Meet the Founders

LIZ MOORE

The vision of ConnectED Co-op beagan sparking in 2013 when Liz’s family began their homeschooling journey and joined a supportive and similarly structured homeschool group in South Florida. Like many of her visions, this one was too large and complex for her to create on her own when she moved from Florida to Northern Utah in 2019, and so, being a busy homeschool mom, she quietly held onto the dream, bought the domain name in 2020, and filled up an Evernote notebook with her ideas and research just in case the right time and oportunity presented itself.  She was in pursuit of what she has forever been in search of, a safe and supportive place in which she, her family, and her friends are free to learn and grow.  In January of 2022, Liz’s path intersected with Meka and Chelsea, two kindred spirits with a similar need and dream, and who were also crazy enough to dig in and start building ConnectED alongside her. The first expansion of their small circle of builders was the trio’s supportive husbands and patient kids. This circle has now grown way beyond thier expectations as like-minded families have been willing to join them in contributing to the ConnectED vision. Liz is looking forward to enjoying the fruit of this experiment as she connects with fellow homeschool visionaries while creating a safe learning space.

CHELSEA WHITBY

Chelsea has been working in education ever since she was a junior taking classes in the preschool program at her high school. After six years working in severe special Ed and a year as an Americorp volunteer for their literacy initiative, Chelsea decided to get her Master's of curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in language literacy. While in that program she had her first son and decided that traditional education was not for her. Chelsea believes that homeschooling isn't about where you do it, but about who's in charge. An eternal student herself, Chelsea loves learning right alongside her kids and is passionate about creating learning experiences that bring subjects alive. She sees herself less as a teacher and more as a guide, learning buddy, educational experience curator, cheerleader, and adventure planner. Chelsea is a working homeschool mom and has two boys, a patient husband, elderly cat, and an eternal puppy aussiedoodle to keep her company.

MEKA HILTON

Growing up in Park City, Meka was almost always outside having some kind of adventure. Nature was a huge part of her childhood, perhaps this is where her love for animals and all creation comes from. Meka has always been passionate about caring for those in need. One of her billboard moments as a child was saving a baby skunk who was stuck in a window well. No regrets. In fact, that love for nature was one of the reasons she made the leap into homeschooling. During a hike, she and her two young kids spotted a rattlesnake. The kids were full of questions she didn't know the answers to. They went home and learned together. This planted a seed of possibilities. Once the beauty of this kind of learning had been felt, there was no turning back. She's been homeschooling for 8 years now. Something she loves to implement in her homeschool is reading aloud to her two kids, even as they’ve gotten older. She feels books are such a great tool in helping us to see others deeply. Especially those who are marginalized or who we don’t have close proximity to. She believes it helps in teaching that we shouldn’t dismiss someone else's pain just because we don’t feel it ourselves.