Learning Never Ends is proud to field a diverse and dedicated team
to help create a safe, creative, and fun environment for each
individual who attends one of our centers!
Melissa Gourley, MSW, LSW
CEO & Co-Founder / Owner
While completing her Bachelors of Arts degree at Ohio Dominican College, Melissa began her journey working with individuals with disabilities by providing direct care services for a supported living agency. After finishing her Bachelor’s degree, she returned to college to receive her Master’s degree.
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During Melissa’s second year in the Master’s of Social Work program at The Ohio State University, she was offered a fellowship at the OSU Nisonger Center. During the fellowship, Melissa helped to develop programs which benefit individuals with disabilities, provided counseling, facilitated groups, and taught a graduate level course at OSU.
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Melissa received her Master’s degree in Social Work in June 2003. In August 2003, Melissa co-founded UPREACH LLC, and in 2006, co-founded Learning Never Ends LLC.
Beth Hunter
Co-Founder / Owner
Beth attended the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in Psychology. Beth started her career working in a group home in 1989. Beth relocated to Columbus in 1994 and began a career as a Support Specialist.
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Beth continued to advance within the agency as she was promoted to Support Specialist Coordinator and Program Director. As a Program Director, Beth was responsible for hiring, scheduling and training support staff, coordinating medical services, overseeing and managing finances, and maintaining quality living conditions.
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Beth was also a part of a Quality Assurance Team which traveled to other states to monitor the quality of services provided to individuals with disabilities. In August 2003, Beth co-founded UPREACH LLC, and in 2006, co-founded Learning Never Ends LLC.
Kiearra Mason
Kiearra has spent most of her career finding joy in serving others. Kiearra started out in 2011 working for the YMCA of Central Ohio as a lead teacher in the after school program. In 2014 Kiearra reluctantly left the YMCA to become an Activities Coordinator at an Acute Care and Rehabilitation Center. During her time at the center, Kiearra got the privilege to focus on enhancing the quality of life for individuals with mental disabilities. Kiearra loved her role and the meaningful relationships that were built and became eager to learn more and work closer to those in the field. Kiearra started her journey with Learning Never Ends in 2015 as a Direct Care Staff. Kiearra quickly fell in love with the individuals and the company and in a short time knew that working with people who have developmental disabilities was her passion. With serious dedication and hard work, Kiearra quickly began to grow within the company. Kiearra has occupied every position and established a wealth of knowledge over the years to become the leader she is today. In her free time, Kiearra enjoys hanging out with family, traveling, recreational sports and adventures with friends.
Michael Saldivar
Michael has significant experience working in the disability field, both on the provider side and at the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities. He earned B.S. and Master’s degrees from Grace College and Seminary in northern Indiana. Michael enjoys helping people get issues resolved so that they can focus on caring for the individuals we serve. When not at work, he loves spending time with his wife exploring Columbus--and most anywhere.
LNE Central
5909 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH 43231
Jaylayko Frost
Jaylayko has worked at Learning Never Ends since February 2021 where she started as an Community Engagement Specialist. She was born in Warren, Ohio then moved to Columbus in 2005 where she graduated from the Southwestern City school district in 2017. Although this is Jaylayko’s first time working with individuals with developmental disabilities as adults, she already had a love for individuals. The bright smiles of the individuals are something that she will forever be grateful for and continue to cherish as she helps them reach their goals.
Alyssa Herman
LNE Central - Assistant Director
AlyssaH@LNEohio.com
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Alyssa’s love for individuals with developmental disabilities goes back to when she was in high school. She was on a missions trip to Ecuador and saw children with special needs not getting the educational assistance that they needed. She knew from then on that she wanted to help people with special needs in whatever field she went into.
She went to Marion Technical College and got into their Occupational Therapy Assistant program with the goal to someday work with kids who had special needs. She graduated college and was able to attain her license and became certified to practice in the field of Occupational Therapy.
She worked at a nursing home right out of college for 4 years. She eventually realized she wanted to help people in a more fulfilling way. That’s when she found LNE. The rest is history. She says, “I have the best job in the world and I am truly grateful that God put me here. I work with the most loving and passionate people and we are honored to be able to serve adults with developmental disabilities.
Antoine Peterson
Hello I’m Antoine Peterson. I grew up in Columbus, OH and graduated from Brookhaven High school. I started my journey 11 years ago working with individuals with developmental disabilities. I possess the comprehensive skill set and hands-on understanding necessary to affect positive outcomes in my role as Transportation Coordinator.
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In addition to my formal training and certifications in CPR, First Aid, CPI, and delegation certification, I possess a caring and sensitive personality, as well as a genuine interest in helping others to become more independent. I am comfortable working one-on-one with people of all ages and varying levels of ability, and I apply my varied life experience and a non-judgmental approach to identifying and analyzing training needs of the individuals I support.
LNE Fairfield
230 N. Columbus St. Lancaster, OH 43130
Hunter Haines
Before I started working at learning never ends I pretty much hopped from job to job since I graduated high school. I started at Learning Never Ends in 2016 having no idea what I was getting myself into. After the first few weeks I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In 2018 I moved up to a contract specialist. I assisted with helping the individuals complete whatever contract it was that we were working on and helping teach them the proper skills they needed for community employment. In 2019 I moved up to Lead Contract Specialist, and that same year I moved up again into the Community Engagement and Employment Services Coordinator. I also advocate for individuals showing interest in vocational habilitation and help secure new community employment opportunities for those individuals to learn the skills they need to be independent and able to work in a community setting. Today, I am the Associate Director at LNE Fairfield. Throughout the years I have strived to help our individuals in becoming as independent as possible not knowing that they have also taught me things as well. I never have the urge to go home because I am already there.
Carrie Martin
Carrie joined Learning Never Ends in February of 2017 as a Community Engagement Specialist and quickly learned that this was what she has been wanting to do. Having a heart for serving individuals with Developmental Disabilities has always been a passion and Learning Never Ends provided the opportunity. She quickly moved up from CES to a Lead CES by October of 2017, then in 2018 moved to a Program Assistant in March of 2018. In March of 2019 she moved up to a Program Coordinator and by September of 2019 she became the Assistant Director of the Learning Never Ends in Fairfield. Prior to working at Learning Never Ends she worked for Central Ohio Home Help Agency in the field in 2014 and helped take care of older individuals and some who had developmental disabilities and fell in love with doing it. They quickly moved her in the office as an HR/Office Manager for their Lancaster branch. While there she went for her CPR Instructor license which she has had since 2015. She was there until she left in 2017 to join Learning Never Ends to what she considers her home away from home.
LNE South
200 Hill Rd. S., Pickerington, OH 43147
Tamara Johnson
Tamara Johnson holds an Associate’s Degree in Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities from Columbus State Community College. Tamara began her career providing adoption and foster care to children with mental health diagnoses and developmental disabilities in her home, a service that she provided for over fifteen years.
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Tamara also held the position of Independent Provider and Home Health Aide for over five years. After several years of in-home care experience, Tamara embarked on a new venture within the field when she accepted the position of Activity Leader with The Association for the Developmentally Disabled where she was responsible to facilitate community engagement and employment building activities for more than 100 individuals with developmental disabilities.
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Tamara was later promoted to the position of Program Supervisor within her final role at the agency. Tamara later joined Learning Never Ends, LLC in August 2012 as a Day Habilitation Specialist and was quickly promoted to the position of Program Coordinator in November 2012. With the expansion of services and opening of the new Learning Never Ends program location in Southeast Ohio in September 2013, the opportunity was provided to Tamara to serve in the position of Assistant Director.
David Smith
David Smith is a born and raised die-hard Buckeye. David has worked in corrections, juvenile facilities,high end security and also adult day programs and group homes. David started with Learning Never Ends in January of 2015 and has worked his way up to employment manager. David is also a professional stand up comedian since 2016. To David, Learning Never Ends is more than a job, it's family.
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Alicia McMichael
Originally from Cincinnati, Alicia moved to Columbus in 2015. This city quickly became home and she has found great joy in living the life she feels she was made for. Family is only a short trip down 71, and she prioritizes seeing them regularly.
Alicia began her career in events specializing in weddings and corporate meetings, then started at LNE in January 2024. She is committed to developing relationships based on mutual respect, curiosity and compassion, and is looking forward to growing in her role as Program Coordinator.
Utilizing her sense of creativity is important. In the age-old form vs function debate, she is an avid proponent of form. She believes that adding a little beauty to things makes the world a more interesting place to be. In her time off, she enjoys painting and interior decorating and loves assisting her friends and family with projects around their homes.
LNE West
200 Hill Rd. S., Pickerington, OH 43147
Mike Levesque
Mike is originally from Maine and has been working in his communities for over 20 years. He has experience as a DSP, First Aid trainer, talent acquisition specialist, day hab staff/manager as well as a director, and also a residential program coordinator. Mike was drawn to the DD community by his passion for community and empowerment. It is very important for Mike to be an agent of change, positivity, and progress in his communities. He has always been a voice for the voiceless and strives to empower others to use their voices, because they matter and need to be represented in their communities as well. In my free time I like making music, I love the ocean and engaging in any and all beach activities. I am also a comic book and Star Wars mega fan.
Lily Schumer
Lily is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Art Education. She was an art teacher for 3 years before making the transition to Learning Never Ends in 2023. She loves her position as a Program Coordinator because she can combine her creativity with her desire to help others. Since starting at LNE, she has fallen in love with the members of her program. She looks forward to coming into work every day. In her free time she is involved at her church, loves painting, and enjoys spending time with her husband and cat.
PAW
Putting Abilities To Work
5909 Cleveland Ave., Columbus, OH 43231
Sonny Ly
PAW - Putting Abilities To Work Employment Services Manager
SonnyL@LNEohio.com
Sonny began his professional career with AmeriCorps: City Year Columbus where he served 9th and 10th grade students at a diverse, at-risk school. During his 18 months serving students, Sonny experienced first-hand the importance of collaboration, adaptability, gratitude and being solution-oriented. Most importantly, he realized that his purpose in life is to serve others. These lessons have since become foundational values for Sonny's professional life, and service became his mission.
With City Year, Sonny learned what it means to be a servant leader: leaders exist to serve the people, to prioritize their peers' needs, and to foster growth in those they are leading. With this idea at the center, Sonny led a team of 7 AmeriCorps Members who saw marked improvements both academically and socially in their students.
In March of 2019, Sonny joined Upreach and began his journey in the field of Developmental Disabilities (DD). As the Training Coordinator, Sonny learned about the policies and requirements side of serving individuals with DD. Sonny's work with Upreach includes design and implementing new training systems for the company as well as spearheading Upreach's annual all-staff meeting where he orchestrated programming for 150+ Upreach employees.
While at Upreach, Sonny built many meaningful and impactful relationships with both consumers and employees. These relationships eventually led him to Learning Never Ends where he is finding immense joy in serving consumers directly. He started as Lead Community Engagement Specialist in July of 2020 and quickly transitioned Program Coordinator after two months. In this role, he works closely with his Site Director to manage Learning Never Ends West.
Sonny feels at home with Learning Never Ends where he not only has the opportunity to serve consumers closely, but also the privilege of working with genuine leaders who share his belief in servant leadership. He finds fulfillment daily in his work and is excited for what's to come :).
Hayley Tobin
Job Coach
HaileyT@LNEohio.com
Bio incoming.