Meet Our Staff
We are pleased to introduce you to the staff at Forest Dell Institute for Learning
Shawnee has been teaching for the past 19 years. She has experience homeschooling her own six children, running a weekly onsite elective program, K-8 online mentoring and teaching, teaching Kindergarten in a brick and mortar school, and teaching math to 9th-12th grade online students. She owned and operated a private education and tutoring business, MVHH, from 2017-2025. Shawnee has an Associate of Arts Degree in Spanish from Laramie County Community College, a Bachelor of General Studies from Minot State University, is a certified K-8 all subjects teacher in the state of Idaho, and is American Board Certified as an Exceptional Child K-12 teacher and 6-12 grade math teacher.
Shawnee started Forest Dell Institute for Learning with her husband, Jim Zelenka, in 2026. Shawnee oversees the teaching and instructional plans for the school. She is also the main teacher for math and English/Language Arts.
Jim and Shawnee Zelenka (Mr. & Mrs. Z)- Owners, Administrators, Lead Teachers
Jim oversees the organizational and financial details of Forest Dell. He is also the lead social studies teacher. Jim is in charge of creating and overseeing lesson plans and teaching for our social studies courses. Jim oversees the work of our assistant social studies teacher and teaches classes in-person as his schedule permits. Jim has a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with a minor in Constitutional Law from the University of Wyoming. He has worked for the State of Idaho for the past 15 years. He has taught in various capacities through church callings and work assignments.
Emily Zelenka-Science Teacher
Emily is our science teacher. She earned her Associate degree of Science in Biology from the College of Southern Idaho. She is currently a senior at Idaho State University studying microbiology. Emily has experience in both field and lab work, having assisted in multiple research projects. We are delighted to have Emily teaching science at our school.
Jasmine Zelenka-Lead Assistant Teacher
Jasmine teaches the social studies class under the direction of our head social studies teacher and with assistance from Mrs. Z. She has a passion for history and can often be found watching historical documentaries, reading, and writing historical romance novels. Jasmine has experience working as a librarian and volunteering as an assistant archivist at the Hagerman Historical Society Museum. For her senior project she created a life-sized model of the eohippus, an ancestor of the modern-day horse. Her model is on display in the HHS Museum.
Travis Helm-Guest Instructor: Physical and Chemical Science, Economics, Finance
Travis has an eclectic work and educational background. He received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Wyoming, a master’s degree focusing on biochemistry from the University of Utah and a Masters of Business Administration from the Ohio State University. His work experience has included integrity testing quality assurance at a Microbiology testing lab in Salt Lake City, Utah, a three-year leadership development program for MBA graduates for Johnson and Johnson in New Jersey, and most recently working as a Senior Decision Analyst for a large Regional bank located in Columbus Ohio. In his free time Travis enjoys the adventure of finding interesting books at the local library, taking walks in the Metro Parks around Columbus, researching and learning about publicly traded companies and most recently attempting to get a wildflower garden growing in his back yard.
JoDee Green-Guest Instructor: Business, Finance, Earth Science
JoDee works as an Accounting Specialist for a Papa Johns Pizza Franchisee. She has current accounting software expertise in R365, as well as extensive experience with QuickBooks, word processing programs, and navigating a vast assortment of financial websites. JoDee has a extensive experience with budgeting, payrolls, booking keeping, and all things accounting. JoDee has worked for the current franchisee for 4 years. She previously worked for a different Papa Johns Pizza franchisee for 11 years doing payroll processing and accounting work on Quickbooks. Her total Papa Johns franchise experience is 15 years.
JoDee graduated with an Associates Degree in Elementary Education from Laramie County Community College. She has many years of teaching experience with children and youth through serving in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and raising her own children. She loves to read, hike, kayak, craft, do jigsaw and Sudoku puzzles.