Committed Parents, Educators & Community Members
Wild Oak Independent School is a nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Directors. We are a small team of committed parents, educators, and community members with a range of experiences and backgrounds. While we are all different, we share a love for children, education, and our Western North Carolina community.
Wild Oak’s leadership model is one of collaboration, democratic decision-making, and transparency. Our community is intentionally small; all voices, including students’ and their families, will be heard.
Wild Oak is expanding the core board by 1-2 members. Click for details.
Prospective board candidates should be able to commit approximately 8-10 hours per month, including board meetings currently held via Zoom.
Specifically, we seek individuals with a background in education, early childhood education, interdisciplinary curricula, law, or accounting and finance. If you don’t have this specific experience but are interested in serving on the board, please let us know.
Contact cecily@wildoakschool.org if you would like an application.
Wild Oak Board of Directors
Officers
Cecily Rouse Timmons
Co-Founder, President | Director, Operations & Development
Cecily has worked with nonprofit organizations for over fifteen years, focused primarily on fundraising and communications. She has a Master’s in English and is working on her Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design at Clemson.
Cecily is excited for Wild Oak to come to fruition so that she can witness children embracing curiosity, experiencing wild inspiration, and feeling the empowerment of education.
Lindsay Jalonen
Co-Founder, Vice-President | Director, Families & Programs
Lindsay has worked extensively with children and mental health since graduating with her BA in psychology, including direct counseling in a therapeutic wilderness setting.
The Jalonens dream of a school that embraces the beauty and natural curiosity of childhood as a central component in the learning process.
Xóchitl Skora
Officer, Secretary
Speech Pathology Assistant, All Around Therapy
Xóchitl has worked as a Bilingual Speech Pathology Assistant for more than 16 years with a focus on autism. She also holds a BS in Early Childhood Education. She is also trained in the Stanley Greenspan Floortime Method. Xóchitl has passion for children and bringing out their inner magic.
Xóchitl and her husband, Mark, moved from Western New York to North Carolina in 1997. They have two grown sons, Casey and Thomas, and a cockatiel named Willie.
Board Members
John Bates
Facilities & Operations, Camp Arrowhead for Boys
John has been involved in youth development programs for over 15 years. After graduating from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee he did graduate work at Clemson’s youth development leadership program.
John started his career in roles such as: outdoor educator, teachers assistant for the intellectually disabled, and direct care personnel for students on the autism spectrum. More recently John has been focused on the outdoor recreation industry. He has held director’s positions at several camps in Western North Carolina and is excited to apply his knowledge to Wild Oak.
John and his wife, Alexandria live with their two daughters in Hendersonville. At home, John likes to spend his time playing with the family, working in the garden, and exploring the outdoors.
Toni Warren
Co-Owner, Warren Restoration
Toni has owned Warren Restoration with her husband since 2013, and has extensive knowledge of small business operations, customer service, and marketing. She earned a BA in international business from Northeastern University in Boston.
In addition to running a family-owned company that works to restore homes and commercial businesses that have suffered water, fire, or mold damage, Toni is deeply involved in Henderson County’s community. She is the past president of the Hendersonville Women’s Club and member of Hendersonville’s Junior Welfare Club. Toni and her husband have two young sons.