About
Wilderland at Harmony Ranch is a non-profit k-6 learning community set in a regenerative farm in the rural enclave of Ogden Valley. We balance the ideals of inclusivity and affordability with innovative, curiosity-centered approaches to education. Wilderland is a living institution, adaptive to feedback the needs of our hyperlocal community.
Our Educational Philosophy
Preparing the next generation to adapt to and thrive in an ever-changing world
Our Daily Schedule
Giving students meaningful choice and autonomy over their educational journey
Our Staff
We know that there may be no more important element of Wilderland than the people who staff our learning community. We have searched far and wide and have had countless conversations with our community about what attributes and qualifications would bring Wilderland's philosophies to life.
Lead Educator
Ms. Shanan has been teaching with Montessori methods for two decades throughout northern Utah, from one-room schoolhouses in rural communities to our region’s very own Maria Montessori Academy in North Ogden. With 6 years of early childhood teaching experiences, 10 years of elementary, and 3 years in middle school, Shanan has shepherded children through the most formative years of childhood. She even taught for 4 years at the Ogden Valley Montessori school that operated right here in Eden 20 years ago!
Inspired by the modern and nature-based update on elementary education we are ushering in with Wilderland, Ms. Shanan joined us as our Lead Educator in 2024 to work directly with students on their academic progress in a Montessori-inspired, freedom-based environment. Since then, Shanan has set up proven and engaging exploratory environments for self-directed learning.
Ms. Shanan has a Bachelor’s Degree of Education from Utah State University ('00) and a Master’s Degree in Advanced Montessori Education from St. Catherine University ('17). She is a certified Montessori teacher encompassing early childhood ages through 6th grade, and is a licensed teacher in the state of Utah in both elementary and secondary education. She has taught in both public and private schools. As many of her prior students and colleagues will attest, Ms. Shanan lights children up with joy, purpose, and enthusiasm for learning.
At Utah State University, she received the May Swenson Naturalist Writing Scholarship, a prestigious award for her poems and essays that expressed her love for wild spaces. Ms. Shanan continues to write about and enjoy nature and has shared this love of nature with students through years of summer outdoor camps, field trips and daily lessons that are embedded in studying nature. Ms. Shanan spends most of her free time gardening, hiking, camping, paddle boarding and walking her dog—anything that will get her outside.
Ms. Shanan truly is the full package and we are thrilled to have her at Wilderland!
Our Administrative Team
Our Board and other founding team members are 100% volunteer, and we pay tuition just like any other family in the community. Some might think we're a little extreme to dedicate significant amounts of time building a new educational environment—and for no ulterior financial benefit! But extreme times call for extreme measures. We are building this learning community for our own kids as well as many others in our community who are stagnating or withering amid outmoded and restrictive educational paradigms.
Board President
Director of Special Projects
Our Advisors
It truly takes a village to bring a learning environment like Wilderland together. So much of what we love about Wilderland wouldn't be possible without some of our greatest supporters out in the educational field!
Emeritus Board Member
Allison has 20 years of education policy experience. She has worked for multiple non-profits locally and nationally, including as Executive Director of Education Opportunity for Every Child, which spearheaded the successful passage of Utah Fits All this past winter in the state legislature. She has also been the Development Director at Utah Association of Public Charter Schools and Development Manager at Sutherland Institute.
Allison also has experience working within schools, as a Vice Principal at a charter high school and at a private school that educated dropout students across the country. Allison is known for her ability to grow things from the bottom up, and is driven to help every child love their education.
Allison's parents grew up in Ogden Valley, and has rich ties throughout the community. She has five children, each of whom has vastly different education needs.
Business Advisor
Ian brings over 25 years of advising, investment, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and strategic consulting experience, with a primary interest in the health & wellness, real estate/community building, and high physical and social impact arenas. Ian and his wife Courtney are the proud parents of Lauryn (14) and Ashton (9) and are currently building intentional living communities in Utah, Costa Rica, and New Zealand.
Today, Ian spends his business-facing time as a thinking and accountability partner for driven entrepreneurs and small business owners, experts and thought leaders, devoted parents, and impactivists. He helps them get more of what they want out of life through frameworks, systems, strategies and tools that increase mental, physical, and financial performance.
Founding Director of Operations
Nicole graduated from BYU with a degree in humanities: art history, and is currently enrolled in the LCSW program at the University of Utah (class of '26). She has a diverse background with non-profit organizations and entrepreneurship. She worked at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, co-founded Antho—an interactive personal history app, and volunteered for the HER Foundation as a mentor for women suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum. She has also worked as a Youth Mentor at Waypoint Academy, a residential anxiety treatment center for teenagers in Huntsville.
As the parent of a twice-neurodivergent child, Nicole knows intimately the challenges that parents face when their child doesn't fit into the public school model of education. She is a passionate advocate for nature-based mental health solutions and loves all things outdoors.
Our Donors
In addition to a sizable anonymous donation to help us get our educational community started, Wilderland is a proud recipient of the VELA Education Micro Grant and Horizon Grant.
Anonymous Donor
Our Declaration of Academic Neutrality
Our Inspirations
Where most of our ideas came from (hint: we're standing on the shoulders of researchers & innovators)