Meet the Team
The TSIC NASSAU TEAM
Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, Robin C. Lentz pursued a degree in broadcast journalism at Georgia State University. While in college, she worked full time at Fox Sports Net as a production assistant for a show that featured college sports. After college graduation, she relocated to Nassau County. Lentz decided to change her career path from working in the journalism field to teaching journalism. She began working for the Nassau County School Board in 2003 as a language art, reading and journalism teacher at Hilliard Middle Senior High School. While teaching, she coached volleyball, cross country, basketball, and track and field.
Lentz advanced her career by earning a master’s degree in education with a specialization in school counseling from the University of North Florida. With this advanced degree she was employed as a school counselor at Yulee and Fernandina Beach Middle Schools from 2006-2018. Over the years, she has also volunteered with many organizations in Nassau County including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Take Stock in Children, Amelia Island Runners, Nassau Animal Services, Relay for Life, Amelia Island Montessori School, Friends of the Library, and the PTO at Southside Elementary School. From 2014-2017, Lentz served as an elected city commissioner for the City of Fernandina Beach, including one year as the Mayor.
Robin joins Take Stock in Children Nassau with over fifteen years of education experience and a history with the organization. She was a mentor early in her career and as a school counselor she helped recruit applicants to the program. Lentz is excited to be a member of the Take Stock team.
Jacque Banks grew up not far from Kansas City, Missouri, where she entered the field of education. She began her career by establishing the first ever program in her school district for children ages 3- 5 years old with disabilities. She was one of twelve educators from the state selected to be part of a special grant funded program at the University of Missouri, where she received a master’s degree in education. While a graduate student in that program, Jacque led the local public school district in the development of new methods for identifying and providing services to young children with disabilities, as well as teaching courses for her fellow students. She also traveled across the state, facilitating training for daycares, preschools, and other school districts.
Jacque went on to earn her Specialist in Education degree, with an emphasis in Administration, while working as a Central Office Administrator in a rural Missouri district. She also taught coursework for Northwest Missouri State University. During this time, she was selected as the Outstanding Educator of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa, a local Education Honor Society, as well as the Outstanding New Special Education Administrator for Missouri. Jacque eventually moved into the role of Assistant Superintendent in her Kansas City suburb community, where she provided oversight for more than thirteen programs, as well as handling public relations for the district and, oftentimes, the city. The thirteen programs included students of all ages, focusing on those with needs that could impact them educationally. Jacque has also taught Title I Reading and Math in a rural Virginia district, as well as being a Central Office Administrator in Roanoke, VA.
In addition to her public education experience, Jacque brings a background of working with nonprofit boards. Most recently, she was a member of a nonprofit organization providing supported employment for adults with disabilities. She also spent time volunteering at the Barnabas receptionist desk and working with the PTO at Emma Love Hardee. Jacque is excited to be returning to what she loves: working with students and families in her community to help make a difference.
Jan Criss is the newest College Success Coach for Take Stock in Children. She has 13 years of experience in the classroom, and she served as the Department Chair for Special Education and as a Post-Secondary Transition Specialist. She earned her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and her master’s in education while living in Virginia.
She has a wonderful husband of 26 years and two daughters. Her family is a constant source of joy for her. Her oldest daughter is a Mechanical Engineer, and she serves as an officer in the United States Air Force. Her youngest daughter is a student at UNF, and she is studying Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. She plans to work in Pediatric counseling after graduation.
When she is not working on behalf of students, she enjoys kayaking, biking, traveling, gardening, and volunteering at her church. She loves Nassau County and thinks it is the most amazing place to live because of the people and the variety of things to do. She wants to contribute to the community of Nassau by investing in its most important asset, its children. She has a passion for helping students’ dreams come to fruition, so she is perfectly suited to serve as the College Success Coach for Yulee Middle and Yulee High School.
An interesting fact about Jan is that she was a health inspector prior to becoming a teacher. She has lots of interesting and shocking stories about her time as an inspector. If you ever get the chance, ask her to share one of her experiences.
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Take Stock Nassau is excited to welcome our new dedicated College Success Coach for Hilliard Middle and Senior High School! Our student numbers continue to grow on the Westside, so we were extraordinarily lucky to scoop up Sandra Giles when she retired this summer as a school counselor from Callahan Middle School.
Sandra is a native of Nassau County and a lifelong resident of Callahan. She attended Callahan Elementary, Callahan Junior, and graduated salutatorian from West Nassau High School. She holds an AA degree from Florida State College, a bachelors in secondary education in English from UNF, and a master is school guidance from NOVA University. Sandra spent 16 years in the classroom teaching English at Callahan Middle. She then went to Hilliard Middle Senior to be a guidance counselor for 13 years and returned to CMS in guidance to finish her 36 year career. She is also proud of the fact that she is a third generation NCSB employee and her two daughters are 4th generation teachers/counselors here in Nassau County. She and her husband have 4 daughters and 8 grandchildren: 7 boys and 1 girl. All 8 grandchildren live in Nassau County and will attend Nassau County schools.
Over these 36 years, Sandra has had extensive experience with TSIC…as a mentor, school counselor, and advocate for the program. She is a great communicator and works well with students and parents. She is most looking forward to the relationships she will make through this program and the new experiences she will encounter. Her educational philosophy is simple: whatever it takes to make children succeed–it can’t be cookie-cutter–each child is a different individual and needs to be approached in that manner.
Mr. Green is a native of Nassau County, Florida. He attended Florida State College of Jacksonville and the University of North Florida where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. In addition, he is a graduate of Truth Bible College of Jacksonville, Florida where he earned a master’s in theology.
While working as a high school teacher in Nassau County, he taught math, science, driver’s education and physical education. He has a strong commitment to helping students reach their educational goals in life. His passion for teaching has kept him inside the classroom for 30 years. Additionally, Mr. Green served as an athletic director for 14 years leading young athletes in basketball, baseball and track. In his spare time, he mentored at West Nassau for four years with TSIC.
In 1992, Mr. Green was voted by his colleagues as Teacher of the Year. A pastor of St. James Baptist Church of Yulee, Mr. Green has managed to divide his time between Concerned Citizens of Hilliard and The Amos White Community Center of Yulee where he served as president of both organizations.
Mr. Green is also a veteran of the United States Air Force, where he served in Vietnam.
Nora Wood is a dedicated educator who hails from Fort Thomas, Kentucky. She discovered her passion for teaching at an early age, which led her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education at The University of Louisville. Nora furthered her academic journey, obtaining a Master’s degree in Education from Indiana University.
Aside from her thriving career of 17 years in Elementary Education, Nora finds immense joy in her role as a wife and mother. Fernandina Beach has become the cherished home for her family, consisting of her husband and three children. She is an active member of the community participating in the PTO and proudly supporting her son’s baseball and basketball teams and her daughters’ swim team.
Her educational background, combined with teaching experience and involvement in the community, have prepared her to excel in the College Success Coach position. She is excited to begin working with Fernandina Beach High School and Middle School students in the Take Stock in Children Program.