HEIDI WOODS

EXecutive Director
Heidi Woods began leading as the Executive Director of The Innovation School in 2023. She is a former school-based Occupational Therapist, 200 RYT Yoga Teacher and Certified Nonprofit Professional through American Humanics. Heidi was the recipient of a 2-year Leadership Fellowship with the Bush Foundation in 2013 and founded the BisMan Community Co-op which opened in 2015. In 2016 she founded Mindful You-Mindful Me, an organization dedicated to teaching mindfulness and social and emotional learning to children, educators, and schools. Her work is rooted in empowering others to be well so they do well and believes true wellness connects mind, body, and spirit. She is certified through Mindful Schools and Jaya Yoga. She was featured as a 2016 TEDx speaker for her work with heart-centered leadership and community well-being. Heidi’s passions include helping kids build inner-strength and resiliency, manage stress, develop emotional literacy, and to have the life skills needed to succeed outside the traditional classroom. She believes this work will begin to bring healing to our classrooms, boardrooms and communities and transform them into more healthy and whole spaces.
Heidi is married and has 2 children Nola (20) and Nash (17). In her free time she enjoys hiking with her 2 dogs, traveling with her family, cooking, time in nature, and preserving flowers for keepsake pieces.

Andrea Vizzi

Educator

Andrea is the Early Childhood educator for the Yellow Band (Primary Level) program at The Innovation School. This program serves students ages 4-6 years old (Pre-K & Kindergarten). Andrea has been working in the Early Childhood Education field for 19 years. She received a dual undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education & Elementary Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA in 2012 and earned her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from California University of PA in California, PA in 2014.  She is passionate about the importance of child-led learning and enjoys working within a Reggio Emilia inspired classroom that gives students an opportunity to lead their learning!  Andrea moved to Bismarck from Philadelphia, PA in 2019 with her husband & two children, Anneke (9) and Sagan (6), who are also a part of the TIS community!

Ilsa Toepfer

Educator

Ilsa leads our Teal Band (1st-3rd Grade) as she works alongside our current staff collaboratively while learning, practicing and applying the Reggio approach. Ilsa recently moved to Bismarck from the Central Coast of California with her husband and four children and they happily survived their first winter here in ND! With nearly 20 years of experience as an educator, Ilsa comes to us with a variety of outside-the-box experiences in teaching and innovation. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education & Teaching from University of Massachusetts Global, and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Northridge in Child Development with a minor in Psychology. The vast majority of Ilsa’s teaching experiences have been in classical project-based private and charter schools, as well as time as the Director of Education for a Children's Museum & Makerspace in California where she created rich hands on STEM and literacy programs. Ilsa has a passion for creativity, innovation, & invention and hopes to use her knowledge of the invention process including patents & trademarks to help children believe that they could be the next Nikola Tesla or Marie Curie!   

Alicia Jeromchek

Educator

Alicia is a Speech and Language Pathologist who joined our team in Fall 2022. She co-leads the Purple Band (grades 4-8).  She thrives using her experience as an SLP in hands-on ways with the students at TIS.  Alicia earned her Bachelor's Degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead and her Master's Degree in Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  Alicia has been working in the field of education as well as outpatient pediatric settings for the past 9 years.  She believes that play is the work of children and through play students build deeper connections.  Alicia is passionate about giving students a voice in their learning journey and she is excited to grow alongside the students at TIS!

Kelsy Achtenberg

Educator/
​Administrative Specialist

Kelsy is one of our Purple Band (Secondary Level) educators. She also serves as the Administrative Specialist.
Kelsy was born and raised in Bismarck. She graduated from Dickinson State University with a degree in Elementary Education. Kelsy has earned her Master's of Education in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from the University of Mary. Kelsy has been with The Innovation School since the beginning, and has taught for 11 years in total. She has a passion for creating STEM projects and helping students see connections across different subjects. Kelsy loves building relationships with her students and helping each achieve individual growth. She is inspired by the Albert Einstein quote, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." 
Kelsy is married to her husband Carter and they have 2 children, Reagan (4) and Nash (2) and their dog Kaya. She loves traveling, being active, and spending time with friends and family. 
Photo credit: Lyra Lee Photography