President
Damore is a recovering lawyer turned homeschool mama. She and her husband, Sean, have been homeschooling their three children (ages 12-17) from the beginning and joined Lilac Children’s Garden in 2011. Two of her children are Lilac graduates and her third child is a current student. Damore has served on the Board of Directors since 2011, and has served as President since 2012. It has been a blessing to be part of Lilac’s growth over these years. Damore oversees most every part of the administrative life of Lilac, from admissions to communications, festival planning to teacher hiring, but she particularly enjoys holding space for Lilac traditions and festivals, singing, working with our talented, bright, funny, warm group of directors, teachers, and parents who maintain the spirit, vision, and mission of Lilac, and getting to see our lovely Lilac children grow up from the Willow class to graduation. What a gift.
Treasurer
Wendy has been part of Lilac since 2012. She homeschools three children (ages 11-17) amid piles of games, crafts, books, and cats. Passionate about helping her children find their passions, she spends many hours each week driving them to various activities. Her favorite things about Lilac are the seasonal festivals, the welcoming community, and the lifelong friendships made by both children and parents.
Secretary
The newest member of the board, Abbie joined Lilac Children's garden in 2021. She was thankful to find such a beautiful and inclusive community that welcomes diversity and provides space for homeschool families to build meaningful connections. The Bellamy family's educational journey has traveled through Montessori and progressive private school before determining homeschooling was the best fit. Abbie enjoys learning about the many homeschooling philosophies drawing inspiration from Waldorf, Classical, Charlotte Mason, and unschooling to find the best strategies to bring to her learner. Their eclectic homeschool approach involves lots of books, time in nature, and everything from lego robotics to knitting projects. When she's not homeschooling, Abbie works as a biostatistician supporting clinical research and is proud of the studies she's supported over her career contributing to improvements in public health. In her free time she loves learning new handwork skills!
Admissions Director
Parent Jobs Coordinator
Chantal is a multipotentialite who seeks to understand herself and others by pursuing her seemingly endless curiosity by trying and learning new things. She and her husband, Joshua, use child-led learning to homeschool our two children, Ember and Mika. Chantal’s children have attended Lilac since they were 5 years old, and Chantal has been on the Board since 2015. In that time Lilac has been fortunate that Chantal has, consistent with her character and many talents, served in multiple roles. She is currently responsible for coordinating parent jobs. Chantal particularly enjoys administrative work, which brings her to the center of the action, working alongside a team of Board members and teachers that have all grown to be friends.
Teacher and Festival Liaison
Suzanne has been teaching at Lilac for more than 12 years (the exact number is a mystery, even to her) and a board member for much of that time. She lives in the Highland Park neighborhood with her partner, Jenny, and their two young-adult offspring, Katy and Quinn - both Lilac graduates. Having taken the “Bayberries” class from first grade to graduation, Suzanne decided to start all over again with the Hickories class, who are now in their 6th/7th grade year. This community has been so crucial to Suzanne’s homeschooling experience, and both of her kids count their Lilac classmates among their closest friends. It brings Suzanne so much joy to see those same close connections forming among the children currently attending the program. Suzanne loves being part of a community that looks out for its members and sets such a wonderful example of loving acceptance of human differences. She feels proud and grateful to call Lilac “my community”.