We believe that every student, no matter where they live, deserves a great education and a bright future. Every member of our team supports the organization's culture of individualized success - from pure academic achievement to social and emotional wellbeing. We work hand-in-hand with our students, educators, parents, and other stakeholders to ensure optimal learning and lifelong success.
Staff Members
Jennifer Lutey
Executive Director
Jen has been the organization's Executive Director since obtaining her J.D. in 2004. She leads Brightways Learning in working hand-in-hand with students, educators, parents, and other stakeholders to support student academics and social and emotional wellbeing. Jen has a thorough knowledge of collaboratively implementing innovative change and developing education support programs. Bringing expertise in rural and remote education settings, she also leads grant-writing coordination efforts. She is the main contact for people interested in developing educational programs with Brightways Learning's assistance. Jen is responsible for managing multi-million dollar federal grant-funded programs, which have successfully implemented student growth and leadership components and support local leaders, schools, health organizations, and communities for long-term sustainability of positive change. Email me.
Aaron Baldwin
Technology Director
Aaron joined Brightways Learning in 2005 and has served as Director of Technology since 2006. He spent six years programming medical software during the day, while pursuing an M.S. in Computer Science from Boston University in the evening. He spent another couple of years in Washington, DC, analyzing afloat networks for the Navy and finding creative commuting options through the district. Aaron is responsible for our conversion to the Ruby on Rails framework and has led development on numerous applications both large and small. Aaron does not miss long East Coast commutes, since he enjoys being outside and in motion (running, biking, hiking, skiing, etc..). He is moving a bit slower these days, however, with his two young children in tow. Email me.
Lisa "Kersch" Kerscher
Education Director
Kersch co-coordinates, facilitates collaboration, and implements our Professional Development trainings and other opportunities related to our software products, educational projects, and supporting services. Joining our team in 2005, she also helps design our software applications and serves as our lead trainer, providing both group and one-on-one PD virtually and on-site. With an M.A. in Journalism and B.S. in Wildlife Biology, she has been doing online and print journalism, design work, and software development and training since 1998, specializing in educational, news, and interactive media most commonly related to science. As a consultant, she wrote content distributed to about a dozen Newspapers in Education programs nationwide and also co-developed many of the hands-on and interactive components of the original STEMscopes middle and high school Life Sciences curriculum. Most recently, she developed NGSS Middle School Life Sciences PD curriculum for the Kansas City Teacher Residency program. Kersch loves traveling and immersing herself in local cultures and communities, appreciating the nuances of humanity and different ecological regions. Email me.
Jamie Wheeler
Financial Manager
Jamie has been with Brightways Learning since 2004. She holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Montana and has worked in her field for more than 13 years. Jamie loves traveling with her husband, spending time with friends and family, and spoiling her two corgi pups. Email me.
Tina Hamilton
Partnership Development
Tina has been working in the K-12 educational technology field for more than 20 years. In her roles as a sales and marketing executive, she is experienced at introducing new technologies and products to educators. She is currently an independent contractor, helping EdTech companies implement their services in districts and schools to improve student achievement. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Montana and resides in Helena, Montana with her husband, Morgan, and their dog, Molly. Email me.
Derek Peterson
Integrative Youth Development Creator
Derek has almost four decades of experience as a child/youth advocate in Alaska and worldwide. He guides local, state, national, and international policy makers and program leaders to see and understand youth through a new lens. Derek created Integrative Youth Development (IYD) and its Student Support Card assessment, transforming the complexity of youth development into an easy-to-understand framework that guides the best practices of numerous programs, communities, and school districts through Brightways Learning’s Kaleidoscope Connect.
Amy McDonald
Developmental Ecologist
Amy has more than two decades of experience in K-12 education, including English Language Learning, classroom teaching, Lead Teacher, and School Counselor. She has a Bachelor’s in Linguistics, a K-8 Type B Teaching Certification, and a Master’s in K-12 School Counseling. She has worked in youth development since she started in education. Looking at the youth and the world around them has been a passion for her as she focuses on supporting youth. She continues learning from top leaders in the youth development field. Currently, she leads Kaleidoscope Connect events with both youth and adults in the United States and Canada. She also provides support and supervision to Regional Leaders throughout the state of Alaska as they implement the Integrative Youth Development framework and related activities in their areas. Amy provides a fresh look at youth development as she continues to work in multiple school districts and youth and tribal organizations in Alaska and outside the state.
David "Pav" Pavish
Developmental Ecologist
David's combined 20 years of experience working with youth in direct care and administration in both the private and public sector has equipped him with a unique lens through which to see youth in Alaska and beyond. He was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and has had the privilege to live in that state's rural communities, as well as Northern California. Throughout his career, the training he has received from some of the top youth and experiential education professionals in the U.S. and Canada provides him with a solid understanding of what youth need to succeed. David brings a fresh perspective on supporting and guiding youth through their life and career paths; understanding that life is a journey in which growth and learning have no end.
Terri Beede
Principal & Lead Teacher
Terri completed her undergraduate degree with a double major in Elementary and Special Education, emphasizing in Supportive Employment from Montana State University-Billings. While living in Glasgow, Montana, teaching a range of 3rd Grade and PreK-12 Special Ed, she earned her Master’s Degree in Elementary Level Leadership from the University of Montana. She gets great satisfaction in providing support to and collaborating with home-educators and working with the innovative staff of Brightways Learning. Terri enjoys partnering and learning facets of new business, from restaurants and home staging to trucking and currently resides with her husband and two dogs in Billings, Montana.
Melinda Haynes
Support Teacher
Melinda has lived in various places in the United States, but she has spent most of her time in Ohio, Montana, Utah, California, and Alaska. She has been a teacher for nearly two decades. During five of those years, she taught students from Fort Irwin, California, and she has also taught in a small Eskimo village in Alaska. Since 2004, she has provided services to homeschool families, including creating computer-based math courses. Melinda lives north of Anchorage in a converted barn, spending time outside in the beautiful state of Alaska and traveling.
Pat Cole
Support Teacher
After graduating from Montana State University, Pat began teaching special education preschool and conducting Early Education Child Development Clinics for children birth through five. She worked to screen, identify, and support parents of preschoolers with possible learning disabilities. Pat and her staff followed up with early intervention services to support each child’s individual educational needs. She then worked with challenged, suspended high school students to continue their educations. After working as an educational contractor on the local reservation, and providing distant special education services for small schools, Pat took a full-time position teaching first and second grade Special Education. Pat lives on a farm with her husband and a variety of animals. Pat is a true child advocate who believes that all children deserve equal educational opportunities, regardless of their learning styles.
Emily Hendriksen
Family Support Representative
Teaching, learning, and the arts are Emily’s passion. In her early college years, she majored in music education and liberal arts with a focus on clarinet performance. After college, she met and married the love of her life and they’ve been happily married for 18 years. A few years after their marriage, her husband joined the foreign service, and they have since lived in many countries around the world. Emily and her husband have four children whom Emily has home-schooled for the past 10 years as they’ve trotted about the globe. During those homeschooling years, Emily taught music lessons and Spanish, headed co-ops, led story times and literature groups, and facilitated learning of all kinds. Emily is currently finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Marriage & Family science with an emphasis in Human Services and Family Counseling, with plans to begin her Master’s studies in clinical and arts therapy.
Board of Directors
Kim Tucker
Board President
From foster care to public radio, Kim has helped nonprofits develop programs, attract funding, and expand the delivery of their mission. Today, Kim is leading Impact Foundry in partnership with an engaged Board and stellar staff team. In 2006, Kim joined 3fold Communications to launch the nonprofit division, focused on capacity building for faith and community-based organizations, and serving the interests of corporate community benefit programs. Local, statewide and national foundations engaged 3fold to help strengthen grantee organizations; and Kim and her team developed grantmaking programs and training modules to help nonprofit organizations improve upon and demonstrate their impact. In 2015, 3fold sponsored Kim to assume the helm at Nonprofit Resource Center, and to lead its expansion and transformation to Impact Foundry. Today, Kim is having the time of her life creating new pathways of impact within the nonprofit sector in her role as executive director. Kim believes our future depends on well-equipped, engaged youth. Kim is from Alaska, where she grew up playing with bears and catching salmon with her bare hands. Most of the time, she tells the truth.
Rhonda Knudsen
Board Secretary and Treasurer
Rhonda has more than 20 years of experience leading diverse teams, program/project management and strategy development in the life science, medical device and technology sectors in both for-profit and non-profit settings. She has held leadership roles in sales and marketing, human resources, operations, and business administration. Rhonda earned her Bachelor's degree in French from the University of Montana, a Certification to Teach English as a Second Language from Seattle University, and an MBA in Global Leadership from City University of Seattle. She believes that education is vital to providing baseline skills to survive and ultimately achieve as adults in the world. Regardless of geography, economic circumstances or cultural differences, all children deserve the opportunity to receive a quality education. Rhonda is passionate about world travel and continuous learning. She lives in Seattle and enjoys painting in her spare time.
Scott MacManus
Scott is the Superintendent of Alaska Gateway School District, where his interests have led him to specialize in funding and managing an array of projects and programs that improve the quality of education and life for communities in rural Alaska. He has been professionally involved in education for nearly 30 years. Scott grew up in an Inupiat village in Northwest Alaska, where his family lived a subsistence lifestyle. After high school, he enlisted and did an overseas tour of duty. Returning to Alaska, he completed an apprenticeship in the trades while attending the University of Alaska to earn degrees in Political Science and Education. As well as being a teacher and administrator, Scott has variously worked as a mason, a carpenter, restaurateur, riverboat pilot, and fisherman, among others. These life experiences serve him well in his current position, where he works with people from a range of backgrounds, to design and manage projects that range from one-to-one programs, preschools, residential summer schools, performing arts, and vocational-technical programs, to projects in curriculum and evaluation management, and facilities. He is currently working toward a doctorate in Education Policy. He has two grown sons, and currently lives with his wife and 20 sled dogs in Tok, Alaska.
Lynda Leal Prince
Lynda grew up in the small village of Grayling, Alaska and graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Anthropology and Asian Studies from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. Lynda taught English as a Second Language in Japan and Germany for 6 years before returning to the States to earn her Masters degree in Education from Harvard University. In 2009, Lynda received the Governor’s Award for Alaska History Teacher of the Year. She has spoken on various panels regarding Alaska Native education, which is a particular interest of hers. She is also interested in languages, traveling, running, education, cooking, and enjoys being a mother to her two young sons, though she does miss having time to read. In addition to teaching Honors Alaska Studies, Honors Ancient Civilizations, and AP World History at Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Lynda also teaches a course on Alaska History for teachers at the University of Alaska. She is passionate about learning, teaching, student success, family, and living a full life.
Tim Cline
Tim has been working in education for over 35 years. He retired from his public school career in June 2015. Tim has been a Teacher, Principal, Director of Instruction, and State System of Support Coach at various times during his career. In July 2015, he accepted a position as the Alaska Director with AdvancED and in 2018 became AdvancED’s Pacific Region Vice-President. Tim is currently a Regional Director for Cognia (formally AdvancED) supporting schools in California and Alaska. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Master of Arts Degree in Education from University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Tim is the incoming President of the Great Alaska Boy Scout Council as well as a new member of Brightways Learning Board of Directors. He was a recipient of the Milken National Educator of the Year Award in 1999.