Our Staff

Carrie Beck
Favorite Bible passage: Proverbs 23:18

Carrie is a VPK teacher here at Sunlight, and she also runs the music program. She has been here since the doors opened in 2006. Carrie grew up in Eagle River, WI and now resides in Port St. Lucie.  She currently has a CDA and is working on achieving her Director’s Credential. She is married to her husband Tom, and together, they have 3 children; Tyler, 12, Jacob, 7, and Lilly, 5.  She attends Sunlight Community Church where she is also a member of our Praise Team. Carrie always wanted to be a teacher and is happy working with preschoolers. Her favorite part about SCA is that it provides her with the opportunity to do the job she loves at her place of worship.

Laura Black
Favorite Bible passage: I Corinthians 13:4

Laura is the Activities Coordinator and a teacher’s aide for the Bridge classroom at Sunlight. She was born in West Palm Beach and was raised in Stuart. She now lives here in Port St. Lucie and attends Westside Baptist Church. Laura has a Bachelor’s degree in Business administration and is now working on attaining her teacher’s certificate. She has been married to her husband Brian for 8 years. They have two children; Calvin, 6 and Olivia, 4. It was when Laura had her children she realized that she had a passion for education. Her favorite part about working here is the fact that we treat one another as family.

Julie Carbonell
Favorite Bible passage: John 3:16

Julie is a VPK teacher’s aide here at Sunlight. Julie was born in West New York and was raised in Hialeah, Florida. She has lived here in Port St. Lucie for the past 5 years. Julie started working at Sunlight in June of 2008, during the summer program, and has since received her CDA. She has been a member of North Stuart Baptist Church for the past 5 years. Julie has been married 8 years to her husband Ozzie. She has two children, Gabriel, 11, and Abigal, 6, who both love going to bible study and church. Julie learned of her passion for children from working at “My Gym.” She loved watching the kids grow and learn. Her favorite part about working here at Sunlight is teaching the children and the fact that the staff and the administration have the same goal, teaching God’s love and preparing them to be good students. We love having Julie. With her positive attitude and high energy it’s hard not to.

Heather Cohen
Favorite Bible passage: John 3:16

Heather is the teacher for our Bridge class here at Sunlight and has been working here since June of 2008.  She was born in Illinois and raised in Broward Co.  Heather has a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and is certified to teach PreK-3rd grades.  She and her family attend services here at Sunlight Community Church.  She has been married for 9 years to her husband Adam.  Together they have two children, Ethan, 5, and Lainey, 3.  Heather’s passion for children began at a young age; she always knew she wanted to be a teacher.  She even made her little brothers do school work over the summer break! Heather’s favorite part about Sunlight Christian Academy is – THE KIDS. 

Kristine Drucker
Favorite Bible passage: Phillippians 4:13

Lyn Elder
Favorite Bible passage: Psalm 25:1-2

Lyn joined Sunlight Christian Academy in 2009 as a Teacher’s Aide.  She was born in Ft Pierce and has spent many years in Indiantown .  Lyn is the proud mother of Aaliyah who is 5 months old.  She has a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from UCF and finds working with children to be very rewarding.  In Lyn’s free time you might find her playing with her dog, Lucy or just relaxing with a good book.  Lyn and Aaliyah are members of Sunlight Community Church.   She says the reason why she feels lucky to work at SCA is because “God is amazing and SCA rocks."

June Ford
Favorite Bible passage: Psalm 23

June is a teacher’s aide in our bridge class. June has been with Sunlight since we opened in 2006. She was born and raised in Salisberg, NC and now lives here in Port St. Lucie with her husband Nick. They have two children, Bill and Donna. June and her husband have been members of Sunlight Community Church for many years. Her favorite part about Sunlight Christian Academy is watching the children grow and mature. June's hard work and reliability never go unnoticed. She is a great asset to our SCA family.

Michelle Gagne
Favorite Bible passage: Revelation 3:20

Michelle joined Sunlight Christian Academy in 2009 as a Teacher’s Aide.  She was born in Miami but has been a local resident of Port St Lucie since she was 4 years old.  Michelle received her BA in Multimedia Journalism.  After having an opportunity to work with young people, Michelle realized that she has a passion for teaching children and decided to continue her education in elementary education.  She has completed the Educator Preperatory Institute at IRSC and currently working on her Masters in Elementary Education at FAU.  Besides going to school, Michelle loves to volunteer at her church, read, scrapbook and do water sports and hopes to be an author of children’s books some day.  She likes to spend her time hanging out with her two sisters and dog, Coco Chanel.   Her favorite part of working at SCA is the friendly staff and the opportunity to fulfill her dream of working with children.

Kimberly Gusrang
Favorite Bible passage: Proverbs 3:5-6

Kim is a VPK teacher here at Sunlight. She has been here since we started in 2006. Kim was born and raised in Burlington, NJ, but has lived here in Port St. Lucie for the past 25 years. She and her family have been active members at Sunlight Community Church for almost 9 years. Kim is certified to teach 3 years through third grade. She has also worked with ESE in the past. Kim has been married to her husband mike for 24 years. They have two sons Aaron, 19, and Jason, 14. Kim has always had a passion for children, but it was while working in the public school system, she realized she was being lead to share God’s love. Her favorite part about working at Sunlight is getting to know each child and how “special” they are. Kim also loves how the staff here are so supportive of one another.  We are so lucky to have Kim as a part of our Sunlight family.  We count our blessings each day we have her on staff.

Lyndsay Herrington
Favorite Bible passage: Philippians 4:13

Lyndsay was born in Uppersandusky, Ohio and raised locally in Port St Lucie.  She has completed her  Certification in Child Development.  Lyndsay has been married to Daniel Herrington for the past 7 years.  Their ultimate joy is derived from being the parents of JB, age 6, Christain, age 3 and Rylee, age 2 (the princess of the family).  Lyndsay has fulfilled her passion of working with children through her employment at preschools prior to joining SCA.  Her life is directed by the desire to ”always strive to live in God’s will.”  She supports her church by participating in the Sound System program on Sundays.  She also enjoys bike riding, running and shopping.   Lyndsay says her love for working at Sunlight Christian Academy is due to the wonderful children and willingness of the staff to work together as a team.

Heather Howie
Favorite Bible passage: Philippians 4:13

Heather is a teacher here at Sunlight Christian Academy. She is part of the 3 year old program. Heather received her CDA in 2005 and joined our team last year. Heather was born and raised in Florida. She was born in Ft. Pierce and now lives in Port St. Lucie. Heather attends church at the First Baptist of Port St. Lucie and has been a member there for the past 28 years. Heather is married to Darin Howie, a sergeant for the Port St. Lucie police department. They have been married for 14 years and have two children, Drew, 9, and Abbie,7. Heather knew she had a passion for children when she was a part of the youth at her church. She helped with the 3 year olds and from that point was hooked. Heather loves having the freedom to teach as creatively as she feels, allowing the children to learn more. We are blessed and truly enjoy having her here at Sunlight.

Amara Kossen
Favorite Bible passage: John 3:16

Amara is involved in our Extended Care program here at Sunlight.  She often teaches the children sign language and loves to play games with them.  She was born and raised in Port St. Lucie and is a member of Sunlight Community Church.  She is a senior in high school and is dual enrolled at IRSC. When she was 13 and starting babysitting on a regular basis, she discovered her passion for working with children.  Her favorite part of SCA is developing relationships with all of the children.  She always has a smile on her face and brings joy to us daily.

Kristen Massie
Favorite Bible passage: I Corinthians 13:4

Kristen Massie is the Assistant Director at Sunlight, and has been here since June of 2008.  She was born and raised in Palm Beach County, and has been a resident of Port St. Lucie since August of 2004.  Kristen has a CDA and is working toward a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education. She is a member of Sunlight Community Church and is involved with our youth ministries.  Her favorite thing about being part of the Sunlight Family is being a positive influence in the lives of so many children, and the relationships she’s developed with the staff.  We are truly blessed to have Kristen on board.

Gloria McConnell
Favorite Bible passage: She loves them all.

Gloria joined Sunlight Christian Academy in 2009 as an Enrichment Coordinator.  She was born and raised in Bogota, Columbia.   She holds a CDA in child development.  Although she loves working with children, her passion is to pursue a career in Nursing (with a secret desire to be a dolphin trainer).  She has been married to Michael McConnell for 19 years and they are the proud parents of Zev, age 16 and Chloe, age 2.   Having children of her own enforced Gloria’s passion for working with all children.   Outside of school - you might find her at her church, dining at the local Asian restaurant or just hanging out at home with her husband, children and two pets.   She finds working with the children and the staff at SCA to be very rewarding.

Missie Mossburg

Missy is a teacher’s aide in the 3 year old classroom. She was born in Michigan and moved to West Palm Beach when she was 8. Missy has lived in Port St. Lucie since 2004 and attends Sunlight Community Church. She is currently working on getting her CDA.  Missy is married to Raymond Mossburg and has a 5 year old daughter, Kylie. Her favorite part about Sunlight Christian Academy is the people. If you ask her, every person she has met has brought something new to her life. Missy’s outgoing personality and sense of humor make every day at Sunlight a great one.

Becca Stannis
Favorite Bible passage: Matthew 25:40

Becca is involved in our extended care program here at Sunlight. She was born and raised here in Port St. Lucie. Becca is a junior at Clark Advanced Learning Center and one day plans on getting a degree in child psychology. She and her family are members of the First United Methodist Church. She has always liked being around young children and knew she had a passion for them at a young age. Becca loves seeing the kids everyday and the friendly environment here at Sunlight. We are very happy that she is here with us! The kids love her!

Kathy Stannis
Favorite Bible passage: Philippians 4:13

Kathy is the extended care coordinator and an aide in the 3 year olds program. Kathy was born in Ft. Lauderdale and raised in Port St. Lucie. She is working towards a degree in Elementary education. She is also CPR and first aid certified. Kathy is a member of the First United Methodist Church and often teaches children’s Sunday school. Kathy has always had a passion for children and loves helping them learn and grow. Her favorite part about Sunlight is the children and the kind positive staff. We are thankful to have Kathy as a part of our team.

Sarah Wilson
Favorite Bible passage: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Sarah is the Director of Sunlight Christian Academy.  She joined the staff in November of 2006 as the Assistant Director.  She has a background in financial management and corporate training.  She also taught tap dancing for several years.  Her son Riley is 3, and he has been her inspiration to pursue a career in Christian Early Childhood Education.  Sarah has her CDA and Director’s Credential, and is currently enrolled at IRSC pursuing her bachelors of Education.  She was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and has also lived in Charlotte, NC.  Sarah and Riley have lived in Port St. Lucie for the past two years and their place of worship is here at Sunlight Community Church.  She teaches Sunday school and enjoys relaxing by the water on the weekends.  Her favorite part about Sunlight is that the staff and families she works with everyday have become her family.  She knows this is God’s plan for her and is passionate about the school.