Leadership Team

Executive Director & Founder

Dr. Yelena V. Solodyankin has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education. She founded an online Christian school in 2003, which is now Enlightium Academy. Since then, she has guided the development of seven brick and mortar private schools along the west coast within church communities.

She holds her PhD in Philosophy in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, Master’s degree in K-12 Guidance & Counseling from Whitworth University, and Bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Gonzaga University. She also attended Pedagogical University of Kyrgystan and received a Diploma in Christian Studies from International Slavic Christian College. Yelena is ACSI and Washington state-certified. 

Throughout her career, she has been devoted to preparing the next generation of leaders by making a difference in their hearts and minds. She has spoken at numerous educational conferences about the need for personalized Christian education and how she applied it to raising her three biological and five adopted children.

Published Work:

eBook and Dissertation

Why Enlightium?

Academics 

Yelena’s Story

Headmaster

Thomas graduated from Eastern Washington University with a master’s degree in Educational Leadership. He taught Spanish and math for five years in public and private schools before coming to work for Enlightium Academy in 2015. He is ACSI and Mississippi state-certified.

He is passionate about using innovative approaches to provide students with unique learning models to meet their individual needs. He is dedicated to developing a positive organizational culture that helps nurturing an atmosphere conducive to learning.

He has been married since 2010 and has three children, Titus, Linen Grey, and Judah. He loves outdoor activities like camping and playing disc golf, and he enjoys long distance running.

PUBLISHED WORK:

CFO & Director of Developments

Alex Jr. graduated from Whitworth University with a B.A. double major in accounting and marketing as a Cum Laude recipient. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and is currently working on obtaining his CPA certification. He is ACSI certified.

Alex Jr. worked in the education field since 2006 as a high school math teacher and assisted the head of school with administrative duties at a local private Christian school. He joined Enlightium Academy in 2013 and served in varying administrative positions.

Alex Jr. is a lifelong learner and is passionate about helping others reach greater heights in all realms of life. A foundational principle upon which he has built his life is that each individual is made in the image of God, has intrinsic value, and possesses God-given abilities which must be further developed and used for God’s glory in order to steward God’s creation well. 

Director of Business Operations & Human Resources

Andrey received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a focus in Human Resources and a minor in Business Analytics from Eastern Washington University. Andrey has been with Enlightium since 2013 and is certified by ACSI.

He and his wife are enjoying the blessings and challenges of raising four young children. In his free time, Andrey can be found learning new things and spending time outside with his family.

Published Work:

Spiritual Support Director

Heath Robertson received his Bachelors of Science in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and his Masters in Biblical and Theological Studies at Western Seminary. Most of his studies were in Old Testament exegesis, completing an honors program at Moody and receiving an honors award for Old Testament exegesis at Western Seminary. In 2023 he completed his PhD in Divinity from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), researching in the area of Reformed soteriology (the study of salvation). He is ACSI certified.

Heath delights in serving Enlightium students and their families. In his free time, he enjoys staying active with running. This year he plans to enter a handful of fun runs ranging from 5k to 25k in distance.

Published Work:

K-12 Principal

Will Mead graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Biology from Eastern Washington University and holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Seattle Pacific University. Before joining Enlightium, he worked in local private Christian schools and, earlier in his career, as a scientist in a clinical laboratory.

Will joined Enlightium as a science teacher in 2017, then served in administration before entering his current role as K-12 Principal. He is certified by ACSI.

Will and his wife married in 2006 and have four children. In his free time, Will enjoys reading works of science and philosophy, playing chess, and watching musical theatre.

Published Work:

Director of School Counseling and Guidance

Ms. Benedict graduated with a Master’s of Science degree in School Counseling in 2019. During her time there, she became invested in working with high school students on social-emotional issues, particularly anxiety, and post-secondary planning. She began working with Enlightium Academy in 2019. She is state and ACSI-certified.

Ms. Benedict graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree majoring in Business Management and minoring in English. While she was in the business world, she began volunteering with the youth program at her church and teaching Junior Achievement classes in local elementary schools. This fostered her passion for encouraging and working with students and led her to attend Eastern Washington University. She believes in fostering nurturing, encouraging relationships with students and parents and loves seeing students grow through cooperation and learning self-advocacy.

In her free time, Ms. Benedict loves taking long walks with Hank, her golden retriever, reading, spending time with her friends and family, writing, baking, and trying new foods and recipes.

Director of Admissions

Olesia joined Enlightium in 2018 to assist the K-8 counseling team and is now serving as the Director of Admissions. She received her Diploma of Bible Educator at International Christian College in 2003 and her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music at Gonzaga University in 2006. She worked at a local private Christian school as a K-8th grade instructor and later as an Assistant Administrator. She is ACSI Certified.

Olesia grew up in the church and from an early age developed a love for the Lord while her biological father served as a missionary and her mother supported him by taking care of a growing family. She was privileged to take part in many Christian seminars and workshops, deepening her knowledge of the Lord and Christian education while her adoptive parents pursued their dream of bringing Christian education first to the Slavic people, and later to students from all races across the USA and around the world.

Family is very important to Olesia. With her husband, they are instilling a biblical foundation in their three children as they strive to serve the Lord in the home, at church, and at the workplace.

Published Work:

Alliance Program Director

Ms. Allen has been with Enlightium since 2015. She is ACSI certified.

Ms. Allen grew up in Seattle, Washington and attended a Christian school through 12th grade. She received her bachelor's degree in Social Work at Washington State University. While raising three children, she also became passionate about education, college, and career planning. Ms. Allen returned to school and received her Master’s degree in School Counseling K-12 from Gonzaga University.

During her spare time, she and her husband enjoy playing volleyball, reading, and spending time with friends and her three adult children. Spending time with family usually includes traveling, which Ms. Allen also loves to do. It is her desire to get to know all of her students, and her hope is to build a trusting relationship so her students can come to her with any issue, no matter how big or small it may seem. She especially likes helping students explore their own goals and passions for life beyond high school.