Our Team

Founder/Nature Facilitator/Administration

My connection with the Conway community started when I began college at the University of Central Arkansas while representing my school as a softball Bear, Go Bears! After graduating with a B.S. I completed a short internship at SMU, then volunteered as Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at UCA. My husband and I welcomed our first, second, third, and fourth child in a span of 5 years. I realized soon after my oldest started public school that he wouldn’t thrive in that kind of environment. After many conversations with other parents that expressed the same concerns I started researching and learning about different approaches. I’ve worked at a local gym with Gracie for the past few years while my children were, and still are, little. This is where the dream emerged to open Willow Roots. It is now my desire to serve my children and countless others in this community that are in need of an alternative to mainstream education. I want my own children to attend a school that nurtures their whole selves, embraces every unique difference, and nurtures all languages of intellect.

Amber Neighbors

Katie Bobbitt

Lead Nature Tykes Facilitator

I am from right here in central Arkansas and have resided in Conway for 22 years. I am a mom of 2 amazing kids and am a curious life-long learner. I've had the amazing privilege of homeschooling my kids, which led us to Willow Roots 3 years ago. I believe in nature, movement, and hands on experiential learning as essential to childhood. I'm so excited to officially be part of this team of brilliant outside-of-the-box educators and spend time with the creative wild and free youngest minds of our nature loving community. In addition to my homeschool years, I have more than 6 years of preschool classroom experience and spent 7 years in pediatric medicine. My passions are being active with my family in all the ways, playing with our pups, camping, enjoying great music, and having as much fun as we possibly can.

Danica Smith

Literacy Literacy Facilitator & Director of Operations

With 17 years of teaching experience, I’ve had the privilege of working with learners across multiple settings, including public schools, private education, and online platforms. I spent many of those years teaching kindergarten before transitioning to third grade, where my passion for literacy and student-centered learning truly flourished. I am trained in Connections - The Science of Reading and specialize in teaching English Language Arts, equipping students with the foundational skills they need to thrive as lifelong learners.

Helping launch this amazing school has been the. most rewarding chapter of my career. It perfectly aligns with my personal philosophy of education - one that prioritizes real-world life skills, problem-solving, critical thinking, and a curriculum designed around the unique needs and interests of each student. Teaching here hasn’t just fulfilled my vision of what education should be; it’s challenged and grown me in ways I never expected, making me a better education and leader.

Outside of teaching, I have a deep passion for holistic health and wellness and strongly advocate for finding the root causes of ailments rather than just treating symptoms. I love traveling and making memories with my family or simply spending quality time with friends and loved ones. I’m incredibly blessed to share life with my wonderful husband of 21 years and our two amazing children, who have truly blossomed here at Willow Roots.

Lead Sprouts Facilitator

I am a wife and mother of three little girls, Hadley, Lottie, and Libby, and lover of tiny humans, learning, and the outdoors. You can usually find me in the garden, doing yoga, or chasing my children. (And chickens!)

I have taught Kindergarten for fifteen years, three years at inner city school and twelve years in a rural district. Adding a student-led nature school to my experience is exactly what my soul has been missing! I knew that a world must exist where early childhood learning and play could go hand in hand, and I hadn’t dreamed it would be almost in my own backyard.

I’ve been known as a free range teacher and love to break the mold from traditional scripted lessons. I love big and always remind my students that every step in their learning, big or small, is magical.

I’m determined to help your little one learn, be loved, and stay wild.

I am thrilled to become a part of the Willow Roots family, and look forward to watching each child grow with love and support.”

Allison Hart

Lead Seedling Facilitator

I’m originally from Arkansas but spent my teenage years and early adulthood in Kansas City until I joined the Military. I spent four years in the Army and upon getting out moved to Arkansas in order to further my education at UCA. My wife and I currently reside in Conway with our two-year-old daughter. I’m extremely passionate about teaching and count it an honor to educate young minds. I love being outdoors whether it be fishing, hiking, or in water. On the weekends you can catch me calling The Hogs or cheering on the Denver Broncos/Atlanta Braves. I’m looking forward to joining this team and am excited to be a part of such a unique environment.

Justin Spaunhorst

Lead Heartwoods Facilitator

I am overjoyed at the opportunity to join the Willow Roots family as a Lead Facilitator. Teaching in an environment that encourages individualized, discovery, learning with a project based approach has been a dream of mine since I can remember.

During my 20+ years of experience, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to teach in Public school, private schools, homeschool, homeschool co-op classrooms, virtual teaching classrooms, and one on one tutoring as well as curriculum development. I have taught ages four through 18 in Pre-K through 12th grade with a variety of subject matter with a focus on literacy, language and history. My additional training consists of 12 hours towards masters in ESL, Project GLAD, Project Wet, Project Wild, Project Learning Tree and Get Lit, just to name a few.

If I am not teaching, you most likely will find me spending time with my family and church family, traveling, working on my latest art project, cooking, creating, writing or working alongside fellow PTO members on our next fundraiser. I am looking forward to a great year and being a part of this dream we call Willow Roots!

Summer Harrison

Assistant Sprouts Facilitator

Howdy friends! I'm Taylor, a twenty-something student of life and lover of nature. If I'm not out camping or thrifting, I'll be home reading, gardening, baking sourdough bread or dancing badly to good music. I'm passionate about mindful living, sustainability and ensuring a healthy earthly home for our children's children's children. My cats, Blue and Birdie, are my only kiddos, so I'm super excited to meet yours!

Taylor Lomas

Lead Withies Facilitator

Sam is a dynamic educator, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner who thrives in a busy, adventure-filled life. An Arkansas native, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from the University of Central Arkansas. As a wife and mom of four, she balances her roles as a Culture, Makerspace, and Project teacher and has served as the lead Withies facilitator at Willow Roots for two years. A former EMT, she also happily acts as the school’s "nurse." She has studied abroad in Italy and France, deepening her love for culture and travel, and enjoys sharing her experiences and passion for global cultures with her students. Passionate about wellness and self-care, she is also a dedicated Disney enthusiast and marathon runner, embracing every challenge with energy, creativity, and a touch of magic.

Sam Ingram

Lead Upper School Math Facilitator and Director of Finances

As a wife to Trevor and mama to Rhett and Mace, every day is an adventure! We also have an Italian daughter, Marika, who was our foreign exchange student in 2023! As a family we love being outdoors. We especially enjoy adventuring on the farm, hiking, going for walks, and trips to the beach. In my free time, I enjoy coffee, travel planning, reading, and spending time with friends.

With over 10 years of math teaching experience, it’s safe to say that I have a passion for the subject. Growing up, math was always my favorite and I knew, early on, that I wanted to be like my high school math teacher. He instilled a hard work ethic in each of us. I have always been passionate about math and motivated to show children that it doesn’t have to be scary.

I’m a firm believer that there’s no such thing as you can’t do something but instead, you’re not able to do it YET. Along with that, I believe that mistakes are proof that you’re trying. Lewis from “Meet the Robinsons” said it best, “From failure we learn, from success not so much.” Do we want to be successful? Absolutely! However, productive struggle is a beautiful thing. Each and every person can be successful, the path to get there will just look different for each of us.

I love working to instill a growth mindset into the children of Willow Roots while also building self-confidence and critical thinking skills

Lauren Peacock

Culture & Makerspace Facilitator

I am so excited to be joining the Nature Tykes program at Willow Roots. As a native of Conway, I have spent most of my life here in central Arkansas. In 2017 I moved to Georgetown, Texas to help with a church plant. I spent the next 4 ½ years in south central Texas volunteering in the church pre-school program as the ministry director. While in Texas, I also worked for a local private pre-school. One of my favorite things about working with young children was creating fun innovative activities to enhance learning in their pre-school years. It was so rewarding to watch their eyes light up as they discovered and encountered new things.

I was blessed to grow up in a family with three sisters who easily became my best friends. As young kids we enjoyed going to work with our dad, who is an Agronomist. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but getting to watch my dad’s love for nature and being outdoors slowly became a part of who I am today. I enjoyed being outside with my dad collecting insects, splashing in puddles of water, listening to the sounds of frogs and bugs singing in the nearby trees and watching deer feed on soybean plants at the edge of the woods. I didn’t really consider any of those experiences as learning at the time, but now I find so much value in the opportunities I was given through those days spent with my dad while he worked. Now I look forward to using my past experiences, my creative skills, and my passion for young children to help them explore this wonderful world we live in.

Anyone that knows me knows that I love art. I have spent the past two years as a free-lance artist creating murals, commissioned artwork, and window painting to help bring joy to others. While I continue to have this passion, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share this love with the Willow Roots community.

Caroline Malone

Assistant Nature Tykes Facilitator

I’m Stephanie and I’m so excited for this opportunity at Willow Roots! My family lives here in Conway. We have a little farm in the works with chickens, a turkey, and goats. We also have a couple of dogs and a cat. We recently added honey bees to the mix! As a family we love going on adventures, hiking, and swimming. I enjoy gardening, reading, painting/art, and playing with my animals in my free time.

Stephanie Doak

Lead Saplings Facilitator

I have lived in central Arkansas my entire life. I am a proud mother of two boys, and as a family, we love spending time outdoors - whether it’s farming, gardening, riding ATVs, hiking, or playing baseball.

I began my teaching career in a public school setting but took a break before returning to the classroom. During that time, I realized my true passion lies in nurturing young minds and helping children develop the skills they will use for a lifetime. Teaching brings me so much joy, and I love being part of Willow Roots’ dynamic and supportive environment that allows me to make a meaningful impact.

I am excited to be a part of this incredible school family and look forward to seeing both the school and each individual student grow and thrive!