Amy Novak is a former teacher who in 2021 launched Acton Academy Red Rock (https://www.actonacademyredrock.com) in southern Nevada. Acton Academy Red Rock is part of the fast-growing Acton Academy network of learner-driven microschools that was founded in 2009 and now includes more than 300 schools serving thousands of learners. Amy's program is intentionally inclusive of neurodiverse learners and those with special learning needs including children with autism, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and related diagnoses.

Kanesha Adams is a former public school teacher and founder of The Learning Lounge (https://www.learningloungear.com), a tutoring center and new microschool in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a low-income community outside of Little Rock. In this episode, Kanesha shares her founder story and explains why Arkansas's new universal school choice program propelled her startup decision. "In Arkansas, School Choice Is Encouraging Education Entrepreneurship" - https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerrymcdonald/2024/04/02/in-arkansas-school-choice-is-encouraging-education-entrepreneurship/

Iman Alleyne is the founder of Kind Academy (https://www.kindacademy.org) and creator of Launch Your Kind (https://www.kindacademy.org/launchkind), an accelerator program for those interested in opening their own microschools!

Ally Adair-Chung is the founder of Beachcities Classical (https://www.beachcitiesclassical.com), a Classical Christian homeschooling collaborative based in Huntington Beach, California. It launched in the fall of 2021 and today serves about 250 students.

Lindsey Vose is a former public school teacher who launched Wild Wonders (https://wildwondersmt.com) out of her garage in Belgrade, Montana in 2022. She opened with four students, including her two children. Today, Wild Wonders is located on a five-acre farmstead property near Vose’s home. It has 22 K-6 students who attend the mixed-age, drop-off program Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. She has 35 students registered for fall and says she can’t keep up with demand. She also plans to open a middle school program soon.

John Mackey is an author, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. In 2022, he stepped down from his 44 years as CEO of the natural and organic grocer. He is now launching a new startup, Love.Life. Mackey is the author of several books including the just-released "The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism."

Denice Dixon is a former public school special education teacher and founder of TREAD Academy (https://treadeducation.com), a K-12 microschool serving neurodivergent and neurotypical in Atlanta.

Robert Kimble is the founder of Dream Academy (http://dreamacademydbq.org) in Dubuque, Iowa. A project of the Dubuque Dream Center, an afterschool program that Kimble cofounded in 2013, Dream Academy is opening this August as a faith-based, K-7 private school with plans to grow through high school by 2029. More than 50 students have already enrolled, and all are attending tuition-free thanks to Iowa's new universal school choice program.