Kent Tasso
Director and Personal Leadership Instructor
Kent received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1991. Kent began his career teaching high school students in northern Utah. In 1999, Kent left teaching to serve as the Development Director for the private schools of A Gifted Education in San Jose, California. Here he more fully was exposed to the concept of treating every child as a “gifted child” and offering a broadly diversified enrichment program. He moved back to Utah in 2001 and co-founded CERTS while launching Kolob Canyon Residential Treatment Center and later Moonridge Academy. Kent has a deep love for people and for foreign languages (fluent in Japanese and French) and has lived in various parts of the world.

David H. Stoker, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
David has 38 years of clinical experience with extensive background in working with adolescents and families. He has taught at the university level and has served as the Director of the Counseling Center at San Jose University for 15 years. David then spent the next 22 years working in his private practice. They provided him with many opportunities to work with adolescents and families. He has also had many consulting positions with outpatient treatment programs for adolescents and families. During his career, David has organized and facilitated community support groups for families struggling with their children and has led support groups for parents whose children were in residential treatment. 

Marcia Payton, B.A., R.N
Nurse Coordinator
Marcia has a B.A. in Elementary Education and A.D. in Nursing. Marcia has worked in psychiatric inpatient units for the past 18 years. Marcia has also worked on general medical inpatient units and in the surgical unit. During these work experiences, she has held the positions of Staff Nurse, Charge Nurse, and Nursing Coordinator. Marcia has developed a network of services available in the community that enables Kolob Canyon Residential Treatment Center to develop a quality medical program. Marcia lives close to the facility and is easily available to meet the students’ medical needs.

Tiffany Shukait
Program Director
Tiffany has been working with adolescents since 1998 in group homes, residential treatment centers, homeless shelters and psychiatric hospital settings. She has worked with adolescent sex offenders, homeless women and children, drug addicts and those with serious mental health problems. Most recently Tiffany was a Medical Manager for adjudicated adolescent males in a residential treatment center in Southern Utah. She volunteered at the Utah State Mental Hospital in the forensics unit. She is organized, well-versed in the language and behavior of adolescent girls in residential treatment.

Tiffany has nearly completed her bachelor’s degree in social work. Tiffany was born and raised in Southern Utah. She is married, lives in La Verkin, Utah and is the mother of two adorable infant girls (one is still in utero and due the end of June).

Tiffany brings her love of reading, volleyball, scrapbooking and shopping to Kolob Canyon. She is excited to assume the position of Program Director and looks forward with enthusiasm to continuing her work in residential treatment (even after baby #2 is born!)

Stephanie Trimmer B.S.
Education Director
Stefanie currently holds a Bachelors degree in Special Education and Elementary Education. She is certified to teach in the Elementary and Secondary setting. Stefanie has previously served as Educational Director for Kolob Canyon Residential Treatment Center and has a strong desire to direct young people down positive roads. Stefanie loves to combine her love of the outdoors into her educational setting to promote learning, health and responsibility.

Dr. Mark Manley, M.D.
Cedar City CERTS Medical Director

Dr. Manley is a psychiatrist who specializes in adolescent psychiatry.  He has worked as the Chief Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services & Clinical Faculty in the Air Force at several bases, Clinical Faculty in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in San Antonio Military Pediatrics consortium for the University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas, and is currently contracted with IHC at Dixie Medical Center in St. George, Utah.  He has a wide array of honors and awards, professional presentations, research and publications.

Jennifer Ganowsky
Math teacher
Jennifer has taught at Kolob Canyon RTC/School since September of 2002. Shortly after Moonridge Academy opened in March of 2004 she came to teach Math there as well. Jennifer has over 17 years experience teaching Math in the public and private settings. She has a talent with teaching Math to people with various learning styles. She loves working with our at risk youth community. She lives in Cedar City with her husband and their 4 daughters.

Breanna Bragg
Science and Health teacher
Breanna has worked for Moonridge Academy and Kolob Canyon for over 2 years. She began as a line staff as she completed her teaching degree at Southern Utah University. While she was finishing up her degree she won awards from the National Science Teachers Association for being the student chapter president at SUU. She has a great love for the girls at Kolob and Moonridge. She loves to share her knowledge and interests with them which include; swimming, cooking, reading, photography and watching movies. She has 4 nieces that she loves to spend time with and spoil. She grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and has seen many young people go down the wrong road for one reason or another. She loves to use her experiences in her life to help teach the girls to make better choices. She is a resident of Enoch, Utah.

Melodie Jett
English teacher
Melodie is working toward her master’s degree in Education from Utah State University. She has taught for many years in the area of Special Education and now she is excited to be combining Special Education technique with her passion, literature from many genres. She is very well read and well traveled and brings very interesting components to her lessons. She teaches at both Kolob Canyon and Moonridge Academy. She lives in Cedar City with her husband and their 2 children.

Teresa Stanley, BA, MAT, MEd2
Social Studies Teacher
Teresa’s love for teaching springs from her own enthusiasm for
learning (B.A. in history and three masters’ degrees: teaching, counseling, and multicultural education). Her work with children includes foster parenting as well as positions as an after-school coordinator, youth development specialist, and Horace Mann award-winning teacher. She has presented internationally on Native American interests and made special studies of the Holocaust. Prior to entering the field of education, she was a newspaper journalist, magazine editor, freelance writer, and business manager. Teresa, who loves traveling, has hit 48 states and 18 countries on four continents. She collects antiquities, art prints, and Barbie Dolls, Fontanini, and baseball cards. She also enjoys writing, hiking, photography, reading, watching football, and playing with her four dogs. She is a resident of Cedar City.

Richard Johnson
Drama teacher
Richard has over 30 years teaching Drama in the public school system. He began teaching for Kolob Canyon 3 years ago and he currently teaches drama at Moonridge Academy as well. He has made the comment many times that in all of his years teaching kids and taking winning students to state drama competitions that he has never worked with more talented students then the students at Kolob and Moonridge. He loves working with our community of students and guiding them through Drama competitions and parent performances. He lives in Summit, Utah with his wife of many years. He has 5 children and many grandchildren.