Eliya Hanna

Eliya’s passion for education can be traced back to her first influential elementary school teacher, who showed her the power that one teacher can have on a student’s life.

Growing up in the heart of Chicago and spending weekends working on a family-run farm, Eliya has always been an advocate for multi-faceted forms of education, diversity, and getting kids outdoors. Her path to the classroom has been a culmination of experiences in different educational spaces, with a formal Master’s degree in Elementary Education and specialization in Cultural Linguistic Diversity from the University of Denver. She has been a first grade teacher in a township, outside of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and a learner (herself) in a French fluency program in Montpellier, France.

Hobbies and education have merged into one for Eliya’s career path as a former professional ski instructor in Colorado, and a professional horseback riding trainer that launched a children’s program in Northern California. In the Bay Area, she spent six years as a lead teacher in a co-operative school, before moving to Asheville. Eliya continues to search for amazing communities, teaching opportunities, and nearby mountain ranges.

When she is not teaching, Eliya can be found hiking with her two dogs, competitively riding, eating at every donut shop she can find, and taking whimsical trips abroad to continue her global learning.