We are a few of the volunteers that oversee the events and needs of the community.
Chantal Beaudry  President | Chantal hadn’t considered homeschooling until becoming a mom and a friend presented the idea. Immediately smitten, she gained confidence, excitement and momentum by reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching documentaries. Fast forward to now, she and her partner Richard, unschool their two kids by following their interests and deep diving into curiosities with library books, board games, legos, worksheets, free play, field trips, and screen time. Chantal still finds herself immersed in discovery, branching off to nature-based education and self-regulation in a screen-filled world. She is also a part-time flight attendant who enjoys late night crosswords, charcuterie boards, and adventures. She joined the MASH board to be an advocate for home education in all its forms, and to help cultivate the necessary community for those who choose this journey. |
| Mandy Johnson Renaud Vice-President | Mandy is a home educating mom of three kids, asmall business owner, and an advocate for inclusivity. With public school backgrounds Mandy and her husband, Chris, never intended on homeschooling. Once their kids were born and they witnessed the magic that is child lead learning, they were all in. Mandy and Chris unschool their kids and love to learn right along with them. Mandy strives to ensure that her children have the learning environment that fits them best and seeks out the resources to make it happen. Her favorite homeschooling resources are Julie Bogart of Brave Learner and Issy of the Stark Raving Dad Blog. Mandy loves the peers/friends that she and her children have found through MASH and now in her 7th year of home educating she wants to give back and help to foster community in Manitoba. |
Bethany Booy  Treasurer Email Communications | Bethany is a homeschooling mother of two children, Asher and Seth. She and her husband, Dustin, have been homeschooling for over 10 years using a child-led learning approach. She is fascinated by her children’s innate desire to learn and the freedom and flexibility that self-directed homeschooling provides. As a member of MASH from the start, she participated in many MASH events at which she received the information and motivation she needed to continue her homeschooling journey confidently. In 2019 she joined the MASH Advisory Team to more actively support the Manitoba Homeschooling community and families like hers. |
Michele Merchant Secretary | Michele likes to ask questions and know why. When her eldest son wasn’t thriving in preschool, she began asking questions about alternatives and found homeschooling. She began as a school-at-home type homeschooler, but through her research and through trial-and-error, she feels that child-led learning is the best fit for her two sons (and herself). She is still going though her own deschooling process and has found online resources such as “Happiness is Here” and “Lucy AitkenRead” to be so helpful in her journey. In these 8+ homeschooling years, she has found comfort in knowing the MASH community is here for support, and is excited for the opportunity to be part of it. |
Gillian Moore Government Liason | Gillian and her husband Adam have six kids ranging from highschooler to toddler. Homeschooling since the beginning, she follows a relaxed Charlotte Mason approach that’s informed by her deep trust in her children’s ability and innate desire to learn. Between some specific learning disabilities and a couple different neurodiverse kids, she’s accidentally become very interested in all things brain science. Between homeschooling, homemaking, and volunteering, she tries to make time for her favourite hobby: reading and listening to audiobooks. |
Tiffany Todosichuk Facebook and Website Admin | Born and raised in Texas, Tiffany was never a fan of the cold. After falling in love with a Manitoban, she warmed up to the idea. Tiffany left a corporate job to join her husband, Mike, in his small business. Once there were 3 children under 4, Tiffany became fulltime caretaker while Mike became an independent contractor of Todo Reno. The idea of homeschooling started to grow on them for many reasons: growing lifelong learners, family bonding, character building, flexibility in schedule, etc. Homeschooling has been an ever evolving mishmash of ideas that changes with the family as personalities unfold and various connections are made. In joining the advisory board, Tiffany hopes to learn a little, help a little and create a bit of community. |
| Allison Hay Board Member | Allison strives to be curious and when the pandemic hit, she saw it as an opportunity to get curious about homeschooling her kiddo, who at that time was in grade 2. She left the fast paced world of music therapy at St.Amant and opened an online music teaching studio so that she could work from home and homeschool full time. She is curious about intertwining attachment theory and education and while she and her son spend as many of their days outside and in nature as possible, they also enjoy the vast digital landscape and endless possibilities of the digital world. Fast forward 3 years and Allison has found a soft landing place within the MASH community, enjoying the weekly Mash-ups, the incredible camping weeks at Bird’s Hill, and the connectedness found from participating in the fall conference. Allison joined the MASH board this fall and is excited to take a more active role in the community. |
Mariah Mailman PhD. Board Member | Mariah has taken a developmental approach to parenting and education from the start with her two children. She interweaves different styles of learning and homeschooling including focused projects at home and activities in the neighbourhood. Along with her partner, Micah, they love playing outside, story time, and seasonal celebrations. Through MASH she’s made new friends and found new resources, and she’s enthusiastic to take an active role in supporting a thriving homeschooling community. |
Jennifer Gehman Senior Advisor | Jennifer is a veteran homeschooling mother of five children. Her oldest three graduated from homeschooling directly into university. One has now graduated from Red River and is currently self-employed full-time in communications. The other two are taking honours programs at the University of Winnipeg in theatre and writing. Her fourth son attended public high school for grade 12, graduated with honours, and is now studying biochemistry at UW. Her fourteen-year-old is still learning in the living room. She has worked with the homeschooling Shakespearean theatre troupes, Such Stuff Players and Knavish Hedgehogs, founded and run several homeschooling support groups and been active with MASH for over 10 years! She is a co-founder of Wildwood Curriculum and a certified facilitator at the Neufeld Institute, both focusing on the developmental aspects of childhood and education. She holds a Bachelor of Education from bygone days and while she looks forward to pursuing more education alongside her young adults, she is saddened that this beautiful home education adventure is drawing to its end. |
Kirby Gehman Senior Advisor | In just 20 short years, Kirby has gone from apprehensive to enthusiastic supporter of his lovely wife Jennifer and the pursuit of home education for their five children. Watching from the home office as the experiment progressed, he became interested in the non-schooling aspects of homeschooling like legislation and government regulation as a way to continue to attend MASH meetings and enjoy the dainties and coffee. He currently spends his time contemplating topics like the various interpretations of the phrase “equivalent education”. |