STAFF

Hey there!  I'm Mark, School of Ranch's founder,  Board President, and Executive Director, and founder.  I happened to have a laptop when the Internet came around, and I became the Internet leader at a newspaper and magazine publisher.  After 9/11, I left publishing and became an award-winning International Relations teacher in a public school in San Jose. While teaching, I started School Loop, an innovative service for schools that saved teachers time while building a support community around each student.  I sold School Loop in 2018, and my partner Carolyn and I chucked it all and bought ten acres in rural Oregon, where School of Ranch was born.

James Hettick is our Workshop Manager.  James is responsible for running our workshops, a pretty key role in a workshop company! He also runs our DIY Electric series.  The first thing you notice about James is the rocks, which he quickly will point out are not just rocks, but gemstones that he and his partner found.  James is more more than just a gemstone guy, he's a highly trained mechanic who enjoys nothing more than sharing what he knows and building skills in others.  A native of Culver, James grew. In the Marines, James was trained in automotive, jet turbine and solid fuel rocket mechanics, earning many certifications along the way.  He returned to Central Oregon looking to give back to his community, share his skills and hobbies, which beyond gemstones include astronomy, another course area he's teaching.  

Mckaylie Capps is our Social Media Coordinator.  She is a recent grad of Biola University in Southern California, where she got a degree in digital design.  Mckaylie is a Central OR native, and grew up in a house with two local educators as parents.  Education is in her blood!  Not only is Mckaylie a talented designer, but she makes a mean peach pie with peaches grown on her grandparents' orchard. She is responsible for our social media posts, posters, and other important design projects.

Kaleb is our primary advisor on developing hard-skills workshops. He designed and led our Practical Welding Workshop, and received raves from the people he taught.  He has been an instrumental part of School of Ranch from the outset.  Kaleb grew up ranching and farming  with his cowboy father, and over time became self-sufficient at home and ranch maintenance.

Kaleb spent six years in the Marine Corps, where he earned his teaching stripes as a pistol instructor.  

After 6 years in the Marines, he began a career in construction. He learned welding, equipment maintenance, basic mechanics, hydraulics and, most important to him, troubleshooting. Kaleb has a drive to pass on his know-how and enjoys helping people build the skills he spent years acquiring.  He has relocated to AZ where he plans to launch School of Ranch!

Jacob Hundt grew up on a dairy farm in the Driftless Region and was one of the founding students of the Youth Initiative High School in Viroqua. He studied at Deep Springs College, the American University in Bulgaria, and the University of Chicago. Since 2004, he has worked as a trained Waldorf high school teacher and guidance counselor at Youth Initiative High School and was a founding board member and instructor of the Driftless Folk School. Currently, Jacob is Director and faculty member of Thoreau College, an emerging microcollege inspired by Waldorf education, Henry David Thoreau, Deep Springs College, and the Scandinavian folk high school movement.

Kurt Springman is School of Ranch on steriods -  Who moves here and decides the first matter of business is to build a giant pole barn.  By hand.  By themself.  And Cathy is even more full of life than Kurt, eager to learn and build community, particularly around horses and endurance riding, her passion.  Together they have been among School of Ranch's main advising team and inspiration.  They put together and hosted two of our first workshops, and have been there with guidance on marketing, program development, and throwing a great potluck.  So happy to have them as part of the team.

Chris LaVictoire Mahai is an experienced public, private and non-profit board member. She has a leadership and management history of delivering significant operating results in financial, media, healthcare, and professional services. Today Mahai consults with executives and boards of public and private clients across the US and around the world. In her board roles over the past 20 years, she has chaired the audit and governance committees of the board, plus several ad hoc committees. As a private equity investor focused primarily on women- owned and led businesses, Mahai has also played an advisory role in start-up situations.