Ronna bonstein

BYL Specialty Program

Credentialed Teacher

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Ronna Bonstein has been teaching for over a decade, serving students in both Merced and Atwater. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a major in Journalism and a minor in Sociology, she worked in sales and marketing for several companies in the bay area. After her husband landed a job as a full time instructor at Merced College, Ronna gave up the business world and was fortunate enough to stay home and raise her two children. While at home, she started her own daycare, as well as becoming a charter member and Vice President of Membership of the MOMS Club of Merced, a support group for stay at home moms.

Once her children were in school full-time, she became a substitute teacher where she fell in love with the teaching profession! She decided to make it official so she went back to school to earn her teaching credential at 41. Ronna is most proud of her role as a wife and mother of two kids who are now both attending California universities. She is passionate about her family and education and is very excited to help other families in their education journey!

Wendy Spencer, Founder/Director & Instructor

Young Leaders Performing Arts Company, Singers Company, and World Dance

At the age of six, Leon Carswell discovered a love of dance after seeing Michael Jackson on television, and since then, he has never stopped dancing! After becoming a professional at the age of 18, he traveled the world competing in dance competitions and at the age of 20, he began working with major artists and celebrities! Leon has danced and choreographed for well known recording artists and has choreographed for and performed in popular films. In his spare time he enjoys exploring,art, and nature, especially at the beach! His truest passion is mentoring kids and he is proud to be teaching at Building Young Leaders.

Natalie Butler

Business Manager & Homeschool Enrichment

Amanda Hill grew up in Southwest Wyoming, in a town small enough to allow her to try everything from swimming to speech and debate. She attended college at Brigham Young University, graduating in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry. Together with her husband and children, she's lived all over the the US, and traveled every inch of I-80! In 2012 she sat down to her computer on a whim, and started writing. Today she has several publications in children's magazines, anthologies, and e-picture book apps. Amanda loves sharing her love of science, writing, crafting, gardening, and music with children and adults alike.

Margot Padilla, Assistant Director of Performing Arts & Instructor

Young Leaders Performing Arts Company, Core Athletic & Dance Conditioning

Leon Carswell, Instructor

Hip-Hop​ and Bboy

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Eden Dale, Performing Arts Administrative Assistant

Yang Ziyu, Instructor
Ballet Levels 3 - 6, World Dance

Yang was vocationally trained at Shanghai Ballet Professional Technical Secondary Dance School in China, where she majored in ballet. She was awarded with the Gold Award at the Hong Kong International Youth Dance Competition, and her professional stage experience includes prestigious events such as the Shanghai Arts Festival and Shanghai Cultural Festival. Ziyu is also certified for Beijing Dance Academic Teaching for Ballet.
Yang has joined Singapore dance theater for one year. she majored in Ballet at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Her studies at NAFA provided her with exposure to different elements of dance, and allowed her to gain proficiency in teaching within an English-speaking environment.

Yang has been teaching ballet and Chinese dance in Singapore, preparing students for the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) examinations. Her experience in teaching kids includes children as young as 3 years old, as well as those in their teens. Yang’s vocational training in Shanghai, supplemented with her NAFA dance education, has given different perspectives and depth to her understanding of ballet, equipping her with a unique approach to teaching.

Yang was vocationally trained at Shanghai Ballet Professional Technical Secondary Dance School in China, where she majored in ballet. She was awarded with the Gold Award at the Hong Kong International Youth Dance Competition, and her professional stage experience includes prestigious events such as the Shanghai Arts Festival and Shanghai Cultural Festival. Ziyu is also certified for Beijing Dance Academic Teaching for Ballet.Yang has joined Singapore dance theater for one year and she majored in Ballet at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Her studies at NAFA provided her with exposure to different elements of dance, and allowed her to gain proficiency in teaching within an English-speaking environment.

Yang has been teaching ballet and Chinese dance in Singapore, preparing students for the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) examinations. Her experience in teaching kids includes children as young as 3 years old, as well as those in their teens. Yang’s vocational training in Shanghai, supplemented with her NAFA dance education, has given different perspectives and depth to her understanding of ballet, equipping her with a unique approach to teaching.

Wendy Spencer, Founder/Director & Instructor

Young Leaders Performing Arts Company, Singers Company, and World Dance

Lindsay Robinson, Business Manager 

Eden was born in Palm Springs but has moved all over California ranging from the North coast, Mariposa, Sacramento and Merced. She took classes at Merced Community College where she learned to speak in American Sign Language. She has been an ASL instructor for Building Young Leaders since January of 2019 and has such a blast teaching what she loves to kids.

Eden has accumulated over 220 hours of community service ranging from harvesting humanitarian grapes in Fresno vineyards, collecting shoes to donate to children in Ghana and Burkina Faso, to deep cleaning kitchens! Eden plans to serve an eighteen month church mission come March of 2020 which could send her anywhere in the world! After her mission, Eden plans on attending Merced Community College and eventually BYU Idaho. In her free time Eden enjoys kayaking, theater, road trips to anywhere with cold weather, and spending time with her friends and family, preferably with a pint of rocky road ice cream.

Margot Padilla is an especially gifted performing arts instructor and Assistant Director of our Young Leaders Performing Arts department! She graduated from Fresno State majoring in Liberal Studies with a minor in Dance in 1992, and while there was part of the resident dance company, Portable Dance Troupe. She earned her teaching credential from Chapman University and has loved teaching the children of Merced County ever since! She has studied and performed with local dance companies, Merced Civic Ballet and The Women at the Well.

Margot is able to continue pursuing her passions of dancing and teaching with the love and support of her amazing husband. Together they have made Merced their hometown and are raising a young man and two beautiful girls who also love to dance. She feels blessed to be part of Building Young Leaders where she can share her talents in an environment that is an extension of her own values!

Joanne has been dancing since the age of 3 and is specialized in the social dances, which she has been teaching since 1985. For 19 years, she studied under the strict Cecchetti Ballet foundation, strengthening and emphasizing posture and core strength. At the age of 16 she began teaching Ballet and eventually transitioned into the Social Dances, where she found her true passion! She has been a part of different Ballet companies, Jazz companies and musical productions throughout California, but always came back to teaching. Throughout her life, she competed in national competitions and is an American Style Champion dancer who received the California Star Ball Top Teacher Award in 1990! Her teaching promotes posture, toning, style, and focuses on how to make the dances flow,ultimately making the dance look effortless. Joanne is looking forward to teaching dance here at Building Young Leaders where she can help everyone who wants to learn to dance and find the joy of moving smoothly, through the dance.

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Joanne Price, Instructor

Ballroom and Latin Dance

Joanne Price, Instructor

Ballroom, Tap, and Latin Dance

Danalynn Rae, byl specialty Program Credentialed Teacher

Homeschool Academic & Elective Classes

Virginia Manandeg, Instructor
Rhythm & Dance, Hip-Hop/ World Combo, & Core Conditioning

Abigale Corral, Instructor
Homeschool Spanish Elective Class

Carlos Navarrete Paramo
Homeschool Elective Classes & Tutor

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Virginia Manandeg, a current student at the University of California, Merced, has been performing since the age of 4. She started learning ballet at the age of 4 and has started branching off into different genres of dance; from hip-hop, jazz, contemporary, Polynesian, Latin, and more.

Virginia has also been exposed to the world of the performing arts theatrically and vocally. Being involved in plays and musicals since the age of 5, she considers herself blessed by the world of the visual and performing arts. She has resided in the Philippines for about 15 years and moved to the United States in 2015. Virginia has been working on her own skills by continually challenging herself in the realm of the arts. While studying at the university, she has involved herself in the Homebound Urban Dance Team, and an actress for the UCM Pilipino Cultural Night choir, Pilipino Alliance Association. She feels very honored to have the opportunity to be work with adorable and inspired students who look forward to being in the world of the arts as she has.

Norbert Nguyen, Instructor

Hip-Hop 

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Lane Toel, Academic Enrichment Administrative Assistant 

Danalynn was born and raised here in Merced, afterwards she lived in Reno, Nevada for 12 years before moving back to Merced to be closer to family and give my family the chance to live in a small town. Danalynn is a wife to an awesome Football Coach aMos well as a mom to two stellar young men! Danalynn has also been a homeschooling Mom for 10 years! Danalynn feel very passionate about Scouting, volunteering in youth endeavors, and all things outdoors! Biology, physical fitness, and art are favorite subjects to teach. In her spare time Danalynn enjoys  hiking, fishing, camping, sewing, handyman chores, and blacksmithing!

Norbert Nguyen is an undergraduate at UC Merced. He was born and raised in Sacramento, California and has been dancing since the beginning of high school. Norbert was a part of his high school dance team and is currently the director of Homebound, a competitive urban dance team at the University of California, Merced. Norbert has competed and performed all over California including Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.

Norbert believes dance is a universal language and teaches workshops to gather the dance community together! Dance plays a major role in his life says he would not be the same person today had he not started dancing! He feels excited and blessed to be a part of Building Young Leaders!