Meet Us

The families, teachers, and leaders walking alongside yours.

Cedars is led by parents who believe teaching is discipleship and leadership is service.
We are not simply administrators.
We are mentors, partners, and culture-builders.

  • Leading from a Christ-centered foundation

  • Honoring each child’s God-given design

  • Creating structured, peaceful environments

  • Investing relationally in every student

  • Partnering closely with families

Meet The Team

Kristin Dumberth

Program Director

Lover of strong coffee, woodworking projects, and restoring both furniture & community— with a heart always ready to serve.

  • Kristin is first and foremost a wife to her amazing husband and a mother to two beautiful girls. With a deep love for coffee, community, and serving others, she and her husband made the decision early on to homeschool. Christian school was not financially feasible, and public school was not the right fit — but homeschooling was part of her story. Raised in a homeschool family herself, Kristin watched her mother faithfully educate all four children, planting in her a desire to create the same intentional, Christ-centered foundation for her own daughters. What began as a step of obedience has become a shared family journey of growth — where her girls are learning and flourishing, and she continues to grow alongside them.

    At eighteen, Kristin attended a two-year ministry school through her church, where seeds of leadership and discipleship were first planted. After graduation, she spent a year in England helping establish a youth ministry, serving on a worship team as a violinist, and witnessing a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit among young people — an experience that deeply shaped her faith and vision. A few years later, she spent another year ministering to youth in Austria. These formative seasons cultivated in her a heart for spiritual formation, servant leadership, and building environments where young people encounter purpose and belonging.

    In 2023, Kristin and her daughters joined Rooted Co-op. Though initially intimidated by the idea of teaching a class, she quickly discovered that community thrives when we step forward in faith. Within weeks, Rooted felt like home. She carries the heart of Rooted deeply: Christ-centered families living life together, cultivating both skill and character, and drawing out the God-given design placed within each child.

    Kristin also brings an entrepreneurial spirit to Cedars. In 2019, she founded Wooden Love by Kristin Dumberth, a woodworking business that grew from refinishing furniture to crafting full custom pieces. Entirely self-taught, she is committed to sharpening her skills and stewarding her creativity with excellence. Whether restoring furniture, mentoring youth, homeschooling her daughters, or serving families through Cedars, Kristin sees a consistent thread — God faithfully leading her, shaping her gifts, and preparing her to help build something lasting. She is passionate about creating spaces where children grow strong roots, families feel supported, and the Cedars vision continues to flourish.

Josie Davis

Vice Director, BA, MA, IECMH-E®

Fueled by cookies and worship music, passionate about one-on-one discipleship, stewardship, and leading others toward flourishing in who the Lord called them to be.

  • A homeschool mother herself for the past three years, Josie has a heart for education, that it should honor both identity and development — nurturing the heart while strengthening the mind. Josie earned her Bachelor of Arts in Human Services with a concentration in Child Development and Family Studies from Tennessee Technological University, later completing her Master’s degree in Business and Administration, with a focus on Human Services and Non-Profit Organizations. Over the past decade, Josie has served in clinical and leadership roles across the human services and mental health fields, most recently in her position as Tennessee’s statewide training coordinator for the Association of Infant Mental Health. Her work has included child and infant development, high-risk behavioral management, family systems structure development, young adult skill building, and extensive experience with the special needs community — including having the pleasure of working extensively with children and teens with Down syndrome, autism, intellectual disabilities, and youth transitioning from residential and foster care settings. She is trained in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), trauma-informed care, play-based therapy, neurological pathway regeneration, social-emotional development, CPI, CSSR suicide assessments, and developmental assessment tools.

    At Cedars, Josie brings a deep conviction that structure creates safety, and safety allows children to grow strong roots and flourish. She believes every child carries a God-given design and strives to create spaces where children can develop those callings. Her passion for stewardship, leadership development, and one-on-one mentorship shapes her commitment to building environments where families feel supported and children are known. Outside of her professional life, Josie finds joy in worship music, searching for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, working out, and outdoor adventures with her husband and her two young boys— embracing both the sacred calling of motherhood and the beauty of multiplying those around her.

Administrative Coordinator

Michelle Rivera

Artistic brush in her hand and 90’s music in her heart, she brings vision and thoughtful structure that makes freedom possible.

  • Michelle Rivera is a systems-driven educational leader, architectural thinker, and Spirit-led Christian educator based in Cookeville, Tennessee. As a homeschool mother of two creative, neurodivergent learners and wife to Jeremy, she brings both lived experience and strategic insight to the spaces she builds and leads.

    Michelle is known for her ability to architect sustainable educational ecosystems that are rooted in truth, strengthened by structure, and designed for long-term impact. With a background as an architectural artist, she approaches leadership through the lens of structural positioning — identifying foundational weaknesses, eliminating redundancy, and constructing clear, scalable systems that support both people and vision. Her work consistently integrates organizational clarity with mission integrity.

    Professionally, Michelle has extensive experience in systems development, operational streamlining, and strategic communications. Her background in web marketing includes SEO and SEM strategy, brand positioning, and custom social media development — equipping organizations to communicate clearly, grow intentionally, and steward influence wisely. She is highly organized, detail-oriented, and adept at translating broad vision into executable frameworks.

    In educational leadership, Michelle is passionate about cultivating environments where children are not merely instructed but formed — where character development, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual maturity are intentionally integrated. She believes education should honor the sacred design imprinted on every child and that strong leadership requires both conviction and compassion.

    Michelle thrives in transitional and growth-focused environments, bringing clarity to complexity and stability to seasons of change. Whether building programs, mentoring leaders, or strengthening institutional structure, she operates with a deep commitment to excellence, faithfulness, and long-term sustainability.

Do you feel called to serve families?

Do you believe teaching is discipleship?

We would love to hear from you.

Our leadership team reviews every inquiry personally and will respond within 48 business hours.