Ben Yanes

Afterschool Teacher

Ben Yanes moved from NYC to Asheville in 2004 to attend Warren Wilson College to study creative writing. He went on to create the literary journal, Red Line Blues, which is in its 6th year of publication. On top of being a writer and visual artist, Ben’s specialty as a multi-instrumentalist has been to facilitate musical projects with children.

He believes giving kids the space to create music is true alchemy and the results are pure magic. A songwriting project of Ben’s last year was awarded a prize from the North Carolina Museum of Natural History and was on exhibit at the museum.

 

 

Robert Fochler

K-1 Afterschool Teacher

He may be a foster grandparent, but Robert is truly young at heart. He enriches Odyssey’s extracurricular and after-school programs with his joyful enthusiasm. He finds great joy working with the children, teaching them from a grandparent’s perspective and offering a unique opportunity to connect intragenerationally.

Robert considers his work at Odyssey to be his ‘true heart-dharma’ and his fourth career. He managed Western Union Telegraph in the 1950s as well as a radio station and two chambers of commerce in western New York. Robert earned his Early Childhood Education Credential and served for a year with Asheville’s Irene Wortham Center’s childcare program, then settled in at Odyssey Community School.