Skip to content

Founders

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 Founders

Cecily Rouse Timmons

Co-Founder

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

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.


Join us in launching Wild Oak!