My first career was not in education; for me, it began on the fireline. As a young woman fighting wildland fires, I quickly learned that courage, clarity under pressure, and teamwork could mean the difference between containment and catastrophe. I was trained to work with confidence while structures were consumed and wildlands burned around me. That experience shaped my conviction that the people closest to the problem are often the best equipped to act. It also showed me how systems sometimes fail to support individuals who don’t quite fit the mold. This realization became the catalyst for the work I do today.
While I stepped away from the fireline and began raising our three children, my husband continued his wildland fire career. We moved 9 times in 13 years. Homeschooling became our consistency. It allowed us to follow wherever the fireline took us while giving our children stability, continuity, and room to learn in ways that matched who they were. Homeschooling them through high school revealed what personalized learning can offer. It also showed me how many parents in rural communities were searching for something beyond the traditional school system. Eventually, I found myself mentoring other families and helping them to design learning plans for their children. What began as a way to provide stability for my own children grew to a profound realization. Families were desperate for a new kind of education.
In 2020, I founded Baker Creek Academy as a Prenda microschool with seven learners in a single rented room. We didn’t have fancy materials or a luxurious building, but we had community, curiosity, and the courage to build something different. I envisioned a place where children felt safe, seen, and able to explore their interests. Our early days were shaped by small budgets, creative problem solving, and a belief that families should be the primary curator of their children’s education.
Our second year changed me and what I expected from the microschooling movement. One of our founding families who had played a pivotal role in our first year of operation faced tragedy. The father was diagnosed with leukemia, and the family had to relocate temporarily for treatment to a hospital four hours away. The charter system I operated under at the time urged me to un-enroll the children because we could no longer meet in person. I refused. The family needed flexibility and continuity now more than ever. Together we embraced the ideals of improvise, adapt, and overcome. The mother spent hours each day at the hospital while other relatives collaborated with me to support the children’s learning. We worked around treatments, travel, and exhaustion both physical and emotional. Sometimes meeting by Zoom late at night to work through a math problem or explain a grammar lesson. We stayed connected because education should never abandon a child at the moment life becomes most difficult.
Months later, the family returned home, but their struggle was far from over. The father could not return to work due to his compromised immunity, and the benefits from his former employer had run out. They needed an income, but opportunities in our small town were scarce. After everything they had endured, the mother wanted to remain available and connected to her children. Together we made a decision that would reshape the future of Baker Creek Academy and my mission. We expanded, and I brought her in as my co-guide. She became my first partner in this unexpected journey of building education choice in rural Arizona. Her courage reminded me that microschools grow not only from strategy but from compassion, flexibility, and resilience.
In the autumn of 2022, we relocated to a larger commercial space and recruited an additional founder. By the new year of 2023, as universal ESAs became available in Arizona, we supported 5 founders in our building. Each microschool is owned and operated by women entrepreneurs. For most, this is their first business venture. Now, at the end of 2025, our local network includes 9 independent founders, 10 microschool cohorts, and nearly 80 learners from our community of 6,000 people. Growth in a small town brings challenges, yet we have an advantage over the large dominant government system. We are close enough to families to listen and small enough to adapt.
My background in wildland firefighting continues to guide me. In fire, you anchor before you advance. You catch a fire with strategy, not arrogance. You keep one foot in the black, which means you stand in the area already burned and safe before taking your next step. I applied these principles to building Baker Creek Academy. We focus on stability, communication, and strong relationships.
As our community expanded, it became clear that many microschool founders across the country were navigating similar challenges without mentorship or support. Women who were building remarkable programs often struggled to monetize their work or articulate the full value of their contributions. I recognized myself in them. I also recognized an opportunity to help strengthen the broader ecosystem.
I created TrailBlazED, a leadership development and support organization for microschool founders. The TrailBlazEd Microschool Leadership Forge helps founders build leadership skills, expand their programs, and navigate the complexities of sustaining a learning community. I focus especially on supporting women so that they can step into business ownership with courage and resilience. Through professional development, coaching, collaborative networks, and events like the TrailBlazED Founders Retreat, I work to empower the individuals who are reshaping education from the ground up.
Today, Baker Creek Academy is a thriving network of independent microschools, and TrailBlazED supports founders nationwide as they design programs that meet the needs of their own communities. My work is rooted in the belief that abundance exists in education. There is room for every learner to succeed, every parent to choose, and every founder to build something meaningful. We do not need permission to create solutions for our communities. We need freedom, clarity, and the willingness to take the first step. The future of education is being written by people on the ground, close to their communities, who are ready to lead with courage.
