Meet the Founders
Amanda Montoya
Trellis Director
amanda@trellislearning.org
Amanda connects the Trellis vision with action. Her background is in education and working with nonprofits. Yet her soul is deeply connected to advocacy. In high school she had an instructor tell her she would be an amazing advocate one day, but asked her to focus more on the task at hand in the moment (a test on the constitution). Her drive to advocate led her to realize there is more than one way to tackle something and that if something is not making sense, question it, fight it and/or change it. She is active in many different causes that are near to her heart. Ensuring there are brave spaces for people in the neurodivergent and LGBTQIIA+ community are top on her list along with animal welfare.
She is a mama bear of three that started her children in the public school system because at that time, she thought that was “what was done”. She had always dreamt of homeschooling but was nervous to “take the leap”. Covid hit and along with that came distance learning. That experience almost destroyed her children and Amanda knew what was happening could not be the only way. She took the leap into homeschooling and has never looked back.
Amanda can now be seen brainstorming, creating, crafting and problem solving (while adding a touch of glitter or sparkle here and there).
Kimberley Staley
Director of Business Operations
kim@trellislearning.org
Kim is our marketing, registration, and charter school expert, dedicated to providing outstanding support throughout your homeschooling journey. She believes deeply in community and connection as the key to a fulfilling homeschooling experience for the whole family. She loves to organize parent education nights as well as casual coffees where we can connect and learn from each other at any part of our parenting and homeschooling journeys.
She has a long history and passion for community organizing. The playgroup she started in Northeast LA when her oldest was born grew into a love of learning in community. Finding preschool disruptive to the playdates and field trips of the playgroup days, she decided school was not right for her family and started homeschooling that year. She loved watching her kids thrive as they learned at their own pace and pursued their interests.
Before having children, Kim thrived in a dynamic role at a major internet company, where she consistently innovated to meet evolving challenges. After her kids were born, she worked part-time, supporting small local businesses with their online business management and marketing. Her work with Trellis has been an exciting way to blend her passion for community engagement, homeschooling, and empowering small businesses.
When not at Trellis, she enjoys obsessing over California native plants, reading science fiction or mysteries, doing puzzles, and playing games with her husband and two kids.
Jen Herzig Smith
Creative Director
jen@trellislearning.org
Jen guides and creates design that supports Trellis’ vision and values. She believes that beauty alongside function are at the heart of Trellis communications. Jen is always working on relationships and understanding that they are an essential part of homeschooling in a community that she holds near to her heart. Jen’s families homeschooling journey started after her oldest finished second grade in their local public school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Coming from a family of passionate public school advocates, Jen embodies this same passion for learning and experiences outside of a standard classroom and system.
While continuing to spark creativity and articulate the Trellis vision in words and images, Jen is a professional artist exploring her deepening relationship with this land and our responsibility to cherish that which nourishes us. In addition to owning a letterpress business where she designed invitations, stationery and artworks Jen has worked on collaborative print and bookmaking projects, has been a freelance graphic designer for individuals and small businesses and worked in corporate branding. Over 30 years alongside her design profession, Jen has continued to create work in mixed media painting, installation, printmaking and bookmaking.
Jen loves reading, writing, painting, tending plants, thinking and learning through experiences.