Meet Our Team

Gerad Ball is the Center Director at the Marana Location Sylvan Learning Center. He attended the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. Gerad’s experiences in education include junior high school teaching early in his career and then a 26-year tenure as a building administrator (18 years as a principal) where he led six schools spanning grades K-12. Mr. Ball has a strong belief that every child has the potential to learn and that having hope for a child’s future is the first priority.

Sunshine Barton holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. She has taught for 16 years in Pre-K through 3rd grade. Before becoming a teacher, she worked with the Department of Defense as a Teen/Pre-Teen Recreation Specialist at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, AZ, and Misawa Air Base, Japan. Mrs. Barton enjoys helping students gain confidence in themselves as life-long learners

Tad Bertrand is a teacher at Sylvan Learning Center in Marana, AZ. He attended the University of Houston Clearlake and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature Language Arts. Tad’s experience in education includes many years as a first-grade teacher. He also has experience with Special Education, English Language learners, and Gifted students. He loves teaching and believes every child can learn something new. 

Jollie Evans graduated from Heritage University in Omak, Wa in June 1995 and received her Bachelor in Education with two endorsements, 4-12 English Language Arts and K-8 Elementary Education. Jollie first started a full-time teaching position in the Fall of 1997 at the Tonasket School District in Tonasket, Wa. She retired from there in August, 2020.  As a “snowbird”, landing in Red Rock, Az, she spend her winters here and returns to Washington during the summer. Believing to retired too early, Jollie approached Sylvan to continue to teach and enjoys working with the children. Jollie firmly believe every child can and will learn, but every child has a different learning style. 

David Wenzl is a Teacher at Sylvan Learning Center in Marana, AZ. He is a current Mathematics Education major at the University of Arizona beginning his Senior Year. He is a registered math mentor for the state of Arizona and is on full scholarship. He is focused in Mathematics but has experience and a love for teaching all subjects. His motivation for teaching revolves around an understanding that there is no knowledge that is unlearnable for anyone, it just might be a little more challenging for some.

Anissa graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 with a B.S. in personal and family Financial Planning.  She is an advocate for educating her community and has 5 years of experience tutoring and mentoring k-12 students to improve their potential for achieving their academic goals.  Lifting students up to feel motivated and maintain a growth mindset.  She enjoys having the opportunity to work with our amazing students, gains energy from their enthusiasm and watching their growth within our program!