Spring 2021
January | February | March | April | May | August

Past Workshops
Fall 2020
September | October | November | December

Assessment of Experiential Education Programming
Elon University, The Experiential School of Greensboro

As experiential educators, we know the value of interpersonal growth and development in our programs. However, it can be challenging to measure student growth in academic skills, social-emotional learning, or leadership skills. This session will discuss the ways that experiential educators can utilize a variety of formative and summative assessment methods in their programs. Formal methods such as reflective writing and hotwash groups will be discussed along with informal assessment measures that can be used daily. This will be an interactive session and participants will have an opportunity to both share their own experience with assessment and apply the tools learned into their context.

Frannie Varker is an instructor at UNC Greensboro in the Bachelor of Integrated Professional Studies program and at Appalachian State University in the School of Education. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations at UNC Greensboro. Her focus and passion for pursuing her Ph.D. centers around using experiential education philosophy and methodologies in ways that reflect, support, and challenge students/participants to take an active role in their education and to recognize the role each plays in the learning of others.

Evan Small 

Making Lemonade from Lemons: Using Project-Based Learning to Create Real-World Classroom Experiences

As a tool in your Experiential Education toolbox, project-based learning is a proven way to engage students in collaborative real-world problem-solving. Projects are organized around a driving question and students work in teams as they create unique paths through a scaffolded series of experiences. Along the way, teams engage outside experts on real-world problems, demonstrate their learning, and take action. In short, student teams engage in work that matters both to them and to the world. In this 2-hour workshop, World Leadership School Director of Professional Learning, Jessica Catoggio, walks teachers through the process of using the WLS Project Planner to redesign existing programs or curriculum through the lens of project-based learning. Working in breakout rooms, teachers move through the steps to redesign an existing classroom unit off-campus experience, or travel program with the help of WLS coaches and staff. Along the way, teachers explore how to design units with voice and choice, deep reflection, demonstrations of learning, and both formative and summative assessments for remote, in-person, and hybrid environments. Jessica will offer a complimentary 30-minute coaching session to any teacher who attends the full webinar and wants to develop an idea further.

Jessica Catoggio has deep experience coaching teachers around project-based learning. She is passionate about building communities and aims to connect with others through differences and similarities. She values inquiry, curiosity, and in-depth questioning and helps teachers create dynamic classroom communities in which all students thrive. Jessica is a veteran teacher with 20 years experience in both public and independent schools, including the last 13 years as a lower school teacher at Collegiate School in Richmond, VA. While at Collegiate, Jessica evolved her project-based approach after taking multiple PBL trainings and receiving her coaching certificate from the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Jessica co-facilitated the inaugural Lower School cohort of ISEEN's Summer Institute in 2019 and looks forward to returning in 2021! In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, traveling, and paddling Richmond’s beautiful James River with her husband and two children. She can’t leave home without her Sheepadoodle puppy, Rally!

Diversity Outdoors

Join Gavin Ware and Tyhree Moore as they share their journey to leadership roles at Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound and Soul Trek respectively. Gavin and Tyhree will talk about their roles at Outward Bound and Soul Trek and their experiences in the outdoors. Particular attention will be paid to how it feels to be a minority in various spaces. Throughout the webinar emphasis will be placed on identifying the importance and need of making the “outdoors” a more inviting place for all groups. Participants will have the opportunity to pose questions and ask for advice specific to their need/situation.

Gavin Ware joined the Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School in December 2019. Gavin was born in Washington DC and graduated from high school in Montgomery County Maryland. Gavin then went on to graduate from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a degree in Business Administration with an Emphasis in Marketing in the spring of 2009 and is a proud brother of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.  Gavin has always believed in the power & impact of service to a cause greater than self and has dedicated his life to the service of others. For the past ten years Gavin has served the DC community as an Americorps member, program director, and lead fundraiser with City Year Washington DC.  Gavin is also a recent alumnus of the Voyageur Outward Bound School having spent eight-days camping in northern Minnesota and has a newfound love for dog-sledding & cross-country skiing. Gavin loves movies, dancing, hiking, and french fries. Gavin is incredibly excited to support the CBOBS expansion and growth in the DC area. "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence. -Fredrick Douglass"

Tyrhee Moore is a mountaineer and outdoor education advocate born and raised in S.E. Washington, D.C. Moore is a highly regarded outdoorsman whose climbs include Grand Teton, Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, and the first all African-American climb of Denali. Following his second ascent of Denali in May 2017, Moore has garnered National attention for his unnerving bravery and bold leadership as a champion for increasing interest and advocacy amongst black youth in outdoor spaces. His advocacy includes appearances on The Weather Channel, Food Network, The North Face campaigns and as a cast member of the award-winning documentary An American Ascent. Moore’s experiences in the outdoors started when he was only eleven years old. As a graduate from West Virginia University with a degree in Sport Management, Moore now encourages diversity in the outdoors and speaks around the country on topics regarding the adventure gap and conservation leadership. Tyrhee is passionate about sharing his experience and aspires to use his experience outside to inspire the next generation to rediscover the power of the world’s wildest and most uninhabited places. 

In November 2018, Tyrhee founded Soul Trak Outdoors, a non-profit organization that is connecting urban communities of color to our planet’s green spaces. Soul Trak serves a wide age range of under engaged groups from urban youth, collegiate members and professional level urban residents in many outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, paddling, biking, and many others. Through Soul Trak’s programming, we work on developing leadership, community enhancement, outdoor advocacy, and outdoor exposure. 

In addition to his career and volunteer work, Tyrhee thoroughly enjoys time outside on trail runs with his dog, quality time with friends and family, and mentoring young leaders in his community. Tyrhee is committed to increasing outdoor access and opportunities to underrepresented communities to stimulate new learning, growth, and appreciation for our planet.

Risk Management: How to Safely Return to Travel

Facilitators: Mark Vermeal and Sam Daume, Fred C. Church Insurance

Many school administrators hope to get back to some sort of normalcy later this year. That may mean organizing travel programs for students and faculty. In this webinar, sponsored by Fred C. Church Insurance, we’ve invited a diverse panel to provide information and resources to administrators, so they can execute a risk assessment to determine when, how, and if to proceed with trip planning.

Sam Daume, Fred C. Church Insurance; Attorney Cathy Hansen-Stamp; ISOS medical expert Dr. Mark Fisher; and Henning Snyman, ISOS security expert, will cover various topics, including medical and security/evacuation considerations, liability, and insurance implications.

This webinar aims to have an open dialog about this topic with the attendees. The experts will share their knowledge and do their best to answer as many questions as possible, offering as much guidance as they can on this crucial decision school administrators will need to make.

Mark Vermeal is the Senior Safety and Risk Management Executive for Fred C. Church, Inc. As one of the leaders of the Outdoor + Adventure Practice, Mark is located in Golden, CO, and works with a team of professionals dedicated to serving the unique safety, risk management, and insurance needs of the outdoor and adventure industry. A nationally recognized expert in the field of risk management and safety with 20 years of experience as a senior-level administrator, Mark has implemented strategies that have enhanced a culture and climate of safety at two of the nation’s largest outdoor organizations: OBUSA where her served as VP of Safety, and as the National Director of Risk Management and Safety for the Student Conservation Association. Currently he serves on the risk management committees for Outward Bound Canada, Colorado Outward Bound School, and Colorado Mountain Club, and Gap Year Association Standards Committee. Mark has also served on the Steering Committee for the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) from 2007-2017 and has been a presenter at the WRMC since 2007.

Sam Daume has been in the insurance industry since 1986 and has worked with educational institutions since 1989.  He joined the Fred C. Church Education Team as a Client Executive in January of 2009 and is the Co-Leader of the firm’s Outdoor + Adventure Practice.  His experience includes 31 years as a Client Executive with three insurance brokers assuming various leadership positions at each firm.  Sam has provided risk management advice and insurance brokerage service to independent schools, colleges and universities as well as numerous well-known outdoor experiential educational organizations.

Jewish Experiential Education as Values Exploration - in Theory and in Practice

Join Clare Goldwater, Vice President of M², The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, to explore M²’s signature approach to experiential education, focused around values exploration. Using M²’s Value Sparks, interactive online educational resources using multiple modalities, we will explore how to build stimulating values explorations presented in a beautiful, ready-to-use platform. M² represents Machshava and Ma’aseh -Intention and Action- two values whose interplay is at the core of Jewish life. At M² we believe that these values are the foundations of experiential Jewish education. Come away with ideas for activities, exercises and discussion prompts to explore values like hope, responsibility, compassion and more, with your students. 

Clare Goldwater is a Jewish educator and leadership coach with expertise in professional and organizational development and experiential education. As Vice President of Education, Clare develops advances and disseminates M²’s approach and ideas about experiential Jewish education as widely as possible, through consulting projects to Jewish organizations, publications, curricula materials and more. Clare has a BA in English Literature from Oxford University, an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew University and a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University. She also holds passports from those 3 countries and lives in Jerusalem with her family. Clare can be reached at [email protected].

Supporting LGBTQ Students in Experiential Education

How can experiential educators best support LGBTQ students in their classrooms as well as in global education, outdoor/environmental education, community engagement, and student leadership? Join seasoned facilitator, Shige Sakurai, to ask any questions you have about pronouns, trans students, housing, affinity groups, cross-cultural communication, intersectionality, and supporting student action on equality initiatives.

Shige Sakurai (they/them) is the author of MyPronouns.org, which was first published on January 22, 2017 and has gone through several updates. They currently serve as Director of Leadership Initiatives and Associate Director of the LGBT Equity Center at University of Maryland, College Park. 

Sakurai is a transgender person of color and a social justice leader, university administrator, professor, and consultant with two decades of community and professional experiences. They are the founder of International Pronouns Day and the first person in the U.S. to receive an officially nonbinary, X-marker driver’s license. Sakurai has received international, national, and local awards from Diversity Abroad, the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, and the Mayor of Washington, DC.

Sakurai is a Certified Professional Coach by the University of Miami. They have an International MBA from the acclaimed IE Business School in Madrid, Spain and an MA in International Training and Education with a concentration in Social Justice Movement Building from American University in Washington, DC. Sakurai has a BA with a major in Sociology and a minor in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Creatively Investigating Sustainability in the Classroom

Join Engaged Ecology Co-Founder and CEO Jake Ifshin and long-time ISEEN friend and Assistant Head of School at Hotchkiss Josh Hahn for a fresh look at how we are asking deeper questions and co-creating solutions around sustainability in the classroom and institution wide.  Jake will invite you to revisit your own relationship with sustainability and what has been working for you so far in teaching this concept. He will also offer examples from his own experience as a teacher and as a consultant partnering with schools to begin composting, gardening, and reducing waste. Josh will share thoughts about Hotckiss’s journey to incorporate environmental stewardship into every aspect of School life. By taking this solution-oriented approach to environmental issues, Hotckiss prepares students to involve themselves conscientiously in our collective ecological future. The School's regenerative practices (such as producing energy and food, restoring ecosystems, building soil, and achieving carbon neutrality) reinforce an environmental mentality characterized by innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Facilitators: Jake Ifshin, Executive Director, Everybody Grows
John Hahn, Assistant Head of School, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Hotchkiss School

Jake Ifshinis a leader and educator committed to reconnecting people to their own creativity and the wisdom of the natural world. He is fascinated by how humans grow and make connections, and explored this everyday as an early childhood teacher. It was through this role that he discovered the power of gardening and nature as an ally in supporting all humans to be healthy and happy. He has personally created hundreds of unique nature experiences for thousands of people through his work with Engaged Ecology and as director of the nonprofit Everybody Grows. He received a BA and MA from St. John's College where he studied philosophy and the history of science. More recently he earned a Permaculture Design Certificate, a Next Economy MBA, and a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. He weaves his passions for music, dance, and mindfulness into his work and daily life. 

Joshua Hahn joined Hotchkiss in 2009. He holds a B.A. from the University of Vermont and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He taught and coached at The Lawrenceville School until 2006, where he was the Aldo Leopold Fellow. Mr. Hahn then started his own company, Stone Bridge, which provided sustainability education consulting for schools. He has played a leading role in the development of The Hotchkiss School’s environmental initiatives, especially Fairfield Farm, the Biomass Heating Facility, and the Dining Hall’s farm-to-table practices. Mr. Hahn and his wife, Stephanie, live on campus with their two children.

Join us in Santa FE, NM for our annual Summer Teacher’s Institute: Math, Science, English, History, Global Languages & Elementary Educator Cohorts.

Stay tuned for more info in the Spring.

Organizational Change: Advocating for Experiential Education and Creating Strategic Partnerships in Schools

Facilitator: Taras Ferencevych, ISEEN

As experiential educators we often find ourselves shocked by the inertia and unwillingness to change we encounter when introducing innovative programs at our institutions. This workshop will offer strategies and advice about advocating for experiential education and identifying and convincing strategic partners. The workshop is informed by organizational change literature and anecdotal evidence gathered from various educators, administrators, students, and stakeholders.

Taras Ferencevych, a long-time ISEEN member, has a 25+ year career in experiential education based on an eclectic mix of experiences with a strong emphasis on programming. From his humble beginnings as a camp counselor, he understood the importance of thoughtful program design as a catalyst for meaningful and fulfilling student experiences. Taras' experiences working in higher education helped him discover social-justice work, community building, and high-impact learning practices. After leaving higher education, Taras ventured into the world of independent schools as a classroom teacher and Director of Experiential Learning at The Storm King School. Taras is also an active volunteer and fundraiser in several organizations dedicated to society building in Ukraine.  In each of his endeavors Taras has relied on forging partnerships to further the goals of experiential education. Taras graduated from Rutgers University and graduate school at the University of New Hampshire. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In Experiential Education 

Facilitator: Dr. Rodney Glasgow, Sandy Springs Friends School, The Glasgow Group

Experiential education, as a form of progressive education, has strong roots in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). At the same time, current models of experiential education can do better at teaching the skills and utilizing the tools of DEI to enhance student learning.  How can a strong experiential program better support a strong DEI program? 

Dr. Rodney Glasgow is a noted educator, speaker, facilitator, trainer and activist in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. He recently started as the Head of School at the Sandy Springs Friends School in Maryland. Dr. Glasgow has given several keynote presentations, delivered workshops, and offered consultation to schools and organizations nationwide. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a joint degree in Afro-American Studies and Psychology, holds a Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership from Columbia University and a Doctorate of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University. An independent school alum, having graduated from Gilman School in his hometown of Baltimore, MD, he is one of the founding members, and now Chair of, the National Association of Independent School’s annual Student Diversity Leadership conference, a 25-year-old training ground drawing over 1600 high school students nationwide. 

COVID-19- Legal, Risk and Insurance Challenges - Where to focus now?

Facilitators: Mark Vermeal and Sam Daume, Fred C. Church Insurance; Jim Sconzo, Carlton Fields

After responding this spring to the COVID-19 crisis by closing and shifting to distance learning, school leaders turned their focus on how to safely reopen and operate in this "new normal" environment. It is impossible to predict today what the top legal, risk management, travel policies, and insurance challenges will be heading into the new year. The presenters, an experienced school CFO/COO, lawyer, and insurance broker, will address the current priorities for safely managing the risks facing schools in the COVID-19 world. What have we learned? Where are we now? What do we need to focus on in the future?

Mark Vermeal is the Senior Safety and Risk Management Executive for Fred C. Church, Inc. As one of the leaders of the Outdoor + Adventure Practice, Mark is located in Golden, CO, and works with a team of professionals dedicated to serving the unique safety, risk management, and insurance needs of the outdoor and adventure industry. A nationally recognized expert in the field of risk management and safety with 20 years of experience as a senior-level administrator, Mark has implemented strategies that have enhanced a culture and climate of safety at two of the nation’s largest outdoor organizations: OBUSA where her served as VP of Safety, and as the National Director of Risk Management and Safety for the Student Conservation Association. Currently he serves on the risk management committees for Outward Bound Canada, Colorado Outward Bound School, and Colorado Mountain Club, and Gap Year Association Standards Committee. Mark has also served on the Steering Committee for the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) from 2007-2017 and has been a presenter at the WRMC since 2007.

Sam Daume has been in the insurance industry since 1986 and has worked with educational institutions since 1989.  He joined the Fred C. Church Education Team as a Client Executive in January of 2009 and is the Co-Leader of the firm’s Outdoor + Adventure Practice.  His experience includes 31 years as a Client Executive with three insurance brokers assuming various leadership positions at each firm.  Sam has provided risk management advice and insurance brokerage service to independent schools, colleges and universities as well as numerous well-known outdoor experiential educational organizations.

James Sconzo is a “go-to” attorney for many of the most recognized education institutions. He is a trusted advisor, skilled trial lawyer, negotiator, investigator, and proven leader. Highly regarded by boards, leadership and in-house legal teams, Jim has provided steady guidance to clients through crisis, change, litigation, and all manner of adversity and challenges.

For independent schools, Jim has advised on policies, human resources, student conduct and board governance.  In recent years, Jim has assisted numerous schools to navigate the complexities of dealing with past sexual misconduct.

Experiential Education as Social Justice Methodology

Facilitators: Daniel Bryan and Chelsea Viteri Pachaysana
Co-facilitators: Daniel Acosta, Belen Noroña, Grace Logan

Our current crises of racism and a global pandemic are showing us that “how we do education” has a tremendous impact on social inequity. In this Webinar + Workshop, we explore the relationship between experiential education and social justice education. The webinar interactively engages the audience through storytelling techniques, asking participants to identify how our work, as experiential educators, challenges dominant educational paradigms. The workshop explores what it means to “re-story” experiential education so that participants can more intentionally integrate social equity into their teaching. It includes individual and group work, applying methods such as Spoken Word, cognitive mapping, and visual art. Workshop leaders will also share tips on creating spaces for social justice education and facilitating dialogues on challenging topics. 

Daniel Bryan is an educator, activist and artist, Daniel specializes in the use of participatory theatre as a means of education and conflict transformation. Originally from the United States, he has lived in Ecuador for 20 years. He is Pachaysana’s co-founder and Director and a regular lecturer and scholar/artist in residence at colleges in the US, most recently with Juniata College, American University and Brandeis University. He holds an MA in Education from the University of Tulsa and an MFA in Theatre from UCLA.

Chelsea Viteri is an activist, educator, youth worker, and artist at heart, Chelsea was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at Clark University in Theater Arts and Community Development and Planning. She has worked with diverse communities in both Ecuador and the United States, utilizing theatre, music, poetry and Hip-Hop as a means for collective empowerment and creative conflict transformation. She is the Resident Director of Pachaysana’s “Rehearsing Change” study abroad program.

Daniel Acosta is a community activist and defender of Mother Earth, Daniel works on education projects that help youth and families develop a closer relationship with the land. He is from the rural Andean community of Pintag where he works on projects that link agroecology, the arts and liberation pedagogy. He is currently leading a local seed bank project that links collective identity to cultivating and exchanging seeds. He is Pachaysana’s Community Coordinator and has a BA in Communication from the Universidad Cristiana Latinoamericana.

Belen Noroña was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador and one of Pachaysana’s co-founders, Belen is a scholar, activist, and educator with over ten years of experience working with rural and indigenous communities in social development and educational projects in Ecuador. She has a Ph.D. in Human Geography from the University of Oregon and has taught for Beloit College and the San Francisco University in Quito. She is currently developing methodologies in non-formal education as part of a Mellon Foundation grant.

Grace Logan is an alum of American University’s School of International Service, Grace participated in Pachaysana’s Rehearsing Change program in 2017. After graduating, she became Pachaysana’s Fellow for the last two years, during which time she has co-coordinated community-based education programs, Participatory Action Research projects and led Pachaysana’s international outreach department. 

Global Learning in a Pandemic: Converting a Domestic or International Trip into a Successful Virtual Program

Facilitators: Seth Leighton, Envoys and Annie Peuquet, Envoys

The wide variety of options available in the virtual realm can appear overwhelming. This 2-hour workshop utilizes a competency-based approach to develop clarity around the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and what formative and summative assessments will make learnings visible. Participants may bring an existing travel program (or idea for a program) to the session. Each participant will leave the workshop with a full “itinerary”; a cohesive daily schedule for a realizable virtual program that meets comparable learning objectives as an in-person experience (if not exceeds those objectives!).

Seth Leighton is a co-founder of Envoys, he currently serves as the SVP, Education for the organization. With the support of the management team and staff, he is responsible for the creation and implementation of programs that meet the highest expectations for learning. Seth is dedicated to the process of professional development of staff, with a particular focus on pedagogical training and methods for both online and field-based lessons. Seth graduated cum laude from Harvard College, and has earned advanced degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He has worked with large international organizations as well as “on-the-ground” NGOs. He currently sits on the Advisory Board for Educate Lanka, and regularly consults with the ICT-in-Education division of UNESCO Bangkok. Seth brings expertise and passion to every detail of Envoys and its programs, upholding the company directive that “today’s ceiling is tomorrow’s floor.”

Annie Peuquet works with Envoys’ partner schools to expand the potential of global education, and leads Envoys’ Partnerships Team. Annie has spent her career committed to bringing authentic and meaningful education for all students. Her passion and belief in experiential education began as a wilderness instructor, leading young people on extended length backpacking expeditions in northern Colorado and Utah. Her interests in out-of-classroom learning expanded while living a cumulative year abroad in college, studying one semester in Chile and another in Argentina. Living in environments markedly different than her hometown of St. Louis, MO was an invaluable introduction into the complexity and beauty of the world and of humanity. Annie is a Wilderness First Responder and has a BA from The University of Virginia and an M.Ed. from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

Ethics of Community Engagement – What We Can Learn From 2020

Facilitator: Christen Clougherty, Nobis Project

A challenge of community engagement and service-learning, at all ages, is exposing students to the imperfections of the world while guiding them to be change agents. The events of 2020 have exposed systemic imbalances of our world in vivid ways; from poverty to pollution, and racial oppression to educational inequity. During this interactive workshop participants learn how to build experiential learning programs that challenge us to build reciprocal partnerships in order to understand our interdependence with one another and the natural world. Using the collective wisdom of the group, participants explore the Nobis Big Ideas framework for teaching about social issues by reflecting on their own practice and brainstorming ways to adapt their curriculum. 

Christen Clougherty, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Nobis Project, a non-profit educational support organization that focuses on developing educators’ capacity to foster reciprocal and meaningful community partnerships, build cultural responsive classrooms, and promote a social justice approach to global service-learning. Christen has over twenty years of experience as an educator and administrator in community organizations, K-12 public, charter and independent schools, and colleges/universities. Christen attributes her commitment to using service-learning and civic engagement to promote global citizenship to her experiences as a student at the Carolina Friends School. Her honors include recognition as a National Emerging Scholar for K-12 Service-Learning Research (2008 and 2009) by the National Service-Learning Partnership at the Academy for Educational Development. Christen received her Ph.D. in Quaker Studies from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She completed her doctoral research on the synthesis of experiential education, service-learning, creative-process theory, and global citizenship education. Christen is also a founding board member of two charter schools, Tybee Island Maritime Academy and Susie King Taylor Community School, both in Savannah, GA.

Social-Emotional Learning: Educator and Learner Self-Care Strategies

Facilitator: 
Dave Mochel, Applied Attention

This workshop is geared toward educators who are looking for ways to build connections and social-emotional skills in the new world of online education. Participants will be provided with specific practices and language for supporting students in self-awareness, listening, empathy and self-regulation.  Specific attention will be paid to self-care strategies for students and educators alike.  

David Mochel has focused for thirty years on the foundations of wellbeing, healthy communities, and leadership. After a twenty-year career teaching human development and neuroscience in independent schools, I founded Applied Attention to help individuals, teams, and organizations focus their attention and energy where it will make the greatest positive difference. Using principles drawn from modern scientific research and enduring wisdom, I have had the opportunity to work with leaders, educators, executives, parents, students, and athletes all over the world. I draw upon my degrees in biology from Williams College, a Master’s in Humanistic and Multicultural Education from SUNY New Paltz, and a clinical internship in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

"I study, think about, and have conversations about well-being every chance I get. When I climb into bed at night, I am usually reading some new research about the brain and behavior or human performance. Perhaps this makes me a bit nerdy, but I love it."