From there to here
The Education Background
The child of two educators, I have been rethinking education since my teenage years working the family farm in the Spokane Valley. My first mentor, a fourth grade teacher, agreed to let me serve as a volunteer teacher at the age of 17. From these very first experiences in the classroom, I understood how critical it was for learning to authentically honor learners.
My experiences as a volunteer served as a catalyst for my career. Early on in my educational practice, My passion and commitment to student learning led to my applying for and being awarded a Bill and Melinda Gates Grant, the Technology Leadership Project in 2001. My curiosity about the evolving role of technology in education pushed me to experiment with blended learning, network literacies, and digital collaboration during a time when very few schools were savvy to the coming shift.
My dedication to students drove me to document my learning as an educator, an instructional leader, an administrator, and a consultant to technology startups. Sharing my insights through my blog and podcast, I caught the attention not just of local leaders, but of leaders around the world. In 2010, I was invited by the Prince of Bahrain to participate in conversations to reimagine teaching and learning for his country. In 2018 and again in 2020, I was invited by the UN to share my thoughts at the Global Knowledge Summit in Dubai.
Today I has upskilled more than 75,000 educators around the world. I have been a keynote speaker at dozens of events globally, and have consulted with over 200 School Districts. I founded an international consortium of consultants, and I have developed professional development pathways that have created sustainable change for modern learners.
Unwavering is my personal passion and mission to ensure schools prepare students for their future, and not our past. I has never stopped learning, and I has never stopped volunteering my support for students. I am currently working on a new book, new professional learning pathways, and a new podcast series from my home in Seattle.
The Business Background
Sometimes you build your knowledge and sometime you have knowledge you have built.
For years as an educator & consultant I traveled the country and world helping others understand how to engage the Millennial and then the Gen Z generations in our classrooms. What makes these generations tick? What drives their passions and engagement in the classroom and as employees? I found myself reading and studying everything I could about these generations. Then a pandemic hit and organizations were thrust into remote work. Leaders across all sectors where thrown into a world of having to create and maintain a company cultural remotely. I would hear friends and friends of friends who worked in the corporate world complain about “employees today” and it sound an awful lot like “kids today” that I had been hearing for years in education. As I listened to these leaders talk about the struggles they were having with employees I casually started recommending ideas and advice that would engage a generation that was different, that had different goals, different priorities, and a different definition of “work” let along “hard work”. I soon realized that the generational divide that I discuss within education is not just an educational divide and found myself supporting organizations in understanding generational leadership. Or in other words how do you lead across generations? This work has lead me to support businesses in creating onboarding programs, support leaders and those in middle management, and whole teams in understanding each other and each others unique abilities and priorities we all bring from a generational perspective.
I often get asked why a business or organization should work with me, and educator of all people. I happen to have a unique perspective in supporting organizations in understanding the four generations that are in our workforce. A first in American culture. After all I am a Gen Xer, my parents were Boomers, and I have taught and helped others understand Millennials and Gen Zers for over 20 years as they grew up to become the employees of today. Today’s employees are yesterday’s students and I have news for you….they haven’t changed.
Business endeavors include:
Co-started one non-profit
Co-started two companies
Run a successful consulting business
Run a successful real estate business
Have lived in 3 other countries (Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand)
Have visited/presented in over 50 countries
Have presented twice at UN sponsored conferences
Consult with Fortune 500 companies
