ABOUT

Photo by Astra Pierson

I’m a veteran classroom educator and learning facilitator at CRCS Overman, a grades 7-12 project-based, student-centered public charter school in downtown Skowhegan, Maine. While my role allows me to explore content from across the curriculum, I primarily guide learners through human-centered design challenges and foster their capacities for design thinking. I formerly served as Co-Founder and Education Director of the SUCCESS & INNOVATION CENTER at MT BLUE CAMPUS, an empathy-fueled makerspace + mentoring space for all students and faculty here in rural Maine.

In addition to my daily classroom practice, I am the co-author of INTENTION: Critical Creativity in the Classroom with my good friend, Amy Burvall, and perform improv comedy with my team, Teachers Lounge Mafia.

I contribute as a design, development and delivery consultant for the US Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs, writing PANELS & PERSPECTIVES: Creating Comics in the EFL Classroom with editor, Jacquie Gardy, and artist, Josh Alves, amongst other projects and materials.

I’m still humbled to be recognized with the 2019 Horace Mann NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and my invitation to share my vision for empathy-driven education at TEDxDirigo. I’m a member of the Adobe Creative Cloud for Education Creativity Crew, serve on the Advisory Board for SXSW EDU and shares my work with schools, organizations and conferences around the world.

Proud citizen of the western Maine foothills and Bangor native, I’m husband to a ridiculously intelligent and exceptionally attractive school librarian, and dad to two ridiculously intelligent and exceptionally hilarious kids.

Also, I drink diet soda instead of coffee. My dentist frowns upon this.