As of September 2025, we will be located at 295 Queen Street South in Streetsville, in the Lower Hall of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.
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With 14 years of experience working with children, Megan has dedicated her career to fostering a supportive and nurturing environment for young learners. After leaving the public school system, she embraced a holistic approach, incorporating training in forest learning, emotional regulation, and kids yoga. Megan believes in the innate genius of every child and strives to create environments where they can build trust within themselves, follow their passions, and master their unique gifts to share with the world.
As a lifelong learner, Megan is certified as a breathwork practitioner and in somatic trauma therapy. Her passion lies in aiding children to understand their nervous system responses and equipping them with tools to return to a state of safety, balance, and connection. Megan is committed to student-led education, authentic learning opportunities, and emotional well-being to guide children on their hero's journey to self-discovery and empowerment.
Monica brings a uniquely rich and relevant background to her role as Sparks Studio Guide, blending developmental expertise, individualized coaching, and a deep respect for how young children grow and learn.
She holds a degree in Cognitive Science, giving her a strong foundation in how the brain develops, particularly in early childhood. This academic perspective informs everything from her approach to self-regulation and executive functioning, to her understanding of how curiosity, play, and challenge drive real learning.
For the past several years, Monica has trained and worked as a Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) Consultant and Special Needs Instructor, guiding autistic individuals aged 5 to 33 in building social-emotional skills, motor development, and greater independence. In these roles, she developed a strong ability to observe each child's unique learning process and to support growth through meaningful, individualized guidance rather than direct instruction, a key value at Acton.
Beyond her clinical and academic background, Monica has spent time volunteering with young children in both daycare and camp environments, where she fostered early communication, supported play-based learning, and led group activities with patience and presence.
Monica is passionate about helping children become independent thinkers, kind collaborators, and confident explorers. Her ability to support self-directed learning, model emotional attunement, and create a warm, structured environment makes her overjoyed to be a Guide for the Sparks Studio. She is thrilled to be part of the Acton journey and is deeply committed to helping each young Hero grow into the best version of themselves.
Sabrina has been on her own Hero's Journey to find an alternate way to pursue formal learning for her young son. Her perseverance for finding practical solutions to life's challenges led her to the "front doors" of Acton Academy and she dove right in!
She is thrilled to bring Acton Academy Mississauga to the Greater Toronto Area and spread the word about learner-driven education to local families. Sabrina is focused on building a community of a special mix of kind-hearted and tough-minded life long learners who can support Acton Academy Mississauga learners on their Heroes' Journeys and prepare them for the Next Great Adventure!
Jeff Sandefer lives a dual life as an entrepreneur and a Socratic Guide. As an entrepreneur, he founded his first company at age 16 and went on to found or co-found seven successful businesses. As a Socratic teacher at the University of Texas, Jeff’s students five times voted him the school’s Outstanding Teacher and Businessweek named him one of the top Entrepreneurship professors in America.
Jeff went on to co-found the Acton School of Business, an MBA program perennially ranked by the Princeton Review among the best in the nation. In 2012 The Economist honored him as one of the top fifteen Business School professors in the world.
Jeff is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he served for over twenty years on the school’s governing committees. He was a longtime director of the Philanthropy Roundtable and National Review magazine and one of the youngest members ever elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame.
Laura lived on both US coasts and in between as a child, then settled into Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Science. After being awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd’s of London, Laura worked in the aviation insurance industry in New York City.
Deciding to follow her calling into the world of education, Laura returned to Nashville and earned her Master of Education at Peabody College. This led her to her work at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, creating fine arts education programs for teachers and talented high school students.
Laura married Jeff Sandefer and is the happy mother of Sam and Charlie and step-mother to Taite. It is the inspiration of these children that led Laura and Jeff to co-found Acton Academy.
Her greatest hero is her mother who was a Master Teacher. Her wisest mentor is her father who sent her off to college with two words of advice: "Be curious."
Begin a Hero’s Journey,
Discover precious gifts and a commitment to mastery.
Become a curious, independent, life-long learner.
Embrace the forging of a strong character.
Cherish the arts, the physical world, and the mysteries of life.
Treasure economic, political, and religious freedom.
We believe each person has a gift that can change the world in a profound way;
We believe in learning to learn, learning to do, and learning to be.
We believe in a closely connected family of life-long learners.
We believe in economic, political, and religious freedom.
