Who We Are &
What We Do

Emily Downey is the Executive Director of the Sage International Network of Schools. Emily joined Sage in 2014 as a parent of 3 boys, each of who have graduated with the full DP diploma. She enjoyed volunteering in a variety of ways at both of our schools, including as a member of the School Board, and in 2021 became the network’s CFO/COO.
Emily is an experienced financial and operational leader as a CPA with over 20 years in the private sector with responsibilities spanning budgeting, forecasting, financial and operational goal setting, personnel management, market strategy, business consulting, corporate taxation and auditing.
Emily loves exploring the outdoors with her family and dogs, traveling the world and tucking up with a good book.

Chris founded Yorgason Law Offices, pllc, in November 2011. His practice consists mostly of transactional and general representation, with a focus on municipal government, education, charter schools, real estate and general business.
Chris’ family has lived in the Treasure Valley for over 100 years. He was born at Travis Air Force Base while his dad was serving in the Air Force, but they returned to Idaho before his first birthday. He is a member of the first graduating class of Centennial High School. After high school, Chris attended Brigham Young University where he graduated in 1995 with a double major in political science and finance, with an international emphasis. Chris also earned minors in Thai and Business Comp.

Jason Bransford is the Chief Executive Officer for Gem Innovation Schools (GIS). Beginning in 2014, Jason co-founded GIS, the first non-profit charter school management organization in the State of Idaho. The network includes one state-wide virtual school as well as a growing number of on-campus schools located across the state. At full capacity each school will serve grades K-12, with the network serving a total of over 2,600 students.
Before the inception of the charter school network, Jason was part of a team that revitalized the state-wide virtual school, Idaho Distance Education Academy (now Gem Prep: Online), which subsequently received the highest state academic rating and the highest SAT scores of any district in the state.
Jason is deeply committed to his faith. He and his wife, Rebecca, are the proud parents of 5 children. He enjoys spending time with his family hunting, fishing, riding ATV’s, and playing sports. Jason earned a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho, an M.S. degree from the University of Houston, an Ed. S. from Idaho State University, and his doctorate from the University of Utah. Jason was born and raised in Baytown, Texas.

Marcia Aaron leads CSGF investments in charter school networks in Texas, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah. Before joining CSGF, Marcia was the CEO and founder of KIPP SoCal Public Schools for more than 13 years. In this role she led the organization to grow from two to 20 schools becoming one of the highest performing networks in California.
Marcia previously was the founding board chair of KIPP SoCal. Marcia previously had a 17-year career on Wall Street and spent the bulk of her career at Deutsche Bank and Montgomery Securities. She currently serves as a Board of Trustee for the University of Oregon and as a member of the board of Ednovate, a Los Angeles based charter management organization. Marcia holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon.

Terry Ryan is the CEO of the Boise-based education nonprofit Bluum and Board Chair of the Idaho Charter School Network. He leads efforts to double the number of students in Idaho’s high-performing public charter schools and oversees Bluum’s strategic and operational activities, including overseeing an $8.63 million
annual budget. He coordinates all activities with key partners like the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and many Idaho public charter schools.
Terry is responsible for Idaho’s $25 million federal Charter School Program (CSP) grant, which is Idaho’s second CSP grant managed by Bluum. Before Idaho, he was Vice-President for Ohio Programs and Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute from 2001 to 2013. He began his education career as a teacher in Poland and worked with the Polish Ministry of Education on civic education issues. In the 1990s, he served as research director for the UK-based 21st Century Learning Initiative.
He has served on various educational councils, task forces and boards, including Idaho Governor Brad Little’s “Our Kids, Idaho’s Future” education task force and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Policy Advisory Council, the CAEP Commission and the boards of GEM Prep Innovation Schools and American Classical Schools of Idaho. Terry is a published author, has been a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a 2008 Aspen Institute/Pahara Fellow.

Michelle Ball has been an educator for over forty years. For twenty-two years, she taught in a multi-aged classroom where students were taught at their instructional levels in small groups. Michelle continually researched and implemented best practices, laying the foundation of Alturas. This approach allows students to receive tailored instruction, providing them with opportunities to reach their academic potential.
Throughout her educational journey, Michelle had the privilege of receiving a Fulbright to the Czech Republic to explore Eastern Europe and develop curriculum fostering a global community mindset. Additionally, she has authored a series of books. “Wake Up Brain” comprises six books with brain-stretching challenges in math, geography, and language arts, while “Brown Bag Science” includes 16 books supporting grades 1st through 6th in exploring science through hands-on learning activities.
Michelle’s family provides immense support in her life. Her husband of over forty years, Doug, shares her love for cross-country skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, running, and biking. They are proud parents of three children, Conrad, Rebecca, and Patrick.

Monica White has been in the education profession for 15 years. During this time, she has served as a teacher, coach, principal and assistant superintendent. She believes that there is genius in all of us and that the best way to create success is to ensure that people have the tools to work and live with passion and purpose. Monica is an inspired and passionate educator who is committed to being an advocate for teachers, and even more importantly, students. She’s a problem-solver who will work tirelessly with her team to find opportunities and resources to help all students become successful.
Monica believes in empowering people, and she works intentionally to empower her staff so that they can deliver the best education to students. When offering professional development opportunities, Monica spends equal time building the staff up personally, improving their professional efficacy, and having fun and coming together as a team.
Monica is Co-Founder of Elevate Academy, a proposed public charter school intends to train and create a pipeline of highly-skilled, employable workers that meet the needs of Idaho industry and business, while empowering students to be leaders in their own lives.

Steve Lambert is the Executive Director of American Classical Schools of Idaho (ACSI) and founding principal of Treasure Valley Classical Academy (TVCA) in Fruitland, Idaho. He also helped establish Atlanta Classical Academy, serving as its principal.
With a distinguished 24-year career in the U.S. Air Force, including roles such as Director of the U.S. Air Force Commanders’ Professional Development School and Vice Wing Commander of the 86th Airlift Wing, Steve brings extensive leadership experience. He holds degrees from the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. Steve and his wife Laura home schooled their four sons during their K-8 education using a classical curriculum: Andrew is a 2014 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and currently serves as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force; Thomas, a 2018 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, and currently serves as an Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent; Joshua is a 2019 U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate and currently serves as a pilot in the U.S. Coast Guard; and James is a 2021 Air Force Academy graduate and currently serves as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Todd Ziebarth is the senior vice president for state advocacy and support for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. In this role, he leads the National Alliance’s work to improve state charter school laws. Todd has helped numerous states enact laws to better support high-quality public charter schools. He has also authored many national- and state-level research and policy publications related to key charter school issues.
Previously, he worked as a policy analyst both at the Education Commission of the States from 1997 to 2003 and at Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates from 2003 to 2005. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver, and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Colorado at Denver.