Board of Directors
As a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, TVCS is governed by a 7 member Board of Directors. Board members are elected to 2 year terms that can be renewed 3 times. There are 4 leadership positions on the TVCS Board including President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Elections for these positions are held every year during the August board meeting. There are also 5 standing board committees including: Executive, Finance, Programs/Personnel, Facility, and Community Awareness. Committees are generally chaired by a board member but may include teachers, parents, or other members of the community.
The board generally meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the main building at TVCS. Changes and additions to the regularly scheduled board meetings are posted on the community bulletin board in the main building at the school as well as on the website calendar. Parents, teachers, or interested members of the community are welcome to attend. Minutes from all board meetings are archived in a notebook in the Administrative Director’s office and are available for the public to review.
Cynthia RiegelPresident
Cindy Riegel moved west from upstate New York immediately after graduating from college. Following several years of exploring, teaching, and conducting wildlife research in the Greater Yellowstone Area, she returned east to earn her MS degree in botany from the University of Vermont. She moved back to Victor, Idaho in 2000, securing a professional job, house, and husband all in the same year. Cindy began serving on the TVCS Board of Directors in 2005 when her daughter Skylar was one year old. The first task she accomplished was developing and implementing a business plan for the Center For Early Learners (CFEL), which successfully opened in 2006. She has since been involved everything from curriculum to fundraising and has attended several workshops in non-profit management. In her free time, Cindy enjoys cooking, yoga, trail running, mountain biking, and skiing of all types.
Tim WattersTreasurer
Tim and his wife Margot have owned a piece of land at the headwaters of the Teton River for a number of years. They recently moved to Teton Valley on a permanent basis with their five children. For the past eleven years Tim has owned a small business based out of the mid-west. Prior to that, he had worked for several financial institutions in both commercial and investment banking on the east coast and in the mid-west.
Willy WarnerVice President
Willy has lived in Teton Valley since 2000. He is married to Abby who is the director of the National Outdoor Leadership School's Teton Valley branch. The two youngest members of the family are their children, Peter and Isabel, who are both enrolled at TVCS. Willy brings to the board 20 years experience in the outdoor education field as an instructor, administrator and program director.
Melissa HeimerlSecretary
Melissa is an attorney with Heimerl Law Firm, PC in Victor, and has been practicing law in the areas of real estate, general business & corporate law and dispute resolution since 1997. Melissa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University College of Law, where she was an editor of the Syracuse Law Review. The first 10 years of her career were in Buffalo, New York, as an attorney in a large law firm and then as principal law clerk to the administrative judge of all Western New York courts. Melissa’s family moved to Teton Valley in 2007, and their two children have loved attending TVCS. Melissa has been on several not-for-profit boards and committees in the past, including the board of her children’s preschool in Buffalo and committees for the United Way and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.
Michael DeryOriginally from suburban Boston, Mike attended the University of Massachusetts. He fell in love with the Rocky Mountains while hiking the Continental Divide in the early 80's and pursued his dream to come west when he moved to Teton Valley in 1991. He is married with 3 children and works as a general contractor. "Having started my kids in the public schools we decided to move them over to the TVCS. I have personally seen the difference in my children that comes from smaller classes, project-based curriculum, and education of the whole child. I am motivated to work with TVCS because this school offers an educational opportunity that every student should be allowed to experience."
Susanna ReuterOriginally from the east coast, Susy holds a bachelor’s degree in world religions from Georgetown University. While an undergraduate, she served as a campus representative for Teach for America (a national teacher corps) and later worked as their National Placement Director. While receiving her master’s degree in public health, she was selected as an Albert Schweitzer Urban Fellow. After graduate school, she and her husband served two years with the Peace Corps in the Philippines. As a researcher and project manager, she has worked on domestic violence prevention initiatives and various health projects in PA, MA, and MI. In 2007, she moved to the Valley with her husband and four children, three of whom attend TVCS.