas Opera, Palm Beach Opera, London Touring Opera, The Kennedy Center, and did a world premiere & with Philip Glass, She lived abroad for about fifteen years, making Paris her home for twelve. After her son’s birth, she built KidJam, a French & English music school teaching language through music and movement to over a thousand Parisiens and expats in it’s seven years. Their social focus became raising awareness to inclusivity of children with unique abilities, which was not yet in practice in France. Val recently became an ABM Neuromovement practitioner where the focus is on neuroplasticity through brain to bone connection. Her hobbies have included over 20 years of jazz, tap, and modern dance.

“Nothing changes until something moves” ~Moshe Feldenkrais