The People Behind the Possibilities

Originally published in IVCBA Magazine: LIVE.WORK.PLAY Families & Education Edition 2026 – Written by Kristie Wells, Photo Jen Schmidt

Every generation leaves something behind.

Sometimes it’s a building or a business. Other times, it’s a child who discovers a love of reading, a teacher who brings an idea to life, or a student who begins to imagine a future they never thought possible.

Those legacies don’t happen by accident. They happen because a community decides its children are worth investing in.

For the past six years, Mary Danahey and Sharon Schrage have quietly helped make that possible.

Before founding the Incline Education Fund, they spent years as parent volunteers in Incline’s public schools. They saw remarkable teachers creating extraordinary learning experiences with limited resources while promising opportunities disappeared when funding fell short.

“It’s easy to rally around a crisis,” Mary says. “It’s much harder to rally around a slow erosion of resources that nobody is talking about out loud.“

They saw dedicated educators, engaged families, and visionary school leaders doing extraordinary work. What was missing was a sustainable way for the community to stand beside them.

So instead of asking why schools couldn’t do more, they asked a different question:

How can the community help?

That question became the foundation of the Incline Education Fund.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the organization is that it exists to fund “extras.”

“We don’t fund distractions from academics,” Mary says. “We fund opportunities that strengthen academics.”

That philosophy drives every decision they make. Whether supporting literacy, STEM, the arts, classroom technology, educator development, or career exploration, every investment begins with the same question:

Will this help students become stronger learners?

Academic excellence isn’t one priority among many. It’s the foundation beneath everything they do.

That commitment has helped shape one of the community’s most significant educational achievements. The Incline Education Fund led the effort to earn the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation & Technology (OSIT) STE(A)M Designation for all three Incline public schools, establishing Incline Village as Nevada’s first, – and still only, – K-12 STE(A)M Pathway. Today, students benefit from a seamless continuum of learning, from Makerspace robotics, coding, and art at Incline Elementary School to hands-on Exploratory learning at Incline Middle School and College & Career programs at Incline High School.

Just as important as what they fund is how they decide where to help. Rather than arriving with their own agenda, Mary and Sharon meet with principals, teachers, counselors, district leaders, PTAs, and Booster organizations and ask one simple question:

“What do you need?”

By listening before acting, they help bring to life the ideas already growing inside Incline’s schools instead of imposing solutions from the outside.

That philosophy was tested almost immediately.

Just months after launching, the pandemic transformed education overnight. When Mary and Sharon asked then-Incline Middle School Principal Kari Michaels what the school needed most, the answer stunned them: there were only 18 working computers available for more than 160 students.

“I remember looking at Mary and thinking, ‘Well…we have to figure this out,'” Sharon recalls. “There really wasn’t another option.”

Today, the organization has invested more than $900,000 into Incline’s public schools, strengthening academics, expanding innovative programs, and creating opportunities for students from kindergarten through graduation.

Incline Middle School Principal Dan Lediard says the partnership has helped transform the school’s Exploratory Program.

“When students discover something they’re passionate about, they become more connected to school, and that engagement shows up in both participation and academic achievement.“

Ask Mary or Sharon what they’re most proud of, however, and they won’t point to a dollar amount. They’ll talk about partnerships. Teachers. School administrators. Parents. PTA and Booster leaders. Businesses. Foundations. Service organizations. Volunteers. Donors.

“When an entire community works together,” Sharon says, “small schools can provide extraordinary opportunities.“

It’s also easy to overlook one remarkable fact: Mary and Sharon are volunteers themselves. Like so many people they work alongside, they’ve devoted years of their time because they believe every child deserves the opportunity to discover what they’re capable of. Their volunteer-led model means approximately 96 percent of every dollar raised goes directly toward programs that benefit students and educators.

Perhaps that’s the Incline Education Fund’s greatest legacy: strengthening a community where teachers, parents, volunteers, businesses, donors, and neighbors all believe they have a role in a child’s success.

As Mary puts it, “Dollars by themselves don’t change lives. Opportunities do.“

Together, they are the people behind the possibilities.