About Us

Our Story

Founded by Kelsey Creeley when she realized after her first child was born just how vital, and how rare, outdoor learning programs are for children. And when they are available, the financial burden not just of tuition but investing in high-quality gear season after season for growing children can make even the most dedicated families overwhelmed.

As she began to look at programs for her own son she noticed yet another problem. The programs available, backed by individuals highly dedicated to nature-based learning, are operating on pennies. Balancing the desire to make their programs as financially accessible to families as possible, pay their staff fair wages, and provide quality materials and experiences, funds are tight.

While she found joy in helping her son's program grow and raise funds, she realized she wanted to have a deeper, more lasting impact on a larger scale. After discussing with a few trusted members of her network, it was clear she wasn't the only one who believes in this power of this work. After meeting Dr. Jean Lomino and sharing her vision for the foundation, Dr. Lomino's excitement was the final validation that building this foundation was timely, necessary work. And so she pulled on her wellies and jumped in!

Our People

Kelsey Creeley

Kelsey grew up in the Pacific Northwest, trading its misty forests for the East Coast in her twenties on a mission to challenge herself and see what else the world had to offer. A career in technology took her further than she imagined, quite literally, as she found herself traveling the globe; collecting perspectives and an ever-deepening curiosity about how people live and learn.

It was the arrival of her first child that changed everything. What began as a search for the right early childhood education became an education in itself. One that led her straight to the forest school movement and she never let go. She founded TerraLumia Foundation because she ran out of patience waiting for someone else to build the infrastructure this sector deserves.

When she's not dreaming up ways to get more children outside, you'll find her somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, probably also outside. Likely sitting in a hot tub in the rain overlooking Wimahl (the Columbia River) enjoying dry cereal.

Founder
Mission Steward

Executive Director

JoAnne Nelson-Metzger

JoAnne has spent a lifetime turning love into action. In the 1980s she founded Bright & Early in Lynnwood, Washington. She planted the small seed of an idea about what early childhood education could be and watched it grow into Brighton School, one of the Pacific Northwest's most beloved independent schools. She guided that institution for decades before passing the torch, carrying with her decades of hard-won wisdom about what it actually takes to build a learning community from the ground up.

But JoAnne's most personal work came later. As the parent of Lara, a young woman whose journey has led her to require full time care, JoAnne envisioned and created Lara's House - a model residential home in Mesa, Arizona, offering women with special needs a beautiful, loving, and truly dignified place to call home. Managing Lara's House is what retirement looks like for JoAnne.

A grandmother to three and a lifelong champion of the belief that every person, at every age, at every ability, deserves an environment where they can learn and grow and thrive, JoAnne brings to TerraLumia Foundation something that can't be taught. Just the deep, lived certainty that when you build something with love, it lasts.

Board Member
Education & Learning Development

Matt Miktus

Matt has built a career in technology software sales, but ask anyone who knows him and they'll tell you the same thing: he's a family man first. He's the parent who never misses a game, coaches from the sideline with equal parts enthusiasm and encouragement, and has been known to attend every school play and performance his two children have ever appeared in - front row if possible.

Married to a public school teacher, Matt has had a front-row seat to something else too: the quiet, accumulating difference that outdoor and experiential education makes in children's lives. He believes, without reservation, that in a world increasingly dominated by screens and devices, time in nature isn't optional, it's essential. And he brings to that belief a distinctive perspective: technology, wielded thoughtfully, can do enormous good in the world. But children don't need to be handed a screen to prove it.

Matt brings to TerraLumia Foundation the kind of strategic technology wisdom that helps a young organization punch above its weight, knowing which tools to reach for, which to ignore, and how to use innovation in service of something that matters.

Board Member
Technology & Innovation

The TerraLumia Foundation board is currently being formed. We are grateful to the extraordinary individuals who are considering joining this work. More soon.