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Expert-Backed. Kid-Approved. Real Support for Modern Parenting.

You want your child to thrive, but navigating school stress, screen time, and big emotions can feel like a wild ride. We’re here to take the guesswork out of it! AIE pairs deep psychological expertise with real student insights to create bite-sized, stress-free tools that help your entire family flourish.

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Meet the Village

Why Families Love the AIE Collaborative

Let’s be honest: you don’t have time to read dense clinical textbooks, and you definitely don’t need another generic parenting checklist. You need real, trusted answers, right now.

Here is how we back you up:

  • Brain Science Meets the Student Voice We filter out the noise to bring you what works! Our tools and resources are researched by leading educational and psychological experts, but they are brought to life by our incredible team of university and high school content creators. This means our resources are clinically sound, but they actually resonate with what parents, kids, teens and college students are going through right now.
  • Bite-Sized & Actionable (No Fluff!) Parenting happens in the cracks of a busy day. Our signature TinyTubes videos and curated resources deliver quick, strengths-based wins in just a few minutes. You get immediate, practical tools to handle academic, social, and emotional hurdles on the go.
  • Your Modern Parenting Village From navigating tough school transitions to building everyday mindfulness habits, you don’t have to do this alone. Through our digital Pulse magazine, exclusive resources, and online community, we provide a warm, encouraging ecosystem to help you parent with confidence and a little more peace of mind.

Meet the Team Behind AIE

A passionate group of educators, content creators, parents, and learning technologists dedicated to helping students thrive. Our founders bring decades of experience in child development and instructional leadership, while our content creators (students) engage in real world experience through crafting research-based content.

Contact Us

Kristin Makena, CEO

Kristin is a Licensed Educational Psychologist (CA #3575) who has worked as an Administrator, Professor, and Researcher who has worked in the fields of psychology and education for the last 20 years. Her doctoral research resulted in a substantive theory on the transformational process of change. Kristin’s work in the educational field has shown a clean need for change and her passion is to support parents and educators create successful experience for children to thrive.

Kathy Little, COO

With over a decade of experience in the events industry and a proven track record in customer service, Kathleen is known for her exceptional organizational skills, adaptability, and unwavering dedication to client satisfaction. As a mother of five, she has mastered the art of multitasking, creative problem-solving, and effective communication—skills that seamlessly translate into AIE’s commitment to empowering families and learners of all ages.

Zach Hilner, CIO

Zach has worked in technology and design for over 15 years with over a decade experience and proven track record in the education sector. Zach prides himself on listening to user feedback and providing results that deliver. As a co-founder of AIE, Zach remains committed to helping those dedicated to children thrive in their educational experiences - from obtaining CE’s to understanding how to better youth development and livelihood.

Charlee Dirickson, Educational Content & Research Associate

Charlee is a Sociology major with a Psychology concentration at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Passionate about education, wellness, and mental health, she served as VP of Member Integrity and VP of DEIA for Sigma Kappa Epsilon Omega, overseeing executive operations and initiatives for a 250+ member chapter. At AIE, Charlee helps develop and research educational content, supporting content, scriptwriting, and resources that highlight innovative practices and connect communities.

Hayden Auble, Content Researcher

Hayden holds a BSc in Earth Science, MSc in Astrophysics and is pursuing her PhD. in England. She is passionate about making learning accessible. At AIE she combines her scientific background with content work—creating social posts, researching education and parenting ideas, and producing TinyTube videos. Hayden focuses on clear, visually engaging content that makes complex topics approachable and impactful for diverse audiences.

Alex Little, Content Creator

Alex is a recent high school graduate starting his professional journey with AIE. Eager to learn and contribute, he brings a fresh perspective and strong work ethic. Outside of work he enjoys gaming and sports, which have built his strategic thinking, teamwork, and perseverance. Committed to personal growth, Alex is enthusiastic about supporting AIE’s mission and looks forward to developing new skills and making meaningful contributions.

Corinna Smutny, Content Creator

An alumna of Cal State Long Beach with degrees in International Studies and Political Science, who is currently in law school. She has worked as an administrative assistant in school psychology, a policy research intern for a California-focused nonprofit, and an immigration intern using her Spanish fluency for client support and legal research. At AIE, Corinna creates communication materials and researches resources to address education gaps, advocating for equitable education.

Addie Paul, Research Associate & Creative Program Director

Addie's area of passion focuses on adolescents, specifically young women transitioning from high school to college. As a former student-athlete, the potential challenges young women must navigate are numerous. Addie hopes to provide resources not only to this demographic but to all adolescents in general and looks forward to continuing to build helpful, creative tools and resources for our community that can be trusted.

AIE Interns

Allana O'Callaghan, Research & Media Developer

Alanna is a Psychology major with a Child Development minor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She is a first-generation American who is passionate about providing resources to aid first-generation students and applicants. At AIE, Alanna helps create, research, and distribute educational content and resources. Driven by a desire to provide equity and support AIE’s mission.

Mya Clarke, Research & Media Developer

Mya is a Psychology major at Cal Poly SLO. She is passionate about art, cognitive benefits of creativity, and accessibility to the arts. Over the years, she has worked with a tuition-free arts program, working to make the arts accessible to all ages. At AIE, Mya helps to research and organize data into engaging content for wider audiences on various online platforms.

Madeline Mlouk, Mental Health Education & Researcher

Maddy is a psychology major at Cal Poly and a Mental Health Education & Research Intern at AIE. Maddy is passionate about student stress research and empowering parents with the knowledge and tools to better support their children. Outside of school, Maddy enjoys spending time outdoors and with friends.

Rylee Steele, Researcher & Content Creator

Rylee is a fourth-year psychology major at Cal Poly SLO, she spends her spare time baking treats for her roommates and going for beautiful walks around town and the hills of San Luis Obispo. She plans on using her past experiences to create something wonderful for the community to come together, specifically related to parenting, as she has seen first-hand how much impact it truly has. She is ecstatic to see what comes from the AIE community!

Dana Hubley, Research & Content Development

Dana is a Psychology major with a minor in Child Development at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Passionate about supporting families and youth development, she is especially interested in making education more accessible and inclusive. At the Alliance for Innovative Education, Dana contributes to research and content development for the TinyTubes series.

Daniela Meyer, Child Development & Family Support Specialist

Daniela is a Psychology student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a strong interest in mental health, education, and community impact. Through her work with AIE, she researches child development and education models while creating engaging content to support parents and families. She brings leadership experience as ASB President and Best Buddies Club President and earned a Peer-to-Peer Leadership Certificate from Cal Poly’s ASI Center for Leadership. Daniela is passionate about empowering youth and building accessible, supportive community resources.

Abby Diggs, Multilingual Media Developer

Abby is a Psychology major and Spanish minor at Cal Poly who is passionate about culturally responsive education, language accessibility, and helping diverse communities connect with meaningful resources. She is especially interested in how psychology, cross-cultural communication, and media can be used to support diverse learning. At AIE, Abby contributes to multilingual content development, research initiatives, and the creation of engaging educational materials for a wide range of audiences across digital platforms.

The State of Education & our Mission

The traditional educational system, while built with the best intentions, often falls short of meeting the diverse, fast-paced needs of learners today. Outdated practices, systemic barriers, and a lack of personalized, holistic support leave too many students, and their families, feeling underserved and overwhelmed.

At the Alliance for Innovative Education (AIE), we believe it’s time to address these challenges and reimagine what learning looks like. But systemic change doesn’t just happen in schools and education boards—it starts at home, in the everyday moments between parents and their children.

That is why AIE exists.

We are on a mission to build an educational framework that is equitable, adaptable, and forward-thinking. By pairing deep psychological, educational, and parenting expertise with vibrant, real-time student insights, we bridge the gaps left by traditional schooling. Through our memberships, we hand parents the innovative, bite-sized, and strengths-based tools they need to bypass systemic hurdles and unlock their child’s true potential.

Together, we can create a supportive ecosystem that truly empowers every learner to thrive, regardless of circumstance.

Become a Member Today

Get a free eBook

Become a member and gain access to our TinyTubes bite-sized video series for busy parents, curated education and parenting resources, digital magazine and more!

As an introductory bonus we are giving new members a free Parenting for Academic Success eBook!

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AIE Essentials

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$ 59 Yearly
  • TinyTubes full library access
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  • AIE Online Community
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