OUR PEEPS
Artists - United in Possibility
Creating in 360°
Core Production Team
While Amanda and Marcos knew each other from their film class, the entire team came together for the first time on the production of “How Do We Love Thee?”
Though from three differing fields - education, film, and costume design -together Amanda, Marcos, and Sylvia make the perfect blend for this venture. Their united goal is to create what has never been created before: educational cinematic virtual reality that allows teachers to step their students into the worlds they study.
Creator & CEO
Amanda Gardner
After spending 20 years in the high school classroom, Amanda returned to university to learn how the public education she grew up with changed so much while she was teaching. During her studies she was introduced to cinematic virtual reality and a curriculum was born.
She looks forward to sharing her journey with you.
Curriculum Vitae.
Art Director & Costume Designer
Sylvia Fuhrken
Sylvia currently works for Muto-Little Inc. constructing costumes from the ground up. While Marcos makes certain the tech is set, Sylvia creates the feel of the production. She stepped in to lend her talents to the prototype curriculum “How Do We Love Thee?” After that, Amanda and Marcos both knew that for the curriculum they wanted to create, they would need her vision.
She looks forward to designing the upcoming projects.
Curriculum Vitae. Website.
Cinematographer & CTO
Marcos Luna Hoyas
Marcos is the reason Amanda decided to film a CVR experience for her dissertation. Little did he know his comment, “Let me know when you film this, I’ll be your cinematographer,” would lead to a prototype curriculum, a joint business venture, and a friendship.
He looks forward to bringing the wonders of CVR to people everywhere.
Curriculum Vitae
Board of Advisors
Where our fields are in the arts and education, our board of advisors are experts in theirs.
We are fortunate to have a talented group of individuals willing to donate their knowledge to help guide our steps as we begin to create a new curriculum, a curriculum that we hope will help restore reading to our classrooms & the humanities to our hearts.
Business Advisor
Meredith Richard, Vice Chair YNPN Triangle NC
After serving as Founding Executive Director of Musical Empowerment in North Carolina and more than doubling the donations to that nonprofit, Meredith has returned to her hometown of Chicago as the Individual Giving Manager for Merit School of Music, West Loop.
We are fortunate to have Meredith advising us as we begin to shape the Educational CVR into a business that will positively integrate education and 21st century technologies.
Financial Advisor Milla Austin, Founding Partner The Sales Seed
Before partnering with Ty Hendrick to start The Sales Seed in 2019, Milla spent 15 years working for others in the accounting field, the last 6 of those as Director of Sales Training for Bloomberg BNA.
Her passion for accounting as well as teaching is evident in her career path just as her passion for life is evident in her love of family and tennis.
We are fortunate to have her bring that passion to our advisory board.
Educational Advisor Dr. Lakia Scott, Assistant Professor of Education, Baylor University
Dr. Scott’s experience in English & Reading education, Urban Education, and academic organizations means that she has the ability to see the applications of Educational CVR’s technical capabilities in the secondary and post-secondary environments.
In addition to advising the company, she is a member of Amanda’s Dissertation Committee and the driving force behind Waco’s Freedom Schools.
CVRScriptwriters
Our scriptwriters are creatives committed to education. Knowledgeable in their subjects and excited to share that knowledge with secondary and post-secondary students, each writer is committed to bringing the most credible information and most authentic experience to our eduCVR experiences. At present they are working for free to help launch this company because they believe in its vision and in the awesome potential of this new medium.
Want to help us help them? Take the time to leave us a comment of support or donate to our first solo venture or simply spread the word - every little bit helps, even just signing up for our list serve.
in peace & possibility - amg
Kelly & Kelly
This mother/daughter team hails from Gloucester, Mass. Both bring years of teaching experience to the project, covering the entire K-16+ spectrum and multiple areas of interest and specialization..
Carol Kelly has a degree in Library and Information Science as well as multiple education degrees and licenses and has been an educational leader and innovator in the use of technology in schools for over thirty years.
Tara Kelly has a doctorate in history from Johns Hopkins as well as years of teaching experience and most recently published an entertaining and evocative work on the connection between big game hunting and the formation of America’s National Parks. Information on her book can be found here.
Together Kelly & Kelly are crafting their first script on Jane Addams which we are hoping to film in Hull House.
Dr. Stephanie Boddie
In addition to being a professor in three departments (education, theology, and social work) at Baylor University, Dr. Boddie has also created and produced a multimodal show, Unfinished Business: From the Great Migration to Black Lives Matter.
The described it as follows: The Hillman Hall Clark Forum at Washington University in St. Louis described it as follows: “This musical documentary offers a creative interactive approach to documenting oral histories of African American elders from historic Black churches. Ultimately, Dr. Stephanie C. Boddie’s “Unfinished Business” project uses the dynamic of story to help audiences consider their own stories and create new narratives that opens a pathway for deeper racial healing. “
She was introduced to the possibilities of VR and CVR by Amanda and has agreed to work on bringing W.E.B. DuBois to Educational CVR. After that, Amanda’s hoping to convince her to take on Zora Neale Hurston with her.
Elisa Fuhrken
Elisa taught middle school English for four years before leaving the classroom to pursue her dream of becoming a college literature professor.
At present she studies at University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.
Her research interests are in mid-nineteenth century American women writers, an interest she’s applying to her research for writing the Emily Dickinson script.
Elisa has graciously agreed to be the first writer Amanda is teaching to translate the subject into educational cinematic virtual reality.
Together they are hoping to bring the essence of Emily - her wit, her insight, and her cheekiness - to cinematic virtual reality.
Viewers will learn of Dickinson as they become a university poet who has been invited to attend one of Susan Dickinson’s soirees at the Evergreens. The hope is to film in the place where Emily lived and laughed, baked and wrote - The Homestead.
If all goes well, the script will end in Emily’s room, from whose windows the world of Amherst can be spied.
Riley Lohr
Riley spends his days teaching middle school students in Waco ISD about his favorite subject: history.
His superpower is helping students gain the skills to analyze history critically & to do so as unbiasedly as possible.
His other superpower is devouring history and sharing that passion with others.
His current script projects are LBJ and The Alamo. The first of which should will be completed during summer 2020.
Azlyn Rogers
Azlyn is an amateur writer and poet based in Denton, Texas. After several years at Baylor University studying history, & independently studying literature and writing, she joined the eduCVR team to share her love of Edgar Allan Poe with the world.
She hopes her contributions will help students gain interest in not just literature but the history behind it as well. She’s excited to see where her work with eduCVR will take her.
When Azlyn isn’t writing, she’s often found playing roller derby or tending bar. Her personal work ranges mostly within poetry and short works of prose. Her published work can be found in Waco’s Yellow Chair Review
Amanda Gardner
Yep, same Amanda from before. While taking lead on the Browning script, she has transitioned into a supporting role with Dickinson.
Before studying for her PhD, Amanda took a break from high school teaching and completed her masters with the thesis “White Blooms: The Essence of Emily Dickinson’s Fascicles.” It is her love of Dickinson that sparked the creation of “How Do We Love Thee?,” the focus of her dissertation.
Though Emily has long held her fascinated, Amanda is taking a supporting role in the script’s development, choosing instead to coach Elisa through the process.
Amanda will turn this experience into curriculum and on-boarding material for other CVR writers.