Our Fearless Leaders
Not many demigods survive adulthood, but those who do are committed to training up future heroes.
Corporate Staff
Persephone
Dr. Crystal Bobb-Semple - Founder & CEO
Dr. Crystal Bobb-Semple is to thank (or blame) for the exhaustingly fun environment that is Camp Half-Blood. She is the founder and CEO of Plato Learning, the company behind the literacy summer camps, Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, and Daring Girls, and the virtual immersive game, Mytho. Her mission is to transform classic stories into multimodal explorations of culture, history, and identity. Crystal is the alter ego of Persephone, the goddess of spring and new growth, who disguised herself as a humble bookstore owner. Her love of adventure and passion for storytelling forged a company whose mission is to transform classic mythology into a summer camp experience designed to spark imagination, unleash heroes, and give kids the confidence to tell their own stories. When Crystal is not channeling the healing powers of Apollo to regenerate limbs lost in battle or leading campers to the Oracle, she is serving as a trustee of the Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn and playing tennis between rounds of cappuccino.Son of Hephaestus
Alex Tissiere - Director of Story
Alex Tissiere’s humble journey began as a camp counselor, then camp director at Camp Half-Blood Brooklyn. As current Director of Story, Alex is responsible for all aspects of story development including ensuring consistent integration of story for summer camps and experimenting with other media. Alex was only seven when he built his first world from a box of mismatched legos. Since then this son of Hephaestus, the god of the forge, has been crafting stories and tinkering with dreams. Weaving destiny, words, and the thinnest threads of plot, Alex endeavors to create the ultimate quest to challenge legendary heroes. He is also looking for the best cheeseburger in the universe and would appreciate any help in this mission.Son of Mars
Timothy Ling - Director of Branding & Customer Experience
Timothy “George Washingtim” Ling is the spontaneous result of an explosion created when Athena and Mars, both deities of war, met in terrible and glorious conflict somewhere in Brooklyn. When he stumbled out of the flames, Athena immediately made him a counselor in her cabin, but it was Venus who encouraged him to start Camp Jupiter. His mission to find and train new demigods brought him to the West Coast, where he is climbing mountains, discovering new recipes, training in martial arts, yoga, and becoming a knight. An alumnus of Hartwick College, where he studied Business Administration & Economics, Tim is also head of Plato Learnings’ Branding and Customer Experience department.Son of Quetzalcoatl
José Fernandez - Director of Operations
José Fernandez, a New York raised Dreamer, always admired the camp lifestyle and wanted to be a hero. Unfortunately, José was good with numbers and logic, so instead he completed his BA/MA in Analytical Mathematics. His god parent, the Aztecan feathered-serpent, Quetzalcoatl (Keh-tzal-coh-atl), decided to help José realize his true heroic destiny and sent him on a series of quests through various education institutions. This harrowing experience led José to Plato Learning, where as the Operations Director, José now spends his time puzzling over the logistics of providing a fun, educational, and safe experience for young kids. He also gets to live the camp life when exploring the mythical trails of the Appalachian Mountains.Daughter of Athena
Sarah Ryan - Director of Hiring, Training, and Employee Relations
Sarah Ryan thought she was just a normal person when she went for a morning run in the New Jersey woods. Then things became foggy and dream-like. It wasn’t until a large group of demigods in orange t-shirts freed her that Sarah realized she had been possessed by Baba Yaga, the wisest and most powerful of witches. She's since formed a fierce kinship and spiritual bond with her witchy possessor. While working at Camp Half-Blood, she was claimed as a daughter of Athena. Sarah now channels the formidable powers of her patrons into her role as Director of Hiring and Training. She can still be found running amongst the trees.Daughter of Aphrodite
Jordana Elias - National Program Director
Jordana Elias grew up going to summer camps and loved the experience so much that she started working there. And Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and passion noticed and decided that Jordana was her favorite and someday, Jordana would come to Camp Half-Blood. She neglected to tell Jordana, though, and so Jordana trained to be a teacher in New York City. Jordana knew something was different though. There were a lot of kings, monsters, even the odd god trying to start wars over her. One day while hiding in the Belvedere Castle, she spied the demigods training in Camp Half-Blood and decided she would leave behind running and take up sword fighting instead. Currently, Jordana trains, coaches, and supports camp directors at Plato Learning.Child of Dionysus
Shann Smithh - Virtual Programming & Content Manager
Once Shann snapped their fingers and accidentally destroyed their mail-man’s sanity. With this great power came absolute irresponsibility and thus began Shann's reign of chaos. It took over two hundred years (give or take) before Dionysus, god of wine and madness, decided enough was enough and gave Shann a choice: Fields of Punishment or training demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Shann currently uses their wiles and wit to trick heroes-in-training as staff writer, virtual content creator, and in their ultimate adversarial role, as a mythomaster in Plato’s Tabletop Role-Playing Game!Daughter of Apollo
Alona Shewach - Customer Communications Manager
Alona grew up feeling a connection with the inhabitants of Mount Olympus but never suspected she herself might be a demigod. She’d always been into writing, music, solving problems, and helping others, which all made sense when she was claimed as a daughter of Apollo, god of the arts and healing. Her passions drew her to New York City to work in theatre as a stage manager, until Iris, the goddess of rainbows and communication, appeared to her in a rainbow to lead her to Camp Half-Blood. Now, Alona continues her quest to help others as Customer Communications Manager, using Iris’s training and guidance to make sure no family’s questions go unanswered and young demigods get the chance to find their inner hero.Mermaid
Lisa Longo - Executive Administrative Assistant
Lisa Longo, a mermaid, hails from the hidden oceans of rural Pennsylvania. When The Dark Star, a pirate ship from New Jersey got lost, Lisa led them back to the not-so-hidden ocean. Since she was bored of singing and hunting for bass she traded her tail and became a pirate instead. While terrorizing the coasts of Cape May, Lisa discovered the joys of reading and story-telling and became the Executive Administrative Assistant of Plato Learning. She’s authored several novels (a few of them are even appropriate for children) and is currently hunting for agents instead of fish.
CLIO
CLIO
Cass Morris - Collaborative Research Editor
Unlike most of us here at Plato Learning, Cass Morris was not claimed by her god-parent. Instead, Cass barged through the muse’s door and demanded to be recognized. And how could Clio, the muse of history, resist a corset-wearing, Shakespeare-loving, writer of Roman-flavored historical fantasy? Utterly enchanted by her bold protege, Clio put her in charge of research and editing support at Plato Learning, where Cass uses her skills for world-building to help young demigods rewrite their own fates.Daughter of Minerva
Laine Flores - Logistics Manager
Laine has always had a fighting spirit and a passion for the performing arts and cognitive sciences alike. Seeing her staunch determination to pursue both in her undergraduate studies, the Roman goddess Minerva claimed her as a child and set her on the path that would eventually lead to the wilds of Prospect Park and Camp Half-Blood Brooklyn. The early months of 2020 saw Laine in a state of limbo - a newcomer to New York, fresh out of college, uncertain of how to make her dreams a reality… and then (as though by a godly sign - thanks, Minerva!) she found her mission. As an actor with Camp HalfBlood, she brought magic to the summers of hundreds of campers with her epic sword fighting skills and playful energy. Now Laine works to bring the magic from behind the scenes in office HQ, as Plato’s Logistics Manager, where she oversees inventory, materials acquisition, new camp site selection, and a bunch of other cool stuff!Daughter of Apollo
Lainey Harrison - Customer Communications Assistant
A child of Apollo, Lainey spends most of her time tucked away in the mountains of Appalachia crafting stories and relishing her favorite albums. Her side quests include perfecting the art of pumpkin carving and becoming the best Dance Dance Revolution player the world has ever seen.