STAFF

Melissa grew up in Orange Beach as a member of one of the founding families of Orange Beach. She is a Foley High School graduate and a graduate of the University of Montevallo. As owner and Director of Discovery Island, Ms. Lissa, as the children call her, has taken over 600 hours training in Early Childhood Education and Pre-School Management. She has been married 35 years to her husband and co-owner Eddie R. Moody. They have 2 children, William, who is 31, is a Troy University graduate and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Nicolette, who is a teacher. Eddie and Melissa welcomed their first Grandchild this year, Violet Lucia. They also have a daughter, Tessa, who is 26 is a graduate of Lander University in South Carolina. Tessa currently lives in Baldwin county and is a Salon Coordinator and Makeup Artist.Both children attended Discovery Island in its beginning years. Melissa was an officer for 6 years in her church, St. Jude's Lutheran Church in Gulf Shores, where she has been a member since returning from Atlanta. She is a member of the Children's Policy Council of Baldwin County. In December of 2008 Ms. Melissa became the first Director in Baldwin County certified by the State of Alabama in the state's newly mandated Alabama Early Learning Guidelines.​

Ms. Robyn came to Discovery Island with a lot of previous experience teaching and managing daycares in mid state Alabama. She moved to the Gulf Coast last October from her home town of Plantersville which is a small town between Montgomery and Birmingham. Robyn's first job at 16 was part time as an aide to the infant teacher in a daycare in Jemison, Alabama. She also worked 2 summer at a day camp in Dothan Down's Syndrome children. As an adult she worked for Community Action for 5 years teaching Pre-K for the Head Start Program. Most recently Robyn was the director for a childcare center with a Baptist Church close to her hometown. She managed their Center for 10 years. Robyn also has training as a medical assistant. Robyn has two sons. Her oldest is married and her youngest is in high school and just started driving!

Ms. Cherish is originally from South Carolina. When she moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast she came alone with her two English bulldogs. Cherish originally attended Lander University for nursing but changed her focus to Early Childhood receiving her Associates Degree from Northeastern Technical College. She loves working with children and helping them learn. She is enjoying working with all the different ages of children at Discovery Island. Ms. Cherish enjoys being outdoors and bike rides to the beach. After a short time away from us, Ms. Cherish has returned to her D.I. home.

Ms. Becca, originally from Prairie du Chien, WI, has worked in the field of Child Care for 11 years. She was our one year teacher until the birth of her first child, Benjamin. At that time she took an extended maternity leave. She chose to come back in a substitute position allowing her more time at home with her own infant. For the last 3 years she has been full time in one of our two 3 year old classrooms. She is in her 6th year as part of the Discovery Island team. She loves her three dogs. She has been married to her husband, Justin since 2012. Ms Becca enjoys biking and being outside and playing with her son, Benny. Currently, while working, she is also a full time student working on her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She hopes to teach Kindergarten.

Ms. Magan comes to us from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She recently moved to the coast with her family. She has 2 years experience working with Toddlers in a facility in her home town. In college Magan played softball for Snead State. She is to be here as she loves the water and sea life. She is also a talented vocalist and plays guitar. We quickly noticed Ms. Magan has an awesome spirit with her class and we are so happy to have her now a part of the DI Team!

Raven is originally from Thomasville Alabama. She is a graduate of Thomasville High School. Raven has been working with children for 6 Years. She is now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary education. Raven has worked with children of all ages. She was the lead afternoon teacher to children aged 2 1/2 to 8 at her previous center. She enjoys working with children and seeing them blossom into kind, intelligent individuals. She moved to Orange Beach with her family in June of 2017. When she is not working she enjoys music, writing, theatre, and anything that allows her to be creative.

Scarlett is from Robertsdale and graduated from Robertsdale High School. Her previous daycare experience includes working at a licensed center in Daphne. While there she worked with all ages as a floater but spent most of her time with the two year olds which is her favorite age group. She feels lucky to have joined the DI Team just when they were looking for a two year old teacher. Ms. Scarlett enjoys teaching the two but feels they teach her just as much in return. Scarlett loves Jesus, Netflix and the Crimson Tide!

Ms. Kim is a Robertsdale High School graduate. During high school she attended vocational school for 2 years with Early Childhood Education focus. Ms. Kim has returned to Discovery Island after several years away. Ms. Kim was our One Year Old teacher in our very early years for approximately 5 years. She then moved into the Assistant Director position helping Ms. Melissa manage Discovery Island for almost 10 years. We are very pleased to have such an important part of Discovery Island's history back with us. Ms. Kim has been married for 33 years. She has two adult sons and enjoys her time with her grandchildren. She loves reading, cooking, and watching football. (Roll Tide!)

Ms. Tabatha is originally from Missouri. She and her husband Butch have been married for 20 years. Tabatha has been 26 year old twin daughters, Katelyn and Amber. She has two grandchildren, Paisley is is 3 and Isabelle who is an infant. Between Missouri and Alabama Tabatha has worked a combined 8 years in childcare. She and her husband attend Oyster Bay Baptist Church where she is their Nursery Co-coordinator. She and her husband enjoy the beach, swimming, and putt-putt golf.

Ms. Mandy moved to Gulf Shores in 2018 from her home state of North Carolina. Her mother owned a home daycare and Mandy learned the daycare business from her helping in her mother's business. She attended multiple training classes in the child development field during these years. Mandy also spent a lot of time working with children teaching gymnastics, dance and cheer leading in her own studio. We welcome Ms. Mandy to the DI Team!​

Ms. Ebony is from Bay Minette and graduated from Baldwin County High School. She intends to become a full time student at the University of South Alabama in the Fall of 2020 and major in Social Work. We are happy to have her with us through the summer of 2020 as she has previously worked with children and the DI children love her! Having worked previously at another Baldwin County center, Ebony say is thrilled to be part of the DI team now as she finds our center an amazing learning facility.​

Teri Roy Edwards is a native of Natchez, Mississippi. She graduated from Mississippi College with a Bachelor of Music in Church Music with a emphasis in vocal performance. She has served as a music director and a preschool children's choir director for several years. She has also taught every age group in church from 1 year old to 6th graders. Her love of being with children currently has her pursuing a Master's in Teaching and Learning with an Early Childhood Education concentration from Liberty University. She will graduate in August of 2018. She plans to teach Kindergarten. Ms. Teri has been married to Mike Edwards for 23 years. They have two dog-children, Dixie and Anabell. They are active members of First Baptist Church of Fairhope where both she and her husband teach Sunday School. Ms. Teri sings in the church choir which sung the National Anthem for the 2018 Senior Bowl in Mobile.

Kate was born and raised in Louisiana. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a BA in psychology. She enjoys working with young children and helping them learn academically, socially, and emotionally. She is a long suffering Saints fan. Her favorite time of the year is football season! Ask her about the 2019-2020 L.S.U. season. She attends church locally with her children.

Aimee was born in Nashville, TN and resided in Pensacola for 14 years. Recently she moved to Foley with her new husband. Ms. Aimee comes from a family full of teachers including her Grandma who was a teacher in the 60's. Her mom is a 4th grade gifted teacher in Pensacola. Aimee spent a lot of time volunteering her time teaching at different schools and museums in the area for 8 years. She is very artistic and loves drawing. She is also a costume designer for different local children's programs.