Our Team
We are excited to meet you!
The Skola comes to life with the efforts of our outstanding staff. As a student at Skola, your child will truly grow in many ways—finding the joy of learning and exploration with a group of mindful educators.
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Director / Board Member / FounderBrooke Ober has been a speech-language pathologist for almost 20 years. She is co-owner of MindBright Therapy, specializing in social-emotional learning and executive functioning. She is passionate about helping children understand the brilliance of their unique minds and enhance connection and communication.
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Lead Teacher, Larks
Kimberly Poore has a Masters in both Educational Leadership and Teaching. She is an experienced educator who has previously worked in public, private, and charter schools. Driven by a passion for reading, teaching, and community, she takes pride in providing the best experience possible for her students. In addition to her primary job functions, Kimberly has been a keynote speaker at the New Tech Annual Conference and Teacher of the Year in her former school district for her commitment to project-based learning in the classroom.
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Elementary Teacher
sarah@theskola.org
Sarah was born and raised in Northfield, Minnesota, and she graduated with degrees in Earth and Space Science Education and Spanish from the University of Minnesota. She has spent time teaching environmental education in Rocky Mountain, Denali, Olympic, and Glacier National Parks before joining us at The Skola. Outside of work, you can find Sarah reading, hiking, and skiing!
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Assistant Lark Teacher
Anna is a passionate environmentalist, artist, and learner. With a deep background in field wildlife research, and a degree in Environmental Studies - Arts & Humanities from St. Olaf College, she draws inspiration from the landscapes she inhabits and those which are small and less spoken for. She has worked in Arctic Alaskan tundra, northern Minnesota taiga, and is excited to work with The Skola to inspire young minds about the wonders of science and the outdoors.
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Assistant Fox Teacher
Elly comes to us with a strong background in both preschool leadership and environmental education. A Montana native, she grew up exploring the forests of the Eureka area, and guiding backpacking trips in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. Elly is passionate about helping young people connect with the heart of nature, especially in community with one another. She is excited to join the team!
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Curriculum Director, FounderPatty Johnson is an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist and co-owner of MindBright therapy center. Patty has worked for years in public schools and private practice. Through intention, play, and imagination, Patty strives to find the topics that spark students' interests to help them learn and build self-confidence. She is completing a Certificate in Advanced Graduate Studies in Language and Literacy. Patty is also on the board of The Reading League MT.
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Lead Teacher, Larkskrista@theskola.org
Krista Booher has been a certified elementary teacher with over ten years of experience in the classroom, primarily with grades K-3. When her two young daughters became school age, she realized she wanted something different from the typical public school offerings for her girls. After spending a couple of years homeschooling, she found the Skola. She is excited to work with the Skola team to offer many wonderful learning opportunities for the children, including bringing nature and projects into everyday learning, particularly with mathematics which is where her passion lies.
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Outdoor Educator
I was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. I graduated from New College of CA with a degree in Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community in 2005, and went on to study naturalist skills, animal tracking, and nature awareness through the Regenerative Design Institute and Weaving Earth from 2007-2010. I attended Lynx Vilden’s Living Wild Stone-Age project in 2013, where I lived in the woods under a tarp in Eastern Washington for six months while learning wildcrafting and stone-age living skills, and finished the program with a month of stone-age living, eating only wild foods and using only stone-age technology.
I have worked as a nature educator and ancestral skills artist since 2007, with organizations such as the Regenerative Design Institute, Weaving Earth, the Riekes Center, Rewild Portland, Trackers Northwest, Wild Earth, the Buckeye Gathering, and Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center.
I believe it is every person’s birthright to connect to nature because nature offers good medicine for our modern ills and helps us come back into balance with being human. I also think that everyone deserves a chance to have a ton of fun, and since nature is an endless source of challenge, exhilaration, fascination and amusement, we all deserve nature in our lives.
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Community and Culture CoordinatorKyle has more than 10 years of experience creating and facilitating educational programming in the outdoors, most recently as the Program Director at a therapeutic boarding school. She believes that adults have much to learn from children, and that intergenerational spaces encourage empathy, growth and play for all. Kyle is passionate about community care and strives to model compassion, honesty and gratitude in her life as a teacher. She believes deeply in the vision of the Skola and is honored to be part of the team.
She recharges her soul with live music, lake swims, chilly ski days, and time in the kitchen with friends.
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Lead Owl (Kinder) Teacher
Adrianna Robinson is an adventurer, lifelong learner, and passionate advocate for all things kindergarten (she serves as the Kinder (Owl) teacher at the Skola! Originally from Ohio, she and her husband have fallen in love with mountain life and are beyond glad to live here. Since earning her degree in Early Childhood Education, she has discovered a deep appreciation for forest schools and project-based learning! Adrianna believes that meaningful learning happens through play, exploration in nature, and the freedom to learn through trial and error. She says that every day, her students remind her that learning is a lifelong journey—they’re often the best teachers!
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Valerie is a licensed clinical social worker who proudly hails from Akron, Ohio. She received her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in social work from The Ohio State University.
Valerie has been working with children for as long as she can remember, starting with babysitting the neighborhood kids for $2 an hour!
Valerie is passionate about helping students gain both competence and confidence in their abilities both inside and out of the classroom. Valerie believes in the power of nature and movement as a means to reconnecting to our bodies and minds.
In her free time, Valerie enjoys spending time outdoors (hopefully near a body of water), and playing with her five adorable pets.
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Fox Teacher
whitney@theskola.org
Whitney joins us with a robust background including, nanny, naturalist and boat captain, wilderness therapy field instructor and logistics manager, and overseas organic farming. Whitney's formal education is in Elementary Education, with 6 years experience in a public school setting teaching grades K-2, and has most recently spent her time raising two kids. Her passion for being home with them paired with a love of the outdoors and education is what led her to discovering a love for preschool! She is excited to help nurture and develop a comprehensive program that will meet the needs of all of our students. She believes in protecting childhood and looks forward to nurturing, teaching, and playing with your kids!