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 a two-year-old daughter and newborn son 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 for LearnersOnline, 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 Developer,
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.
Jamie Baro
Administrative Assistant,
Jamie is the friendly voice that you hear over the phone when you call us. She has been our Administrative Assistant since 2004. She is currently working on her B.A. in Accounting. When she's not working or in school, she enjoys reading and spending time with her boyfriend and friends.
Terri Beede
Program Coordinator & Support Teacher,
Terri is a native Montanan, born and raised in the small town of Glasgow. After graduating from high school, she married her Kindergarten crush, moved to Billings, and pursued her degrees in Elementary and Special Education through Eastern Montana College. She had her first baby and graduated from college in May of 1992. They moved back to Glasgow, where Terri received her first teaching assignment. During the years of 1992-2000, she taught 3rd grade, Special Education, and completed her Master's degree in Elementary Level Leadership and had two more beautiful babies. Terri says it has been a blessing these last six years to be home with her children, and now to be part of WW IDEA's innovative academies and other programs.
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
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.
Al Weinberg