Skip links
Young Minds

Reborn

Learn More

Our Mission

Provide support and assistance to  at-risk children, teens and their families in the North Fulton area, by providing parenting classes, as well as academic and enrichment activities.

How we see things

Our Vision

See families united and strengthened, leaving a positive legacy for generations to come.

Why we do what we do

Our Values

Faith
To guide children and parents to experience God’s love and how they can live a fulfilling life together.

Community 

We cultivate and value relationships with the families in our community and do what we can to help them to meet their needs when they are going through difficult situations.

Resilience 

We are passionate and tireless in seeking help and opportunities for our children and youth in advancing their education.

Learning 

We treat challenges as learning opportunities, and continually strive to excel in their education in order to graduate High School then college.

The people that make it happen

Our Board

Gilma Cantu

President, Executive Director

Gilma Cantu is Colombian by birth, moved to the United States in 2000 and is a U.S. citizen. She has a degree in International Business and has over 15 years of experience in ESL (English as a Second Language) leadership in public elementary schools. She is the Community Ministry Coordinator at RUMC, Roswell, Georgia. She also runs an After-School Program at Vickery Elementary School. Gilma’s passion for children began with her own son’s Christian journey. Her language skills and passion for helping the community allows her to build bridges with the local Latino community. Gilma and her husband live in Kennesaw, GA.

Amy Dodson

Board Director, Vice President

Amy Dodson moved to Roswell, Georgia, in 1974 at the age of 14. She attended Roswell High School and Georgia Southern University, graduating in 1984 with a business degree. Amy pursued her life-long dream by completing her Masters in Early Childhood Education degree from Reinhardt University in 2013.  Amy has been on several mission trips to Peru. She has worked in the after-school tutoring program, now known as Mighty Mentes, with Gilma Cantu for three years. In the summer of 2019, Amy volunteered at Camp Grace. This experience had a profound effect on her, which led her to become involved in Reborn Minds, and she is excited to be able to help children feel the love of Christ at Camp Grace as she did. Amy is married to Dr. Lee Dodson, a dentist in Roswell. Amy and Lee have both been members of Roswell United Methodist Church for over 40 years.

Arthur Cantu

Board Director, Vice President of Operations

Originally from Houston, Texas and of Hispanic descent, he has a B.A. in Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. After college he spent 10-years in the banking industry, followed by 10-years in non-profits and 6-years in education. It is clear that his care-giving heart follows his career as he is currently the Admission Coordinator at Gentiva Hospice. Art has a strong passion for working with teenagers, young adults and especially our immigrant population. Art and his wife, Gilma, are very involved in serving through their Church and community in Roswell, GA. Art is the father of 3 children.

Cristina Silva Wernick

Secretary

Born and raised in Bogota Colombia, Cristina met her husband while he was on a mission trip in Colombia. Before relocating to America, she worked twenty-one years at the Bank of Colombia where she was a Branch Manager. She came to live in Georgia in 1997. Just like in Colombia, she continues her passion to help teenagers with money management; as well as, their Christian life journey. Cristina holds a bachelor’s in business administration majoring in Economics and Administration at the University of Los Andes. She in her husband live in Alpharetta, GA.

Ruth Garcia Huertas

Treasurer

Ruth is from Bogota, Colombia.  She relocated to America in 2004. While in Colombia, Ruth finished her Bachelors in Business from the Universidad Central de Colombia in Accounting. Throughout her career, she has managed financial books and taxes for a variety of  businesses.  She is currently working for a CPA Firm here in Alpharetta, GA.  Her specialty is to support clients with their business finances, tax support, and platform tools.  She and her fur baby live in Alpharetta, GA.

Michele Bryan

Director of Programs

Michele Bryan moved to Georgia from Pennsylvania and has lived here for twenty years.  She graduated from Penn State with a Marketing degree and went on to earn her Masters in Elementary Education from Millersville University.  She worked as an elementary school teacher for 15 years, teaching Kindergarten, 5th and 6th graders.

Michele has been with the Mighty Mentes program from its inception in 2016.  She also volunteers as a Room Friend at Vickery Mill and tutors one of the Mighty Mentes parents in English.
Michele has 2 grown children and her first grandchild.She lives in Milton, Georgia and is a member of the Alpharetta First United Methodist Church.