ISEEN Catalyst Institute

Friday, October 24 - Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Dao House Retreat Center | Estes Park, Colorado

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About the Institute  |  Location  |  Workshops & Schedule
Application & Pricing  |  Accommodation & Travel  |  FAQs

 
About the Institute

Catalyst is an inspiring and intimate retreat where school leaders move through a journey designed to unite, empower, and activate. While participants will gather around fires and beneath the stars, they will also roll up their sleeves around case studies, action plans, and strategic change management tools tailored for their institutional needs and goals. We’ll build a strong community of leaders who are empowered, connected, and prepared to return home with a vision for innovation that moves experiential pedagogy from the periphery to the core of their schools. The retreat will launch small coaching cohorts that will partner for 6 months of continued work, providing both accountability and support for a successful enactment of each individual’s action plan for their school. Through immersive, real-world applications and investigations into effective leadership, we will empower school leaders to embrace new approaches that transform their schools, themselves, and their students’ experiences ensuring our schools deliver education that is engaging, relevant, and transformative.

Key Features:

• Immersive Retreat: Participants will live and learn at a remote, idyllic and intimate retreat setting to immerse themselves in a community and the work of institutional growth.
• 6-Month Coaching Cohort: Structured follow-up for continued implementation and accountability.
• Expert-Led Sessions: Thought leaders and practitioners guide discussions and workshops.
• Transformative Experiences: Fireside chats, night hikes, and community celebrations deepen learning and build a community of leaders that endures beyond the institute.

What You’ll Take Away from the Institute:

1. A restorative and inspiring opportunity to unplug from school life and connect with a community of school leaders who share a commitment to programmatic innovation and evolution in the name of transformative, independent education.
2. A personalized action plan specific to your school to support programmatic evolution 
3. Six months of support and accountability through a coaching cohort including monthly meetings and two private coaching sessions.
4. Catalyst Workbook that guides participants through exercises, reflection, and an action plan.
5. Understanding of specific, inspiring models of integrated experiential education programming in each of the five threads of the Catalyst Institute: core academics + Ex Ed pedagogy, Ex Ed assessment, faculty empowerment and activation, Ex Ed and belonging practices, and community as classroom. 
6. Actionable and empowering leadership skills along with approaches to effective team management in facilitating and overseeing institutional transformation.

6-Month Coaching Cohorts 

Change takes time. It requires support. It requires systems to ensure follow through. Given that, Catalyst includes six months of extension work beyond October. Cohorts will launch during the Institute and provide an anchoring, intimate, supportive sub-community in which participants will digest their learnings from the day. On the final day of the Institute, cohorts will work individually and collaboratively to build an action plan so that each participant returns home with a personalized vision for institutional evolution. For six months following the Institute, cohorts will meet virtually with a guide to continue their collective learning, hold each other accountable, hear from each other’s progress, and tackle challenges that come with enacting action plans.

Who Should Attend?

Schools that are ready to transform their institutions will ideally send a team of 2 or 3 of the following leaders:

• Head of School
• Academic Dean / Director
• DEI Director
• Division / Assistant Head
• Experiential Education Director

Meet the Institute’s Designers & Facilitators

The Catalyst Design Team is a passionate group of educational leaders who have been working together with ISEEN Staff since October 2024 to create the Institute’s arc & flow; connect with experts in the fields of core academics and experiential education pedagogy, experiential education pedagogy assessment, faculty empowerment and activation, DEIB, and community as classroom; and to develop engaging workshop content, all toward the objective of supporting school leaders in shifting experiential learning from the periphery to the core of their educational institutions. We are lucky to have the three Design Team members also serve as this year’s Institute facilitators.

	Dr. Barret Fabris is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Lincoln School in Providence, RI where he also leads global education initiatives. Barret has a BA in History and Secondary Education from Loyola University Maryland, a Master’s from Drexel University in Global and International Education with a concentration in Peace Education, and a PhD in International Peace Studies from Trinity College, Dublin. Having been an educator for nearly two decades working in public, independent, parochial, and international school settings, Barret has been driven by two questions raised by educational theorist Henry Giroux, “How do we make education meaningful by making it critical and how do we make it critical so as to make it emancipatory?”
	Cris Harris serves as Hawken School’s Dean of Experiential Education, where he builds and promotes learning opportunities that put the experience of the student at the center of education, including international expeditions, backcountry courses, hands-on wilderness medicine, and investigative journalism. As an instructional coach and consultant, he helps faculty reimagine teaching and learning as transformative opportunities that break out of traditional classroom constraints. A writer of poetry and non-fiction, his memoir I Have Not Loved You With My Whole Heart relates his experience growing up in a household marked by addiction, faith, and the AIDS crisis. He’s currently at work on a collection of essays about paradox in memory, science, and religion. His writing has been recognized with two Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards for non-fiction.
	Lauren Kelley is the Upper School Head at Cascades Academy in Bend, Oregon and a member of the ISEEN Board. In addition to serving as a classroom teacher for twenty years, Lauren has directed diverse experiential programs at a number of independent schools including global scholars, outdoor leadership, community engagement, international expeditions, and deep-dive immersives. She builds programs that disrupt traditional education models and thereby empower teachers and students alike to rediscover themselves and their world, cultivating purpose and impact. She holds a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Vassar College and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Goucher College

Institute Location

Set in the shadow of Long’s Peak and on 81 acres of land backing up to Rocky Mountain National Park, the inaugural ISEEN Catalyst Institute will take place at the Dao House Retreat Center in Estes Park, Colorado. Intentionally remote, awe-inspiring, and rural, this locale offers a chance to unplug from the hustle of school life and imagine what else is possible for ourselves, our teams, and our schools.

Workshops & Schedule-at-a-Glance

Workshop Descriptions

The five-day institute will include a range of interactive, experiential workshops, some of which will be shared by all participants, others will allow for variety and choice. Workshops include:

• Locating Our Why: What is the call to experiential education and programmatic innovation?
• Case Studies: Models of effective, impactful experiential pedagogy integration
• Backwards Designing Our Schools: Auditing our portrait of a learner for programmatic impact
• Brave Leadership: Honest inquiry into authentic and impactful leadership and personal asset mapping
• Activated Teams: Practices in empowerment, collaboration, decision-making, and accountability
• Deep Dives: Integrating the intricacies of the 5 threads of the Catalyst Institute: Faculty Activation; Academic Content + Experiential Education; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; World as Classroom; and Ex Ed Assessment 
• Action Plans & Cohort Launching: Models of change management and customized action plans
• Navigating Obstacles: What prevents schools from innovating and how to mitigate such challenges

Keynotes, Workshop Leads, and Guests

A series of expert speakers, school leaders, and educational leaders will join Catalyst to speak, guide workshops, and join panels. Names and bios will be shared throughout the spring and summer.

Keynote Speaker

A globally recognized voice in education, Tony Wagner currently serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute, founded by Linda Darling-Hammond in 2015. Prior to this appointment, Tony held a variety of positions at Harvard University for more than twenty years, including four years as an Expert in Residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab and the founder and co-director, for more than a decade, of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His previous work experience includes twelve years as a high school teacher, K-8 principal, university professor in teacher education, and founding executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility.

Tony is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and a widely published author. His work includes numerous articles and seven books. Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change The World, was published in 2012 and has been translated into 19 languages. His 2008 book, The Global Achievement Gap continues to be an international best seller, with more than 150,000 copies in print. Tony’s memoir, Learning By Heart: An Unconventional Education, was published by Penguin/Random House in 2020. His latest book, Mastery: The Transformation of Learning for The 21st Century, will be published by Basic Books in September 2025.

Tony served as the Strategic Education Advisor for a major education documentary, “Most Likely to Succeed,” which had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and has since been shown in more than 15,000 communities around the world. He also collaborated with noted filmmaker Robert Compton to create a 60 minute documentary, “The Finland Phenomenon: Inside The World’s Most Surprising School System." Tony has served on the board of several nonprofits, including the Mastery Transcript Consortium and Better World Ed.

Tony earned an M.A.T. and an Ed.D. at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Schedule-at-a-Glance

Friday, October 24 - Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Application & Pricing

For the Catalyst Institute, ISEEN will be accepting applications from interested schools rather than offering open enrollment. We will review applications to determine alignment and readiness of a school to engage with the goals of the Institute. The application process is to ensure participants’ schools are committed to experiential education practices and invested in organizational innovation. 

Additionally, ISEEN requests affirmation of support from a participant's head of school if the head is not attending the institute through completion of the Head of School Support Form. This indicates institutional support for the work of Catalyst and ensures the Institute cohorts will be comprised of leaders comparably committed and aligned to educational innovation. 

The inaugural Catalyst Institute will have around 30 participants supported by three facilitators. Applications will be processed upon receipt and applicants will be notified as soon as possible of their acceptance.

• Preview the Catalyst applications questions
• Head of School Support form

Apply Now

Pricing

Registration fee includes four nights of lodging at the Dao House Retreat Center in Estes Park, Colorado and all meals starting Day 1 dinner through Day 5 breakfast. If participants decide not to take the complimentary shuttle provided, they are responsible for their transportation from Denver International Airport to the retreat center. 

Thanks to a generous grant from the EE Ford Foundation, we are able to offer this $6,000 experience for a significantly reduced price, with a discount of $1,000-$1,900 off for the inaugural year. Teams of three save an additional $800, and Leadership Schools will already receive this team discount. This special pricing is available for this year only.

 *Per person pricing

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Refund and Cancellation Policy

Should you need to cancel your registration you will have two options. A colleague may be substituted at no fee or, if you cancel without substituting your place, the refund policy below will go into effect:

• Cancellation greater than 61 days prior to the Institute: 90% refund

• Cancellation 60-30 days prior to the conference: 50% refund

• Cancellation under 30 days prior to the conference: 0% refund

Please reach out to ISEEN’s Executive Director, Shoshanna Sumka if registration costs are a financial burden for your institution. Limited discounts are available for small schools and international participants. 

Accommodations & Travel

Catalyst is an immersive retreat, not a conference. The program is designed to unite a community of change makers. Thus, the locale is designed to facilitate connection through an immersive five days in which leaders live and learn together, beneath the inspiring Rocky Mountains, unplugged from school life. We will be living under a shared roof, while each having our own space to recharge and restore at the end of our powerful days together. 

Because of that, we value your participation immensely and we ask that when you make your arrangements, you’re able to participate in the full Institute--beginning to end! We believe that participating in all of the Institute activities enhances the quality of your experience and that of your peers. If you know that you cannot manage the full schedule, perhaps consider joining a future Institute. All participants are expected to stay at the Dao House and participate, to the extent that abilities allow, in the full program. 

Dao House Retreat Center

Lodging

On-site accommodations are included in the Institute price. Guests will stay in a private single-room or double-room in Dao House’s beautiful 37,000 sq. ft. wood lodge. Each room has an exterior door to either a deck, balcony or patio view of the mountains, a private bathroom with tub, toiletries, and a hair dryer. If your application is accepted, the only thing you need to book is your transportation to Denver - your lodging and meals are covered. 

Meals

All farm-to-table, organic meals are included in the institute price starting with dinner on Friday’s arrival day and ending with breakfast on Tuesday’s departure day (dietary needs will be supported). Tea and mountain spring water are available 24/7 in the lobby and snacks will be available throughout the day. There are mini-fridges throughout the common areas for guest use. 

Unplug

Wifi available in common rooms only, come ready to dive in.

Bonus! Oxygen Lounge and Daily Movement 

Each morning, there will be optional guided movement classes like tai chi, qi gong, dao yin, mediation, and/or stretching. As guests of Dao House, we are welcome to a complimentary 20 minute oxygen lounge session with either aromatherapy or plain oxygen. At an altitude of 9200 feet, some guests may experience some discomfort or have trouble sleeping from a lack of oxygen. The Oxygen Lounge can help the body to boost its oxygen levels back to sea-level percentages and assist with a natural energy boost and/or alleviate sluggishness, headaches, loss of appetite or nausea caused from altitude sickness. 

Travel

Friday, October 24: Please ensure your travel plans allow you to arrive at Dao House by 3:00 PM to have an hour to settle in before Day 1 programming starts at 4:00 PM.

Tuesday, October 28: Departure is after breakfast on Tuesday, October 28. We ask that participants plan to depart on Tuesday morning and not miss our closing workshop and programming on Monday evening. Dao House check-out is by 11:00 AM on Tuesday. 

Getting to Dao House: 

• Driving: If you are local, you can meet us directly and park at Dao House, 6120 CO-7, Estes Park, CO 80517.

• Flying: Denver International Airport (DIA) is the closest major airport to our retreat site. It is around a 90-minute drive from Denver International Airport to Dao House in Estes Park, CO. Please consider the complementary shuttle or a rideshare to reduce carbon emissions. 

From Denver airport: 

• Shuttles: included in your registration fee, you can catch the Estes Park Shuttle which will depart DIA at 1:15 PM sharp. If participants miss the shuttle or decide not to take the provided shuttle, they are responsible for getting to the retreat center on their own. 

• Rideshare Apps: Uber, Lyft, taxi, etc. - plan ahead and share a ride with a fellow participant! 

• Rental Car: Denver International Airport also has all of the major rental car companies.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is the Catalyst Institute for?
2. What will I get out of it?
3. What does the 6- month coaching component entail?
4. Can I just come for part of the Institute?
5. Can I bring more than 3 people from my school?
6. How much does it cost?
7. Does it include food and lodging? 
8. Why do I need a letter from my Head of School?
9. Who is leading it?
10. I can’t come this year, will it be offered next year?
11. How is the Catalyst Institute different from the Winter Institute and the Summer Teacher’s Institute?
12. Do I need to book my own lodging?

Additional Questions?

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about the Institute. Email us at [email protected] or call us at 206-209-5288

ISEEN Executive Director, Catalyst Program Manager, and Design Team

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is the Catalyst Institute for?
Catalyst is designed for school leaders who are already well-versed in experiential education and are ready to take bold steps toward institutional evolution. Ideal participants include division heads, directors of experiential education, academic deans, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging leaders, assistant heads, and heads of school. Both individuals and small teams (2–3 people) from the same school are welcome.

2. What will I get out of it?
Participants leave with a customized action plan tailored to their school’s needs, supported by a 6-month coaching cohort for continued learning and accountability. You’ll also gain practical leadership tools, inspiring examples of experiential education, and a deep connection to a like-minded community of school leaders.

3. What does the 6-month coaching component entail?
The coaching component includes monthly virtual cohort meetings and two one-on-one coaching sessions. These groups launch during the Institute and serve as an accountability and support system to ensure your action plan is implemented with care and momentum.

4. Can I just come for part of the Institute?
No. Catalyst is intentionally designed as an immersive, full-retreat experience. All participants are expected to stay for the entire duration of the Institute to ensure a cohesive, connected learning environment. If you can’t attend the full program, we encourage you to consider a future Institute.

5. Can I bring more than 3 people from my school?
Yes. While teams of 2–3 leaders are encouraged for optimal collaboration, schools may bring up to 4 participants if desired. Note that group pricing is available for teams of three.

6. How much does it cost?
Thanks to a grant from the EE Ford Foundation, the 2025 Catalyst Institute is offered at a reduced per person rate:

• Leadership Circle Schools: $4,100

• Member Schools: $4,600

• Non-Member Schools: $5,000

• Team of Three: $13,000

• Late registration (after Sept 8): Add $500 per registration

7. Does it include food and lodging?
Yes. The cost includes four nights of accommodations at Dao House, all meals from Friday dinner through Tuesday breakfast, snacks, and access to wellness amenities.

8. Why do I need a letter from my Head of School?
If your Head of School is not attending the Institute with you, we ask for their affirmation of support to ensure your school is aligned with Catalyst’s goals and committed to implementing change upon your return.

9. Who is leading it?
Catalyst is led by a dynamic design and facilitation team of experienced educational leaders—Dr. Barret Fabris, Cris Harris, and Lauren Kelley—along with additional expert speakers and workshop leaders from across the field of experiential education.

10. I can’t come this year, will it be offered next year?
Yes! We hope to offer future iterations of Catalyst after the 2025 special program grant-supported inaugural year. We encourage you to apply this year to take advantage of reduced pricing and a small, intimate cohort.

11. How is the Catalyst Institute different from the Winter Institute and the Summer Teacher’s Institute?
Catalyst is a leadership-focused, retreat-style experience centered on institutional transformation. It includes a long-term coaching component, emphasizes action planning and change management, and is tailored to school administrators and decision-makers. 

The Winter Institute is designed for administrators, directors, staff, and teachers who direct various strands of experiential education programming such as outdoor adventure education, global education, service-learning and community engagement, student leadership, diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability, and environmental justice to share best practices and learn from each other. 

The Summer Institute is for classroom teachers of Math, English Language Arts, Elementary Education/Lower School (Interdisciplinary), Global Languages, Science, History (Social Studies), and Makerspace Pedagogy to bring experiential pedagogy to their curriculum and teaching practices.

12. Do I need to book my own lodging?
No. All lodging is included in the registration fee. You only need to arrange your transportation to Dao House in Estes Park, Colorado if you do not take the complimentary shuttle from Denver International Airport.