About MANA

Timeless qualities for a rapidly changing world.

The world our children are growing into is changing rapidly, but the qualities that create extraordinary human beings remain timeless.

Curiosity
Character
Creativity
Compassion
Leadership
Resilience

Learning woven into authentic projects that matter.

At MANA, we believe children learn best when they are inspired by meaningful work, trusted with real responsibility, and surrounded by caring guides who help them discover their unique gifts.

Rather than separating learning into isolated subjects, MANA weaves reading, writing, mathematics, science, history, art, entrepreneurship, communication, and service into authentic projects that matter.

The goal is to help children become capable humans who know themselves, contribute to others, and love learning.

Children gathering their hands around a shared bowl outdoors

Our philosophy

Children are naturally curious. Education should protect that curiosity.

A guide and a young child working side by side at the MANA makers station

Drawing inspiration from project-based learning, child-led exploration, entrepreneurship, nature immersion, leadership development, and hands-on making, we created MANA as an environment where children actively build knowledge instead of passively receiving it and memorizing it.

Our guides don’t simply provide answers.

They ask thoughtful questions
They encourage experimentation
They celebrate mistakes as part of learning
They help children develop confidence through real experiences

Children leave MANA not only knowing more, but believing in themselves.

Meet our guides

The people behind the learning.

Sonya

Waldorf-Trained Educator · Choreographer · Community Curator · Relationship & Communication Facilitator

Sonya is a Waldorf-trained educator, choreographer, theater creator, community curator, and facilitator who has spent more than 25 years working with children, families, and communities through movement, creativity, nature, and hands-on learning.

Her diploma in Waldorf Education from Taruna College in New Zealand prepared her to work with children ages 4–13 through experiential, whole-child education. Having lived and worked on biodynamic farms, Sonya brings a deep connection to the natural world and a belief that children learn through their hands, hearts, bodies, and minds.

She has taught dance for many years and is an accomplished tap dance teacher and choreographer. She has also created and directed theater productions with children, giving young people opportunities to step onto a stage, find their voice, collaborate with others, and bring an idea to life.

Sonya is passionate about creating environments where children feel connected—to themselves, to one another, to nature, and to their community. Her work in communication and relationship facilitation brings another important dimension to MANA, helping children develop the skills to express themselves, listen deeply, navigate differences, collaborate, and build healthy relationships.

She is also deeply experienced in permaculture, gardening, food systems, and sustainable living. Her years of working with the land have given her a practical understanding of how children can develop a genuine relationship with nature by growing food, caring for animals, and participating in the living systems around them.

As a co-creator of MANA, Sonya helps shape the culture and daily experience of the school. She brings warmth, imagination, movement, and a beautiful ability to turn everyday experiences into opportunities for connection and learning.

At MANA, Sonya helps children discover that learning can be an adventure—and that who they are becoming matters just as much as what they are learning.

Amir Magal

Artist · Maker Educator · Photographer · Nature Guide · Co-Creator of MANA

Amir Magal is an artist, maker educator, photographer, videographer, nature guide, and co-creator of MANA. For more than 20 years, Amir has been creating transformative experiences for children through nature, making, art, adventure, and hands-on learning.

He has founded and led nature camps for children for more than two decades and spent many years creating children’s experiences at festivals and large community gatherings. His work brings children into a world of building, exploring, experimenting, creating, and discovering what they are capable of.

Amir is also the creator of Tribal Makers, an educational approach centered on hands-on making, creative confidence, and purposeful projects. He helps children see themselves as artists, designers, builders, and problem-solvers who can take an idea from imagination into the physical world.

Many of the children who are now part of MANA have known Amir for years through his camps, nature programs, and maker experiences. He has been a meaningful part of their childhoods—and in Brandee’s family, that relationship goes back nearly two decades. All five of Brandee’s children have grown up creating, exploring, and learning with Amir.

As a professional photographer and videographer, Amir also brings a strong visual and artistic eye to MANA, documenting experiences while teaching children to see the world through a creative lens.

As a co-creator of MANA, Amir helps shape the school’s maker culture and experiential approach. His work with children is grounded in curiosity, experimentation, craftsmanship, resilience, and play. He loves giving children the freedom to get messy, try something they’ve never done before, make mistakes, and discover that they can create far more than they imagined.

At MANA, Amir brings the spirit of the maker—the belief that children learn deeply when they have the freedom to build, explore, get curious, and bring their ideas to life.

Lindsay Navama

Children’s food culture expert · founder of Earth Food First

Lindsay Navama is a children’s food culture expert, certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, cookbook author, poet, mama, and founder of Earth Food First — an innovative platform transforming how we nourish the next generation.

She is leading the movement to bring taste education to America, equipping families and schools with a sensory-based, research-informed curriculum that empowers children to confidently embrace a wide variety of whole foods — a foundational life skill for lifelong physical and mental health.

Brandee Sabella

Entrepreneur · educator · philanthropist

Brandee Sabella is an entrepreneur, educator, philanthropist, and leader in the personal development movement. She is the co-creator of Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica and founder of The 9th Ray, where she works with entrepreneurs, artists, philanthropists, and leaders from around the world to help them align their work with purpose and create meaningful legacies.

Brandee developed the MANA curriculum from a belief that children thrive when learning is connected to creativity, service, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, and real-world experiences. She continues to collaborate with master educators, artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, Indigenous elders, and visionary leaders, integrating their life’s work into a living curriculum that evolves alongside the world and the children it serves.

Life at MANA