ANDREA Alfano, M.S., ET
Founder
Andrea's passion for children, understanding of emotions and resiliency, and the love for teaching has led her to her career in educational therapy. She founded ShiftEd in 2017 to reach the needs of children in Santa Barbara. Andrea is a certified Educational Therapist in Santa Barbara, CA and works with students with various learning differences. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child and Adolescent Development, a Master’s degree in Counseling, and is certified as an Educational Therapist.
Her unique background in education and counseling allows her to address the impact feelings have on the learning process. She believes that a critical component to the learning process is establishing a safe and nurturing environment where the student can feel success and also be vulnerable to their weaknesses. When rapport is established, it lays the foundation of her work. This practice allows her to genuinely connect with students, so they can see that she is more than just an educator, but rather their mentor and cheerleader who is truly invested in their success and well being.
She is trained in various remedial techniques and interventions with math and reading, and develops curriculum based on a child’s learning profile. She serves children from elementary to high school with various learning differences and other academic challenges. Her practice has a strong emphasis on promoting executive function skills. She meets every child at their level to help gain an understanding of how their mind works, enabling them rise to their true potential and experience success.
In her free time, Andrea juggles the new world of motherhood with her son, Daxton and her fur baby, Dolce. When she has a free moment you can catch her at Barre class. Andrea is also involved in the education community by serving as a Board of Trustees member at Crane Country Day School.
Rebekah Ernst, M.A.
A Santa Barbara native, Rebekah's education and professional accomplishments span the globe, and her experience bridges the gap between executive functioning in school and in all of life. With a colorful background in the non-profit and business world, she is well-versed in Executive Functioning and has translated these skills to her passion for child development. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Hawaii Pacific University and a Master of Arts in International Human Rights Law at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She has spent years tutoring and teaching English grammar and conversation in challenging environments and remote locations across the world, and has excelled at building meaningful connections and effective working relationships with students from all different backgrounds.
She has extensive expertise in restructuring processes to increase productivity and development of creative and efficient organization and time management strategies. Previously the Administrative Director of several non-profit organizations where she managed multiple departments and many employees, she has been providing executive functioning skillsets as well as reading and writing intervention in the non-profit world for over 10 years. She is furthermore certified in the Slingerland multisensory method, Orton-Gillingham-based Building Better Reading Skills, which combined with her unique background working with children in many different capacities, both as a tutor and English instructor, and passion for their success and well-being, makes her an invaluable member of the ShiftEd team. In her free time, Rebekah enjoys camping and hiking with her beloved pup Windsor.
