Head of School

AMANDA MARTIN

Amanda and her family moved to Chattanooga in 2017 from California. She has a background in special needs/trauma informed education and is a huge advocate for social emotional learning. She has been working at Wauhatchie School since 2021. She taught Pre-K at our Reflection Riding and Lookout Lake campuses and coordinated the Friends of the Forest PTA group. After homeschooling her three children for 7 years, Amanda is extremely grateful that she and her husband Jered are able to send them all to Wauhatchie School. She daydreamed for 3 years about this place after finding it through a friend!

As Head of School, one of Amanda’s biggest passions is to find creative ways to make our school accessible to our diverse communities here in Chattanooga. She believes anyone who wants this type of education should have access to it. Amanda knows our school is paving the way for nature-based and developmental education nurturing connection to nature, self, and others. She believes our children are everything and that they need this place in order to know their unique capabilities in this world. Amanda is honored to serve this community as the Head of School and she is thrilled to be a part of something so beautifully disruptive to how we have long viewed education.

K-5 Director of Teaching and Learning

Kara Cadwell

Kara was born with an insatiable curiosity about the world, and wanderlust in her bones. Growing up with educator parents, who were similarly inclined, led her family on many wild and wonderful adventures: camping in the Sonoran desert under a blanket of stars, nature journaling in the Lake District of Great Britain, climbing the inspirational peak of Mont St.-Michel in the South of France, and soaking in the embrace of geothermal pools in Iceland. Kara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History, Community Development and French; and she is currently in the process of completing her graduate work in Early Childhood Education. Her deep interest in curriculum, pedagogy and child development led her to start and run multiple after-school enrichment programs, and work as a reading interventionist in Hamilton county schools. The forest has always been a restorative and inspirational place for Kara, and she feels deeply privileged to be a part of the team at Wauhatchie.

Administrative Office Manager

Ashley baker

Ashley moved with her family from Texas in 2021. She has always had a passion and love for educating children and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Elementary Education. Ashley taught public school for 10 years and then moved into a position at a private preschool as the Assistant Director. After discovering forest school for her son’s education, she fell in love with the concept of blending the love of the outdoors with her love for education. In her free time she and her family enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, and she is thrilled to be able to work outdoors daily as part of the Wauhatchie team. 

Director of Admissions and TADS Specialist

Kaitlyn Agee

Kaitlyn was born and raised in Utah, but she and her family have now been living in Chattanooga for several years. Kaitlyn has been adventuring in the outdoors her whole life and especially enjoys hiking, backpacking, canyoneering and paddle boarding. Kaitlyn received a degree from Southern Utah University in Parks, Recreation and Tourism with an emphasis in Education. She worked as a rafting guide on the Colorado River, spent three years working in Wilderness Therapy with at-risk youth and has years of experience in working with computer software and billing. She taught forest preschool for three years for Wauhatchie School at the Audubon Acres campus and has loved watching our forest school grow!

Preschool Manager & Communications

lauren lytle

Lauren grew up in middle Tennessee and earned a dual bachelor’s degree in Anthropology & Ecology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. After graduating, Lauren accepted a job at the Tennessee Aquarium, moved to Chattanooga and quickly fell in love with all of the outdoor opportunities to be found in our great city. At the aquarium, Lauren led preschool programs, summer camps, animal training sessions, outreach programs, and teacher workshops for outdoor education curricula like Project WILD, Project WET and Growing Up WILD. She also served as a member of the Early Matters Chattanooga committee and became a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for Interpretation. Lauren considers herself a child at heart and sharing in the wonders of nature with little ones is what she loves the most. When she’s not teaching, you’ll find Lauren doing yoga, reading, trail running, rock climbing, hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and playing volleyball around town!

amanda morris - Forest kindergarten teacher

Amanda was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN, and never left! She grew up frequenting Reflection Riding and Chattanooga’s surrounding hiking trails, and now lives in the area with her husband and daughter. Amanda has her degree in Early Childhood Education from Covenant College and has previously worked in traditional preschools and elementary schools, which she left after having her own daughter. Since becoming a mom, Amanda has also worked as a potter’s studio assistant but has been feeling called back to the education world! Her love for the outdoors paired with her passion for early childhood education and experiences is what led her to Wauhatchie. Amanda likes to connect with the natural world through hiking, camping, and through arts like pottery and music.

MAMIE HENDERSON - Forest KINDERGARTEN teacher

Mamie is a Chattanooga local who grew up on Signal Mountain before her parents chose to teach internationally and moved abroad. Mamie spent 10 years living in Thailand, Saudi Arabia, & China, finding a home in the contrasting cultures and environments she lived in. Mamie moved back to Chattanooga to attend college at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and after taking a break she will have her bachelors degree in Applied Leadership at the end of 2024! Mamie is currently taking a course in ASL hoping to encourage her work with kids and adults who have special needs. She spends her free time outdoors with her partner and volunteering with the Bridge Refugee Center in Chattanooga. She believes there is a wealth of knowledge in the differences of every person.

Katie Cooper - Forest first grade teacher

Katie, a native to Chattanooga, grew up roaming the woods of Reflection Riding and Audubon Acres among other wonderful natural gems of the area. She ventured out of the South to get her degree in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis. Venturing further, she worked on several organic farms, studied abroad in Turkey, lived there for 4 years off -grid, taught English and also worked as a Waldorf preschool teacher. Those experiences sparked her interest in combining her love for plants, education, and holistic living. In 2015, she returned home and ran her own garden and landscaping business for 5 years. With her two children (ages 9 and 6 who also attend Wauhatchie), she loves to explore the outdoors and encourage a sense of wonder and trust in nature. As a fourth year teacher at Wauhatchie, she continues to spread her passion for teaching kids to read and empower their sense of self- with her firm belief that there’s no better place to do this than in the forest!

MOLLY GUERIN - Forest first grade teacher

Molly grew up in Chattanooga, exploring the forests and creeks of southeast Tennessee. Yearly trips to the Southwest with her dad birthed a sense of adventure and fostered gratitude for the connection to nature and self offered by the wilderness. After finishing high school, Molly took off for Colorado to find her way, first working in Rocky Mountain National Park, and eventually landing in the high desert of Arizona. Inspired by the vast quiet and surreal landscapes of the canyon country, she spent ten years climbing, backpacking, and rafting (and sitting quietly) exploring new places, pushing her limits, discovering herself, and deepening her connection to nature. Somewhere in there she earned her Fine Arts degree. After returning to Chattanooga, Molly and her husband became parents to a curious and fun-loving daughter. Molly also completed her master’s in education and is grateful to have found Wauhatchie, which she feels provides the perfect environment for her to share her philosophy of education and to help students connect with themselves and the world through nature.

mikaela robinson - Forest second grade Teacher

Mikaela spent her childhood in the flat Midwest, and became in awe of the beauty of the mountains when she moved to Tennessee to receive her degree in Exercise Science at Lee University. Right after college, she moved to North Carolina to become a wilderness counselor at a year round residential wilderness school called Camp Duncan. Over the course of five years, she learned to adapt to living outdoors through each season of the year, as well as mastering and teaching various outdoor skills such as canoeing, cooking over the fire, woodcarving, and building semi-permanent shelters using only hand tools. Through this unique learning environment, Mikaela has canoed down 500+ miles of rivers with children, and grown to love the nature that this part of the USA offers. She moved back to Tennessee in 2022 to work at Wauhatchie and is so thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow with others in nature. Hiking, camping, running, and spending time with her dog, friends, and family are among some of the things she loves doing most.

AUDREY SMITH - Forest SECOND GRADE TEACHER

Audrey grew up in Atlanta and studied Spanish at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. She then moved to Chicago where she completed her Montessori teacher training and taught at a Montessori school for eight years before moving with her family to Chattanooga. Though she always enjoyed being outside, it was not until she became a parent that she fully appreciated the value of time spent in nature for her own young children. She loves watching students explore and grow and considers it a privilege to spend her days learning alongside them. She has seen that children of all ages are at their best in nature and believes that they deserve unhurried time to explore, play, and simply be children.

Laura Carter - Forest third Grade teacher & literacy intervention

Laura grew up in a small town in West Tennessee. Her love for the outdoors had early beginnings. She spent most of her childhood in her grandmother’s beautiful garden or exploring the forest with her family. She moved to Chattanooga in 2016 to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and graduated with her BS in Health and Physical Education which spans grades K-12. Her passion for helping children reconnect with the outdoors coupled with her experience teaching children through creativity, body movement, and experiential learning led her to Wauhatchie School. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, camping, hiking, caring for plants, and cooking. 

Sarah Beddoe - Forest THIRD grade teacher

As a child, any free time Sarah had was spent playing in creeks, climbing trees, building fairy houses, and carefully drawing plants and animals from observation. In 2013, Sarah moved from Nashville to Chattanooga to pursue a degree in Art Education. She fell in love with the local forests and decided to make this place her home. She has taught elementary art for five years and is very excited to transition into a learning environment where love, respect, and curiosity for nature is abundant. Sarah loves spending her time gardening, volunteering as a songbird rehabilitator, exploring hiking trails, creating nature-inspired art, and snuggling with her dog (Bowser) and cat (Matilda).

kira carlton - Forest FOURTH grade teacher & learning intervention

Kira believes in fostering a sense of wholeness and connection through spending time admiring nature through all seasons. This same passion extends to her teaching philosophies. She feels strongly about holding space for others to fully be themselves, especially her students, in a compassionate learning environment. Her goal is to create a space where students can organically learn through the experience of discovery in the outdoors. She aims to curate a balance between child initiated curiosity and focused learning. Love is a constant forefront of her teaching philosophy. She is a licensed special education teacher and has worked in a middle school classroom for the past 6 years. In addition to these experiences she also is a 300 hour registered yoga teacher. As well as being a teacher, Kira spends her time off thru hiking long trails in the US, practicing mindfulness, mountain biking, rock hopping creeks to find critters, and spending time with loved ones in her community.

HEATHER KEE - Forest FOURTH grade teacher

Heather landed in Chattanooga in 2017 after earning her bachelor's degree in Psychology  from The University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  She loves being able to arrive at all of her favorite nature spots within minutes while living in this beautiful part of Tennessee.  Her time devoted to The Bethlehem Center over the past couple of years has reiterated her passion and advocacy for SEL. She is happiest when she is hiking through verdant forests, camping under a canopy of stars, dancing with abandon, and sharing genuine connections with others.  Heather is excited to join the Wauhatchie community and to holistically educate young minds.  She finds solace and inspiration in the natural world, and she is looking forward to igniting/sharing that sense of wonder with her students.     

Emily Collins - Forest FIFTH grade teacher

Emily Collins has been an avid animal and nature lover for her entire life. She spent much of her childhood exploring the woods, camping, hiking, and backpacking. Many of her childhood summers were spent exploring the forest and creeks at her grandparents' property in VA. As an adult, she has refocused her passion for nature towards building a food forest on her farm. She dreams for the farm to one day help feed the community, as well as become a sanctuary to miniature pigs without a home. Emily completed her Bachelor's degree in education at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, and later earned her master's degree through Austin Peay. She previously taught public education for 6 years, and is thrilled to make this shift to forest school education. She believes that children belong in nature and are natural learners. Emily is excited to be able to facilitate a loving and supportive environment for students that marries the beauty and wonder of the natural world with education that children will need to be successful long after they leave her classroom.

Mary bowers - Forest FIFTH GRADE TEACHER

Mary was born and raised in the city of Nashville, Tennessee. She decided to move to Chattanooga in 2018 for her college experience because of its surrounding nature that is so readily available to explore. She graduated in 2022 earning a BS in Sports, Outdoor Recreation, and Tourism Management, along with a minor in Spanish. Mary is enthusiastic about traveling, all kinds of music experiences, yoga/movement as medicine, and, most of all, being outside! There’s nothing Mary loves more than the color green, building bonfires, and having fun. A good laugh is what brings her the most joy. She is especially grateful to have found the Wauhatchie Forest School Community to be her new home right out of college. She feels the children teach her just as much as she teaches them, too. Mary feels present, grounded, and energized when she is out in nature assisting the kids in their adventures, exploring alongside with them and spreading kindness.

KYLE HOLCOMB - Forest preschool teacher

Kyle was raised in south Florida where his love of nature and the outdoors bloomed very early on, from learning how to swim at the beach, to trail riding in the swamps in Okeechobee. He moved to Chattanooga in 2005, fell in love with Appalachia, and is happy to call this place home. Kyle enjoys sharing his love of the outdoors with everyone, including his 17 nieces and nephews. He has shared lessons in kayaking, rock climbing, disc golf, and creek hopping for the last 10 years. As a child, Kyle remembers teachers fondly as inspirational adults that helped him foster his own love of learning. He hopes to contribute to the next generation by creating a space that allows the whole child to develop that same love of learning by following their natural curiosity. Kyle’s approach to education is all about supporting learners by being a safe, energetic, and thoughtful role model. During his free time Kyle enjoys spending time outside with his wife and pup, playing music, or working on his hobby of the month.

JESS KROGH - FOREST preschool TEACHER

Jess is a native of Southern Utah and is a recent transplant to the Chattanooga area. She studied Family Communications at Utah Tech University and transitioned to a degree in Early Childhood Education after working in a district-based early childhood intervention program supporting at-risk, special education and low-income families. In her 6 years working for the program, her love of childhood wonder deepened and her desire to provide a holistic and natural learning experience was born. She is delighted to begin her first year at the Wauhatchie Forest School and cannot wait to learn from and with her students. In her free time she can be found hiking, camping and soaking up time with her husband, Nathan and her dog, Rudy.

diana garcia - Forest preschool teacher

Diana Garcia was born in New York and grew up in Georgia before eventually moving to Tennessee. She has great childhood memories of leaving the big city to explore and play in the mountains almost every weekend and of going camping every summer. While living in Georgia, Diana’s family enjoyed weekends relaxing and unwinding at the lakes and state parks. Diana is a mom of 2 girls that love Wauhatchie School and can't get enough of exploring nature. She loves camping under the stars, exploring new places, and chasing relaxing moments. Diana is so excited to be part of the magical world of preschool and honored to be part of our students’ educational journey in nature. 

TORI VAUGHN - Forest preschool teacher

Tori is a native to the woods and waters of the East Coast, where spent the first half of her life on a small homestead outside of Charleston, SC. Early on she was instilled with a passion for community care and reciprocity with nature. As a young adult she traveled abroad, studying various forms of land-based living and alternative education. She now resides in the rollings hills of Wildwood, GA with her husband and daughter. As a family they enjoy hiking, camping, kayaking, and any kind of outdoor adventure life has to offer. As a former children’s yoga teacher, Tori is grateful for the opportunity to serve her community in a new way, as a member of the Wauhatchie School.

Anna fox - Forest preschool + JR. KINDERGARTEN teacher

Anna grew up in Sewanee, TN, running around the woods and climbing everything! She decided to call Chattanooga home because of all the outdoor opportunities the city provided while she attended UT Chattanooga and received her B.S. in Health and Human Performance, with a focus on sport, outdoor recreation, and tourism. She has worked coaching both swimming and climbing, guiding rafting trips on the Ocoee river, and in the outdoor industry. Anna has a passion for the outdoors and loves to spend her free time hiking through the woods, typically by a creek because her pup Ellie loves to swim! Anna also enjoys rock climbing, backpacking, and whitewater rafting. Anna has always absolutely loved spending time with children, and is thrilled to have the opportunity with Wauhatchie to help them learn and grow outside! 

ALLISON MELLAS - Forest preschool + JR. KINDERGARTEN Teacher

Allison lives by the motto "outside is my best side" and is excited to help foster a love for the outdoors and learning in the next generation. She graduated with her Bachelor's in Elementary Education from Western Governor's University. Allison grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and then moved to Orlando for a couple of years before relocating to Chattanooga for the opportunity to fulfill her dream of working at a forest school. Her favorite childhood memories were spent outside camping or roaming the woods and ponds looking for critters, and she wants kids to experience the beauty of the outdoors as well. She spends most of her free time riding bikes, camping, hiking, and reading. 

carmen vanderhoof - Forest kindergarten teacher

Carmen grew up exploring and camping in the natural areas of Gulf Coast Florida, South Alabama, Tennessee, and Mid-Missouri. Carmen is an avid traveler and student of language and culture. She fell in love with the German language during high school and began college with 2 years as a Political Science major, spending a semester studying abroad in Germany. After leaving school to marry and raise a family, she and her husband David, both avid travelers, homeschooled and explored inside and outside of the US with their 3 children for many years. In each country or region they visited, they studied languages and culture, regional history, nature, and local cuisine. Carmen’s other occupations have included artist, baker, cake decorator, nanny and caregiver, tutor, dancer, and henna artist. Realizing that she wanted to continue guiding, teaching, and learning with young people, Carmen returned to college (at the same time as her two oldest children) and earned an AA in German and BS in Secondary Education and English and the Tennessee teacher certification.

Rebecca Brewer - Forest kindergarten teacher

Surrounded by the Northeast Tennessee mountains, Rebecca grew up with a passion for all things outdoors. While studying Environment and Sustainability at Sewanee, Rebecca spent her summers as a staff member of Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center and quickly found that her passion was being in nature with children. After college, she taught Outdoor Education at Blue Ridge Outdoor Education Center before finding her way to Chattanooga. Rebecca’s experiences with the outdoor community fostered a passion to create an optimal learning environment in nature and led her to teaching preschool at the Wauhatchie School. She looks forward to continuing to learn and grow in her role as a forest school teacher and an outdoor educator while sharing her love for nature with kids.

LINDSEY BUTCHER - Forest 1ST/2ND GRADE teacher

Lindsey Butcher is a passionate educator with a degree in interdisciplinary education from Lipscomb University in Nashville. She brings five years of experience teaching within K-2 classrooms. Entranced by the natural beauty of Chattanooga, Lindsey moved to the area with her husband in 2019 and discovered her love for the outdoors. When not molding young minds, she runs her own flower business, enjoys the company of her dogs, gets lost in a good book, takes hikes, and tends to her garden. Lindsey is thrilled to bring her enthusiasm for whole child education and her love for nature to Wauhatchie Forest School.

AL AEBI - Forest 3rd/4th GRADE TEACHER

Teacher Al grew up in Northeast Wisconsin where he spent most of his childhood playing in the woods and swimming in lakes. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. In 2015, Al moved to Asheville, NC where he took advantage of the beautiful hiking trails and fell in love with the Appalachian Mountains. Al moved to Chattanooga in 2017, where he first started his teaching career as an online ESL instructor. Al’s experience teaching online inspired him to pursue and earn a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. Al strongly believes in the benefits of connecting with nature on a daily basis. He is excited to work somewhere that perfectly combines a love of outdoors and a passion for sharing knowledge with young learners.

Dominic Boydston - Forest Preschool Teacher

Dominic was brought up in Soddy-Daisy where he developed a love for nature through the area's many trails and parks. He is currently a student at Chattanooga State and works with high school kids as a Young Life leader in Ooltewah. He joined the Wauhatchie team because it is a combination of two things he is very passionate about, working with the youth and exploring the outdoors. In his free time Dominic enjoys backpacking and bushcraft camping.

grace kinene katende - Forest preschool + Jr. kindergarten Teacher

Grace has spent the last few years traveling the world, but she was raised in Chattanooga, her favorite place to call home. Her childhood was filled with outdoor play and adventures, with some of her fondest memories being of hiking and camping with her family. Grace has a deep curiosity about nature, finding great peace in it, and looks forward to sharing that with her students this year. In her free time, she really enjoys exploring the outdoors with her husband and son.

lindsay hurndon - Forest PRESCHOOL & JR. KINDERGARTEN TEACHER + SITE LEAD

Lindsay grew up in South Georgia living at Lake Blackshear. Lindsay enjoyed the lake life and spending time in the woods. She has always loved hiking, swimming, camping, music and photography. Due to the beautiful mountains and lakes she felt a drive to get closer to Chattanooga to buy land and start a mini farm in beautiful Rising Fawn, GA. She currently has 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 bunnies, 9 chickens, 3 pigs, and looks forward to a few goats and more once her pasture is completely fenced in. Gardening and animals are her passion, but she especially loves helping children learn and grow. Lindsay is from a long line of educators, following her mother and grandmother in the profession of teaching. Lindsay received a bachelors in Early Childhood Education with a Minor in Science from Georgia Southwestern State University. She taught school for 4 years in Americas, GA prior to moving to Athens where she specialized in small group reading and math. Lindsay believes that this Earth is a gift and that it is up to us to take care of it responsibly. Being a part of Wauhatchie is a dream come true for Lindsay!

CARRIE MIXON - Forest PRESCHOOL & JR. KINDERGARTEN teacher + SITE LEAD

Carrie grew up in “the bush” (a.k.a. the boonies) and later the urban jungle of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa, where she encountered nature, adventure, and a culture of storytelling over a cup of chai from an early age. On graduating high school, she made the wild move from East Africa to her parents’ native Georgia for college, where she gained her Bachelor’s degree in Art from Covenant College and began to fall in love with the quiet beauty of the mountains and valleys and everything that fills them around here. Since then, Trenton, Georgia has been her home base as she worked for a social enterprise and then an outdoor adventure non-profit back in Kenya. Carrie is thrilled to bring her experiences with and love for learning, nature, children, and creativity to a community closer to home at Wauhatchie!

Carrie ‘cb’ bryant - Forest PRESCHOOL + JR. KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

CB was raised in Cookeville, TN enjoying the abundance of nature. Over time, they learned to appreciate the wilderness. CB attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU Carbondale) and earned their Bachelor’s Degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management. While studying at SIU Carbondale, CB learned Leave No Trace (LNT) which created a more significant relationship with the great outdoors. Next, CB received their Master’s degree from SIU Carbondale in Recreation Administration. Shortly after graduating, CB taught English as a second language in Seoul, South Korea, where they developed a passion for working with young children. During CB’s time there, they learned that four walls of a classroom were stifling and so a desire to interact with children in nature prompted an interest in forest schools. CB completed the Forest School Teacher Training endorsed by Southern Adventist University and was trained by Dr. Jean Lomino of the Forest School Teacher Institute. During CB’s free time, you can find them exploring the wonders of nature through hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking (white water/flat water), or any other outdoor activities.

sara smiley - Forest PRESCHOOL + JR. KINDERGARTEN teacher

Sara Smiley grew up in a big family outside of a small farming community in Texas. On that land, she discovered her love for nature and the escape it offered her from the rest of the world. Smiley attended the University of North Texas where she majored in broadcast journalism with a minor in sociology. A little over a decade ago, on a whim, she came to a music festival in Tennessee. She immediately fell in love with the natural beauty and outdoor opportunities so she packed up and moved by herself to the Chattanooga area as soon as the festival ended. After spending the last 15 years in the service industry, Smiley is grateful that her path led her to the forest with Wauhatchie School. 

Rachel Dawson - Forest Preschool teacher + Music & Waldorf enrichment

Ms. Dawson grew up in Tennessee and North Carolina, playing banjo in her family's band and spending summers camping out at music festivals. She continued to study music through college, gaining a Bachelor's in Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduation she moved to Chicago where she worked as a nanny and began developing a musical appreciation curriculum for young children. Once bitten by the teaching bug, Ms. Dawson spent three years at the Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Teachers Education program and received accreditation as a Waldorf teacher. She went on to teach first through third grade at the Madison Waldorf School before heading back south to be closer to family. Ms. Dawson is delighted to bring together her love of music and enthusiasm for the outdoors at the Wauhatchie Forest School.

CHASE FLOYD - FOREST Preschool TEACHER

Chase has been fascinated by plants, animals, and people his entire life. He spent his childhood in the creeks and wooded flatlands of South Mississippi. His most formative years were spent at a camp called Strong River, where he learned the importance of being curious, protecting nature, and loving people well. Chase moved to Chattanooga six years ago. He has a background in childcare within the behavioral health field, and for the past five years he’s worked as a web developer and designer. His passion for learning and being outside inspired him to leave his office job and join the team at Wauhatchie, where he hopes to foster creativity and curiosity in the minds of young learners. Some of his favorite things to do include skateboarding, rock climbing, playing music, citizen science, and exploring the mountains with his dog Odie.

Brittany Wilkins - Artist-in-residence

Brittany Wilkins is an artist and educator raised on Walden’s Ridge where she currently resides with her spouse, Andrew, and two children. Since earning her bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, she has created and taught art and yoga-based enrichment programs for preschools, church programs and summer camps. She believes in the interdisciplinary relevance of art as a way to foster creative thinking, problem solving, and communication skills, and that the essence of art is truly experimentation. In her own artwork she draws heavily on experiences in nature and feelings towards the environment for inspiration. Brittany’s love of the outdoors grew from childhood excursions with her family, such as camping on Cumberland Island, climbing Mount LeConte, sailing on the Tennessee River, and embarking on countless evening walks in Walden, naming trees and looking for owls. Her appreciation for and interest in the natural world continued to grow during her high school years at Baylor School when she took an environmental history class, traveled through the American Southwest, and participated in a landscape painting trip in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Her greatest joy now is in revisiting these formative experiences and sacred places with her own children.

Sam Bard - WALDORF STORYTELLING, ART, & MOVEMENT

Sam has a degree in elementary education from Bryan College in Dayton, TN. Right out of college, she taught first grade for two years at a traditional school in Nigeria. When she returned to the US, she taught at two outdoor schools, one on Lookout Mountain and the other in Southern California. She connects with nature through hiking, gardening, fishing, and keeping eyes and ears out for living creatures everywhere! She is excited to be at Wauhatchie because outdoor spaces have always been where she has learned the most. Sam says, “the forest has so much to teach us about ourselves and others.”

President

Steve Moore

Steve is a retired public-school administrator who in 2020 relocated to Chattanooga from Quincy, Massachusetts. During his years as a school administrator, he served in a variety of leadership positions including superintendent and assistant superintendent for finance and personnel. Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City he spent most every summer and weekend working for YMCA programs in the forests of northeastern Pennsylvania. Some of his fondest memories of those days were when he got to work with groups of inner-city children who had never experienced the beauty and solitude a forest can provide. He says, “he looks forward to combining his educational experience and love of nature to help the Wauhatchie School grow and to continue to provide a unique experience for each and every student.”

Treasurer

MEGHAN LAFFERRE

Meghan is an accountant working for a family office in Chattanooga. She moved from West Virginia 17 years ago to finish her degree and raise her daughter. Meghan is now Jean Lomino’s daughter-in-law and has two sons; Cian who is now in Second Grade and Rhys a kindergartener here at Wauhatchie School. Meghan enrolled Cian at Lookout Learning Center as an infant because she was impressed with Diana’s focus on providing a natural childcare setting that was hard to find elsewhere, and he stayed with us until recently. Meghan says, “I am so looking forward to the expansion of those ideas at our new Wauhatchie School and all of the opportunities it brings to my family and to Chattanooga!”

Vice-President

Laura Durel

Laura lives in a cabin in the woods on Lookout Mountain and has raised two daughters to love being in nature and giving back to the community. Laura has been a member and volunteer at Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center for 22 years and is delighted to see Wauhatchie School find a home on their unique property.  She has been a “Big Sister” with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chattanooga since 2000 and enjoys exposing her Little Sisters to the wonders of nature. Laura is a physical therapist by profession and is grateful to do what she loves. 

Megan Brock

Megan is the proud mother of three children who all attend Wauhatchie School. Megan has a Masters in Occupational Therapy and is a certified personal trainer. She has been enjoying the great outdoors her entire life and is proud to be representing and supporting Wauhatchie School.

ELEANOR COOPER

Eleanor is an award-winning author and a lifelong educator of a different sort—not in a classroom but in her community. She worked for non-profits, co-founded EARTHWORK: Center for Food and Land in the San Francisco Bay Area, and served as Executive Director of Chattanooga Venture where she learned the value of civic engagement and community-wide visioning. Eleanor has two grandchildren here at Wauhatchie School. When she’s not writing, she loves to arrange flowers, make quilts from fabric she has collected, and play games that make you laugh.

Ethan evans

Ethan earned a BS in Environmental Science at UTC, an MS in Secondary Science Education at UTK, and a JD at Belmont School of Law. He taught middle school science for four years in Hamilton County and practiced law in Chattanooga for eight years. Ethan has returned to education at ChattAcademy Community School where he serves as Founding Science Teacher and Coach.  His experience in science, education, and law led him to Wuahatchie, and he is honored to serve on our board