Instructor Bios

Laura Braunecker is a homeschooling mom who left a 25 year corporate career that often had her leading new product innovation, research and business strategy teams.  She has worked for top CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) companies like Kimberly-Clark, Newell Rubbermaid and Georgia Pacific as well as working with top brands like Hilton®, Disney®, Chick-Fil-A®, Huggies®, Zaxby’s®, Kleenex®, StainMaster® and Graco® to name just a few.   Laura has many patents to her name and has had a passion for product innovation and business strategy for her entire career.  She was originally a registered nurse but left clinical nursing to pursue business and has a Master in Health Systems Management and a Master in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.  Prior to recently moving to Paris KY she taught classes for the MBA program at the Cox School of business at SMU.  She has been homeschooling two of her three children for the last four years. 

Amanda Cooper has been married to her husband, J.D.,  for 20 years and has been homeschooling with her family for 11+ years. They currently have 2 students enrolled in Bluegrass United Electives. Jack, 17, who is a Senior and Leah, 14, who is a Freshman. Mrs. Cooper is excited to work with your student(s) on Thursdays.  

I am so excited to have the opportunity to spend some time with your student(s). I will be planning in class “work” that consists of opportunities to learn teamwork, basic life skills, competition, and self confidence building. Each semester I plan to incorporate all these in my lesson plans. This year I will offer Social Games and Competition & Cooking Lite. *One class for each semester. Please see the course description for each. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Jamie Groover has a Bachelor’s degree in Greek and Roman Studies and English from Rhodes College in Memphis, and a Master’s degree in Classical Languages and Literature from the University of Kentucky. He has worked as both a teaching assistant and part-time instructor at UK, teaching beginner and intermediate Latin as well as Greco-Roman mythology. But he has primarily worked as a tutor with homeschoolers, which he has been doing for over fifteen years. Working one-on-one or in small groups, he has taught or tutored many students in subjects ranging from Latin and English to geometry and biology. He loves comic books, scary movies, his wife and their two cats.

Tiffany King is a life-long learner, deep questioner, and is fascinated with the creative process. She homeschooled all four of her children and has previously taught classes at BU Electives. She has a successful online business (eatathomecooks.com). In 2018 her cookbook, Eat at Home Tonight was published by a division of Penguin Random House.

Shannon McElfresh is a veteran homeschool mom of 20 years. She has served the homeschool community as a leader for a local co-op for 10 years. Her passions are needle arts!

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She taught herself crochet in college, then took classes to learn knitting and tatting so she could make things for her children and home. She loves to help others learn the “lost arts” of knitting and crocheting. In her extra time she also dabbles in paper creations. She has made names, cards, scrapbooks and flowers, when she finds the time. You can see some of her work at @shannonsdelights on Instagram.

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She has six children who have all been homeschooled from K to high school graduate! Her youngest child will graduate in 2032.

Esther Neel is a freelance director and  theatre artist based in Lexington, Kentucky. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Scenic Art from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. She has worked in many areas of theatre from directing and teaching, to painting and props. She spent time as the Charge Scenic Artist at both Wagon Wheel Center for The Arts and Lexington Children’s Theatre.Some of the organizations she has worked with include Lexington Children's Theatre, The Lost Colony, UK Opera, Leeds Center for the Arts and Woodford Theatre. A few of her favorite shows she has worked on include Anatomy of Gray , Charlotte’s Web, Holes, and The Cat in The Hat. Esther has a passion for creating compelling, imaginative theatre through collaboration and honest storytelling.For a look at her work you can visit estherneel.com

Tiffany Parsons is a Versailles native and a graduate of Georgetown College.  She and her husband reside in Frankfort with their four children.  She has been homeschooling for the last 10 years and all of her children attend classes at CHEB, ranging in age from preschool to high school. She serves on the board of the CHEB homeschooling co-op as treasurer.  She has been teaching elementary Spanish at CHEB for several years.  This year she is looking forward to teaching high school Journalism at CHEB as well as Technology Life Skills for the Bluegrass United Electives Program. Given some spare time, she enjoys traveling, blogging, reading biographies, and watching documentaries.   

Betty Peterson is a longtime homeschooling mother of five children. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and worked for many years as a professional journalist. She holds a B.S. in Education and has taught in both public schools and private/homeschool programs. She loves working with high school homeschoolers and has taught many classes at BUAC. She and her husband run a real estate investment company, and she enjoys traveling, taking dance classes, and playing pickleball in her spare time.  

Amanda Welch is a pastor’s wife and a homeschooling mother of 2. She studied Fine Art and Photography at Asbury University and NKU. Amanda teaches art at their local church co-op and is looking forward to teaching at BUAC. She enjoys sharing her abilities with students and encouraging them to be creative.  Amanda works in charcoal, oils, acrylic, watercolor and colored pencils. You can find Amanda’s artwork at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Ky.  She loves using her talents to glorify the Lord!

Caroline is a Media Content Creator with a 30 year history of teaching dance and performing arts studies. Besides educating, her credits include writing, producing, and directing original productions. Caroline received the Dance Revolution 'Teacher of the Year Award' in 2013.  Her students have gone on to perform with "Ingredients" Dance Company, and "Sight and Sound" Theater to name a few. Her passion to help students unlock their gifts and talents, and their 'why' for performance led her to start the "Valor Arts" high school arts program, in which she included the Media Socializtion Course in the curriculum. Caroline is a mom of 3 and has been homeschooling for 12 years.