Our Program Administrators
Meet our Leadership Team
Heather Dalton - Executive Director
Heather Dalton has had a passion for fostering a love of learning in kids serving her community for over 20+ years. She has served in various educational roles such as teacher, principal, adjunct professor, conference speaker, Bible teacher, and school consultant. She currently holds her favorite position as a homeschool mom to her 3 girls and executive director of Thrive. Heather is known for her dynamic leadership skills, magnetic personality, and ability to discover and connect the BEST educators who are not only well qualified but have the gift of teaching. Heather holds a teaching Credential (CSU Chico) , Master's in Education (Azusa Pacific), Master's in Educational Leadership (Azusa Pacific), and an Administrative Credential USD). She currently resides in Encinitas, Ca with her precious family serving the needs of her local and global community.
Mikala Janse van Rensburg - Operations Director
Mikala has a Bachelors Degree of Business in Leadership and Organizational Management and for the past 10 years has served as the COO and Executive Pastor at Existence Church in San Diego. Mikala is also licensed by the Christian Missionary Alliance and has sat on the School Board for a startup charter school (Empower Charter School). Additionally, she served as the Business Analyst at Ashford University and University of the Rockies under the umbrella company Bridgepoint Education. She currently homeschools her two sons London and Durban, and is passionate about Jesus and building the Kingdom with this next generation.
Allison Bishop - Campus Director, New Family & Volunteer Coordinator
Alee Bishop was born and raised in Encinitas. She attended the local high school and college. She has been married to her husband Eric since 2010. She is a mom of two boys and has been homeschooling since 2017. She has worked in ministry since she was 18 years old.
She worked as the Childrens Ministry Director then an Administrative Assistant at Horizon Christian Fellowship for eight years. She left Horizon to have her first son (Jeb), then had her second son (Max) two years later. They experienced a beautiful miracle when Max was born at 24 weeks and the Lord carried them all through. She then started and ran her own business for two years. After that ended, she jumped back into ministry at Redeemer Presbytery. She worked there for four years in the Childrens Ministry serving families and children by teaching, running Sunday services, planning camps and much more. She is so excited to be a part of the Thrive community.
Laura DeSoto - Vendor Coordinator, Math & Science Department Head
After graduating from Wheaton College with a B. S. in Biology and a teaching certificate from Illinois, I have enjoyed teaching for many years in a variety of venues. From the Christian school classroom, to an outdoor education center serving the needs of at-risk inner-city children, to the wilds of Papua New Guinea with the Peace Corps, to my own living room, I strive to make lessons as fun as they are meaningful. Most recently, I have discovered the pure joy of developing and teaching classes for the homeschool community. Here, more than anywhere else, I find the freedom to teach what truly is most important.
In addition to enthusiastically preparing for my classes, I can be found hanging out with my game-loving family (husband, daughter who will be a sophomore at Westmont, high school-aged son, and two doggies) playing anything from ping-pong to name-that-tune to multiple day-long board games! I also frequent any hiking trail I can find and hiked Half Dome last fall. For crazy stories about teaching in places as wild as Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park or PNG's remote village of Henganofi, ask me about my favorite memories, scariest moments, or strangest experiences.
Heather Williams - Assistant Campus Director and Event Coordinator
Heather has lived in Encinitas with her husband and 4 kids for the past 20 years. She had an adventure filled life growing up in Oregon and Alaska where she fished and swam in glacial water with seals (a childhood highlight). She then left home and attended Life Pacific Bible College in San Dimas, where she met her husband, Chris, of 28 years. They have enjoyed raising their children and soaking in the beach life in Encinitas. She has worked in many capacities…as a preschool aid, an assistant director of a preschool, an administrative assistant and an events coordinator. She started and has been running her own business for the past 2 years and is excited to be part of the Thrive community. She loves encouraging others and looks forward to interacting with children and parents here at Thrive.