Joy Willett has a degree in Music Education and has over 20 years of experience teaching voice and piano, as well as leading choirs at the Junior High, High School, and College levels. She has experience teaching High School Choir in the public school system, as well as experience in home schooling her own children. In ministry, she has over 15 years of experience as a Music Director and Worship Leader, as well as a songwriter and recording artist. She has led many church choirs, ensembles, youth choirs, and directed many theatrical productions over the years.

Joy and her husband Daniel are co-founders of Awaken Life Church and have been the Senior Pastors for over 10 years. Their ultimate goal is to empower people to embrace and embody the fullness of their identity in Christ Jesus, as revealed through the transformative power of God’s love and grace. They wholeheartedly affirm that our Heavenly Father exceeds all expectations, surpassing our wildest imaginations. As shepherds of their congregation, their mission is to illuminate the depths of God’s love and grace, unveiling His extraordinary affection towards His children. It is through His unfailing loving-kindness that individuals are led towards repentance and awakened to their authentic identity in Christ Jesus.

Alicia Frye has been a teacher in the public school system for 7 years. Prior to that, she spent several years in a charter school doing a variety of roles. While in these environments, she witnessed students have a lot of growth, however, many were missing something she views as extremely important. That piece was the desire and knowledge of how to learn. The current education system is great at teaching students how to memorize facts and procedures to “pass the standards”. This does little to create lifelong learners and leaves many students feeling like failures when they struggle. Alicia knows the importance of lifelong learning and has a passion to see kids not only learn skills that they will use to be successful in school, but also learn how to be a lifelong learner that will help them to be successful in every part of their life!

Andre Murillo has been a teacher since 2009 and was primarily a physical education teacher up to this year of 2024. He is a husband and a dad to a five years old and has three dogs. He loves to spend his free time enjoying life with his family. He also ran a sports program at a private school in Paradise Valley as an athletic director for two years and coached multiple sports as he was teaching physical education. He grew up in Pinetop, AZ and later pursued his teaching education at Arizona State University here in the Valley of the Sun. He finished his education in 2008. He was an athlete, musician, and an artist as a child and pursued sports, music, and art through music lessons/groups, art classes, and sport teams. Andre played piano and the saxophone as a student, and taught himself the guitar when he was 18 years old. He also pursued drums with church groups on worship teams for 20 years. He is now teaching the saxophone, drums, and guitar to students of all ages. His art experience was one of loving art classes in school K-12, and took some art during his college education. He always loved to draw and create, and didn’t start pursuing art education until 4 years ago when he picked up a paint brush and learned how to connect drawing skills with painting skills, and now has taught art classes for a couple years now. Andre is a creative that loves to share skills with other students who have desire to learn more about sports, music, and art. He is excited to teach another year at Awaken Life Academy and is looking forward to seeing students in this coming year’s classes.

Taylor Simpson began her dancing training at the age of eight years old. As a Southern California native, Taylor attended Dunamix Dance Project until she was 19 years old, receiving Faith-based training from American Ballet Theater Certified Instructors. During this time, Taylor had the opportunity to perform in several classical ballets, such as Cygnets in Swan Lake, Waltz of the Snowflakes in the Nutcracker, and The Fairies of Jewels in Sleeping Beauty. At the age of 16, she began teaching young ballet students at Dunamix and was able to choreograph for various recitals. In the fall of 2017, Taylor began her college career as a undergraduate student at Belhaven University, a private Christian college located in Jackson, Mississippi. In the Spring of 2020, she received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science as well as her Certificate in Ballet and Modern Dance Technique and Performance. While in Belhaven, Taylor received her training from a variety of dance professors such as Laura Morton, Mia Whitehead, and Krista Bower, Belhaven University’s Chair of Dance. During her college career, she was a part of DOXA, Belhaven’s Dance Leadership Team, leading as an Event Coordinator and Collaborative Arts Member. A significant portion of Taylor’s college experience was spent working with Belhaven University’s Dance Athletic Trainer, Miranda Layman. During her internship with Ms. Layman, she was able to receive hands-on experience working with dancers through their injury, treatment, and recovery process. She also had the opportunity to Perform with Page, Belhaven University’s Dance Ministry Ensemble, as a company member and performer from 2018-2020, performing at a variety of venues and Christian organizations throughout the community. Through this experience, she was able to work with guest choreographers such as Vincent Harding, Abigail Harding, and Stella Amblade. As a part of the DOXA Leadership Team, Taylor was given teh opportunity to facilitate  the DOXA Collaborative Arts Concert at Belhaven University, while choreographing and creating a piece titled “Type-ology” for the performance. She was also a part of a collaborative dance film titled, “Formed” in the Spring of 2020. As a student, Taylor worked alongside other students and peers in their creative process, being involved in a variety of student works created for the annual Senior Dance Concert from 2017-2020. In the fall of 2021, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona and was given the opportunity to work as a Performance Arts Instructor at Basis Charter school during the 2021-2022 school year.  She has also been able to teach ballet and contemporary at a variety of dance studios in the valley, including Fuse Performing Arts, Ascend Dance, and Laveen Dance. Last Spring, she taught at Fountain Hills Middle School and High School, where she led the school program and directed their Spring Dance Concert. Taylor is excited to continue to be involved in the arts community as she pursues teaching opportunities to facilitate worship and communion with Christ, collaboration, and kinesiology integration. Her foundation and background in Exercise Science has given her the tools she needs to help prevent burnout, injuries, and over-training in dancers. She has the passion for working with students as they develop their own artistry, and hopes to instill a deep love for the Lord and for this art form!

Steven Briesacher is a serial entrepreneur and devoted family man. He was born Deaf, and American Sign Language is his primary means of communication. His entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to innovation have not only led him to collaborate with Intel and Omnibridge on Automatic Sign Recognition using Artificial Intelligence but also enabled him to make a positive impact within the Deaf community and beyond. Steven owns and operates multiple businesses, including Lumber & Soil and 210 Designs. Alongside his professional achievements, he takes immense pride in his role as a loving husband to his beautiful wife, Becky, with whom he has shared almost 20 years of marriage. Blessed with a family that uses ASL, he and his wife, Becky, have passed down the love of the language to their children. Steven is also actively sharing his expertise in ASL by teaching the language at the school attended by their children. Over the years, Steven has taught several workshops on ASL and provided tutoring services, his approach to education marked by a deep belief in fostering understanding and appreciation for Deaf culture. Moreover, Steven’s commitment shines through as he ensures everyone he meets knows both ASL and Jesus.

AWAKEN LIFE ACADEMY 20817 N 19th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85027