Board of Directors

Meet the Team

Meetings Agendas & Minutes

Meeting notes and recordings of board meetings from the last 6 months can be found on the Utah Public Notice Website by clicking on Schools/Ignite Entrepreneurship Academy/IEA Board of Directors.

To find notes and recordings from earlier meetings, go to Advanced Search, enter Ignite Entrepreneurship Academy for Entity, the date you want to search by, and hit submit.

Board Meetings
Meetings are held monthly virtually. Check HERE for the next Board of Directors Meeting and use the following link to join us.

Board Bylaws

Board Meetings

Natalie Unga

Board Chair

Natalie Unga

Natalie spent over a decade as an IT Project Manager developing, training and authoring custom on-site IT solutions, primarily focused on Microsoft technologies such as SharePoint and data security. Prior to that, she was a paralegal for 5 years. Natalie has an Associate Degree in Legal Studies and a BA in International Cultural Studies & Communications from Brigham Young University Hawaii. At BYU Hawaii, she loved being VP of Clubs and working with students from 70 countries. She has 3 children currently attending Ignite Entrepreneurship 'Academy. Natalie thrives on learning and loves that Ignite presents continuous new and evolving opportunities for growth.
nunga@igniteutah.org

Heidi Robinson

Board Secretary

Heidi Robinson

Heidi graduated from Brigham Young University in Secondary Education and taught Jr. High before transitioning to a career in Human Resources. She worked in HR for a decade and specialized in training, onboarding, and process management. She also recently worked for Salt Lake County as a data manager for the COVID response. She has a passion for individualized and child-led education, especially as it relates to SpEd students and the Montessori philosophy of inclusion. Her son attends Ignite and loves it! She also serves on the SpEd Advisory Committee for the Utah State School Board. In her free time she completes home improvement and gardening projects. She lives in Lehi with her husband, their son, and her trusty canine pal, Morgan.
hrobinson@igniteutah.org

Alex Herd

Board Member

Alex Herd

"Mr. Herd earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering as well as an MBA focused on entrepreneurship from Brigham Young University. He has experience in multiple industry sectors including energy, high tech, venture capital, consumer products, and software. He currently leads strategy and product management for cybersecurity firm Secureworks. In addition he is working on 2 other companies focused on consumer products. He and his wife Erin are the parents of 3 children, the oldest of which currently attends Ignite in lower elementary. Mr. Herd has a passion for education and believes in self-directed learning and the importance of teaching children how to think for themselves.
aherd@igniteutah.org

Kelly Tate

Board Vice-Chair

Kelly Tate

Kelly is an educator, mentor, and and founding board member of Ignite Entrepreneurship Academy. She has started and owned a private tutoring business for 15 + years specializing in teaching children to read. Kelly also co-founded and directed a private school in 2016, then she moved onto starting IEA in 2017. She is forward thinking in education and believes in hands on learning, experiential learning, and project based learning. She has a demonstrated history of working in the educational management industry. She is skilled in K-12 education start-ups, entrepreneurship, dyslexia therapy, and Language Arts. She has strong communication skills and business development experience. She holds a Master’s Degree focused in Educational Leadership and Administration and is a Certified Academic Language Therapist.
ktate@igniteutah.org

Brooke Galata

Board Member

Brooke Galata

Coming from a family of educators, Brooke has a passion and love for continuous learning and education, as it has been ingrained in her from a young age. She has been lucky enough to stay home with her three children for the last ten years, which gave her the opportunity to homeschool them for some of that time. Homeschooling preschool-7th grade gave her the chance to experience all sorts of alternative ways of learning. During that time she took her kids to museums, movies, and hikes weekly. She discovered her kids learned through games, art, legos, imaginative play, conversations, documentaries and hands on projects using self direction more than they did through traditional school environments. You will find her weekly at Ignite, volunteering in the classroom, helping with parties, field trips, math centers and middle school yearbook. If you see her make sure to say hi, she loves meeting new people! Some of her other passions are art, film, photography, music, reading, interior design and weightlifting. She lives in Lehi with her husband, kids and dog.
bgalata@igniteutah.org

Natalie Ensign

Board Member

Natalie Ensign

Natalie Ensign spent thirteen years as a merchandiser developing and procuring product, implementing drop-ship businesses, executing budgets, improving process inefficiencies, identifying market-share opportunities and leading team and company growth. She has a BS in Marketing from the University of South Florida. Natalie has been and continues to be an active member in the community as a scout leader, reading tutor, foreign exchange host, member of Utah Association for Gifted Children, Ignite Entrepreneurship Academy Founding Family member and LAND Trust Council Chair. She values educational experiences that empower children to think, explore, create, do and act. She lives an active life in Lehi, Utah with her husband, three children and two dogs.
nensign@igniteutah.org

Shera Taylor

Board Treasurer

Shera Taylor

Shera Taylor has worked in the graphic design industry for 20 years, focusing on printed design and business marketing. She has a passion for creating connection through printed media. Education has been a pillar throughout her adult life. She has led many private and public classes, teaching children the importance of art and design. Entrepreneurship is a part of the Taylor household, recently selling their latest startup to DataRobot. She and her family were a big part of the homeschool community until the opening of Ignite where they found all their homeschooling values being upheld and taught through project based learning, entrepreneurship, and child-led learning. She has held positions on the PTO Board and the Advisory Board, volunteering her time to help Ignite connect to parents and the community. In her free time she loves to be in nature and exploring the beautiful mountains of Utah. She is a certified Yoga teacher and loves to teach about breath, meditation, and connecting to self and others.
staylor@igniteutah.org

Nathan Relken

Board Member

Nathan Relken

Nathan Relken comes to the Ignite Board with over 20 years of experience in Education. He has multiple degrees including a Doctorate in Education from the University of Idaho. He has been involved with a number of educational innovation efforts over the years, including Early College High Schools, Project Based Learning and Hybrid Online Learning experiences. Nathan is a also huge fan of self-directed learning and Montessori principles.
nrelken@igniteutah.org

Marianne Ludlow

Board Member

Marianne Ludlow

Mrs. Ludlow received her JD from George Mason University and has 20 years experience as an attorney advising businesses, negotiating agreements, and preparing estate plans. She has also been an active member of the educational community: coaching middle school and high school mock trial teams, serving as a PTA Board member, and on the School Community Council for Traverse Mountain Elementary School.
mludlow@igniteutah.org

Ryan Marshall

Board Member

Ryan Marshall

Mr. Marshall has a JD from Brigham Young University and 15 years experience as an Intellectual Property Attorney. He served three years as the Commissioner and Vice-Chairman of the Lehi City Planning Commission. He also served 6 years as Boy Scout and Cub Scout leader.
rmarshall@igniteutah.org

Lindsey Estes

Board Member

Lindsey Estes

.
lestes@igniteutah.org

Dawn Harvey

Board Member

Dawn Harvey

Dawn Harvey graduated in secondary education with an emphasis in history. She homeschooled her children for 7 years, and then taught at Ignite Entrepreneurship Academy for 2 and a half years. Dawn is currently the director for the “We The People The Citizenship and Constitution” program for the state of Utah. She trains teachers to be able to use the program in their classrooms. She also facilitates a State and National competition each year for students who compete in a mock senate hearing centered around the principles and philosophies of the Constitution. Dawn is thrilled to be able to bring her perspective as a parent, Aunt, and former teacher at Ignite.
dharvey@igniteutah.org