Jamee Kyson

I was born in Grand Haven, Michigan. I’ve lived in a few different cities in Michigan, Los Angeles, California, and Nashville, Tennessee. My first and middle name is “Jamee Mae.” I’m named after my Aunt Anna Mae. 

After having my two daughters, Kayden and Kaileia, I started writing children’s books, two of which were based on my original music. I co-created musical children’s workshops using these books around the Nashville area. This began my journey working in educating young children. As my daughters became older, I became the Enrichment Teacher at their school, teaching culture, S.T.E.M., art, and movement using custom curriculum songs that I created. This further ingrained in me the importance of music as an educational tool and deepened my love for working with children. Later, during my time as a Staff Scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the Music Cognition Lab, I continued my journey in education by creating a social media series called, “Breaking it down with Dr. Berg,” which were short videos that broke down complex research ideas into simple concepts the broader community could understand. This additionally reinforced my love for education and facilitating aha moments for adults and children alike. I’m so excited to be continuing my educational journey in helping young minds grow at A New Leaf. 

I am the Culture and Community Lead at A New Leaf. I’m looking forward to being of support to our wonderful educators and administrators, infusing neuroscience, biology, genetics, and music into our already vibrant curriculum with nature as the third teacher, creating positive and lasting connections with our community and stakeholders, and bridging our long-term vision with daily implementation.

My heroes have been the collective of teachers, coaches, and mentors who contribute to the positive development of children, our next generation, consistently and purposefully day by day. I’m also struck by the life of Jane Goodall, who bravely pursued her science and advocated for animals. My biggest mentors have been my mother, Nancy, a life-long educator and naturalist, and my oldest sister, Chelsea, an educator and business woman, who founded her own prolific learning farm in Michigan. Both have taught me how important, beautiful, and foundational it is to help children bloom and grow. 

Over the course of my life, I’ve gathered multiple life experiences as a neuroscientist, a musician, a mother, and an educator, which has allowed me to see life through many different perspectives. This vast array of experiences has deepened me, created resilience, and has given me empathy for a wide range of human experiences. As I grow older, I’m delighted to spark more joy, play, and curiosity into my life. 

I love experiencing life through the eyes of my five and seven year old daughters during all of our adventures. I also love to play guitar, piano and sing. I greatly enjoy long-distance trail running.

I am a singer-songwriter, and I also love to draw. I have a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA and have 16 years experience exploring neurobehavioral genetics. 

I love sushi and Indian food.

My favorite color is green as it reminds me of nature.

One day, I would like to go on an international tour with my music.

 My passion is ignited by hope and possibility. I hope for a future in which all children have the opportunity to learn through and with nature, animals and caring educators. I believe that A New Leaf is wayshower for this future reality. I’m thrilled to be a part of something so profound!