Experienced. Dedicated.
WiseVerse Learning Academy focuses on serving the needs of the bilingual adult learner. We realize there is tremendous unmet need for adult education and specifically programs that provide English language skill development and small business training. WiseVerse Learning Academy provides online instruction with the option of real-time bilingual (English-Spanish) tutorial support. This provides the student a convenient and flexible online learning environment and tutorial support when needed.
The founder of WiseVerse Learning Academy is Dr. Brian Ellison, a long-time faculty and administrator in the California Community College system who understands the bilingual adult learner and type of learning environment the adult learner needs to thrive. WiseVerse Learning Academy offers high quality classes that reflect the professional experience and talent of a seasoned curriculum development team dedicated to bilingual adult education.
As Dr. Ellison states, “The bilingual adult learner represents one of the greatest unrealized assets of the United States in terms of the nation’s economic, cultural, and socio-political vitality.”
Our Team
president
Brian E. Ellison, Ed.D.
Dr. Ellison has had the unique opportunity to work as a faculty and senior administrator in the California Community College system. His academic training includes clinical psychology, applied sociology, and education leadership. He served as a contributing author to landmark legislation specific to adult education in California. In his role as a consultant, he has been instrumental in moving adult education forward in California at the community college level. Now as the founder of WiseVerse Learning Academy, Dr. Ellison continues to support bilingual adult learners and provide opportunities for learning and student success.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE
Doctor of Education, Education Leadership
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Master of Arts, Sociology
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology and Sociology
Chief Operating Officer
Maria Ellison
Maria Ellison serves as the Chief Operating Officer of WiseVerse Learning Academy. She comes to this company having served as the Chief Operating Officer for Santori Wine Company and Fine Line Consulting and brings a valuable skill set and much professional talent to this position. Having come from a family of educators, she understands the importance of adult education and the significance of this population in California. With a background in Cultural Anthropology, she is aware of and sensitive to the unmet needs of an expanding population in California where English is not spoken at home; a population that would benefit and thrive from an online ESL/tutorial program.
Education
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA
Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology
RESOURCE
Steven M. Nuñez
Steven M. Nuñez is a successful trial attorney who has spent over 20 years representing individuals and small businesses in both complex, multi-party litigation as well as personal injury litigation in both state and federal court. Steve has represented victims of financial fraud in cases such as Amezcua v. East West Bank and Vasquez v. HSBC and has obtained class action settlements of $33 million and $10 million in financial fraud cases. He has represented personal injury victims in prominent cases such as Ordoñez v. Whisky A Go Go and Camargo v Tjaarda Dairy. He has represented and obtained a settlement on behalf of farm workers subjected to a pesticide overspray. He represented victims of the September 11th tragedy before the Victim’s Compensation Fund in New York City, a feat for which he received commendations from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
As a member of Old Mission Rotary in San Diego and a director of Servicios Mi Pueblo in Santa Ana, Steve actively contributes time and money to support kids, like himself, aspiring to be first generation college students; to build shelter for the destitute of Tijuana; to contribute to health and well being projects for migrant workers in Baja; and to provide support for Thousand Smiles, a cleft palate surgical and dental clinic in Baja.
RESOURCE
Patricia Hsieh, Ed. D.
Patricia Hsieh served the California Community Colleges for over 30 years. She was the superintendent, president, and senior administrator. She also has extensive background and experience as a faculty member and counselor. For 14 years, Hsieh oversaw the adult ESL program at her college.
Hsieh studied at the Harvard University Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) Program and Institute for Educational Management (IEM), and has received her doctorate in Institutional Management in Higher Education focusing on Community College Administration at Pepperdine University, her master's in Guidance and Counseling from Wayne State University, and her bachelor's in Western Languages and Literature from Chengchi University in Taiwan.
Among her many achievements, Dr. Hsieh was selected as the Fulbright Scholar twice in 2010 and 2016 representing American Community Colleges to Russia, France and Germany to develop relationships with the higher education institutions in the respective countries focusing on adult education. She was the recipients of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Award, Higher Education Minority Women Trial Blazer Award, and Higher Education Outstanding Leadership Award.