Our Team

A Tribute to Dr. Carole B. Ricotta

In the 2002/03 school year, Sam Harrell and Dr. Carole B. Ricotta collaborated with the Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region to establish, operate, and deploy a Supplemental Education Service (SES) in Colorado.  Based on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,  once approved by the Colorado State Department of Education (DOE), the Ricotta Opportunity Center (ROC Center)  SES program was launched, serving public schools and both Colorado Springs and Denver through 2006.  The ROC Center collaboration proved successful and was used as the foundation for deploying an occupational skills development program in the US Virgin Islands in 2010.  Collectively, these experiences and the lessons learned from them represent the foundation for HonuaTreEAI.

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HonuaTreEAI, Under New Management

Effective August 1, 2023, HonuaTreEAI came under the General Management and control of WayDan Consulting, LLC.  This role includes business management and development, program development and direction, and systems administration,

Key Personnel

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EDUCATION DIRECTOR

Gwendolyn Bush M. Ed,  Ms. Bush joined the University of Detroit Jesuit High School & Academy in 2019 and serves as the Dean of Instructional Technology, integrating technology into the academic content areas, supervising the Student Technology Help Desk, and developing a school-wide professional development for student achievement and building faculty technology skills, administrator of the learning management system, and title funding administrator. Bush’s education career spans 33 years in the fields of computer science and business education. Her experience includes secondary education as a teacher, technology specialist, director, administrator, and collegiate-level director of player development and recruiting administrator. She developed and implemented the district’s first high school computer-based credit recovery program and middle school credit recovery program. Ms. Bush has earned degrees from DeVry University and Nova Southeastern University and professional certification from Cornell University and MIT.

Experienced Academic Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the primary/secondary education industry. Skilled in Educational Technology, Management, Teamwork, Leadership, and Admissions. Strong education professional with a Certification focused in Digital Transformation: Blockchain, AI, IoT, Cloud & Cybersecurity from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

STANFORD,CAL - MAY 12:  Wayne Lyons #2 of the Stanford Cardinal poses for a portrait on August 8 2011 at  Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. (Photo by Stanford/Collegiate Images/Getty Images)

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Wayne Lyons II, Growing up in Fort Lauderdale Florida, Wayne Lyons II was driven to succeed in both academics and sports. He graduated from Dillard High School as the valedictorian with a 4.8 GPA and over 50 full-ride football scholarship offers. Wayne chose to attend Stanford University where he studied Architectural Design and graduated in four years with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in the engineering department. For his junior and senior year projects, Wayne worked to help design the ferry port terminal for the Google workers that traveled to work from San Francisco to Redwood City, Palo Alto in addition to a 20-unit residential community project sponsored by the Solar Decathlon Building Association. Also, Wayne took on a minor in African American Studies before graduating in June of 2015.

Although he had an opportunity to be in the BCS college football championship series 3 out of the 4 years he played football for Stanford University, in his senior year was faced with the decision to leave college and pursue a professional football career or further his education. He chose to utilize his fifth year of college eligibility and play football for the University of Michigan as a graduate transfer student. At the University of Michigan, He chose to pursue a master's degree in the School of social work. After only two years, he was able to graduate from the University of Michigan with a Master's of social work degree.

Wayne then created a nonprofit organization that focuses on mentoring and tutoring young students to enable them to become the best citizens and students possible. The name of the nonprofit is Empire For The Youth (EFTY). Wayne is currently traveling and networking to connect with companies, nonprofits, and for-profits, to build an alliance between all people working towards a positive goal to enhance and empower many communities across the globe.

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SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR AND PROGRAM DEVELOPER

Sam Harrell, developer of HonuaTreEAI has more than 50 years of experience as a project manager, systems engineer, and business and program developer. While attending a vocational school in electronics in 1969, Sam was recruited by Western Electric/Bell Atlantic, which ultimately took him to the South Pacific, South Atlantic, and Europe, where he worked for NASA and in the aerospace and defense industry,  After leaving those fields, from 1989 through today, Since that time, Sam has been engaged in the development of several online business startups, including an e-commerce business (FixNet.com), and two education-based online programs (Urban Education Solutions and the Brick-n-Books Project). (Learn More about Sam Harrell)

Collaborative Partnerships

The HonuaTreEAI was designed for deployment nationwide in collaboration with local school districts, private schools, local non-profit organizations, and others whose mission focus includes youth and community development.  As independent education service providers, with a primary focus on helping students caught in the Academic and Socioeconomic Achievement Gap, HonuaTreEAI Affiliates can be seamlessly integrated into any existing education environment and operate as the foundation of an online learning program that is being introduced in local communities nationwide.

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Advisors - Business, Education, and Technology

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Ed Bardwell, President Rainmaker Digital

KateBarrilleaux

Katy Barrilleaux,
VP of Client Service at Rainmaker Digital

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Zhe Scott,
SEO Queen

AngieJason

The Computer Tutor
SEO & Software Development

AkaviusMoore2

Akavius Moore
Full-Stack Software Developer

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