Vision
Learning in nature nourishes the child's mind, body, and soul.

Mission
Increasing child access, educator implementation, research enrichment,
and advocacy engagement for nature based early childhood education.

Guiding Values
1. Create an inclusive environment for high-risk or underserved populations - including children that are low-income, BIPOC, and/or have special needs.
2. Incorporate eco-friendly practices and materials and support companies & organizations who are eco-friendly.
501c(3) nonprofit EIN: 83-2514288

Background

In 2015, Sarah Stone first learned about nature and outdoor schooling. At the time, she was completing her PhD in child development and teaching college courses as an adjunct faculty. After reading the research about nature-based education, Sarah was convinced this was the ideal method of education for young children. Sarah soon realized that no schools like this existed in her community of Salt Lake City, Utah. With urging from her business-savvy and entrepreneurial brother, Sarah was determined to start her own nature-based preschool. She incorporated her extensive knowledge of early childhood development with principles of nature-based learning to create the underlying philosophy and structure of what is now known Wonderbloom.

In 2017, Sarah started a trial-of-concept preschool in her backyard called Wee Humans. The home-based business license, allowed her to serve 8 children at a time. Within 12 months, Sarah had a waitlist of 64 children.

In 2019, Sarah opened Wonderbloom, the first state-licensed nature-based preschool in Utah. This center was located in downtown Salt Lake City at the Episcopal Church of St. Mark.

In 2022, Wonderbloom moved to a more permanent location in Murray, Utah.

Meet The Board

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Robbie Stone

Board Chair

Robbie has spent his career working in finance for the banking industry. He currently works for Rakuten as the Head of Credit Risk. Robbie has helped build Wonderbloom since the very beginning. He has mentored the organization with his business and fiscal advice. He also helps by fixing, building, digging, planting, welding and many other handy tasks! He enjoys cycling and hanging with family, and pretending his life is a musical.

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Bobbi Taylor

Board Co-Chair

Bobbi works as a Sales Planning Manager with American Family Insurance. She started as a parent of a Wonderbloom student and joined our board in Summer 2022. Bobbi is a valuable asset to our board by lending her business and managing knowledge and her parent perspective.

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Ryan Shumpert, CPA

Treasurer

Ryan Shumpert is a licensed CPA in Utah and currently works as an accounting manager at a local software company. He began his career as an auditor at EY and has subsequently held roles in financial and management reporting. He is married and has three boys which he enjoys spending time with outside of work. He feels strongly about helping children thrive in their early development and is seeking to assist the Wonderbloom team to accomplish this.

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Jennifer Pardue

Secretary

Jennifer Pardue has over 35 years in the Hotel and Banking Industry and is currently employed with Bread Financial as a Sr. Site Administrative Assistant. Jennifer was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jennifer is a Notary for the State of Utah and has an Associate Degree in Business Administration from the Bryman College (NEC) along with a Human Resources Certification and a Certified Administrative Professional with the IAAP. Jennifer has a Native American Indian ancestry which keeps her connected and in harmony with a medicine way of life. Jennifer has been married for 33 years and enjoys spending time with her two children and seven grandchildren.

Nate Friedman

From Camp Counselor to Director of Youth Protection and now Associate Dean of Programs, Nate has done it all in Continuing Ed. He has devoted his entire professional career to inspiring others to pursue education. With a B.S. and MPA from the University of Utah, he understands the value of education and this institution. His vision is that everyone, regardless of background or place in life, sees the U as accessible and knows that a degree is achievable. When Nate is not at his desk, he is out enjoying life and learning new things. He may be skiing with his two boys, riding a mountain bike with his wife, or cooking dinner with his family.

Sarah Stone, PhD

Executive Director

Sarah, the founder of Wonderbloom, has a PhD in early childhood development and has spent over 19 years teaching and supervising early childhood programs including Parents As Teachers and Early Head Start. In addition, Sarah has trained in nature-based education approaches. She has incorporated her extensive knowledge of early childhood development with principles of nature-based learning to create the underlying philosophy and structure of Wonderbloom.

Sarah has two super cool kids, two cats, and a snake, Gayle. Sarah loves to go on adventures both in Utah and abroad. Sarah also loves to spend her extra time volunteering in the community; you'll regularly find her at Sundance Film Festival and O2 Utah.