Harrison Rogers
Founder & CEO
Harrison has always believed everyone learns differently. Growing up with a sister who has severe autism, and who struggled in formal education herself, Harrison always wanted to find a solution for what he believed was broken in formal education. This sparked his entrepreneurial mind and got him into starting an array of companies, many of which are specific to servicing individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Harrison continues to invest in ventures that support the education and business community, earning him “Most Influential in Valley Business” three years in a row, “Most Influential Man in the Valley” four years in a row, Arizona Republic’s “35 under 35” and Phoenix Magazine’s “40 under 40.” His passion for others and taking care of those around him, is the heart of the businesses he has built.
Justin Moran
Chief Financial Officer
Jerry Reick
Financial Controller
Eric Canku
Staff Accountant
Phil was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He received his Bachelor’s from BYU in Spanish Literature and his Juris Doctorate from ASU. Before working for HJR Global, Phil was a lawyer and a judge. In 2019, Phil started at Lexington in HR and Development as the Retention Specialist. In his free time he enjoys writing Spanish poetry.
Phil Rogers
Human Resources Coordinator
Alina is from Pinetop, Arizona! She has over 15 years of experience working in the medical, business, and accounting fields. As the human resources generalist, Alina supports the back office for HJR Global through payroll, scheduling, correspondence, administrative technology, and training others to use systems and applications. She is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. In her free time she enjoys visiting her hometown in the White Mountains of Arizona and working on art projects with her teenage daughter.
Alina Thomas
Human Resources Generalist
Hannah was born and raised in Arizona where she was homeschooled until starting college at Arizona State University. She graduated from ASU as a recipient of the Moeur Award, with a degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and a Music minor. Before working at HJR, Hannah worked for a nonprofit that partnered with schools to offer resources to teachers in general ed and special ed classrooms. As the Operations Administrator, Hannah works on projects for all the Lexington companies and builds systems and processes to help things run more efficiently. Hannah and her husband Ben have a havapoo puppy named Ember.
Hannah Grant
Operations Manager
Tessa Miller
Receptionist
Scott Carstens
Maintenance Director
Brendan Cosmescu
Maintenance Technician
What is HJR Global?
After learning many of the needed elements to become a great educator, Sandy pursued her degree in Elementary Education through Northern Arizona University. Having a special love for students with disabilities, she always found herself serving that population. After many years as a teacher, her love of Special Education students pulled her back into the field of servicing this unique and incredible population and now serves as the superintendent of Lexington Life Academy.
Sandy Patel
Superintendent
I am a single mom to an amazing daughter. I was born and raised in New Jersey and have been in Arizona for over 6 years. I have been working and growing my educational career for over 20 years. My love and passion for children started at an early age and I never gave up on my dreams and goals to help better the lives of children. I graduated from Grand Canyon University with my degree in Elementary Education and Special Education. I joined the Lexington team in August 2022 to follow my dream of making a difference in the autism community.
Jill Byrne
Assistant Superintendent
I grew up in the northeast Ohio region near Cleveland! My education has been a melting pot of universities and community learning. For the last 10 years I have worked in service of others, boosting their individual level of success, and Lexington perfectly encompasses that service. I became a part of Lexington Life Academy as a 1st grade teacher, and moved into the role of Director of Education in 2023. As we work together to bring our students the best adaptive learning environment, I look forward to seeing all the things we can do, So They Can! In my spare time, you will find me relaxing with my dogs or helping friends and family with their technology!
Robert Falke
Director of Education
Brandi grew up in a small town in New Mexico and moved to Arizona in 2004. She first started in the field of special education in 2009 as a paraprofessional in a self contained autism classroom working one on one with students. This is where she found her devotion for the special needs community. She has been working with Lexington Life Academy since the opening of the first school in 2015. She has worn many hats over the years here at Lexington, but her favorite role has been helping with the enrollment and scholarship process for families who attended our Mesa campus.She enjoys the sense of relief she sees in the parents as she walks them through the process and feels she is making a difference in their child’s educational future. Brandi feels fortunate for her new role as Director of the Enrollment and Tuition Department over all of our Phoenix Valley schools. In her free time, Brandi loves cooking and baking with her daughter and spending time with her family.
Brandi Aguilar
Tuition and Enrollment Director
“Like most of us I got into behavioral health because I wanted to make a difference. I started at a children’s hospital as a BHT very early on in my career collecting direct patient care hours for grad school. Late one night while working the long hours we all know so well, I found myself deep cleaning the shared coed bathroom on the pediatric unit. As I cleaned the nurse in charge asked me why I was doing the janitor’s job. I realized later that this moment changed the entire trajectory of my life. The population we serve is just like all the rest of us – and everyone deserves a clean bathroom in the middle of the night. My “WHY” is because here at LBHS everything we do is SO THEY CAN hope, build, dream, and discover a brighter future”
Jared Harker
Executive Director
Jaren Wright
“So my “why” came from a random change of life, moved to a different city trying, and starting something new. I worked in a summer camp named “inclusion” and was paired with one individual that completely changed my life. This sparked an interest that has driven me to become a better me. My passion has always been helping individuals anyway that I can and now as a team member with LBHS I have that ability so they can…”
Jonathon Martinez
Administrative Assistant
Ericka Mullinex, BCBA
Clinical Director
Growing up, Shaun Hawkins always knew that he wanted to help people. Shaun’s goal was to graduate with a Bachelor’s in Biology and get into a PA school until he discovered Lexington Learning Center, he fell in love with the job and decided to make a career change. He was offered a position to manage the providers in early 2015. Now, Shaun has moved up as the General Manager at Lexington Learning Center. Shaun takes a unique approach to his job. He believes in being a leader and not a boss. “A leader leads by example. I always strive to show my team that I am willing to do anything they are asked to perform. I want the team to have a voice and choose the direction they want to go, with maybe a little guidance along the way,” says Shaun.
Shaun is passionate about individuals with Developmental Disabilities and strives to instill that passion in all of the employees at Lexington Learning Center. He says, “We are all just people and deserve a great quality of life.”
Shaun Hawkins
Executive Director
Justin Gilmore has developed programming and vision within Lexington Life Academy for the past 6 years. Justin strives to ensure every student is set up with a safe,engaging, and fun learning environment for each student. With extensive training and experience in ABA, TEACCH methodology, Individualized Educational Planning, PBIS, and social supports, Justin is able to implement and train these core fundamentals of a successful classroom. Justin has experience working in every position within the Autism field. From paraprofessional, teaching, behavior specialist, principal, Justin knows what it takes to ensure a successful program for Lexington Life Academy students.
Justin’s passion for this field is second to none. He dedicates his time to ensure students are getting met at their level academically, socially, and behaviorally. His vision includes focusing on the positives and preventative strategies, rather than reacting to student behavior using punishment methods. He inspires educators to be more than just a teacher to their students. He inspires administration to be more than just a school, but a community.
Justin Gilmore
Owner
