Board of Trustees

Julie graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of William & Mary with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing. While at William and Mary, she played Division 1 volleyball. Her early career had many paths including sports marketing, event coordinating, and teaching internationally. She also spent several years working for Backroads, an active travel company specializing in hiking and cycling vacations worldwide where she lead trips throughout Europe and South America and eventually managed operations for nearly 30 itineraries and 50 staff members in nine different European countries.

Julie and her husband moved Bend in 2005 so that they could begin a life together living on the same continent. Here she once again pursued her passion for education and discovered Cascades Academy, a place whose mission - weaving exceptional academics and meaningful and engaging hands-on experiences - embodies both her personal and professional values.

She began as the school's Associate Head of School in 2006. At that time, Cascades Academy served about 85 students and was located in a leased commercial office space in midtown Bend. With just two full-time administrators, Julie wore many hats and oversaw most of the school's operations including admissions, development, marketing, technology support, and plenty of "other duties as assigned." Julie took over as the Head of School in 2015, and she currently serves on the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) Board of Governors.

Like many Central Oregonians, Julie loves to do anything outdoors including backcountry skiing, mountain biking, hiking, yoga, and cycling. Now, more than anything, she loves to share these experiences with her two children.

You can read more about Julie here in an article published in the "Bend Nest."

After graduating from the University of Delaware with a degree focused on internet marketing (before Google existed), Sally took an adventurous pilgrimage across the United States that ended in Central Oregon. Once in the small hamlet of Bend, she miraculously applied her college degree at an innovative local company and eventually met her true love and hero, Adam. Together they are on the exciting journey of raising their two daughters, Lilly and Allison. (And their dog, Henry. Can’t forget him.)

When it was time for Lilly to start school, they sought out Cascades Academy for its small class size. Once a part of the community, they discovered there was much more to the school than small classes. Through the years, Adam and Sally have become more connected to the supportive community of CACO.

For several years, Sally played an active role in the Family Association. It was an honor for Sally to be recognized for this effort and asked to join the board. Through working on the board, Sally hopes to help foster an environment that continues the growth and success of the fantastic school community for many years to come.

Matt and his wife Leigh have had a connection to Cascades Academy since their move to Bend in 2016. Moving from Portland, their two daughters had grown up in Waldorf schools. Matt and Leigh were attracted to the experiential education and community of Cascades Academy and it made their move to Bend so much smoother.

Matt is a brand and product designer with decades of experience working with outdoor and tech companies from Burton Snowboards and Smith Optics to Microsoft and Apple. After leading product and brand strategy at Cinco Design in Portland, OR for 10 years Matt now runs his own brand North Drinkware which he successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2015. Matt is thrilled to bring his passion for strategic thinking, his love for community and the outdoors to the Cascades team.

Chris was born in Guatemala and moved to Bend when he was 10. He attended Sunriver Preparatory School from 4th grade through graduation. Through his education at SPS, he understands and appreciates the value of experiential education coupled with a true community of learners.

Blair Jenkins served Cascades Academy as Head of School from 2009-2015, and then as Co-Head of School until 2016. Previously, she served as Head of School at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and has over 35 years experience as teacher, Dean of Students, and Middle & Upper School Director at independent schools in Colorado, New York, and Connecticut. Blair has served as President of the Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE) and as Commissioner of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accrediting agency. Blair earned her B.A. in history/government from Wells College and her M.S. in Educational Administration from Vanderbilt University.

As native Chicagoans, Jandi and her husband (Rob) long dreamed of raising their two boys in the mountains. A key attractor to Bend was the discovery of Cascades Academy and the School’s commitment to experiential learning and social justice. Jandi is the founder of A Talk to Remember, a boutique production company that helps families and organizations capture their legacies in documentary films.

For the past fifteen years, Jandi has worked as a university researcher, instructor, and administrator at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan. She received her PhD in higher education from the University of Michigan and her dissertation examined the influence of social identity on learning the practice of university instruction. Her academic scholarship further focuses on the topics of life purpose and identity development and has appeared in The Journal of Higher Education and other publications. For fun, Jandi loves hiking, skiing, puzzling, and all things on the Oregon coast. She is honored to serve as a trustee and grateful to be a part of such a caring and dedicated school community. 

Originally and east-coaster, Neda graduated from Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a degree in Public Health. Following her years of work in the health care sector, she turned her focus to volunteerism after her family's migration to the west coast, assuming various  strategic leadership roles within her Bay Area school district and local community.

In 2020, following a unanimous family vote, Neda and her husband, Andy, along with their three children, Jack, Charlie and Ellie made the bold decision to move to Bend to start life anew surrounded by the natural beauty of Central Oregon. They quickly discovered and fell in love with the community and mission of Cascades Academy when they enrolled Jack in upper school. They are thrilled to now have all three of their children attending Cascades Academy this school year. 

Currently Neda serves as a a Family Access Network (FAN) Advocate within the Bend La-Pine School District. In this capacity, she passionately supports Bend's most vulnerable youth by providing access to basic needs along with opportunities for positive youth development. She enjoys the collaborative relationships she has developed with the multitude of central Oregon non-profit community partners who help to fulfill FAN's mission of removing barriers so children can be successful in school and life. 

Ned is honored to contribute her passion and unique perspectives to the Cascades Academy Board of Trustees as she continues to witness her own children thriving in this incredible school community.

Seeking a grounded, active mountain life style, Heather and her family moved to Bend in 2021.  In uprooting their family, it was imperative to maintain an educational journey aligned with the kids’ foundation of progressive, experiential education in a community centered school.  Cascades Academy was an essential factor in choosing to move to Bend.

With a Masters in Social Work, Heather’s background, training and expertise as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker is working with young people and their families.  The bulk of her engagement with adolescents is through school based programs and a residential treatment facility.  These career opportunities give Heather a solid understanding the various systems, structures and cultures  of operating within a school community and the impact and interaction of schools and the greater community.

Having spent 11 years deeply embedded in a leading southern California progressive school, Heather holds first hand experience in the importance of maintaining mission, vision and values while an institution grows and evolves.  She has intimate knowledge of community engagement initiatives and advancement processes.  

Heather is honored to serve Cascades Academy, a school where students think critically and creatively, form deep bonds with their peers and teachers and work to make an impact in their communities. 

Since graduating college Andrew has worked across a diversity of fields, always anchored by education. He started his career supporting international exchange students, and then found his way more directly into international education as an English literature teacher at the Mahindra United World College (UWC) of India. While completing his Ph.D. in English, he taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Middlebury College, and afterward he returned to the UWCs to be the Deputy Head and teacher of English and History at the UWC in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2016 he moved to Colombia to lead the project to found a new UWC, and along the way learned a bit about fundraising. Since 2018, he has been a senior consultant to UWC International, focused on developing fundraising operations in over 60 countries.

After visiting two of his closest friends from college in Bend many times over the years, he moved to the community with his son in the summer of 2020. As a lifelong educator, he has been constantly impressed with the education these two friends’ children are receiving at Cascades Academy, and he is honored to join the Board in 2021.

Andrew holds a B.A. (American Studies) and M.A. (English) from Middlebury College, an M.A. from Stanford in International Comparative Education, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Jeff founded Partners Equity to capitalize on his experience investing in real estate related opportunities. He spends countless hours creatively structuring, sourcing and investing in a multitude of complex real estate and real estate related investments, concentrating on illiquid markets. Mr. Phelps was previously responsible for GMAC’s strategy to invest in a variety distressed debt opportunities. As Portfolio Manager responsible for all investment decisions, Mr. Phelps was instrumental in creating unique structured finance products and is proud of the stellar performance of his debt offerings. He has contributed his time and expertise to founding a number of startup firms that continue to thrive today.

Mr. Phelps received a BA with honors in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and was an All-American water polo player. Jeff and his wife Anna have a third grade son who has attended Cascades Academy since PK. Our commitment to providing an experiential, independent education for our son began in Virginia and has only gotten stronger with our involvement at CACO.

Jenny traveled across the country from her native California to Burlington, Vermont to earn her BA in Art History from the University of Vermont. She continued her travels east to London earning a post graduate degree from Sotheby's in the Fine and Decorative Arts. She returned west and continued graduate work at the University of Wyoming before settling with her husband in Bend in 1994.

Jenny is no stranger to the educational community of Bend. She worked at a private school when she first arrived in Oregon and taught Art History at Central Oregon Community College before shifting gears in 2003 to become one of the founding board members of Cascades Academy.

Craig Ladkin, a FOCUS Managing Director, has twenty-five years of experience managing complex financial transactions between private, public, and non-profit sectors in a variety of industries and international jurisdictions. He has advised on transactions from the very large - for clients such as the World Bank, IFC, the Treasury Departments of more than a dozen OECD nations, along with their state-owned and power and utility companies, down to the very small - angel level investments, small city urban renewal projects, and private school campus development.

Mr. Ladkin holds an MBA in International Finance and Marketing from the London Business School in London, England and a B.Sc. in Geotechnical and Petroleum Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Barb and her husband Dan moved to Bend in 2017 when Barb became the Director of Admission for Cascades Academy.  Barb knew that Cascades was where she wanted to work the first time she toured the school, and she spent 4 wonderful years helping families learn about the school and welcoming new students to the school community. 

Barb retired in 2021 to spend more time enjoying all of the amazing outdoor activities that Bend has to offer, and to travel with her husband. Since retiring, Barb has traveled, enjoyed Bend, and volunteered with the Humane Society of Central Oregon, currently serving on their Board.  She has also taken up fitness dancing, and has recently become a dance instructor.  She and Dan are about to welcome their first grandchild, a baby boy!