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Board of Directors
While Merit Academy was inspired and is powered by parents and community, a small handful of people have put thousands of hours and personal resources into the development and launch of our great school.
This is an introduction to the Merit Academy Board of Directors.
Jason Ledlie is a licensed therapist in Woodland Park. He has previously served as an elected member of the board of trustees of a Title 1 school district. He served two consecutive terms, totaling eight years. Jason and his wife are parents to five children, and are very enthusiastic Merit Academy Bears!
John Dill is a retired Lt. Colonel from the United States Army. He continues in leadership roles with the United States Armed Services as a civilian. He has served on local non-profit boards, responsible for budgets, policy generation, and policy implementation. He and his wife have twin girls, joyfully attending Merit Academy.
Katie Illingworth is a mother of five beautiful children, Georgiana, Davey, Lucy, Johnny and Rosalie. As a special needs mom to a son with autism, Katie understands the many educational challenges that special needs parents face.
In her professional life, Katie is an acquisitions attorney for the U.S. Space Force in Colorado Springs. Katie is the product of a classical elementary education. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Letters with a concentration in Classics, from the University of Oklahoma. She received her law degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC, which is where she met her husband Dave, who is also an attorney.
Mary is a Georgia native with a BBA in finance and over twelve years of experience in the banking industry. She began an exciting real estate career after moving to Colorado in 2012. In addition to her career in real estate, Mary owns and operates vacation rental and office share businesses with her husband, which lends itself well to Mary’s passion for service and hospitality. She is married to Alan and has two children who all love our local community and are proud to be part of the Merit Bear family!
Nicole Waggoner is an entrepreneur and successful local business owner with flourishing companies in Florida and Colorado. She is experienced in both the marketing and financial management of business. She and her husband have three boys and one girl - very proud Merit Academy Bears (well, the youngest two are not quite ready for Kindergarten, yet!)