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Founding Story
The Story Behind Our Liber Community
My name is Tara Martin, and this is the story of how Heart and Mind Academy began. My husband was a graduate student in Utah when my oldest turned five and we decided to homeschool. I joined a group that was just beginning a Leadership Education based commonwealth. I knew that if I wanted the kind of Liber community when she was older, I was going to have to build it wherever we ended up after grad school. I spent the next five years learning all I could about Leadership Education and building and creating a Liber community.
During that time, I became acquainted with Well-Educated Heart and immediately experienced the benefits of incorporating both philosophies together to create a rich, nurturing environment. When we moved to Cheyenne in 2020, I was disappointed to find that neither Leadership Education not Well-Educated Heart were known to the homeschooling community. Knowing the benefits of a Liber community and the importance of a supportive tribe for both philosophies of education, I started a Mothers of Influence group.
Together with invaluable help from friends in that original group, Heart and Mind Academy launched in 2021. HMA was founded to bring together families who share a vision of working together to nurture the hearts of our families through arts, nature, music, and literature while inspiring ourselves, our families, and our community to discover and live their mission.
For more information about the foundation of our Liber community's philosophies, visit our Philosophy page, Libraries of Hope (Catch the Vision), and Leadership Education.
Scan these QR codes for more information!
Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
- E.E. Cummings
Meet Our Board
Diana Windley
Chairman
Hello! I am a mom of four kiddos, I have been homeschooling for 9 years. I am super excited to be your Chairman. My goal is to help create a community where moms feel seen and are encouraged to learn and grow alongside their children. I love this community and the friendships and joy it has brought to mine, and my family's lives.
Emily Gossard
Junior Program Director
Kristen Brady
Admin Co-Chair
Hello, I have 5 kids and am starting my 10th year as a homeschool mom. My favorite part is being able to learn alongside my kids, and I have loved mentoring and building friendships with both the youth and adults in this homeschool community.
Melissa Moore
Member Co-Chair
Britany Jorgensen
Secretary
Hello, I am a mom of 2 kids and have been homeschooling for 5 years. The homschool community has enhanced our experience with leanring. We love the ability to do it everyday with friends.
Morgan Anderson
Treasurer
Hi, I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve this community this year. As treasurer I aim to make all the financial aspects organized and easy so we can all spend our time learning and loving. I decided years before my children were born that I’d homeschool them, and it’s proved to be the best decision I could have made. My children are still young, and being a part of a community of like-minded learners has been a blessing to our family. We aren’t meant to do life alone!
Tara Martin
Principal Mentor
Hello! I dove headfirst into homeschooling, Leadership Education, and liber communities when my oldest was 5 years old, and haven't looked back. Thanks to my super supportive husband and four fabulous children, I'm able to wear a variety of hats that have contributed to my own learning and leadership growth. I am currently serving as Principal Mentor and am looking forward to continuing to help mentor parents, and grow our Scholar Program and Heart and Mind Academy with the amazing women serving on the board and in our community.