Jo Ellis is the head of Education Outreach for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation.  She is a native of the UK who was originally a Product Development Executive for BBC Education, developing award-winning educational programs that are distributed worldwide.

Her direction changed as her passion led her to deep concerns about the effects of the disease on friends and acquaintances:

“I know too many people [here] whose lives have been derailed by Lyme…… I want to help educate everyone about this insidious disease so we can prevent more cases occurring.”

The tick that carries this disease has been found in SPVP, though strangely, the likelihood if its carrying the bacteria is lessened by the prevalence  of our fence lizard.  The infamous “deer tick” shown above is the carrier of the damaging bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi .

Ms. Ellis received her BA/MA from Cambridge University, and a post-graduate high-school teaching certification from the University of London.  Jo holds the AMI middle school teaching certification, and is a nationally recognized gifted and talented educator with Johns Hopkins University.