Meet Our Coaches

Lin Thomas

Lin Thomas is a TEDx speaker and the author of the multicultural children's novel, Every Sparrow was Made to Fly. She is a published author with Chicken Soup for the Soul series, a NY Times Best Selling series published in over 32 languages and 100 countries. She is also a published author with Project Management.com run by PMI (Project Management Institute).

Positions served:

Ms. Thomas served as a Literary Judge for Hunt District PTA- Reflections 2020 competition covering Loudoun County, Clarke County, Frederick County, Warren County & Winchester City.
VP- Public Relations of the Dulles South Toastmaster's Club.
VP Fundraising of Eagle Ridge Middle School PTA
Previously the Editor, Secretary, and Youth Liaison of KAGW, a non-profit organization based in the DC Metro area.

Accomplishments, Awards & Certifications:

Certificate in Exercising Leadership by HarvardX, Harvard University
Project Management Professional (PMP) by PMI since 2011.
The Yay Learner Podcast was listed as #9 in the Top Podcasts of 2020 on Positive Attitude by PlayerFM. Podcast listed #3 in the Top Podcasts on Pandemic -How To by Pod.Casts.Io
11 awards at Toastmaster International awards at District, Area and Division levels for International Speech, Table Topics, Humorous and Tall Tales categories

She has been Primary Coach for a team that won 1st place at VA State Odyssey of the Mind Tournaments and competed at Worlds. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and a Diploma in Writing from Institute of Children’s Writers. Read more about Lin at www.linthomas.com

Geena Abraham

Geena is a coach at Yay Learner. Geena has always had a passion for teaching; her first experience was working as a Technology faculty at her college. From then on she has taken several teaching opportunities. She is a Certified Professional Workshop Facilitator on Public Speaking and also a member of the Toastmasters club. She holds a master’s degree in information technology and has been working on cutting-edge leading IT technologies as a Software Engineer for the past 16+ years. . She is also an artist, an avid traveler and loves spending time with her family.

Her motivation for coaching at Yay Learner is to help kids unleash their creativity. She also believes her inspiration and biggest teachers are her two wonderful children who have helped her become a great listener. She looks forward to sharing the joy of learning with other kids.

Mary Sam Alexander

Mary is a part-time coach at Yay Learner. She has a Masters of Science from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s degree from Bangalore University. She has worked for Northrop Grumman Corporation and has tutored children in Math and English at Austin Elementary and Dunwoody Elementary Schools. She organized and conducted Book and Christmas fairs at the elementary school level.

Suma is also a talented singer, pianist and a voracious reader. In her free-time she enjoys competitive Scrabble. Her friends are vary of challenging her to game of Scrabble as her immense vocabulary is sure to guarantee her victory. She is the proud mom of a high-schooler and can give you expert advice on any parenting topic of your choice.

Sharon Elizabeth Thomas

Sharon has a Liberal Arts and Management certificate and a Bachelors in Neuroscience from Indiana University. She is an IU Prestige Scholarship holder. She was also the Raas Royalty Liaison and Hoosier Raas Manager at the University. She is currently an MBA candidate at Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland.

Sharon has a passion for working with children and has worked as a Pediatric Clinical Research coordinator in Florida and at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. She connects immediately with children and has a wide range of experiences to share with them. She was raised in Chicago but has made the DC metro area her new home. She currently works at an IT firm in the Tyson’s Corner. She enjoys spending free time at the local libraries and watching movies.

Melissa Thomas

Melissa is a student at Carnegie Mellon University with the Tepper School of Business. She was the Virginia State Parliamentarian of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and a Youth Ambassador for the Capital Region of national organization Young Women in Biology. She is a TedX speaker and has won several awards in Public Speaking at state and regional levels as part of Technology Student Assocation. Her awards include:

TSA VA State 2022 - Prepared Presentation -1st Place, May 2022
TSA VA State Fall Events 2023 - Prepared Presentation -2nd Place, Nov 2022
FBLA VA State- Intro to Public Speaking, 2022 -2nd Place, Apr 2021
FBLA VA State- Business Ethics, 2023 -2nd Place, Apr 2023
TSA VA State Fall Events 2023 -Essays on Technology -3rd Place, Nov 2022
FBLA Business Achievement Awards, Jun 2022; Received all 4 Business Achievement Awards through the National FBLA organization: -Contributor, Leader, Advocate, and Capstone Award
WACFL Regional Policy Debate Competition - 3rd Place in speaker awards, Nov 2020