BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Marlene Peterson
Marlene Peterson is President of Libraries of Hope as well as the finder of the Well-Educated Heart philosophy of learning and life. A believer in the power of stories, she has compiled and published over 250 volumes of stories from the Golden Age of Children's Literature. She created a manual in storytelling called Restoring the Art of Storytelling in the Home. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in Child Development and Family Relations, she and her husband Brent have raised eight daughters and one son and enjoy spending time with their twenty grandchildren. The important role of mothers is central to her message. She is co-founder of Mothers of Influence and has created a Mother's University where mothers can re-learn the lost arts of educating hearts through the Arts. The core philosophy is found in Catch the Vision of the Well-Educated Heart, available as a free online course and in her book. She is representing Virginia as the 2024 Mother of the Year.
Rachel von Niederhausern
Rachel von Niederhausern’s passion is people, and she believes the arts and agriculture have the power to heal hearts and bless families with abundant, joyful living. Rachel received her MBA from Utah State University and used it as a catalyst for social entrepreneurship, managing large for-profit and non-profit projects. She co-founded Loaves and Fishes Community Meal in 2010, which brings families together to feed the human spirit with food and friendship. The organization has served 28,000 meals and brought together over 5,000 volunteers from diverse civic and religious backgrounds. She also co-founded Family Humanitarian in 2011, which has provided over 200 clean water projects for families and reached 400K people through education and community driven projects. In her own community and in rural villages in Guatemala and Africa, Rachel’s family has learned that love is the universal language. She has also loved serving in the MOI and Belle Ame at Home communities. Rachel has a great love for the soil and growing things. This love began on her family's wheat farm as a child in Northern, Utah, where she spent many summers walking and surveying the land. As an adult her love of the soil grew, and she has studied regenerative agriculture and taught gardening and food forest classes in her local community. Raising her seven children with her husband of 23 years brings her the greatest joy and chances for growth. She is striving to use the arts and the soil to teach them that all things and all people are connected in one beautiful circle of life.
Natalie Hunsaker
Natalie Hunsaker is a wife, a mother of four, a professional artist, and a dedicated lifelong explorer of both scripture and history. Her artwork has been featured in juried shows including the Springville Art Museum's Annual Spring Salon, the LDS International Art Competition, and publications such as the "Ensign" and "Work and Wonder." She has written art history curriculum for homeschoolers, and is currently working on two big painting projects: (1) “My Place in HIStory” is sponsored by American Heritage School, and teaches through historical examples how to find and fulfill your divine purpose in life; (2) “Isaiah’s Imagery” demonstrates how to find an emotional connection to the writings of Isaiah. Each artwork has a corresponding YouTube video to share the story and research behind the work. Her greatest desire is that her paintings will not only spark a deep love of learning, but also provide daily visual reminders of how beautiful our world and families can be. In her time off, you will catch her with her kids enjoying clean comedy sketches or cool documentaries, drawing in nature, or working on DIY projects around her house.
CAMPUS DIRECTOR
Tim Hall
Tim and Irene Hall have 5 children, and have implemented the Well-Educated Heart philosophy in their home every day since 2017. Tim was born and raised near Idaho Falls, Idaho, and grew up in a "Well-Educated Heart" home before WEH ever existed. As a homeschooled child, he read classics, learned the violin, piano, and guitar, and performed in theatrical productions starting at age 6. After studying theater and acting professionally for a brief stint, he gave missionary service in Mexico for two years before completing a BA in Education at Brigham Young University - Idaho. Tim and his wife, Irene, first settled in Alaska, where Tim taught in the local high school while managing a 7-acre hobby farm. Those experiences sewed the foundations for his own educational philosophy, production-based learning, which states that people learn best in the act of creating, producing, or doing something of genuine aesthetic or practical value to others. This was also where Tim and Irene decided to immerse themselves in learning the practical skills of food production and storage. They've been homesteading whenever possible since. The Halls then spent two years between Provo, Utah, and Nanjing, China, while Tim completed a MA in Linguistics at Brigham Young University, focused on improving second-language acquisition programs. Tim studied Mandarin, and researched Mandarin language learning in Nanjing. Tim then taught middle and high school at a private school near Kirtland, OH, then oversaw a team of instructional designers in the training department of the Idaho National Laboratory - the Department of Energy's premier nuclear energy research facility. Most recently, he has served as Assistant Director and Director of Curriculum and Learning at American Heritage School Worldwide, developing an innovative learning platform to support micro-schools and homeschools worldwide. In addition to being a professional educator, Tim and Irene have a deep love for and experience in soil regeneration, as well as the arts. Tim has studied soil microbiology in Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web program, and the Halls have implemented the principles of regenerative agriculture on the Hall family homestead in Idaho, both with crops and animals. Irene holds a BS degree in Dietetics, and has mastered food production, preservation, and cooking. Together, they have long been involved in the arts, participating in and leading local performance choirs, and participating in community theater productions.
CAMPUS ADVISORY BOARD
Elizabeth and Curtis Eddie
Elizabeth is a homemaker and mother to six children. She first came across the Well-Educated Heart philosophy in 2013 and has been on a wonderful journey of learning since then! Her favorite hobby is learning, which has led her to become a Jane of many trades. She loves to do many different things, including but not limited to sewing, quilting, knitting, gardening, having farm animals (especially spring babies!), interior design, singing, canning and preserving. Curtis Eddie has spent the last 16 years as a Principal with Eddie D&C Investments, specializing in planning and management of construction of restoration projects, spec homes, and multi-family development projects in the Las Vegas and Knoxville areas. His strengths lie particularly in the creative financing and investment opportunities aspects of the business. Curtis loves to spend time with his wife and six children. His hobbies include traveling and sustainable farming. He loves growing an abundance of food to give away to friends.
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Steve Hall
Steve has been a practicing attorney, primarily in Idaho, since 1979. He has decades of experience in civil law and is currently employed as general counsel by Integra CRE LLC, a multi-state real estate development company. He is married to his one-and-only bride, Valerie, and they have 4 sons, 2 daughters, and 18 grandchildren, who are all the love of their lives. Throughout his career Steve has supported non-profit organizations, including those involved in child protection, assistance to the disabled, and promotion of the arts. He and Valerie have emphasized "artful living" in their home with their children for decades, and have daughters and a daughter-in-law involved in Mothers of Influence groups. With the Sounds Choir in Idaho Falls, he has sung, acted, presided, produced, and served across three decades. He is glad to be of assistance to and involved with the Belle Ame Center for Artful Living.
Elizabeth Thompson
Elizabeth Thompson doesn’t remember a time in her life when she hasn’t loved planting things and helping them grow. Over the years that passion has led her down a 20+ year journey in the horticulture industry which has included receiving a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Brigham Young University, working at a large retail nursery, Castle Pines PGA golf course, Hudson Gardens and Event Center, Temple Square Gardens and was the Grounds manager at the Atlanta Georgia LDS temple. Her career has exercised her skills in adaptability as she has gardened in five states throughout the Mountain West, Mid-West and the Deep South. Her latest venture was starting a backyard specialty cut flower farm and landscape design and consultation business. Here she has the joy of sharing her passion with her family as they run their family business, Scatter Sunshine Flower Farm. Elizabeth’s greatest joys have come from learning the principles of The Well-Educated Heart and raising her four children in an art and nature rich home environment. Her husband is her hero who has moved more loads of mulch then you can count. Elizabeth is a firm believer that learning to work with and listen to nature can bring healing and deep personal growth. She looks forward to applying the principles of permaculture and regenerative farming to the campus. These principles invite us to truly connect and work with nature in a way which creates abundance in our lives, our relationships and in the ecosystem and community we live in.
Elyssa and Abram Himmer
Elyssa and Abram Himmer have been married for 8 years and have 3 young children. Driven by aspirations to create a home filled with heart-centered learning, they discovered and wholeheartedly embraced the uplifting principles of the Well-Educated Heart philosophy. They recently moved from Texas to Missouri. With humility and great enthusiasm, they are actively committed to making the Belle Ame vision a reality for all. Abram's passion lies in creating systems that empower individuals to become their best selves. Professionally, Abram is a skilled software engineer with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Brigham Young University - Hawaii. However, his expertise extends beyond the technical realm, encompassing a broad range of disciplines. Driven by a desire to positively impact lives, Abram has dedicated over 7 years to mentoring youth and volunteering in addiction recovery programs within his local community. Additionally, Abram possesses practical experience in residential construction and general contracting. When not working, Abram pursues various creative outlets, including gardening, writing stories and poems, singing in choirs, dating his beautiful wife, and playing with his children. Elyssa loves to find and create beauty. Simple things that bring Elyssa joy are plants, flowers, soil, art, homemade healthy meals, well-designed spaces, and exercise. She received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Brigham Young University, where she first gained expertise in designing systems to help heal hearts. Now, she can often be found outdoors alongside her children, discovering firsthand how the beauty of Earth can heal hearts. Before moving to Missouri, Elyssa designed and cultivated a beautiful backyard garden filled with fruits, vegetables, and flowers, allowing her family to immerse themselves in nature's bounty. In addition to studying regenerative farming practices, Elyssa also loves learning how to create beauty through well-designed spaces. With recent experience in designing new construction homes, Elyssa has cultivated a deep appreciation for the healing potential of intentional, beautiful environments. Together, Elyssa and Abram are on a joyful journey to nourish their family's hearts with Well-Educated Heart principles, and they are eager to help create a beautiful campus where other families can come and experience the same beautiful journey.
Irene Hall
Irene found the Well-Educated Heart philosophy at the Simply Joy conference several years ago, and began the next morning to memorize poetry with her family. The rest is history. In addition to raising and homeschooling her 5 children, Irene enjoys long distance running and is on track with her goal to run a marathon for each child she has. Irene studied dietetics in college, and carries on her love of nutritious food by intensive gardening, animal raising, food preservation, experimentation, cooking, etc. She has multiple living food pets on the counter at all times (their names are Sourdough, Water Kefir, Milk Kefir, Sauerkraut, etc...). She is on a constant journey to bake ever-better home-made bread (her family thinks she's arrived, but her quest knows no finish line). Irene is also an accomplished vocalist and loves to perform in theatrical productions.