Facilitator: 
Steve Smith, Risk Management Consultant, Experiential Consulting LLC

Audience: Program Leaders, Administrators, Outdoor Education, Global and Service-learning 

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: $250 

Steve Smith 

Steve Smith is the founder of Experiential Consulting, LLC, providing risk management support to outdoor programs and schools. He has worked in the outdoor industry for over thirty years, in the field, in the office, in the boardroom, and in national conference leadership roles, specializing in risk management. 

His career has included leadership roles with national organizations including Outward Bound and The Student Conservation Association. Steve served as the Chair of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) for three years (2014 - 2016). He served two terms as a board member for the Northwest Outward Bound School, where he continues to serve on the school's Board of Directors Safety Committee.

He has a master's degree in teaching English, along with years of university-level teaching experience, and earned a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Society for Human Resources Management, all of which help him view outdoor education through a variety of educational and administrative lenses.

Facilitator: 
Monique Vogelsang, Curriculum Specialist, Pollyanna

Audience: Lower & Middle School Educators

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: $150 

A team of educators from Pollyanna, Inc. have created a comprehensive, innovative Racial Literacy Curriculum for Grades K-8. Available to schools free of charge, the curriculum has been crafted for educators with a range of experience. 

Unique in its multidisciplinary approach, lessons incorporate history, language arts, geography, science, and sociology. A spiral curriculum, lessons introduce the topic of race starting in Kindergarten, encouraging students to form a positive sense of identity, and increase in complexity throughout the grades as students analyze forms of systemic racism.

In this workshop, we will review key objectives of the curriculum and best practices for teaching race and racism in the classroom. A goal will be to create a common understanding of how to speak and think of race. After taking this workshop, participants will better understand race as a social construct and feel more confident and inspired to incorporate race into their teaching.

Monique Vogelsang

Monique Vogelsang is a dedicated educator and curriculum writer. Born in California, to a large, multiracial family, Monique graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Bachelor’s degree in Black Studies. Upon graduating, she joined Teach for America and moved to New York City, where she taught in Harlem public schools and earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching. She transitioned to The Dalton School, an independent K-12 institution in NYC, where she served as a classroom teacher and worked on the annual Diversity Conference. A certified racial literacy trainer, Monique is now a consultant, and a curriculum specialist for Pollyanna Inc., a nonprofit working to promote and improve DEI efforts in schools and other institutions across the nation. In this role, she spearheaded Pollyanna’s Racial Literacy Curriculum for Grades K-8 and the Parent/Guardian Companion Guide.

Currently, Monique leads professional development workshops and consultations for academic audiences, from administrators, educators, and students, as well as other institutions interested in expanding their racial literacy.

Facilitators: 
Dr. Ted Fish, Director, Fish Leadership Consulting
Zach Loeks, Director, The Ecosystem Solutions Institute

Audience: Environmental Educators, Sustainability Coordinators, Science Educators, Social Emotional Learning Coordinators 

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: $150 

Is your school fully leveraging the power of its land to inspire leadership, wellness and societal resilience?

Many campuses have installed alternative landscapes, gardens and even farms. In this workshop, learn about an approach specifically designed to empower change at your school and beyond. Leadership educator Dr. Ted Fish will team with ecological author/designer Zach Loeks to present a method of building edible micro-landscapes for community change. These landscapes, which can be as small as 25 ft2, provide: 

• Prolific sequestration of carbon through a layered approach to landscaping
• Habitat for pollinators
• Living laboratory potential for school programs
• Improved wellness of the school community
• And more!

They can also be sites of inspiration that encourage people to plant more and more of them, thereby opening a flow of greater and greater biodiversity, regeneration, carbon sequestration, and perhaps most importantly: human empowerment in action!

Dr. Ted Fish

Dr. Ted Fish works with independent and public schools, universities and non-profits throughout North America to build cultures of leadership. He believes in the power of leaders to inspire innovative, powerful change that improves the quality of life in immediate and far-reaching ways.

From 2009-19, Ted was the Executive Director of the gcLi (The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute), a role from which he mentored hundreds of independent school educators across America. He is currently guiding intensive change initiatives at a public school district outside of Philadelphia, a major Research University in the Midwest, and a number of independent schools and companies.

Ted has been a school founder, teacher, and professional development leader and now directs Fish Leadership Consulting. He loves ISEEN, having begun his career teaching environmental education on a ranch in Muir Beach, CA!

Zach Loeks 

Zach Loeks is an author, illustrator, educator, designer and grower who specializes in Edible Ecosystem Design.  He consults with colleges, schools, municipalities and homes across North America, in addition to biomes as varied as Guatemala and South Africa to the Yukon and Mongolia.

Zach manages an award-winning Ontario farm with diversified food forest products, heirloom garlic, and a hardy tree nursery.  His innovations have won three provincial awards and are featured in his first book: The Permaculture Market Garden. 

Zach's second book (published Fall, 2020) The Edible Ecosystem Solution presents an empowering vision that shows how anyone anywhere can leverage the biodiversity potential of a small land plot into a healthier community and world. Zach is the director of the Ecosystem Solutions Institute, which is dedicated to the education, propagation and inspiration of ecosystem solutions for land use transition. The Institute oversees pathbreaking education sites, including an edible botanical garden near Ottawa, Ontario and a suburban food forest in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Zach is passionate about how small actions - strategically linked - can make big change.

Jonathan Gibson, Lead Matchmaker & Faculty, Wayfinding Academy

Audience: Humans 

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Cost: $150 

Living your life on purpose starts with finding your Why—that belief or passion at your core that drives you in everything you do. But setting out on a purposeful life is a perilous journey. And, counterintuitively, one of these perils is burnout; the more passionate you are about your work, the more likely you are to ignore the signs of burnout until it’s too late. 

In this workshop we will explore our own passions and core values and begin to think about how we can put these into action in our own daily lives and communities. We will also determine how to do so while nurturing your personal vitality and preventing burnout.

Participants will leave with their own personal Why Statement and a self-care plan for preventing burnout as well as interactive tools to take back to their own learning spaces to help others do the same.

Corey S. Pressman, MA, CCFP

Corey is an anthropologist as well as an artist, teacher, writer, and creativity professional. He is Director of the Lifefinding Program at the Wayfinding Academy. Corey is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional who works at the University of Portland School of Nursing, where is he developing interventions and treatments for compassion fatigue among caregiving professionals.

Jonathan Gibson 

As a small child, Jonathan loved giving hugs and taking risks (his mother will happily tell you the story of how, at under 9 months old, he climbed onto the kitchen counter to turn on the toaster oven). He wouldn’t realize it until much later, but these values are at the core of who Jonathan is and how he lives his life. Jonathan is a genuine, caring person who thrives on forming connections and building community. He is passionate about personal growth and self-discovery and has spent his career as an experiential educator honing his skills to facilitate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Along the way, Jonathan has received extensive education and training in social and cognitive psychology, social emotional learning, leadership, and group development (at Duke University, National Outdoor Leadership School, and beyond). He has also sought out valuable life experience in various roles such as World Traveler, Mad Scientist, Hug Trainer, Preschool Teacher, and Wilderness Instructor. His most recent (and most challenging) undertaking has been the role of Daddy to his lively daughter Lilah. Jonathan strives to grow and further discover how to be true to himself as he continues this journey alongside his students at Wayfinding Academy.

Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Cost: Free

This is a classic Sedona hike, leaving from a trailhead about 20 minutes from the Hilton, Back O Beyond.  Just 1.2 miles from the trailhead, with roughly 800 ft of elevation gain, hikers can reach one of the most iconic Sedona vistas and one of the famous “vortexes.”  2.5 miles roundtrip, the trip should take roughly 3 hours, including drive time, and is well worth the excursion.  

Time: 2:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Cost: Free

Option A: 
Village Traverse: Transept to Hiline to Baldwin Trai

Leader: Lauren Kelley

The trail has been a long-time favorite to local mountain bikers and was only recently recognized by the Forest Service, making it a bit of an unknown Sedona gem. Ater a mile of gentle climb, you’ll traverse the base of stunning towers and weave through the classic Sedona flatrocks, descend on the exciting Hiline Trail and finish in front of Verde Valley School.  6 miles, 3 hours hiking + transportation. The trailhead is just five minutes from the Hilton.

Option B: 
Bell Rock

Leader: Taras Ferencevych

This mellow, beginner-friendly classic Sedona outing will allow folks to venture as far or as little as they like around one of Sedona’s most famous features: Bell Rock.  The trailhead is just a few miles from the Hilton and hikers will be encouraged to break off in groups to venture to their liking, meeting back at the trailhead at an agreed-upon time. 

Nestled beneath the shade of the sycamores on the banks of beautiful Oak Creek in Sedona, Tlaquepaque is a distinctive Sedona shopping experience. Authentically fashioned after a traditional Mexican village, Tlaquepaque, meaning the "best of everything," has been a Sedona landmark since the 1970's. Its vine covered stucco walls, cobble-stoned walkways and magnificent arched entryways give you the feeling that Tlaquepaque has been here for centuries. Tasteful galleries and unique shops live in harmony with its lush natural environment.  Stoll, shop, and enjoy.  Drop off and pick up with two hours to explore.

Time: 5:30 PM
Cost: On Your Own

Join the ISEEN family for one final drink and bite after your hike, shopping time, or solo adventures in Sedona. Famous Pizza is an easy local favorite, taking no reservations, and with plenty of local wines and beers to enjoy. Famous Pizza is just a one mile+ walk from the Hilton located in Bell Rock Plaza.