About The Together Group

Maia Heyck-Merlin, AKA The Together Lady, cares about results for the greater good and rejuvenation for those who do the work. For the past two decades, she has dedicated her life to supporting teachers, school leaders, central offices, and nonprofits to prioritize, plan, and execute toward their missions, and The Together Group's classes teach these skills with joy, humor, empathy, and rigor. Maia's five publications, popular monthly newsletter, and frequent blogs have helped hundreds of educators, school leaders, operations team members, and nonprofit staffers across the country.

Kendra holds a BA in psychology from Winthrop University and an MA in international peace and conflict resolution from American University. She’s taught English in Guatemala, worked in various university settings, and directed the children’s programs for the Washington, DC metro area’s largest hunger relief organization.

Ana has spent her career working in the field of education with a focus on effective process and quality outcomes. She holds a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College and an M. Ed. from the University of St. Thomas. Over 20 years, three states, and one very old car she has led as a classroom teacher with Houston Independent Schools; as a Deputy Institute Director, Institute Director, and Managing Director with Teach For America; and a Principal, Academic and Assessment Coordinator, and Special Projects Coordinator with charter schools in the Greater Sacramento region.

Lauren supports all things related to The Together Group’s public sessions, as well as managing communications and other operations tasks. She is a former middle school teacher and administrator, and spent several years working at the central office of a large school district. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University and a M.A. in Minority and Urban Education from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Heidi’s work with The Together Group started by supporting Together Leader public sessions in Chicago, and has evolved over time including public sessions operational support, management of special projects like website and CRM design and development, and editing. She has held a variety of positions at educational institutions including a public boarding school, a small liberal arts college, and a large research university. Heidi holds a B.S. in Sociology from Manchester University and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Northwestern University.

Cornelius has aligned his life path in service to underserved children in the South for over sixteen years. During college, he worked closely with first, second, and third graders by mentoring students, as well as coaching and training staff. In addition to working directly with students and volunteers, he served as the Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and Interim President of the executive board for an afterschool program.

Chrystie is a true “teaching nerd” whose career has been dedicated to supporting educationally underserved communities. Leveraging her previous experiences as a former high school science teacher, school leader, and district administrator – she is always looking for innovative ways to enhance professional development, support school leaders, and thought-partner with district-level administrators to improve outcomes for all students.

Crystal supports The Together Group as a teaching assistant for northeast regional trainings. Like many of our staff, Crystal was a Teach For America corps member, completing her service in the Bronx. She gradually moved out of the classroom after 7 years of teaching middle school science to grow her leadership capacity, eventually being named Director of Operations. Crystal holds a B.A. in Environmental Geoscience from Boston College and M.S. Ed in Secondary Education from Relay Graduate School of Education.

Briannon is the Director of Community and Internal Communications at Teach For Australia. She is a mission-driven nonprofit leader passionate about harnessing the people-power of communities and impact networks to address wicked system problems affecting students. Bri is a former high school English Language teacher, as well as a former small business owner and instructional leader. She credits her Together training (almost a decade ago!) for helping her to achieve and balance her ambitious life and work goals. Bri lives in Sydney, Australia – right near the beach – and never takes the sunrise for granted.

Tammie has always been a teacher at heart – starting with her own middle school experience, when she became known for carrying countless bags everywhere she went! She originally hails from Miami, FL, but relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2006. "Together Tammie" relies heavily on her Together Tools to keep her busy life (as a central office administrator and single mom) aligned and harmonious.