Talon & Travis Holleman

Program Directors & Founders

Meet Talon and Travis Holleman, the Directors of ROOTS!

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Talon and Travis Holleman are the visionary co-founders of ROOTS Nature School, a transformative educational program located on their 2.7-acre homestead in Sussex County, Delaware. Their journey from Baltimore, Maryland, where they have been together since the age of 14, to creating a life centered around family, nature, and education, reflects their deep commitment to fostering a meaningful and sustainable lifestyle.

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Talon Holleman, RN
Talon is a Registered Nurse, certified Children’s Yoga Teacher and a 200-hour Yoga Instructor. She has completed the Forest School Teacher Institute's Teacher and Director Training. She is currently enrolled in the Therapeutic Forest Co's: Therapeutic Skills for Outdoor Leaders. Talon has also completed the Association of Nature-Based Educator Training and additional Outdoor Inclusivity Training. With over a decade of experience in early childhood education, Talon's passion for integrating mindfulness and play into children's lives is a cornerstone of ROOTS' philosophy. She is dedicated to helping others find their passions, create fulfilling lives, and embrace inclusion through personalized attention.

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Travis Holleman, Master Gardener and Naturalist
Travis brings his extensive experience as a Master Gardener and his training as a Naturalist to ROOTS. He has completed the Forest School Teacher Institute's Teacher and Director Training. He specializes in regenerative agriculture, permaculture design, and sustainability. Travis manages the homestead's operations, ensuring it serves as a dynamic, living classroom. He practices Socratic questioning with the children, encouraging critical thinking and independent problem-solving, inspiring a culture of self-reliance and environmental stewardship at ROOTS. 

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Shared Vision and Commitment
Together, Talon and Travis have been homeschooling their two children, Bella and Emmett, for the past four years, applying lessons to real-life experiences through outdoor play, role-playing, and hands-on learning. They emphasize practical life skills, self-care, mindfulness, character building, critical thinking, problem-solving, and student autonomy. Their personal and educational philosophies align with the ethics of permaculture: "Care for the Earth, Care for People, Share the Abundance, and Education."

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Their vision for ROOTS is to offer inclusive educational opportunities to all children, including those in foster care or underprivileged circumstances, through scholarships. They actively partner with local youth groups, small businesses, libraries, and more to enhance community outreach efforts. Talon and Travis are present during workshops, teaching, directing, and building relationships with children and their families, fostering a collaborative community aimed at empowering the next generation.

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Their dedication to creating a nurturing, stimulating, and welcoming learning environment is evident in their efforts to bridge gaps in traditional education, teach self-sufficiency, and promote altruism within the local community. They believe in the power of a collaborative community to change the world, starting with the lives of children.

Talon and Travis look forward to watching and helping children grow outside of their comfort zones, consistently applying lessons to real-life experiences and encouraging exploration and learning in a supportive environment.

Rhonda Cipolla

Meet Rhonda McDowell Cipolla, our Pioneers' Group Leader (ages 7-12yo); Growth Coordinator! 

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Rhonda McDowell Cipolla is a wife, mother, student, teacher, and explorer of new things. Rhonda and her husband, Dominic, have been married for 11 years and own a construction and flooring business. Rhonda and Dominic have been foster parents in Delaware for 6 years and they have fostered 12 children from newborn to 18-years of age. They have two biological children and two children they have adopted from foster care; Rhonda is expecting their fifth child in April of 2022. Rhonda holds a bachelors from Stayer University in Business Administration and an MBA with a focus on Human Resource Management. Rhonda is also halfway through her doctoral journey with Regent University in Organizational Leadership. Rhonda is the President of the Sussex County Foster Parent Association, a 501-C organization focused on youth in foster care in Sussex County, Delaware. Rhonda is passionate about people, both big and small and developing skills and characteristics to help individuals grow.

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Rhonda enjoys cooking with her children, reading books, speaking at various events, volunteer work, writing and reading about transformational leadership practices, learning about growing her own fruits and vegetables, and planting new and different pollinator flowers throughout the spring and summer; she’s also quite excelled at killing all kinds of indoor plants! Rhonda has published articles on foster care, transformational leadership, and several exegetical studies of women in leadership in the Old Testament.

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Rhonda began homeschooling her first-born son four years ago when he was in PreK-3 and has continued homeschooling since. Rhonda and Dominic decided to homeschool because they found there was no school available to their children that would meet their desires of schooling: by meeting their children where they were academically, having creative and alternative methods of teaching, providing generous flexibility to allow their family to explore, and most importantly, a school that was committed to not only teaching core subjects but to teaching “little” people to become well-rounded “big” people.

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Rhonda believes in the power of providing children with all of the life skills and practical advice we can so they will grow into children who love to explore, who can find ways to solve problems, think critically, and be independent. The addition of practical life lessons has begun to transform her children into little people who want to do “farm work”, who enjoy learning how (and why) composting works, what and when we should plant different vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and who have a growing curiosity of the world around them. Rhonda is excited to be the leading the Pioneers Group/teaching Pathfinders; while learning, growing, cultivating, and developing together.

Tracey Cannatelli

Teacher and Yoga Instructor (Children & Adults)

Tracey Cannatelli, a Mid-Western native, is a wife and new mother to her son Atticus & new kitten Luigi.  Before meeting her husband and planting roots in his hometown here in DE, she lived and worked all over.  From Chicago and D.C. to Africa, Korea, China and Mexico, Tracey has dedicated her life to teaching and learning wherever she goes.

Tracey studied EDU Leadership & Policy, earning her M.Ed in Curriculum & Instruction.  Tracey holds teaching licenses in both Early Childhood Education as well as K-12 Special Education and has taught all ages from preschool through undergraduates to mentoring and training future & veteran teachers around the world.  She enjoys fitness and sunny, outdoor activities, holding certifications in personal training, group fitness instruction, yoga vinyasa and ashtanga 1st & 2nd series teaching.

Throughout her career she has come to learn the importance of play and mindfulness in young children’s lives.  In search for nature school options for her own son, Tracey discovered Grounded ROOTS.  Upon learning about the ROOTS’ yoga program, she was eager to combine her teaching knowledge with her passion for health & fitness and join our team!