A Tuition-Free K-8 Public
Charter School
GOVERNING BOARD
Amber Edelman
Board Chair/Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Amber Edelman was born and raised a military child. After her father finally retired, they settled here in Utah. She attended Weber State University, where she received her bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy. Shortly after graduating she met her husband, Kurtis. He was active-duty Army. She decided to follow him around the United States and begin a family. Together they have 3 children, Kayla, Turner, and Allie, and have recently adopted a daughter named Milena from Colombia.
While her husband was stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Amber served in the Family Readiness Group. There she led other wives and united them to support the local troops. She was also a part of the Comfort Team where she assisted other wives when there was trauma in their homes. During this time, Amber supported her husband while he was deployed to Iraq for 18 months. Two weeks before his homecoming, he was hit by an IED (roadside bomb) and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Amber was told that her husband would not ever be able to perform basic functions, drive a car, or even hold a basic conversation. This began the intensive road to recovery for him. Amber was determined to learn all she could to assist him in his recovery. They relocated back to Utah where she found great passion helping her husband to learn how to do basic things again. After many years he has seen great success in his recovery and is even able to drive a car again. When meeting Kurtis today, many people are not even aware of his injury. His recovery has exceeded the expectations of all his health-care providers.
Amber was selected as the Utah Elizabeth Dole Fellow for the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, which is an organization that empowers, supports, and honors our nation’s military caregivers. She served on many boards during her three-year term as the Utah Dole Fellow. She assisted military families, wounded warriors, and primarily the caregivers of our nation’s wounded soldiers. She sat at round-table discussions with the U.S. Speaker of the House, the Secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs, and many other prominent congressmen. Together they worked to identify the needs of caregivers and created the Caregiver Program within the Veteran Affairs system. Amber visited the White House and also rallied on Capitol Hill in DC many times in an effort to provide support and awareness for caregivers of all war eras. Amber has also worked here in the state of Utah with Congressman Rob Bishop and our governor to bring awareness to the silent heroes supporting our nation's wounded soldiers. She’s currently an alumni Dole Fellow.
As Amber’s children reached school age, she was adamant they get the best education possible. She began looking for a place which provided a vision of excellence in education and she found Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning. She quickly put her kids in the lottery, luckily all of them were accepted, and her children started the very first year Promontory opened its doors. Amber volunteered a lot in her children’s classrooms and was eventually offered a job at the school. She worked in many different capacities within the school, but eventually landed in the special education department. There she quickly became the autism behavior specialist. She found that a lot of the skills she had learned assisting her husband in his recovery were applicable within the special education world. After many colleagues commented on her gifted ability to work with children with special needs, she went back to school to become a board-certified behavior analyst. After many years working at Promontory, she left for the next step in her career. She currently writes behavior plans for children with behavior needs, and helps oversee their progress.
Although her children no longer attend Promontory, Amber’s love for Promontory remains strong. She loves the values and the mission and is excited to be back at Promontory as a member of the governing board. She looks forward to the opportunity to give back to the school and to provide a unique perspective.
Michael Engh
Board Treasurer/Trustee
School Land Trust Council Chair
Michael graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. He then earned a master’s degree from Webster University in business administration. Michael currently works as a project director for a software development group at Hill Air Force Base.
Michael is the father of two children and has a first-grade student at Promontory School. He joined the governing board because he wants to learn how the school functions and because he wants to help Promontory reach its goals and vision for educating students. Michael appreciates Expeditionary Learning and has particularly enjoyed watching his shy daughter step outside of her comfort zone, embrace the concept of owning her learning, and participate in crew functions.
Michelle Flynn
Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Michelle Flynn lives in Willard, Utah with her husband and four children. She's a stay-at-home mom after working in retail management for over 10 years specializing in operations management and logistics. After moving from San Diego, CA she and her husband started a construction company which she manages from home.
Michelle has a background in theater and music and attended a performing arts school growing up. She was a member of a vocal jazz ensemble and show choir for many years and majored in music business management in college.
Michelle has coached her son's baseball teams for the Willard youth baseball league for the past five years as well as volunteered for various local events in the community like Peach Days, local farmers markets, and fruit stands. Michelle loves being immersed in all the community has to offer and believes there's nothing more important than the school our children attend and their futures, so she volunteers weekly at Promontory school.
Michelle is looking forward to her role on the governing board and is excited to be a part of the future of Promontory.
Zach Davis
Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Zach Davis was born and raised in Brigham City and currently lives in West Corinne. He is the oldest of seven kids and they all grew up on a small farm raising cows, wheat, and alfalfa. He
worked on a larger dairy farm in Corinne while going through high school. His favorite thing to do was cut hay because he loved the smell of the fresh-cut hay. Running tractors and working the ground was, and still is, another of his favorites. Zach, his father, and brother now farm about 150 acres. Zach loved to play sports and go hunting and camping with his family. He would play
baseball in the summer when time permitted, and then go hunting in the fall. He still likes to play some city league softball through the summer and fall.
When Zach graduated from high school he got a job working at Bear River Valley Co-op in the tire shop. He loved learning about mechanics and tires and would go out on the service truck to fix tractor tires for the farmers. He loved getting to know
everyone. He has worked at the co-op for almost 19 years now and has worked his way up and now manages the Country Store.
Zach loves to learn new things and loves helping others. He has
a beautiful wife and three awesome boys, two of which are now attending Promontory School and the other one will next year. He likes the way his kids get to learn at Promontory. He hasalways been a more hands-on learner and thinks it's a good experience for them also.
Zach also loves learning about our history and the way our country came to be. He loves our freedoms and will always stand up for
them. He joined the board because of the world we live in today. He wanted to know more about how the school system works and desired to be more involved in what our kids were being taught. Zach is excited to see what things he can learn from this position and hopes to do a good job for everyone.
Kristina Radtke
Officer
Although a native Croatian, Kristina Radtke was born in Utah while her father played basketball at Brigham Young University. Her family moved back to Croatia (Yugoslavia at the time) when she was one month old. Living on the Adriatic coast she developed skills as a swimmer and a ballerina, and she learned to navigate limited religious
activity under a communist regime. As Kristina approached high-school age, economic issues pushed the country into a pursuit of independence and freedom, and a fight for democracy. A war erupted and escalated into ethnic cleansing, leading Kristina and her family to return to Utah.
Kristina continued to strengthen herself as a ballerina and took advantage of the early college programs at Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University, and University of Utah. She then pursued a career as a fashion model and relocated to Milano, Italy. A brief marriage left her as a single mom for thirteen years during which time she obtained a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sales and was recruited by the federal government. Kristina is now remarried and has four children that she currently dedicates all her time and effort to. Sharing her resources, time, and talents with Promontory School is an
honor for her.
Kristina has worked as a translator and an interpreter throughout her life and is currently working as such. She is a ham radio operator, a certified emergency response team member, and a volunteer at Project Elect, Women in Public Service.
You will find Kristina serving in church, volunteering in the community, creating art, and making friends in every corner of the world. Her best friends are her children, and her favorite treasure is her family--Promontory family included.
Karen Braithwaite
Officer
Karen Braithwaite was raised in Mantua and has lived in Box Elder County most of her life. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in elementary education from BYU-Idaho in 2010. After a brief period of church service in Poland, she came back to start teaching. Karen taught one year in Granite School District in Salt Lake City during which time she married her sweetheart, Keaton. Then she taught one year in Ogden school district. After that she decided to take a break to be a stay at home Mom.
Karen and Keaton have 4 children: Charles (7), Dorothy (5), Eleanore (3), and Florence (born October 4th, of this year). Karen loves spending time with her family doing things like camping, hiking, swimming, playing board games, and reading stories. She also has a great love for music and has taught piano on and off for almost 20 years. Karen joined the Utah Music Teachers Association in 2019 to further her pedagogy education and expand her musical capabilities and contributions.
Karen is now happy to be a part of the Promontory community and is excited to serve on the board this year.
Amy Rich
Officer
Amy Rich is happily married and finds great joy in her five children. She graduated from the University of California at Irvine, majoring in nutrition. During that time she played on the university tennis team. She continues to teach tennis lessons in her spare time.
In addition to her collegiate education she has also studied and been licensed as a nutrition coach, personal trainer, barber, and massage therapist. Amy has also served as a doula.
Her diverse education and life experiences lead her to encourage others to study and pursue a wide range of interests while helping others along the way. Her current passions are her kids and husband and helping them progress.
Amy loves serving on the governing board at Promontory. It gives her great insight into the education and future of her children and those around her. She is grateful for the opportunity.
Mindy Johnson
Board Vice-Chair/Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Mindy Johnson has a love for teaching and education that goes back as long as she can remember. She worked as a paraeducator at Bunderson Elementary for eight years before being blessed with twins. Thrilled to finally be a mom she turned her attention to home full time until her twins were in preschool when she began teaching again, starting a preschool in her home.
When Mindy's children entered kindergarten, she began volunteering and substitute teaching. She substitute taught for five years until the family was blessed with another little girl. At which time she was thrilled to stay home again and continued to volunteer at school, especially enjoying fieldwork.
As a founding member of Promontory School, Mindy has a deep love for Promontory. She's grateful her twins have been able to attend school here and looks forward to her youngest also attending school at Promontory. She's passionate about hands-on education that engages students’ natural curiosity, different learning styles, and innate love of learning.
Mindy is very active in her faith and has volunteered in many capacities there. She loves foot zoning, anything artistic and creative, and most of all being with her wonderful husband and kids. She loves nature and can often be found spending time outdoors with her family.
She is grateful for the opportunity Promontory provides for students to learn while outdoors and through adventure. She's excited to be part of the school board and support Promontory School, it's mission, vision, values, students and staff as we continue to work together to make Promontory a great place for students to thrive.
Dorothy Dobson
Accountability Officer/Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Dorothy Dobson was born and raised in Southern California, a frustrated country girl in the middle of the city. She moved to Utah to attend Utah State University. After graduation, she taught Special Ed on the Navajo Reservation for two years. Dorothy then taught in Salt Lake City for seven years. When she met her husband, Cody, she returned to Cache Valley and taught at Edith Bowen School on campus at Utah State University for twenty-two years. When she retired (the first time), she administered a First Amendment Schools grant at Edith Bowen for a year, then worked as a reading aide at Canyon Elementary School for a year before becoming a lecturer at Utah State, teaching undergraduate courses to elementary education majors. After six years at USU, the pull to work with kids again became too strong to ignore. When she heard about Promontory, she was TOTALLY on board with EL Education, and was thrilled to be hired as a fifth/sixth grade teacher. Promontory’s first five years were her last five years as a classroom teacher. When she retired for the second (or maybe third, if you count USU) time, she missed Promontory SOOO much! Still does!
Dorothy enjoys reading, music, photography, traveling (which she has done a lot of since retiring, since her husband, who was a principal in Cache County School District, retired at the same time), and gardening. She LOVES spending time with her grandkids; R.J. (9), Adeline (6), and Mina (19 months). Unfortunately, they live in Georgia, where their dad (who is married to Dorothy’s daughter, Hannah) is stationed at Fort Benning. Fortunately, being retired means she can visit more often! She is also slightly obsessed with “Hamilton, An American Musical”, and has traveled to Las Vegas, Puerto Rico, and Chicago where she has seen it and gotten to know other raging (and wonderful) Hamilfans. She has seen it six times SO FAR and has tickets for a Broadway performance in January. (Yeah, “slightly” may be an understatement!) Dorothy is working on a book teaching collaboration to upper elementary students using the admirable creative team of “Hamilton” as a role model.
As Dorothy said, “I miss Promontory daily (although not the drive from Paradise, where I live), so I am excited to be on the Board, and hope it brings me to the school often!”
Becca Ashby
Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Becca Ashby lives in Tremonton with her husband and three boys. Born in California and raised in the Salt Lake Valley, she enjoys the small-town life as long as she can visit the city often. She is a jack of many trades, and has experience in a variety of different fields. From childcare and early childhood education to health and fitness, being a small business owner or picking up and moving cross country, she isn’t afraid to take on a challenge.
She is happy to help where she can and always does her best to be patient and positive. She loves good food and traveling to new places but is happiest surrounded by her family.
Becca firmly believes that education is not one size fits all. After many years in the local school district, she started looking for something different that might cater better to her boys and their style of learning. Promontory always piqued her interest, but it wasn’t until after the COVID shut down in early spring 2020 that Becca and her family decided it was worth really looking into other options for the boys' education. For Becca’s family, and many families at the time, COVID was a chance to re-evaluate and re-arrange what daily life looked like. Promontory became a real option for her boys, and today all three of them thrive in the atmosphere that this school offers.
Becca now works in sales at Tarter Gate in Corrine, UT. After years of being able to help in the classroom, she missed being involved in the school community. The next best thing was to join the governing board. She is happy to serve and be a part such a diverse group who simply care about the kids and want them to succeed.
_edited.jpg)
Lisa Holgreen
Trustee
School Land Trust Council Member
Lisa Holgreen is a wife and mother. She loves being around people and making new friends. She thoroughly enjoys a challenging hike or bike ride and cherishes days and nights high up in the mountains or near the southern red rock. A graduate of the University of Utah, Lisa received her bachelor's degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism with honors. She believes in the power of nature on the soul! Reading, listening to music, dirt bike riding, playing pickleball and being involved in local politics are other personal interests of hers.
A quality education is of utmost importance in her book and she respects and appreciates caring educators. There are many benefits to a charter school, she believes, and she is grateful to have the opportunity to learn more about the governance of Promontory School as a board member. The mission, vision and values ring true for her and she hopes to support and uphold what they teach through her involvement with the board.
Janice Ward
Officer
Janice Ward was born and raised in the beehive state of Utah. While attending college at the University of Utah, she met her husband Shawn in biology class. The chemistry was right and they were married and have three adult children and a miracle caboose son Benjamin, who attends Promontory School. They are also the proud grandparents of four beloved grandchildren. Janice actively serves in her faith and is very committed to families.
Janice homeschooled her children for 18 years and loves learning and being out in nature. She recalls teaching about the life cycle of a frog when she ordered a tadpole in the mail to observe nature in action. It was like Christmas for the children, waiting for the tadpole to be delivered! Unfortunately when the small tadpole arrived, it was barely alive and died. Once again she tried ordering another tadpole but sadly it also quickly died. The children were devastated. Then not wanting another death, Janice got a baby frog that they loved. It was a very good lesson on frogs as well as life and death.
Janice is passionate about education for all and when searching for a school for her young son Benjamin, Promontory struck a beautiful chord. The talented teachers and staff that lead the fun expeditions and hands-on learning make school come alive! She is honored and excited to be able to serve at Promontory School.