Meet Our Team

Christy Sharon

Executive Director

Director

Christy received her B.A. in English in 1992 and taught 5th to 8th grade English at First Baptist Christian School for two and a half years. She also taught 9th and 10th grade reading and 11th and 12th grade study skills at St. Thomas More. In October of 1996, Christy joined Sylvan as a Director of Education and in October of 1997, she bought Sylvan and became Executive Director. Christy enjoys spending time with her 2 beautiful children.

To contact Christy via email, christysharon@sylvanacadiana.com

Troy Sharon

Center Director

After graduating from UL in 1993, Troy began teaching and coaching at St. Martinville Sr. High. For several years, Troy worked at Sylvan after school and during the summer break from school. In 2004, he joined the Sylvan staff full time, assuming the role of Center Director. Troy enjoys introducing new families to Sylvan and keeping them informed of their student’s progress throughout their program. On Saturday afternoons, you will find Troy and his family enjoying UL Ragin Cajun tailgating.

To contact Troy via email, troysharon@sylvanacadiana.com

Destini' Broussard

Assistant Center Director

Destini’ began working at our Lafayette Center in 2018 as a classroom assistant. After graduating from UL, Destini was hired full-time and has recently been promoted to Assistant Center Director. Destini’s favorite thing about working at Sylvan is having the opportunity to inspire and encourage kids to feel confident in their studies and feel comfortable at Sylvan. In her free time, you can find Destini spending time with family and friends.

Cynthia Bishop

Assistant Center Director (part time)

Cynthia received her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and taught for one year at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (currently University of Louisiana) in the Department of Human Resources. She did substitute teaching in both local public and private schools and at Lafayette Regional Institute. She began her Sylvan career in 1992. Cynthia enjoys working directly with the schools to help ensure the success of all her Sylvan students.

After graduating from McNeese State University in 1997, Julie taught English Language Arts at the middle school level in Acadia, Cameron, and Calcasieu Parishes. She relocated to the Lafayette area from Lake Charles in 2020 and began working at Sylvan in the fall of 2023. At Sylvan, Julie oversees students’ learning programs and communicates students’ progress to their families. At home, Julie enjoys gardening and watching her favorite ladies, The Golden Girls.

Melinda Clardy

Instructor

In addition to her work at Sylvan, Melinda Clardy is a mathematics professor at SLCC and has had a life-long desire to teach and make a difference. With a master’s degree in applied mathematics, a bachelor’s in pure mathematics, and experience with common core math, it’s the best combination to reach a wide range of learners. When not working, Mrs. Melinda hangs out with her cats, reads excessively, and plays video games with her husband.

Kristina Dixon

Instructor

Kristina Dixon currently teaches a variety of levels and subjects at Sylvan, from PreK Reading & K ESL to high school algebra, geometry, and ACT prep. Kristina’s love of teaching and travel has led her to work with students both in Lafayette and abroad, specifically in India and China. Kristina has undergraduate degrees in both Mathematics and English, with a master’s degree in Mathematics and a Graduate Certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). In her spare time, she enjoys reading, baking and traveling the world.

Wendi Broussard

Instructor

Wendi has a Master’s Degree in Education from LSU. She has 30 years of classroom teaching experience and specializes in English/ Language Arts, Writing, American History, World History, and Civics. Wendi is married with 2 sons. Wendi’s undergraduate degree in Political Science and English. When she is not teaching, she enjoys politics.

Ashley has been a part of the Sylvan Support Staff since October of 2012. You can find Ashley assisting Sylvan Students at all 3 locations in Acadiana! She loves to read and travel. She makes a fantastic connection to students of all ages and loves to help them achieve success!

Michael Durand

Instructor

Michael studied at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana Lafayette), where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English. He started with Sylvan at the New Iberia Center in 2013 and currently divides his time between all three centers. Mr. Michael is an active member of the Iberia Performing Arts League and can often be found acting, directing and serving on committees.

Cindy Luna

Instructor

Cindy has 27 years of experience teaching and has worked at several Sylvan Learning centers in Louisiana. Cindy finds joy in seeing kids faces light up when they learn a new task, “Helping students to gain confidence and self-esteem is very important!” In her spare time, you might see Cindy playing tennis, golf, doing yoga and hiking.

Renee Harelson

Instructor

L. Renee’ Harelson – Teacher for 23 years, Certified in Secondary English, Speech and Theatre with a focus for the last 11 years teaching HISET Adult Education, as well as, Alternative Students in grades K-12 with behavioral or emotional developmental risks.
She has a passion for learning and get excited when students find their learning bug. A firm believer in the power of kindness, communication and fun means results and most any solution can be achieved. My philosophy has always been, “I don’t teach a subject, I teach a student and sometimes they teach me.” When not working, she can usually be found with a book or watching movies (historical dramas, and I don’t mind reading subtitles). My favorite moments are times with my family, cooking, eating, watching football, and always laughing.

Courtney Smith

Instructor

Courtney was born and raised in Lafayette, LA and has been teaching one thing or another for decades. In her teens, she trained horses and taught riding lessons. Once she had her son, she began teaching gymnastics lessons at her family’s business, Acadiana Gymnastics Training Center. At 27, she began her 7.5 year journey towards her double major in English and Spanish for Secondary Education. Upon graduation, she took her 7th grader to Spain with her, where she discovered her love for teaching English as a Second Language. Covid brought her back stateside, where she taught 8th grade science and then worked several years at Acadiana High School as the only ESL English I & 2 inclusion teacher, as well as teaching Reading I & 2 and Speech classes. She got married at the end of October 2024, and is now enjoying her life as a wife and working part time to tutor children here at Sylvan Learning Center.
Her dream is to get a horse, have a homestead in the woods, grow her own food, and have her closest neighbors be a mile away. She loves grammar and word puzzles. She also enjoys to play video games, and her favorite is ARK: Survival, because it has dinosaurs. She started playing the game with her son while they were in Spain in 2019, and has been playing since. She has also become quite the chicken wrangler, and has learned a ton about them in the last year.

Stacey Mire

Instructor

Mrs. Stacey Mire recently retired after 24 years in the classroom. She graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1996. The first ten years of her career were spent in the public school system, teaching in Baton Rouge, Church Point, and Scott. She spent the last 14 years at Sts. Leo-Seton Catholic School in Lafayette. She has experience teaching grades 3-8. As the mom of two boys, she has spent many years as their biggest cheerleader while they have kept her busy with football, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, wrestling, and now tennis. If she spots one of her previous students on the court or field, she’ll be cheering them on also, and they will know it’s her because of her unmistakable voice. When she isn’t at a sporting event, you can probably find her in her backyard reading a good book in her rocking chair, planting a few more flowers, throwing the ball to her dog, Mocha, or looking for very hungry caterpillars.

Matsie Lalonde

Instructor

Matsie Lalonde is a retired teacher and school librarian. She says that one of the reasons she chose to work as a tutor is because she misses the interaction of the students that Sylvan’s allows. Seeing their expressions when they complete a lesson makes it all worthwhile. Matsie enjoys spending time with her two grandsons, traveling with Viking River Cruises in Europe, and experiencing new cuisine at all the restaurants in the area.

Jerome currently teaches Reading at Sylvan. He has more than twenty years teaching in the public school system where he has taught social studies and career and technical education classes. Jerome has a degree from LSU in political science. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and reading.

Angela Borill

Instructor

Angela is a retired teacher and military veteran. She spent twenty years in the Navy and La Air National Guard. After retiring from the military, she attended UL of Lafayette and received her Bachelors’ degree. She is certified to teach middle school and high school mathematics. She also pursued a Master’s Degree specializing in reading K-12 and currently volunteers assisting a first grade classroom tutoring math and reading. She enjoys spending time with family, cross stitching, reading and traveling.