David West is a member citizen of the Potawatomi Nation. He is recently retired from 21 years as Director of Native American Studies at SOU. With a Master’s Degree in Community Psychology from the University of Alaska, he has also taught at Rogue Community College and been a leader in facilitating Native community events, traditional ceremonies, and educational visits to schools. He is also a veteran of the US Air Force. He has been the recipient of awards from the Oregon Indian Education Association for Indian Educator of the Year. His focus is on revitalization of Native American ecological practices to promote the welfare of Mother earth and all our relations.

Jack Miller teaches courses in holistic education and contemplative education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is author/editor of 20 books including, The Holistic Curriculum, Love and Compassion: Exploring their Role in Education and most recently his memoir, A Holistic Educator’s Journey. His writing has been translated into 9 languages. 

Andrea Purcell As a classroom teacher, I worked to bring what I had learned into my own practice. During those teaching years, I was introduced to Big Picture Learning. The simple foundations of structuring learning opportunities around Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor resonated deeply and have informed the work I have done as a teacher, principal, and consultant for the past 20 years. I believe in the power of education to battle the inequities pervasive in our communities.

David Marshak is the author of Evolutionary Parenting, Inviting Youths to Claim the Power of Their Imaginations: A Guidebook, and The Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness. He lives in Arcata CA. He believes that supporting youths’ empowerment offers the best hope for a more positive future.  

Assoc. Prof. Prapapat Niyom is the founder of Roong Aroon School and President of Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts and Development in Bangkok, Thailand. The schools are based on holistic education and rooted in Buddhist principles. Both exemplify Dr. Niyom’s application of Life is Learning or Learning is Life, interpreted from Buddha Dharma, Somdej Phra Buddhagosajarn, P.A. Payutto. These learning communities, together with their broader learning networks have been proudly generating active and socially engaged citizens that include high school students, architects for community and environmental development, professional teachers in holistic education, and social entrepreneurs for the sake of sustainability of mankind and the earth.

Tobin Hart, Ph.D. serves as Professor of Psychology in the University of West Georgia.  He is co-founder of the ChildSpirit Institute, a nonprofit educational and research hub exploring and nurturing the spirituality of children and adults (www.childspirit.net). His work explores human consciousness especially at the nexus of psychology, spirituality, and education. His recent books include: The Four Virtues, The Integrative Mind: Transformative Education for a World on Fire, From Information to Transformation: Education for the Evolution of Consciousness, Transpersonal Knowing, and The Secret Spiritual World of Children.

Marni Binder is an Associate Professor and currently the Associate Director for Academic Leadership in The School of Early Childhood Studies, at X University (Ryerson University) in Toronto.  Prior to 2007, she was predominantly a primary educator in downtown Toronto for 23 years. Past research with children focused on the visual arts, spirituality, storytelling, and multimodalities. Her artistic practice, research and teaching are rooted in arts-based education and a holistic philosophy, including issues of equity, diversity and social justice. She brings creativity and mindfulness practices to the scholarship of teaching and learning in her mentorship of faculty and students.  For more information about publications and projects see https://www.ryerson.ca/early-childhood-studies/about/people/faculty/marni-binder/

Bruce Novak is currently writing The Opening of the American Heart: The Great Educational Awakening on the Horizon of Democratic Life, seeking to bring the democratic public to a definitive understanding of how the instituting of holistic education is integral to a bona fide democracy. He has authored numerous articles bridging the fields of philosophy, political theory, and literacy, and co-edited the International Handbook of Holistic Education (Routledge, 2019). He was the winner of a 2013 University-Wide Teaching Excellence Award at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is currently Immediate Past Chair of the Holistic Education SIG of AERA.

For the past decade, Ali Smith has helped young adults enhance their team-building skills and communication. Through cooperative games, initiatives, and puzzles she encourages children of all ages to reflect on their ideas and actions as well as their reactions to others all with to goal of a cohesive team in mind. Ali is an assistant director at a summer camp in Rochester, NY where she helps program engaging group activities and camp-wide events. During the school year, she is a middle school literacy specialist and district wellness coordinator. In her spare time, Ali is a ski patroller at Bristol Mountain and enjoys hiking and snowshoeing with her dog Shanti.

Amanda Fiore is a doctoral student in International Education Policy at the University of Maryland. Previously she earned her M.F.A. in creative writing and worked extensively overseas as an English teacher and curriculum developer, which led to her current research into intersections of Global English, narrative research, and storytelling. She is a 2021 Boren Fellowship recipient and will be conducting her dissertation research in Taiwan in 2022. 

Dr. Amy Chapman is the Director of the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She researches factors which support or inhibit youth civic participation, particularly nurturing spirituality in education. A former public school teacher, Amy holds three degrees from Boston College and a doctorate in educational psychology and educational technology from Michigan State University.

Andrea Laubstein, a holistic educator and yoga teacher, developed a children’s yoga teacher training course which she facilitates in several countries including India, Italy, and Singapore. Andrea spent her past two years working as a kindergarten teacher at The Roong Aroon School in Bangkok, Thailand where she worked alongside many brilliant teachers that emanated values of holistic education. 

Dr. Angela Stoltz is Assistant Clinical Faculty in the University of Maryland College Park’s division of Teaching, Learning, Policy, and Leadership. In her role as Assistant Clinical Faculty, Dr. Stoltz serves as the Middle Grades Mathematics and Science Professional Development School (PDS) coordinator. Dr. Stoltz teaches mathematics education courses to pre-service and in-service teachers. She has worked to include issues of access, equity, and diversity in K-12 STEM classrooms into her courses, including materials that support pre-service and in-service teachers’ understanding of Indigenous education and supporting Indigenous students in K-12 classrooms. 

Annie O’Shaughnessy is a writer, speaker, educator and consultant. Founder and director of the Holistic Restorative Education certificate program at Saint Michael’s College, she also works in schools in Vermont and beyond as a consultant to support school transformation. Founder of True Nature Teaching consulting, and co-Founder of Partners in Restorative Change 501(3)c, Annie strives to help foster and build school communities where practices, policy and procedure work to support the development of our best selves.

Ayako Nozawa, Ed.D., MA, is a holistic educator, speaker, coach, and Director of International Educator Training Rasur Foundation International. Dr. Nozawa has shared the Connection Practice, the holistic SEL approach, to more than 500 participants and has been teaching and supporting families and educators world-wide for 30 years. Among many English/Japanese articles on education, published works include: The power of contemplative practices –Their impact in educators’ personal and professional lives, LAN, Germany, 2009. Dr. Nozawa currently lives in Boise, Idaho.

Bob London is a professor emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino; program coordinator for the MA in Holistic and Integrative Education; and director, Spirituality and Education Network. My major professional interest is clarifying the implications of a spiritual perspective in education, particularly a spiritual perspective that is consistent with a variety of spiritual traditions and appropriate for a secular setting.  My specific interests include: identifying principles and statements concerning education considered consistent with a spiritual perspective, clarifying the implications of a spiritual perspective for developing a strong connection with Nature, describing a research methodology consistent with a spiritual perspective, and transformative approaches to teacher education.

Camden Vancil discovered his path in life was not a career in finance, but rather exploring the potential of spirit. He got his Masters in Humanistic Psychology from the University of West Georgia and then to teach at the Roong Aroon School in Thailand. He attributes a holistic education as the greatest tool toward enriching the lives of future generations

Christopher Nye received a PhD in American Studies, and during his career in higher education he instituted service learning programs and designed and ran several after-school programs at elementary schools using college students as mentors. He co-founded Educate the Whole Child, an initiative to identify and certify public schools that are doing just that. ETWC has national reach and is building a network of schools that are doing bold and pioneering work to restore child-centered and project-based learning to its rightful place in schools. He is also published poet and author of the children’s book, The Old Shepherd’s Tale.

Denise McHugh is a student affairs educator at the University of Maryland. She incorporates holistic teaching methods in introductory courses for freshmen and new transfer students and in developing programs in her unit’s meditative garden labyrinth. She is also a doctoral student in international education policy, interested in contemplative methods across faith traditions.

Emily Belcastro holds strong values surrounding holistic and social emotional learning and getting the chance to dive deeper into these ideas with like minded people is truly a gift. She is an SOU senior studying education and is active in educational leadership within our community. She is co-president for the up-and-coming Holistic Education Club here at SOU and is a member of the HTLC conference committee. She represented SOU at the NEA conference this year. Her presentation is on a holistic approach to classroom management that focuses directly on teaching children positive relationships with difficult emotions, personal autonomy, and the power of taking time to feel what you are feeling. It is an honor to be presenting with such an incredible group of educators and holistic leaders.

Giovanni Rossini PhD (University of Toronto / OISE) is a philosopher and independent scholar whose research interests span the fields of holistic and contemplative studies in education and, in particular, the terrain of arts-based contemplative inquiry. John recently published Self and Wisdom in Arts-Based Contemplative Inquiry in Education: Narrative, Aesthetic and the Dialogical Presence of Thomas Merton (Routledge International Studies in the Philosophy of Education, 2021). 

Haley Moore is a doctoral student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. She has been teaching music for over ten years, and from 2017-2018 she served on the faculty of Louisiana State University as a strings music education professor. Ms. Moore has been an active member of the holistic education community since 2015, and her research interests include mindfulness, core reflection, mindful music education, and creating holistic classrooms. She is a United States representative for the Asia-Pacific Network for Holistic Education.

Heather Hutton has been a public school educator for over 23 years. In addition to teaching elementary general music and Choir, she is also involved in creating classes for social emotional learning and mindful wellness for middle and high school students. Heather is a 2019 SOU graduate with a Master’s in Education degree.

Jay Schroder has been a high school English, social studies, and creative writing teacher for the past 22 years. During that time, he’s taught everything from AP to remedial English to alternative education. He’s a fifth-degree black belt in karate, an award-winning poet, and winner of the 2021 Oregon Excellence Award in Teaching English Language Arts. He is the founder and director of the Teach From Your Best Self Institute, an organization with a mission to support and inspire teachers. He offers teacher trainings and coaching sessions based on the material in TFYBS.

Jeremy Surry is a Graduate Assistant. He holds a Bachelors degree in Biology at the University of West Georgia and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Psychology at the University of West Gerogia as well. His professional goal is to further his education and obtain a Ph.D. He would like to create his own practice using the Open Dialogue Approach. His hobbies are weight training, team sports, shooting ranges.

Jessica Coles-Black has been a Special Education Teacher for over 20 years working with students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders in urban settings across the country. She is currently preparing to defend her dissertation entitled “Raising Awareness of Empathy and Its Role in Student-Teacher Relationships”.  As a teacher and  educational consultant, Jessica seeks to inspire teachers. Her goal is to develop more effective teachers by creating an understanding of student-teacher relationships utilizing equity-based practices carried out through mindfulness and trauma-informed practices. Jessica and her wife are proud of their family, which includes biological, step, and foster children ranging in age from 3 to 17.

Jing Lin is Harold R. W. Benjamin Professor of International Education in the program of International Education Policy at University of Maryland, College Park. She has published many books and articles on peace, sustainability, contemplative holistic education, including: Love, Peace and Wisdom in Education;Spirituality, Religion, and Peace Education; and Contemplative Pedagogies for Transformative Teaching, Learning, and Being.

John Bickart likes to work in the background and let good ideas speak for themselves. Children, and sometimes adults, know what they want. We empower ourselves when we listen to our hearts. I have been a teacher/professional workshop instructor for a half century, working with both adult and child populations. I believe in helping a student go through personal transformation above learning information. Professional offerings include: higher ed. pre-service teacher preparation, in-service teacher workshops, high/middle school science and math for youth at risk, science topics for incarcerated individuals, and educational software development.

A veteran English teacher at American High School in Fremont CA, John Creger is a recipient of NCTE’s James Moffett Memorial Award for Teacher Research, author of a book on the Personal Creed Project and numerous professional articles on teaching for students’ self-discovery, and an experienced presenter. Explore his work in his online course Teach Your Students to Find Themselves. Reach him at john@personalcreed.com.

John King is the Director for the Division of Education, Health and Leadership at Southern Oregon University.

Katie Doering is the principal of Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto School, a private school dedicated to compassionately addressing the academic, social and emotional needs of seriously ill children and their siblings. She is also a part-time instructor at Acadia University and OISE/UT. Her research interests include critical literacy, inclusive education, and holistic education. 

Kim Harpham: Failing in her attempt to retire after 37 years of secondary level teaching and coaching, Kim alighted here at Southern Oregon University. While also involved in several other leadership development programs, she especially treasures co-working with and in SOU’s School of Education, where we support the crucial shift towards holistic lifelong learning.

As an educator, author, and musician, Lisa Marie Tucker inspires people to connect with their deepest self, others, the Earth, and beyond.  She has been involved in holistic education for over 3 decades, serving as a teacher in the early years, directing programs at a Children’s Museum, and working with teacher candidates at the University of Winnipeg.  

Margaret Perrow is professor and chair of English at Southern Oregon University, where she also works closely with pre-service teachers in the School of Education’s MAT program. As director of the Oregon Writing Project at SOU, she facilitates professional learning opportunities designed to support teachers in southern Oregon as teachers, writers, and leaders. 

Maria Vamvalis is a PhD Candidate at OISE, University of Toronto where she is researching climate justice pedagogies that nurture meaning, purpose and hope in learners.  She is an educator, facilitator and consultant with a commitment to nurturing youth and planetary well-being and a holistic critical consciousness that leads to regenerative action and change.

Michael Maser is a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University (BC Canada) exploring the nature of youth learning experiences for his doctorate research. He is a longtime advocate and practitioner of personalizing learning and he helped to co-found and lead the innovative SelfDesign learning community in BC, in which he worked for 15 years, and prior to that, Virtual High learning community. Michael began experimenting with Personal Ecolography surveying several years ago as a way to solicit background information from students and strengthen his approach to personalizing learning for each student. He lives in Gibsons BC where he is an avid hiker, swimmer, and ‘shroomer. He is also adjunct faculty with Antioch University’s Individual Masters program. 

Michele A. Pavilionis grew up in small-town Ashland Oregon, spending time in the woods and hiking the local trails since she was a youth. A mother of two, Michele has been a naturalist and educator in the outdoors for over 20 years. Former lead instructor and creator for an outdoor wilderness survival program for preschoolers. Experience includes training as a circle facilitator for female youth circles; level one challenge course facilitation; wilderness first aid and responder certification; basic archery and Qigong instructor. She is trained and practiced in mindfulness-based, non-violent communication skills as well as restorative justice mediation. Michele earned her bachelor’s degree with a major in Early Childhood Development, minoring in OAL and NAS. Michele focused her master’s degree in Holistic Education, building on to curriculum combining the interdisciplinary aspects of Outdoor Adventure Leadership and Native American Studies, with recent certifications in NAS and Holistic Education from SOU. She has been a presenter at AORE and PGMONE, and continues to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors.

Nick Oredson has years of experience developing best practices for successful group facilitation. He currently leads a variety of healing Circles in the Rogue Valley, both men’s groups and mixed gender groups. Nick holds a Master’s degree in Education from SOU and is currently working on a book on unconscious bias, due in the Spring of 2022.

Paul Condon is an associate professor of psychology at Southern Oregon University, visiting lecturer at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal, and a fellow of the Mind & Life Institute. His research examines how psychological science can inform meditation practices for compassion and wisdom. He regularly teaches meditation practices adapted from the Tibetan Nyingma tradition.

Paul Freedman is the parent of two adult children, and husband to Andria. He lives on Orcas Island in Washington State where he is co-founder and Head of School of the Salmonberry School, an independent holistic pre-K-6 school. He has been a public and private elementary classroom teacher for 28 years and a school administrator for 20.  Paul also teaches at Antioch University’s Individualized Studies Concentration in Transformative Learning Communities and the TIES MEd program at Union Institute&Universities, where he leads the concentration in Integrative Learning. He currently serves as the Coordinating Editor of the Holistic Education Review and the co-Director of the Holistic Education Initiative.

Paula Lynam is committed to assisting early childhood practitioners in deepening their knowledge and skills while cultivating a sense of wellbeing through topics including: Holistic Education, Nature Connection, Creativity, and Soul in Education. Paula, who earned her M.Ed. at Southern Oregon University, serves as an adjunct instructor at Rogue Community College, Southern Oregon University, Waldorf Teacher Training Eugene, and has a Waldorf-inspired nature-based preschool. She is currently working on Graduate Certificates in Positive Psychology (University Missouri), and Co-creating the Emerging Future (Schumacher College).

Rebecca Tree, M. Ed., is an adjunct faculty member at SOU, Director of the Community Preschool at SOU and a strong advocate for play and reverence for childhood. She has served in the early childhood field for over 30 years. Teacher Rebecca, as she is known at the preschool, considers herself a research junky in best practices and promising early learning frameworks worldwide, hoping to elevate the view of caregivers and the art of caring.

Dr. Renee Owen: Renee Owen teaches Educational Leadership, Adult Learning, and Human Relations in the School of Education at Southern Oregon University. Dr. Owen has more than two decades of experience as a holistic school leader in unique public and private schools. She uses a holistic, human-centered approach toward closing the opportunity gap and uplifting the human spirit.

Dr. Robin Ann Martin serves as an instructor at Southern Oregon University. She has a long-standing interest in holistic education, and most recently worked for 3 years at Roong Aroon School in Bangkok, Thailand. From 2006 to 2018, she worked with teacher training programs in universities and schools in The Sultanate of Oman, Turkey, and Malaysia.

Dr. Rupert C. Collister has worked in the post-compulsory education sector for over twenty-two years and his experience reflects the diversity of the sector in its broadest sense. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia, which explored the interconnections between holistic and transformative learning, Indigenous ways of knowing, and Eastern philosophy. 

Sherry Ayers is microbiologist for the Food and Drug Administration and currently serves as the Chair of the Commissioner on the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs. Sherry is a Past board member of the Baltimore American Indian Center and served as Chairperson for the North Carolina Native American Youth Organization. Sherry served on the North Carolina Board of Commission of Indian Affairs as a Student Representative and is a member of the Lumbee and Cohaire Tribes. 

Stacey Drew, OTD, OTR/L, a pediatric occupational therapist in school-based and private practice for 20 years uses holistic approaches to health and wellness to support children’s development.  A collaborative doctorate project in school-based occupational therapy is presented annually and utilized in classrooms.  Stacey is part of the core team for the Love Peace Harmony Children Youth and Families global committee and assists with educational program development.

Stasie Maxwell has been a practitioner of Tai Chi and Qigong for over a decade and has taught both publicly and privately. Recently, she has enjoyed creating meditations based on the earth, animals, and plants, and enjoys exploring the interconnectedness of different spiritual or religious beliefs in relation to meditation and prayer.

Sunnya khan is a PhD candidate at OISE, University of Toronto. Her research interests lie in the mystical and subversive aspects of academia and higher education. Currently, she is engaged in researching the impacts of expressive writing on student agency, voice, confidence, authenticity, spirituality, intuition, etc. The question that propels her work is “What happens when we give our personal experiences an academic tongue?”

Susan Howson, MA, CPCC, PCC, CHBC, is a university instructor, innovative life coach, best selling author, humanitarian award winner and possibility thinker who inspires others personally and professionally.  Susan leads the core team for the Love Peace Harmony Children Youth and Families global committee. She connects children, youth and adults to their heart and soul, empowering them to Manifest their Magnificence, creating a better world.

Tamara James-Wyachai was born in California, but have been on the move ever since. Working with young people has long been an avocation; being pulled into education was inevitable. Currently, she lives in Bangkok with her son, dogs and cats, where she is the Academic Director of the Roong Aroon International School. 

Dr. Thomas Peterson has served for the past 30 years as a professor of Social, Cultural and Philosophical Foundations of Education at the University of West Georgia. He teaches teacher education courses including philosophy, critical theory, and history. His research interests include teachers’ inner-life, teacher burnout/renewal, growing a spiritual classroom, and igniting a SPARK in youth from high-risk settings. Son of a preacher, Tom lived his formative years in South East Asia. Prior to his appointment at UWG, he was an elementary/middle school principal in NC, art teacher in California and Maryland, World Masters gold medal winner in badminton, flight instructor, and missionary pilot to Africa.

Tom Browning is an Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Wayne State College. Prior to joining the Wayne State College faculty, he was a graduate student and associate instructor at Indiana University-Bloomington. His scholarly interests reside within the intersection between equity literacy and core reflection. 

Tom McGuire directs school outreach and site study aspects for Educate the Whole Child. In doing this. he draws on his experience as a middle and high school teacher of English, Social Science and Student Activism. He also draws on his higher education and program development expertise gained through many years of developing emergent teachers and school principals.  He holds degrees in Curriculum Development and in Educational Leadership. Tom directed the Northern New England site of the Principal Residency Network. PRN was developed by Dr. Dennis Littky, Dr. Ted Sizer, and Deborah Meier at Brown University.  Tom was invited to the planning team to represent school leaders who exemplified best whole child education practices in a school setting. 

Dr. Younghee M. Kim is a child development specialist and professor in the School of Education at Southern Oregon University (USA). Her scholarship includes holistic teaching and learning, core reflection approach to whole teacher development, human potential, presence, and contemplative education, and linking play to practice. She is a co-author of the book Teaching and Learning from Within: A Core Reflection Approach to Quality and Inspiration in Education (2013) and a co-editor of the book Imagine a Place: Stories from Middle Grades Educators (2017).