Meet the team | Nest Academy

Nest Academy was born from a desire to create and safe and nurturing environment for children where they had the possibility to follow their dreams and discover their passions. Our team is dedicated to guiding the children at Nest on their journey to greatness.

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Owner / Founder / Head teacher

Nicole Lidberg

I opened Nest Academy in the fall of 2023 after many years of dreaming of another way to be an educator.

I was born in England, but have lived in 8 countries and 4 continents giving me a wonderful wealth of experiences from different cultures. My family moved to the US, from Sweden, in June 2023 and we love it here!

I live in Alpharetta with my husband and youngest daughter, while my older children are back in Sweden at university.

Teacher's Assistant

Audrey Battersby

I have 5 years of experience working with children in various roles, including an assistant at Acton Academy, a teacher at Primrose Daycare and a nanny to 6 year old twin boys!

I have a passion for exploring the outdoors and creative play.

Teacher

Lisa Vail

Hi, I’m Lisa! I’m a passionate educator and lifelong learner who loves helping young people discover their unique voice and purpose. I’ve worked with learners of all ages, from the earliest grades to high school, and I’m especially drawn to self-directed education, storytelling, and real-world experiences that make learning come alive.

I’m currently earning my master’s in Special Education with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis, and I’ve spent recent years immersed in progressive education models.

At Nest, I lead classes in Entrepreneurship and Social Studies—two of my favorite subjects to explore! When I’m not teaching, you’ll find me traveling or planning a dream trip with my husband and teen daughters, or volunteering for the Roswell Farmers Market.

Art Appreciation

Marilyn Kleinhans

I have lived in Roswell for 18 years after spending most of my life in various cities the length of Florida. I have been involved in the arts since discovering early on that you could make a dress out of a burlap sack and decorate it with the ink from blueberries out in the woods, just like Native Americans used to do.

I'm a classically trained pianist and vocalist with a Masters Degree in Education.

Spaninsh

Anna Danel

I grew up in Mexico and later have had the opportunity to live and work as a Spanish teacher in 4 different countries for the last 15 years. I believe that learning a second or third language is one of the most enriching experiences a person can undertake. I am passionate about sharing my hispanic culture with my students and love having fun in class. I recently moved to Georgia and live with my husband , daughters and a beagle dog named Julio Benito.

Parent coordininator / Community Activity coordinator

Toni Samuelu

I am a mom of five, former teacher, and passionate advocate for meaningful, hands-on learning. With over 20 years of experience working with children and families, I love helping kids grow in creativity, curiosity, and character. At Nest Academy, I lead monthly Parent Coffee gatherings, coordinate volunteer connections with a local senior center, and happily join students on field trips to spark wonder in real-world learning adventures.

Nicole's Story

Having worked in the public education system for nearly 25 years in Sweden, England and Hong Kong, I slowly became more and more disenchanted with the government run programmes and have seen first hand how children's curiosity and lack of love for learning increases as they move through school. The enthusiasm for coming to school and the comment, ‘School is boring’, begins so early now. Kids as young as 9 are just tired of school and don't want to go.

The learner led environment is so totally different. The children are excited to come to school. They love the stress free space where they are able to work towards their own goals at their own pace. There are no tests, no grade levels to achieve at a certain time and yet they are motivated and engaged! It is remarkable to see.

Working in this type of educational environment has been eye opening. Seeing kids, today, who 6 months ago were unable to read or write back in, loving their new found reading and writing abilities is nothing short of a small miracle! And the amazing thing about this is that they did this on their own, at their own pace, with only the gentlest of guiding nudges along the way!

Through project based learning I have seen how children are much more engaged in what they are doing and how they are excited to learn as they can relate what they are doing to the real world. To feel that what they are learning is relevant and having freedom to make their own choices about what they focus on creates motivated and creative kids, who are a joy to be around.

Working for over 25 years in 4 continents has meant that I have been able to pick up a great deal of wonderful experience from each culture and have found, in Nest, a place to incorporate the best of all these worlds!

Nicole Lidberg

Nest Academy Alpharetta

Nicole's Story