Our Idaho Team
Leadership Team
Karyssa Tilden
(aka Miss Ryss)
Founder & Nature Teacher
Karyssa has been dreaming of opening Wild Beginnings Nature School in the Boise area for years. Her eyes were really opened to how beneficial and life changing a nature immersed program can be for families and individuals while working for the Anasazi Foundation in 2013 (an outdoor survival therapy program for at-risk youth). She then pursued a career in the outdoors which has included being a Wildland Firefighter, Backcountry Backpacking Guide, Whitewater Rafting Guide, Tinkergarten Leader and Head Nature Teacher at Wasatch Nature School. She is married to the love of her life, Michael Tilden, an adventure therapist, and they have two adorably sweet girls. As a family they love to backpack, rock climb and do anything else that gets them outside. Since moving to Boise in March 2020, Karyssa has really focused on how to bring out the light in others, especially children, during the difficult time of this pandemic. The time has finally come for the realization of her dream with the opening of Wild Beginnings Nature School! Karyssa has training in early childhood education and development, Nature Teacher Certification, The Cedarsong Way, and the Waldorf Method for early childhood. She has an innate love for children and believes that the greatest work we can do is to invest our time and energy on enriching the lives of all children. So get up, gear up and get out! Let’s have some fun!
Beki Call
Co-Founder
If Beki could spend all her time outdoors, she would. She loves getting outside and allowing children to learn and grow through outdoor experiential education. Beki is a mom to three nature-loving children. She and her husband are Boise natives and love the outdoor opportunities in and around the Treasure Valley. Beki possesses a degree in Elementary Education. She was a 4th grade general education teacher and has taught middle school Math, Science, and PE. She also taught English as a Second Language, both in a small village in Guatemala and online to children in China. Beki currently coaches high school soccer. Her experience in outdoor education began as a counselor at an outdoor youth adventure camp in eastern Idaho. She went on to facilitate and manage youth and adult outdoor team building and ropes course activities. When presented with the opportunity to join with the Wild Beginnings team and teach, it felt like the perfect fit.
Alison Lehrman
Director of Idaho & Nature Teacher
Alison has always been drawn to nature from roaming the riverbanks, to going to camp and from eating fresh fruit from her grandparent’s orchard to hiking the foothills. Alison finds comforting moments in getting her hands dirty in mud, watching the sunrise, and being at the lake.
Alison pursued a degree in History with an emphasis on secondary education and a minor in Dance Education through Central Washington University.
For over fifteen years Alison has been working with children and youth and in the past five years she has been connecting them with their natural world. Within the past three years her path has brought her to Wild Beginnings Nature School as a Nature Teacher and now the Director of Idaho managing eleven staff members, four programs and twenty four classes.
Alison is excited to see how Wild Beginnings continues to grow and help individuals make connections with nature.
Nicole Prassinos
Forest Preschool Coordinator & Summer Camp Director
Nature Teacher- Nature Explorers and Forest Preschool
Nicole grew up rafting the rivers, hiking the hills and camping in the forests of the Treasure Valley. She has a true love for and connection to nature. She also lived in Oregon for 17 years and did a great deal of exploring the forests and beaches of the Pacific Northwest.
Zoe Luke
Nature Explorers Coordinator & Community Events Coordinator
Nature Teacher- Nature Explorers
Zoe Luke stives to live life to the fullest by participating in many hobbies. Some of her hobbies consists of reading, creating, playing with her children, cooking and bikes rides on the green belt with her family.
Zoe also loves being outside in all types of weather and enjoys what every season has to offer!
This will be Zoes first year teaching at Wild Beginnings. She believes the community at Wild Beginnings is unlike any other in the Treasure Valley. “I am so proud to be a teacher at this school!”
And we are so lucky to have her!
Melissa Triplett
Forest Kindergarten Coordinator
Nature Teacher- Forest Preschool & Forest Kindergarten
M– makes adventuring in nature a top priority for herself, her own family, and now your child.
Nature Teachers
Courtney Shaw
Nature Teacher – Nature Explorers (Star)
Courtney has a deep love for spending time outside. Growing up, she spent most of her time playing sports, camping, riding horses and four wheelers, and simply hanging out by a lake or river. She feels blessed to not only share my love for the outdoors with her babies, but other caregivers and their kiddos as well. Spending time outside fosters the little one’s inquisitive nature, creativity and problem solving. It also encourages concentration, increases motor coordination, and reduces stress levels. Nature is food for the soul, and she believes we can best support kids’ inquisitive nature by “raising them outside.”
Jessie Hopkins
Nature Teacher – Nature Explorers (Star)
Jessie is an Idaho native and has always loved an outdoor adventure! Growing up she spent her summers in Palisades and couldn’t wait to be out exploring nature.
She graduated from ISU with a degree in Human Resources and Training Development. A large focus was adult education but now that she has her own children she is diving into childhood education!
With two kids of her own she loves learning with other parents and helping kids grow and learn new things! She excited to be apart of Wild Beginnings!
Becky Allison
Nature Teacher- Nature Explorers (Nampa)
Heather
Nature Teacher- Nature Explorers (Boise)
Heather loves being outside with her two girls and watching them explore and challenge themselves in dynamic ways. She also loves connecting with other adults that enjoy the outdoors and prioritize wilderness time for their children. Heather is a former public school teacher and current Free Forest School facilitator.
Jessica Dillard
Nature Teacher – Forest Preschool (Eagle & Nampa)
Jessica was raised here in Idaho. She grew up in the countryside of Emmett.
Currently she is finishing up her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.
Teaching children is a huge passion of hers. She enjoys the beauty in expanding children’s minds and helping to let their creative nature out.
Her passion with working with children started with her first nannying job and has never stopped.
In her free time, you can find her enjoying nature with her three dogs. Hiking, camping, and fishing are some of her favorite past times.
Combining her passion of working with children, and being in nature, led her to Wild Beginnings.
Linda Thomas
Nature Teacher- Forest Preschool (Boise and Eagle)
Linda has had a love for the outdoors all of her life. She grew up a military brat living all over the country and then moved to Alaska after high school. In Alaska her love for the outdoors turned into a passion to explore, and experience all nature had to offer. She eventually made her way to college and graduated with a degree in Parks and Recreation. Her degree pushed her in the direction of environmental education, teaching for Utah State Parks, Division of Wildlife Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife services as well as several non-profit organizations. She spends her free time hiking with her family, finding a new outdoor adventure or planning activities for her kids and their friends. She loved watching her youngest child learn and grow during his first year of forest preschool and she looks forward to helping and watching the growth of others as she starts her first year with Wild Beginnings.
Emily Stoker
Nature Teacher- Forest Preschool (Boise)
Emily grew up in Meridian Idaho, spending much of her childhood outside building forts and fairy houses. Her family instilled in her a deep love of the outdoors with plenty of camping trips, as well as time spent snow skiing and dirt biking. After high school, Emily attended Utah State University where she received her bachelors and masters degrees in biological engineering. While she loves engineering, she has focused the last several years on raising her four children. Apart from teaching them all how to ski and ride motorcycles, Emily spends much of her time organizing adventures and activities for her kids. One of their favorite family activities are their weekly hikes. She loves finding ways to make learning fun and hands-on, and is excited to be a part of Wild Beginnings.
Christina Custer
Nature Teacher- Forest Preschool & Forest Kindergarten (Eagle)
Christina started her journey with Wild Beginnings working during their Summer Camp Program. She is working her first year of Forest Kindergarten & Forest Preschool. The children flock to her and she loves running around and playing with them every chance she gets!
