After 27 years in education in Utah, Kolleen retired to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. At the time, Marsh Valley School District wanted to close the local Lava elementary and the community was searching for ways to keep it open. As a compromise, the district offered to have it turned into a charter, if the community and Bluum could find someone to lead the effort. This seemed like a perfect match with her past educational experience and passion for alternative educational opportunities.

Kolleen obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from a private women’s college, Stephen’s College in Columbia, MO. She received her Master’s degree at the University of Utah in Educational Leadership and Policy. She substitute-taught in Wasatch County School District, taught Communication and Public Speaking courses at Salt Lake Community College, was assistant press secretary for Richard Eyre’s gubernatorial campaign, appeared on NPR ‘s radio theater, was a newscaster for various radio stations and co-owned KTMP radio in Heber City, UT. She has co-authored 7 books on original-source American History and navigating divorce. She assisted in the initial efforts to create Noah Webster charter school in Utah.

But her greatest educational passion was co-founding Liahona Preparatory Academy in 1998 and being its administrator until it’s sale in 2019. Liahona is a private, K-12, religious-based, college-prep academy in Pleasant Grove, UT which also has a large national and international online program. She guided it from the inception of an idea to one of the leading private schools in Utah, according to Niche’s peer, student and parent reviews. Under her tutelage, Liahona garnered top ACT scores, state sport awards in Basketball and Soccer, many state championships in theater and grew from 50 students its first year to thousands enrolled yearly. She spearheaded its accreditation process, oversaw the hiring of teachers and staff, analyzed curriculum for interest and outcomes, utilized best practices in professional development, and created policies and procedures. She initiated yearly experiential excursions to places such as England, South America and Native Indian reservations to enlighten students on their opportunities to both learn about and serve other cultures. To build greater connection between academy and distance education students, she developed a yearly retreat, where students were empowered to build relationships thru team-building activities, interesting speakers and interactive workshops. She understands the importance of budgets and making hard choices, but always with what’s best for students at the forefront. She is a strong advocate for partnering with parents, and believes that alternative educational choices are important to meet the needs of children who may not succeed in a one-size fits all program.

Kolleen has been married to Brent DeGraff for 32 years, is mom to six yours-mine-ours children and Oma to 11 grandchildren. She is thrilled to collaborate with the dedicated Lava Hot Springs Academy board and broader community to establish a charter school in Lava. This school will honor the residents’ steadfast commitment to keeping their school open while introducing innovative and updated opportunities for successful learning