staff
Jennifer Lutey
Executive Director,
Jen has been the organization's Executive Director since obtaining her J.D. in 2004. She worked closely with WW IDEA's founder, Carl Knudsen, during the development of the Alaska IDEA and IDEA International programs from 1998 to 2003 when she left Alaska to attend law school in Montana, her home state. The IDEA model provides an innovative partnership between school districts and families to support a public education program based in the home. Jen has a thorough knowledge of the BrightWays IDEA model and developing education support programs. She is the main contact for people interested in developing educational programs with WW IDEA's assistance. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Ryan, participating in many different outdoor adventures.
Aaron Baldwin
Director of Technology,
Aaron joined WW IDEA in 2005 and has served as Director of Technology since 2006. He spent six years programming medical software during the day, while pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science from Boston University in the evening. He spent another couple of years in Washington, DC, analyzing afloat networks for the Navy and finding creative commuting options through the district. Aaron is responsible for our conversion to the Ruby on Rails framework and has led development on numerous applications both large and small. Aaron does not miss long East Coast commutes, since he enjoys being outside and in motion (running, biking, hiking, skiing, etc..). He is moving a bit slower these days, however, with his two young children in tow.
Lisa "Kersch" Kerscher
Media Designer,
Kersch has been with WW IDEA since 2005, honing her skills in CSS and developing websites for optimal usability. With an M.A. in Journalism, she has been doing online and print journalism and design work since 1998, specializing in educational, news, and interactive media. Kersch has also worked on the STEMscopes project at Rice University's Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship, and for eLearning Systems International, the International Wildlife Film Festival & Media Center, Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources, the Missoulian daily newspaper, and the Montana Natural History Center. Her background in wildlife biology matches her love for the outdoors in all seasons, especially fishing with her husband, Dave. Any time spent hooking bass, spearing pike or landing sturgeon makes an especially good day!
Jon Garvin
Software Engineer,
Jon joined WW IDEA's technology team in 2006. He began programming computers as a hobby when he got his first computer in 1982, a Commodore VIC-20. He has since lost count of how many computers he's owned and how many programming languages he's learned. In 1992, Jon joined the U.S. Army and served for six years repairing and calibrating medical equipment at Army hospitals. He spent the majority of those years working all over Europe and participated in two peacetime goodwill missions to Kazakstan and Moldova delivering, installing, and training local staff on donated medical equipment. From 1998 through 2006, Jon worked for a local software company on systems for 911 Dispatchers and interfaces to in-car computers and state and national crime databases. Jon regularly rides his bicycle to work and enjoys getting away from it all by exploring new hiking trails all over Western Montana.
Cindy Barnes
Partnership Development, cbarnes@wwidea.org
Cindy brings over thirteen years of sales and marketing experience to our organization. Her focus has been in the educational technology field, and she enjoys experiencing how technology can enhance student learning. She completed her B.A. of English at Washington State University. She enjoys spending time with her children and husband baking, cooking, reading, and snapping photos.
Jamie Baro
Bookkeeper and Office Manager,
Jamie is the friendly voice that you hear over the phone when you call us. She has been working with us since 2004 and is pursuing a B.A. in Accounting. When she's not working or in school, she enjoys reading and spending time with her boyfriend and friends.
Derek Peterson
International Child/Youth Advocate Associate
Derek is the founder of Integrative Youth Development (IYD.) IYD teaches a measurable, meaningful, and memorable method to youth, family members, teachers, administrators, youth program professionals, faith leaders that essentially guarantees the health and well-being of all children and youth. Derek is a youth-serving professional who easily shifts from leading student retreats one day, to working alongside local, state, and national elected officials to shape and form policy the next. Derek's community engagement work in the Federal Government's No Child Left Behind Legislation has been highlighted by the Harvard Education Review. He has been recognized as the "Prevention Professional of the Year" and for his "Distinguished Service to Schools" in Alaska. He has delivered over 2000 presentations on youth development around the world. His work has engaged and supported individuals, families, schools, and communities for over 30 years. Today, Derek is an International Child/Youth Advocate who does IYD work for numerous communities and school districts throughout the USA and the world, including contractual work with the National School Board Association, the Education Commission of the States, Arizona School Board Association, the Yukon-Koyukuk School District, the International Institute for Children's' Rights and Development, the Canadian Ministry of Child and Family Development, Strategies (Calif), the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, to name a few. He guides efforts to merge young development research with the attitudes, cultures and values found within local communities.
Terri Beede
Private Academy Principal & Lead Teacher,
Terri completed her undergraduate degree with a double major in Elementary and Special Education, emphasizing in Supportive Employment from Montana State University-Billings. While living in Glasgow, Montana, she taught 3rd grade and Special Education before moving to Billings. She later earned a Master's Degree in Elementary Level Leadership from the University of Montana. Terri has been with WorldWide IDEA for the last 7 years expanding her role from teaching to assisting our organization's nonprofit goals to provide educational solutions helping school districts to enhance learner achievement. Following a busy family and high school athletics doesn't leave Terri with much spare time, but she enjoys the outdoors and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and church. She loves receiving advice about gardening and food preservation! Terri will tell you that her greatest accomplishment is her marriage of over 25 years and raising 3 children. She gets great satisfaction in providing support to and collaboration with home-educators and working with the innovative staff of WorldWide IDEA.
Tanya Korta
Support Teacher,
Tanya lives in the rural village of Galena, Alaska, with her husband, Jon, and three children, Dylan, Kaleb, and Kiana. She enjoys spending time with her family outdoors, cruising down the Yukon River, camping, snow shoeing, and dog mushing. She also enjoys music and reading. She and her husband own a small bed and breakfast and a sled dog kennel. Tanya was a classroom teacher for 11 years and has a love and special interest in early literacy development.
Melinda Lewis
Support Teacher,
Melinda has lived in various places in the United States, but she has spent most of her time in Ohio, Montana, Utah, California, and Alaska. She has been a teacher for the last 10 years. During five of those years, she taught students from Fort Irwin, California, and she has also taught in a small Eskimo village in Alaska. Since 2004, she has provided services to homeschool families, including creating computer-based math courses. Melinda and her teenage daughter live north of Anchorage in a converted barn. They enjoy spending time outside in the beautiful state of Alaska and traveling.
Mark Pope
Support Teacher,
Mark traveled west to attend college after growing up in the suburban Midwest. He worked in the Black Rock Desert as a soil geologist upon graduation in 1977. After his tenure in the desert, Mark decided to apply his education degree and see what opportunities teaching would present. He soon found himself in the arctic taiga and tundra of the Kobuk River Valley, where he built his first dog sled and was mushing a 12-dog team. He married his wife Ruth 14 years ago, and they are raising and homeschooling two amazing people, Raven and Ciel. After teaching in the public school system for 20 years, Mark discovered the wonderful world of homeschooling and has enjoyed working as a Contact Teacher for the past eight years. As a Contact Teacher, Mark says, he does whatever it takes to help homeschooling parents provide their children with the finest educational opportunities possible.
board
Rod Svee
Board President
Rod is an experienced educator with more than 30 years working as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in the public school system. As an Assistant Superintendent for the State of Montana, he supervised the accreditation of nearly 800 schools, along with teacher and administrator certification, Adult Basic Education, General Education Development and External Diploma programs. His most recent activities include serving as Executive Director of the Tumbleweed Runaway Program in Billings, Montana, that helps at-risk youth earn their high school diplomas.
Rod specializes in facilitating, planning and organizing; establishing an environment of progress; formulating ideas; securing the cooperation of others; and, anticipating and analyzing problems. These skills have served him especially well as a member on several prestigious boards, such as the National Study of School Evaluation and the Human Rights Commission for the State of Montana. Rod also served about six years as Vice President for the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and served as chair for that organization's Commission of Schools, leading a revision of Commission governance and development of its performance-based accreditation mode.
Brenda Hayes
Board Secretary
Brenda has been an educator for more than 20 years, with experience as a middle school classroom teacher, a K-12 district librarian, a community college instructor, and an administrator of online curriculum for a public charter school. Along the way, she has served as the technology director in two Washington state school districts. She has also worked with several technology and vocational committees helping to design and implement curriculum and job-shadowing opportunities for K-12 students. She has been a professional development trainer for several educational programs and organizations. Currently, Brenda is an Implementation Specialist working with school districts throughout the western U.S. to help them improve student performance in Language Arts. She lives with her husband, Tom, in the Palouse region of northern Idaho.
Tina Hamilton
{Bio under construction}
Mary Johnstone
{Bio under construction}