Our Team
HonuaTree Education Affiliate Initiative (HTEAi) or (HonatreEAI) are product brands owned by Samuel C. Harrell. Mr. Harrell also owns and operates FacilityAXS.net, another online business directory with more than 75,000 businesses worldwide. (Learn more about Mr. Harrell at SamuelHarrell.com.) After more than two decades of development with a primary focus on helping at-risk youth bridge the achievement gap, which included several trial-and-error program deployments, fueled by the innovation of today's technology and the onset of COVID-19, Mr. Harrell decided to collaborate with other professionals to build the online distance learning solution known as the HonuaTree Education Affiliate Initiative.
Key Personnel
Sam Harrell, Member Manager of S.C. Harrell Consulting Services, LLC. and the 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, Sam was recruited by a telecommunications company, 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, Sam has been engaged in 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)
Wayne Lyons II, Chief Operating Officer (COO). 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.
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.
Collaborative Partnerships
The HonuaTreEAI was designed for deployment nationwide in collaboration with local school districts, private schools, and local non-profit organizations whose mission focus includes youth development. As an education initiative, with a primary focus on helping students caught in the Achievement Gap, HonuaTreEAI can be seamlessly integrated into any existing education environment or incorporated as the foundation of a distance learning program that is being introduced in a local community.
Advisors - Business, Education, and Technology
Ed Bardwell, President Rainmaker Digital
Katy Barrilleaux,
VP of Client Service at Rainmaker Digital
