Meet Our Staff

Rebecca Johnson

Executive Director

Rebecca was born and raised in the Lansing area. She grew up in a tennis family and most of her time was spent either watching her brothers play or playing competitively herself. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2011 and moved to St. Louis where she taught middle school special education for two years.

In 2013, she moved back to Michigan to work for Todd Martin Youth Leadership as the high school program coordinator and data consultant. After getting married in 2014, she moved to Milwaukee with her husband, Ronnie, where she completed her masters in social work at the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin. Rebecca was a school social worker at a high school on the south side of Milwaukee for the 2016-2017 school year.

Rebecca and Ronnie moved back to the Lansing area in June 2017 and were excited to welcome their first baby, Elizabeth, in September. Since then, Rebecca and Ronnie welcomed another child, Isaiah, in April 2021.

Christina Burke

Tutoring Program Director

Christina was born and raised in the Lansing area. She developed a love for tennis at a young age and enjoyed competitive tennis for many years. She was a Lansing Catholic graduate and then went on and earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Teaching and Curriculum at Michigan State University. She has over 20 years of teaching experience working with students in grades K-8. She spent time teaching in Grand Rapids, Grand Ledge and Okemos.

One of the highlights of her career was coaching the girls’ varsity tennis team in Wyoming, Michigan. She loved watching her players’ growth and their passion for tennis. Christina and her husband, Bill, live in Okemos with their two children, Blake and Brooklyn. Her interests include watching tennis, playing pickleball and cheering on the Spartans. She is devoted to supporting youth and is thrilled to be able to do this through TMYL.

Soluna Fuentes

Tennis program director

Soluna was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. She grew up playing tennis in the program as a participant and then attended East Lansing High School where she also played tennis. She is an East Lansing graduate and is currently attending Lansing Community College getting an associate’s degree in Kinesiology. Soluna has grown from a participant to a junior coach to tennis coordinator and is now the tennis director. She has a dog named Zola and has 3 siblings. She is always active outside of her job and enjoys listening to music and reading books.

Jared Guy

Assistant Tennis Program Director

Jared grew up in Portland and went to Portland High School. Afterwards, he continued his tennis career at Alma College where he got his degree in psychology and graduated in 2016. He then coached at Alma for 7 years and is now the Head Pro of Junior Tennis at the Michigan Athletic Club. As someone who picked up tennis kind of late and couldn't afford to do lessons and tournaments, he said he would have loved to have all the opportunities Todd Martin can offer. So working for TMYL and being able to spread tennis and hopefully get more kids into tennis is something he says he is truly grateful for.

david leek

Riddle after school program coordinator

David is a 3rd grade teacher at Pattengill Elementary School. Prior to Pattengill, he taught 2nd and 3rd grade at Willow Elementary. He is an integral part of TMYL’s Riddle After School Program, and the kids can’t get enough of him!

Tennis & Leadership Instructors

Stella Alfredson

Stella is a senior attending East Lansing High School. She plays on both their Varsity tennis team as well as their Varsity volleyball team. Stella’s tennis team has just achieved their 3rd consecutive regional title, as well as the conference title for the 2025 season. After high school, Stella hopes to go into environmental science in college and continue her athletic career in tennis hopefully on a club team at the university she’ll be attending. With this being her second year with TMYL, she is very excited to see what new experiences this year will bring. 

Jamy Brooks

Jamy has been coaching tennis for 6 years, and has been coaching with TMYL for the last year. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics-Secondary Education and she will be student teaching high school math in the metro Detroit area in the 25-26 school year. She played on the Michigan State Club tennis team all four years, where she served as the Travel Vice President.

Katie Denzin

Katie has been playing tennis ever since she can remember and is ecstatic to be a part of the TMYL team! She is originally from California and currently works for MSU in the Teacher Preparation Program. 

Gerrit Garcia

Gerrit is a rising senior that attends East Lansing High School. Some of his hobbies are Tennis, Baseball, and hanging out with friends. He is looking forward to his senior year at ELHS and the Fall 2024 High School Tennis season.

Jonny Kalt

Jonny is a rising senior at East Lansing High School. His favorite hobbies are playing tennis, video games, and hanging out with friends. He is on the tennis team at East Lansing and is looking forward to his senior season!

Evie Laxton

Evie is currently a student at East Lansing High School. She has been a participant in TMYL for 10 years. She enjoys playing tennis and soccer. She has played doubles on her high school varsity team since her freshman year.

JOHN LAXTON

John is currently a junior at Alma college where he is majoring in psychology with a minor in special education. He is member of the men’s tennis team and also serves as a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. This will be his 5th year with TMYL.

chris marcum

Chris is a graduate student at MSU who is pursuing a Master’s of Social Work. He has spent several years working in mentorship positions in his hometown of Detroit. Since joining TMYL in summer ’24 through MSU’s Social Work Field Placement program, he has learned a lot about tennis, youth development, and nonprofit management-- and is looking forward to growing even more!

Jacob McNew

Jacob is a freshman at Alma College.  His hobbies include playing tennis, watching sports, and hanging with friends. This will be his first year with TMYL.

lucas preston

Lucas plays tennis at Kalamazoo College, currently pursuing a major in Religion. He’s coached and played tennis for years, and is extremely passionate about helping others grow on and off the court. Outside of tennis, Lucas enjoys the outdoors, staying active , listening to music, healthy eating, and learning new things.

Haytham sandu

Haytham is a senior at Holt High School. Some of his favorite hobbies are hanging out with friends and playing tennis. His favorite part of TMYL is the summer program because of all the amazing people you get to meet.

William Taylor

William is currently a junior at East Lansing High School. Some of his hobbies are tennis, among other sports, and hanging out with his friends. He is very excited to continue his last season of High School tennis in the upcoming fall 2024.

Pierson Wells

Pierson is a student at Michigan State University studying game design and interactive media. In high school he played first and second singles for the Lansing Christian Boys tennis team. Other than video games and tennis, Pierson loves the outdoors, scuba diving, and both reading and writing. 

Steve Wolff

Steve is currently a Social Studies Teacher at East Lansing High School.  He has coached high school boys and girls tennis teams at both the JV and Varsity level (and is currently the JV Girls Tennis coach at ELHS). As a kid, Steve went to TMYL and has made many lifelong friendships through the program.  His favorite part of TMYL is coaching with some of the former participants.  He has worked at TMYL since 2008 and looks forward to another great summer!  

Other Staff

erin nevitt

executive assistant

Erin was born and raised in the Lansing area. She graduated from Cornerstone University in 2011 with a degree in Media Studies and Film Production, emphasizing in writing and producing. After living in Los Angeles and interning at Paramount Studies, it became clear the Hollywood life was not for her. In the summer of 2021, Erin joined the TMYL team as the executive assistant. She is excited to give back to the community she grew up in and watch the students of Lansing thrive with TMYL’s support!

Brooke Quisenberry

Data & Evaluation Specialist

Brooke grew up in the Lansing area. She graduated from Hope College in 2010, worked for the Michigan House of Representatives and did graduate work at Michigan State University in the College of Education in Measurement and Quantitative Methods, while also doing research consulting.

In 2017, she started working for Todd Martin Youth Leadership, performing various administrative tasks (including using her data skills!) for the other staff members. She is so thankful to have the opportunity to work with such a fantastic organization and with remarkable people, including staff, volunteers, and board members!