About Our School

Meet Our Team

Career Academy of Utah (CAU) administrators are ready to share their innovation, expertise, and enthusiasm with your family. The leadership is dedicated to empowering our school community.

The mission of Career Academy of Utah (CAU) is to empower students regardless of zip code to break through the constraints of limited opportunity by fostering academic mastery and providing focused career readiness education to close the skills gap, prepare students for high paying careers within their communities, and achieve success beyond high school. We will accomplish this by creating a career-focused virtual school that delivers instruction using Project Based Learning (PBL) and works directly with industry partners throughout Utah including rural Utah. Foundational learning proficiency will be the focus of early grades, equipping students with the skills they need to develop deep content knowledge in upper grade levels. Career and interpersonal skills will be delivered through PBL and will allow students to engage in learning experiences that are relevant to their futures.


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Dr. Bonita Teasley | Executive Director

Dr. Bonita Teasley is the executive director and head of schools for the Career Academy of Utah. Dr. Teasley earned her PhD in educational policy and planning in executive public-school leadership from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s in educational administration from Prairie View A&M University, and a bachelor’s in applied learning development from the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 20 years, Dr. Teasley has been directly involved in educational policy and planning, federal and state public school administration, and public school administration. Her work experience encompasses overseeing the implementation of federal and state laws and local policies and providing technical assistance for non-routine educational policy matters. In addition to being a public school administrator, Dr. Teasley has worked in higher education as a professor and researcher. She is a published author and enjoys writing, reading, and gardening in her spare time.


Amy Vance | Academic Administrator

Ms. Vance is excited to join the CAU staff as the academic administrator. She has more than 20 years of education experience, with 13 years in online education. She earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Utah State University. Ms. Vance has taught in New Mexico, Utah, and Alabama.


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Meghan Griffin | Operations Manager

Ms. Griffin is the operations manager at CAU. She manages school launch, enrollment, re-registration, records, attendance, state reporting, state testing, compliance, billing, and external accounts. Her career in education began as a 3rd grade teacher after receiving her master’s in teaching from Oregon State University in 2008. She worked in brick-and-mortar schools until 2014, when she started teaching with K12. In 2015, she was ready to explore other avenues in education and found her home in operations.


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Randi Putnam | Career Readiness Educator Coordinator/School Counselor

Ms. Putnam earned a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Utah and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southern Utah University. She has five years of experience as a high school counselor and is passionate about helping students with career and college readiness and self-exploration. Ms. Putnam enjoys the outdoors, hiking, gardening, art, and spending time with family.


Rick Campbell | Testing Coordinator

Mr. Campbell has been in education for 28 years, teaching math for 25 of those years. He received his bachelor’s degree and his teaching credentials at Southern Utah University, and he received his master’s degree in education leadership from UNLV. Mr. Campbell comes to CAU with well-rounded experience and background. He grew up in New Mexico and has taught in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and now Utah. He has taught in the inner city, the suburbs, rural communities, juvenile court schools, and now in the online setting. He is an avid sports fan and loves time in the mountains with his family.