ONE-ON-ONE IN YOUR HOME OR VIRTUALLY

Your child will work with his or her coach at least twice a week. In-person sessions are a minimum of 1-hour; virtual sessions are a minimum of 15-minutes. The precise length of each session will vary depending on the needs and/or the demands of the time of year (e.g., midterms, tests, projects). 

We require regular and consistent meetings, at least at the onset of services. In order for students to replace old routines with new routines, consistency is essential. We prefer to meet with students on non-consecutive days and are available 7 days a week. We will work with your schedule in order to support your child. As a result of consistently meeting and building new skills, routines, and confidence progressively, academic work and grades (if grades are a concern) should also improve. 

CUSTOMIZED FOR YOUR CHILD

Our coaches work with students in creative ways to help build new neural pathways, routines, and automaticity while supporting their subject matter needs. We also help students learn new ways of understanding, retaining, and retrieving subject matter. For example, if meeting in person, our coach and your child may take a walk and discuss history; turning it into a story and giving visual cues helps a child retrieve individual points in the story later while taking an exam. 

Wendy Weinberger
President & Co-Founder

Wendy is the President & Co-founder of Illuminos, a passion born business from her experiences growing up with numerous family members with ADHD. When her son received the same diagnosis, she worked hard to help him overcome the many challenges and decided to bring her cousin Evan’s unique curriculum-based academic coaching business to the DC area to help parents and students in her community with similar challenges.

A lifelong supporter of children’s causes, Wendy has been a long-time advocate for Children’s Miracle Hospital Networks and Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC for whom she raised more than $550,000 for the facility.

Wendy holds a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center, and a Bachelor’s in Science, cum laude, from the University of Maryland. Prior to founding Illuminos, she spent 25 years as a practicing attorney, General Counsel & COO of publicly traded companies gaining a broad range of experiences that she leverages today in managing Illuminos.

Evan Weinberger
Co-Founder

Evan Weinberger is the Co-founder of Illuminos. Evan graduated from Rhoades College before being admitted to the University of Houston Ph.D. program for Psychology. Following decades of his own struggles with learning differences, he started Staying Ahead of the Game, a Texas-based academic coaching company in 2006 with the goal to equip students with the executive functioning skills, habits, and tools they need to manage stress and achieve greater success.

Evan particularly enjoys speaking to parents, counselors, and educators all over the country about the power of executive functioning skills and the most useful ways to assist students in getting the most out of school and achieving their goals.

Ashley Horner
Onboarding Specialist & Parent Liaison
parentsupport@illuminos.co

Ashley has been working with students and their families for over ten years as a behavioral specialist, family ministry counselor, and school counselor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Counseling. Ashley is passionate about helping students discover their unique strengths and understanding how they’re wired so they can grow into their full potential.

In her role as Onboarding Specialist & Parent Liaison, Ashley works closely with parents and students to understand their needs and ensure they are properly supported. She also collaborates closely with our Coach Manager, Theresa, and Recruiting Specialist, Lindsey, to ensure each learner and their family are matched well with an Academic Coach.

Theresa Ruff
Coach Manager
coachsupport@illuminos.co

Theresa is an experienced leader and coach who has been in education for over 18 years. She holds two Master's degrees in Educational Leadership and Business Administration. Theresa’s coaching and leadership experiences allow her to positively impact learner progress at various levels of educational systems. She believes in the importance of meeting the needs of each learner by providing them with support, effective instruction, and the tools they need to advocate for themselves.

As Coach Manager at Illuminos, Theresa collaborates with Ashley, Onboarding Specialist & Parent Liaison, and Lindsey, Recruiting Specialist, to carefully pair each learner and their family with an effective Academic Coach. Additionally, Theresa provides leadership guidance and support to the Academic Coaches as they help learners be the best versions of themselves to achieve success in school and life.

Katie Leslie
Director of Culture and Coach Development
HeyKatieL@illuminos.co

Katie has been a behavioral specialist for the neurodivergent population for close to 15 years. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Human Development, a post-bachelor’s certificate in Applied Behavioral Analysis, and is currently working towards a master’s degree in Applied Neuropsychology. Katie’s many years of experience providing services for students and their families both in the home and at school have made her passionate about implementing instruction that is highly individualized and grounded in her students’ unique needs and strengths.

In her role as Director of Culture and Coach Development at Illuminos, Katie works closely with our Coach Manager, Onboarding Specialist & Client Success Manager, and our Recruiting Specialist, to foster a positive and supportive company culture while ensuring the continuous education and professional development of our coaches. With Katie's background in ABA, Human Development, and Psychology, she works alongside our coaches to tailor learning plans for students based on their individual needs.

Lindsey Hubert
Recruiting Specialist
HeyLindseyH@illuminos.co

Lindsey has been a dedicated educator for over 10 years. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh, Lindsey started her career as a teacher where she engaged daily with students and parents to support learning in the classroom by building authentic relationships, creating differentiated opportunities, and refining self-advocacy skills of her students.

In her role as Recruiter, she works closely with our Onboarding Specialist, Ashley, and Coach Manager, Theresa, to engage exceptional coaches with experience, credentials and passion for helping students succeed.

Jen Gaegler
PR & Social Media Manager
HeyJenG@illuminos.co

Jennifer has more than 20 years of experience building relationships between parents, students and family businesses. In her role as the PR, Jennifer is the community and media contact for press inquiries, speaking engagements and community partnerships.

Kate Zimmer
Executive Administrator
admin@illuminos.co

Stefanie Riegel
Controller
accounting@illuminos.co

Lisa Donovan
Accounting
accounting@illuminos.co

Lisa has been working in the accounting industry for over twenty years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus in accounting.

Lisa joined the Illuminos team in 2021. In her role in accounting, she is primarily responsible for all billing and payroll.