Gabrielle Hennings & Zoe Hemenway-Moreno shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Gabrielle & Zoe , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Our day at H&H Learning usually begins around 9:00 AM. After opening the center – turning on the lights, sound machines, and music, we’ll do a quick check-in to review notes from the previous day, go over emails, and discuss the students we’ll be seeing. And as devoted Bravo fans, if a new episode of The Real Housewives aired the night before, we definitely find a few minutes to debrief!
From 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, we work with our in-person homeschool students. These learners often fall into one of two profiles: those who benefit from taking a dedicated year to strengthen the foundational skills that support academic learning, and those who thrive with more intensive, individualized support to engage meaningfully with schoolwork. We love the challenge of designing instruction that truly fits each child’s learning profile, ensuring every student experiences success and progress.
Once the homeschool students wrap up for the day, we regroup to talk about progress, adjust plans, and prepare for what’s ahead. From 2:30 to 6:00 PM, we each meet individually with our educational therapy students, both in-person and remotely. These sessions are as varied as our students themselves; one might be building math fact fluency or processing speed, another might be strengthening reading comprehension or learning to decode multisyllabic words. These are just a few examples of the kinds of work we do to help students become confident learners.
As the day progresses, there’s an audible buzz of excitement throughout the center, students making meaningful connections, pushing through challenges, and celebrating the hard-earned victories they’ve worked so diligently to achieve. When we’re not working with a student, you’ll find us writing blog posts, creating social media content, prepping materials, collaborating with other professionals, and continuing our own professional learning.
No two days are ever the same, and that’s exactly how we like it. Every day at H&H Learning is filled with curiosity, growth, and the joy of watching our students blossom with confidence.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We are Gabrielle Hennings and Zoe Hemenway-Moreno, Co-Founders of H&H Learning, an educational center based in Santa Monica, California. We specialize in educational therapy, homeschooling, and academic screenings, supporting students in developing the skills they need to thrive both academically and personally.
We both hold master’s degrees in special education and have extensive experience in the implementation of evidence-based remediation programs. Our shared background allows us to take a thoughtful and individualized approach to supporting all types of learners.
Zoe is currently working toward her professional membership with the Association of Educational Therapists, further expanding her expertise in educational therapy and best practices for supporting diverse learning profiles.
Gabrielle previously served as a clinical director at an educational center, where she led consultations, collaborated with families and schools, and developed individualized treatment plans. Her experience overseeing programs and supporting staff continues to inform her holistic and relationship-based approach to working with students.
At H&H Learning, we create personalized learning roadmaps using evidence-based programs such as Orton-Gillingham (OG), Visualizing and Verbalizing, TouchMath, Great Leaps, and more, ensuring each student receives strategies and supports tailored to their unique learning style.
We work with students across a wide range of learning profiles, including ADHD, autism, and dyslexia, as well as those who benefit from our individualized approach that might not have a formal diagnosis.
What makes us unique is our relationship-based approach. We prioritize connection over compliance, meeting each student where they are and building trust first, because true learning happens when a child feels safe, understood, and confident. Our individualized learning roadmaps integrate each student’s strengths and interests, helping them make meaningful progress while feeling empowered and capable.
We are deeply committed to creating an environment that celebrates different ways of thinking and learning. As we continue to grow, we’re exploring ways to expand support for students and families in more accessible ways. Beyond one-on-one sessions, we’re developing content, newsletters, and blogs that provide practical, digestible strategies for families, because support should be available even when weekly sessions aren’t.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
It was the teachers who saw our potential before we could see it ourselves. They recognized our strengths, encouraged us, so we were never made to feel different or bad about the challenges we had and instead we were given space to learn in the ways that we needed to to be successful.
Those teachers shaped our confidence and they inspire how we work with our students today. Our goal is to be the educators who build our students up and help them recognize and believe their own potential. Every student deserves to feel capable, confident, and supported in their own way.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You’re going to find yourself feeling like you’re always trying to keep up, and that will come as a surprise at first. You’ll think that all the hours you’ve dedicated to student teaching, professional development, supervision, continuing education, and specialized training will have prepared you for everything. But they won’t. What they will do is confirm your “why” and push you forward on the path you’re meant to be on.
The only thing that will truly sustain you is trust. Trust in yourself, in your purpose, and in the process. On the hardest days, when you feel like you’ve made every mistake possible and can’t imagine showing up again tomorrow, come back to that trust. Remember why you started and the belief you had in yourself when you first began. That trust will be your anchor, and your saving grace.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
We truly believe that all students have the potential to thrive – in their own way. This belief grounds the work that we do and carries with it the understanding that each student’s journey will look, feel, and unfold differently. For some, our journey together is brief but transformative, equipping them with strategies and tools they internalize to support continued growth. For others, it’s a longer partnership, with each season bringing new skills to strengthen and new goals to celebrate. No matter the timeline, our commitment remains the same: helping every learner discover their confidence and joy in learning.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
From a young age, we both knew that being educators is what we wanted to do. Teaching has always felt natural, exciting, and deeply fulfilling. It is a privilege to work with our students each day and we can’t imagine doing anything else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hhlearningcenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhlearning_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?viewas=100000686899395&id=61556983264133
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@hhlearning
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