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Jen Bamesberger
Middle School Educator
303-440-7520, extension 136
jen@watershedschool.org
Jen dove into experiential education two decades
ago at Slide Ranch, guiding kids and families in milking goats, feeding
chickens, creating compost, and exploring tide pools north of San
Francisco. Since then she has integrated technology in Bay Area
elementary schools, managed product development of web-based
curriculum, taught 7th and 8th grade life and physical science,
coordinated science curriculum and service projects for public schools
in northern California, and supervised Funky Art Treasures, where kids
led workshops making art from recycled materials.
Jen
earned a B.S. in Biology and worked with public and private natural
resource management agencies to preserve endangered species, wading in
creeks to count Coho salmon, documenting feeding and nesting habits of
Roseate Terns and Piping Plovers, and measuring territories of Spotted
Owls.
She believes that kids need to emerge from
school not only with a bank of facts, a clear conceptual framework, and
the ability to think critically, but that they also need to be
practiced in being curious, in knowing how to immerse themselves in a
topic and pose their own intriguing questions. Her passion as a teacher
is to build students willingness and confidence to figure things out
for themselves.
Jen joined the cadre of science
teachers at the Exploratorium Teacher Institute in 2003. She has guided
adolescents in white water rafting and enjoys any outdoor adventure
involving hiking or rivers, especially discovering new hot springs. An
avid contra dancer and sometime cellist, she is excited to explore a
new region of the country and ready to learn alongside the kids this
year about Colorado agriculture, geology, and geography. |
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Jason Berv, Ph.D.
Founder and Head of School
303-440-7520, extension 104
jason@watershedschool.org
Jason grew up in New England, and discovered the
amazing beauty of Colorado after graduating from Brown University in
Rhode Island. His previous experience with teens includes leading
community service programs on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in
Montana, backpacking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and
biking trips in Nova Scotia and Maine. In addition to serving as the
Assistant to the Head at Northfield Mount Hermon School, he has been a
high school teacher of religious studies and ethics, trained teachers
for a national test preparation company, and was an instructor in the
University of Colorado’s teacher education and chancellor's leadership
programs. Jason received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, and
his research on curricular innovation has been published in the Journal
of Experiential Education and the Yearbook of the National Society for
the Study of Education. Jason currently consults with independent
schools throughout the country on issues of schedule and curriculum
redesign. |
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Aaron Broderick
Aaron
began creating curriculum as an undergraduate student with the National
School Reform Faculty at Harmony School in Bloomington, Indiana just
over 15 years ago. As a part of an Individualized Major Program
he created coursework alongside university professors researching
experiential education, designing learning experiences for both his
students and himself through the coursework he was teaching at Harmony.
His fascination with innovative curriculum design and the small school
initiative set the course for his career.
Aaron’s passion
and enthusiasm for experience-based learning has taken him around the
world and back again. The search for inspiring teaching and
learning opportunities has led him to Malaysia and Kazakhstan.
Aaron designed a middle school math and science program for two new
international schools over the course of four years. He retuned
to Colorado in 2004 to help start an Expeditionary Learning School as a
part of a district-wide school restructuring effort in North
Denver. Most recently his education path found him in Nepal
restructuring a middle school science and math program for a school
that represented over 40 nationalities. The opportunity to design
experiential, place-based, authentic curriculum has resulted in
archeological explorations of the steppe along the Silk Road, snow
science in the Alps, ecology in the jungles of Asia and ethnographic
studies of hill communities in the Himalaya. The opportunity to
inspire students through amazing learning experiences is what resonates
most with Aaron. It is not surprising that he has found a new
home at the Watershed School.
When Aaron is not planning
rich learning opportunities for his students, he is planning adventures
for himself. His thirst for discovery and growth has placed him
at the base of some of the most spectacular mountains in the world with
the most beautiful person in the universe, his wife,
Colleen. If he is not camped out on the side of a cliff,
then he is making music and watching the sun set on the hills outside
of his mountain home. |
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Jennifer Curtis
Growing
up in a small town in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts,
Jennifer was able to cultivate a love of nature, exploration, and
community involvement from a young age. After dabbling in the art world
framing and jewelry making, she made the move across the country to
Prescott, Arizona, where she attended Prescott College’s teacher prep
program. While in this program, Jennifer traveled around the Southwest
hiking its canyons, mountains, and city streets to discuss teaching
philosophies, human development, community, and our relationships to
the natural world. During breaks from courses, she backpacked as much
as possible around the United States, Latin America, and Europe to
fulfill a love of travel, meeting new people, and learning about
different cultures.
After graduating with a B.A. and
teaching certification, Jennifer stayed in Prescott to work in a public
middle school teaching Language Arts. During the summer months, she let
go to her wanderlust working as a program manager with Rustic Pathways,
an international community service and adventure travel program for
high school students. This job led her to the rural hill tribes of
Thailand and the mountainous regions of Peru bridging gaps between the
locals and students to complete needed projects. These projects
included building bathrooms, building a library at a Karen refugee
school, improving a water catchment system for a village, and painting
dorms at an orphanage. These experiences helped develop an educational
philosophy to support growth and success in students while inspiring a
love of learning, community, land, self, and acceptance of others.
Through
a variety of educational experiences, both in and out of the classroom,
Jennifer supports learners in finding their passions in life, gaining
skills needed for future success, working on communication, and raising
awareness to the global community and its peoples. Finding Boulder to
have all her essential components, such as mountains to hike and ski,
bike paths, art, a variety of ethnic foods, a good international
airport, and the perfect balance of city and wilderness, Jennifer is
enthusiastic about settling down in the Boulder community.
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Mike Giamellaro
High School Educator
303-440-7520, extension 127
mike@watershedschool.org
Mike's teaching practice grew out of his passion
for whitewater kayaking when he taught and created curriculum for the
University of Wyoming. Realizing how much he enjoyed the teaching, he
incorporated more and more opportunities to add 'educator' to his role
as a biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Eventually, he
returned to school to adjust the balance and make teaching his primary
focus and science secondary.
He has an unquenchable
thirst for learning and while that often happens through books and
other didactic media he recognizes that his learning curve steepens
when he is engaged in an expedition, exploring a foreign environment,
or putting knowledge to practice. This realization forms the foundation
of his teaching practice. So while he is passionate about many
vocational and avocational pursuits, he enjoys most those that have
ample room for new learning.
His formal education
includes undergraduate study at the University of Wyoming (Wildlife
Biology), a Master's in Education from CU Denver, and current
enrollment in a PhD program, also at UCD. He has had the pleasure of
teaching in a wide variety of public and independent schools including
Jefferson County Open School and the Center for Discovery Learning in
Colorado, and Friends Seminary and Packer
Collegiate
Institute in New York City. Topics have included, biology, field
ecology, flight, Lewis & Clark, energy, paleontology, marine
biology, chemistry, physics, photography, extreme environments,
sociology in the Mississippi Delta, mapping, and math. |
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Greg Guevara
Greg
grew up exploring and playing in the Siskiyou Mountains and rivers of
southern Oregon. Throughout high school and college, Greg took
advantage of his surroundings and learned to mountaineer, kayak, rock
climb and ski. While in college at the University of Oregon
earning his BS in Business with a minor in Geography, Greg spent his
summers instructing and guiding whitewater kayaking in both Oregon and
California. Through sharing his love for the outdoors with
others, he began to realize the joy of education and instruction.
With encouragement and mentoring from his father, he took his teaching
skills from the outdoors to the classroom and earned his Master's
degree in Educational Leadership.
After four years in the
classroom teaching middle and high school Social Studies, Greg joined
Academy for Global Exploration as Head of School. Developing and
expanding an internationally traveling high school was the prefect
synthesis of Greg’s background in business, education, and outdoor
adventure. As the principal administrator and guide, Greg led
teens on extended academic and outdoor adventure semesters in South
Africa, Greece, Japan, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Panama and
across 20 of the United States. Blending rigorous experiential
academics, in-depth cultural studies, community building curriculum
with challenging outdoor adventure components has been the focus of
Greg’s career.
Greg now joins Watershed after four
years as Head of School for AGE. He currently holds a Colorado
Alternative Administrator License and Oregon and Colorado Teaching
Licenses for 6-12 Social Studies. His love for the outdoors has
taken him climbing in Kalymnos, Greece, skiing in Hokkaido, Japan, and
paddling on some of the most remote rivers in Costa Rica.
Additionally, Greg is a Wilderness First Responder and an Eagle Scout.
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 | Hannah McNeill
Hannah
grew up along the shore of Lake Michigan in Evanston, IL. She
spent several summers at Camp Echo, a YMCA camp and outdoor education
center. It is nestled on a 427 acre plot--housing different
ecosystems and a variety of flora and fauna; this was where her love
for the outdoors and teaching began.
This passion for
nature and education led her around the country, from Philadelphia, PA
to Burlington, VT and finally here to Boulder, CO. The titles she
has held at different schools vary widely--science teacher, sports
teacher, math teacher, wilderness trip leader, and special educator.
But her goal has stayed the same: to provide meaningful education in a
creative way that will inspire students to do their best. She
believes that patience, encouragement, creativity, and consistency help
to create a positive and supportive environment that teaches the whole
child, and allows them to discover the beauty and complexity of the
world around them.
Hannah began her education at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison receiving her B.S. in Biology. She then
completed a year of service with City Year, Greater Philadelphia, an
Americorps program, giving her an appetite for positive change and a
desire to contribute to communities through community service.
After several years of teaching, she went back to school to learn more
about how to teach to students with different learning styles by
getting her masters degree in Special Education at the University of
Vermont.
When not teaching trigonometry using bicycles or
quadratic equations by making quilts, Hannah can be found doing Aikido
at Boulder Aikikai, or spending time with her husband and two dogs. |
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Liz Meador, Ph.D.
Liz
began her career as an educator in 1980 in Juneau, Alaska, where she
taught reading to Native American children. She has since taught
Kindergarten through graduate school and has been a principal, teacher
educator and educational researcher. Her work has been published in
scholarly journals such as Anthropology and Education Quarterly and
Equity & Excellence in Education, and she has presented her
research on multicultural education at professional conferences
nationally and internationally. Liz was introduced to experiential
education at the Aspen Community School when she enrolled her three
children there. She soon became enamored with the curriculum and
became a teacher leading trips to the wilderness and Mexico, helping
with the annual school musical and learning first hand about the tenets
of progressive education. Her passion for education stems from these
early experiences with schools that focused on engaging the whole child
on a journey of discovery, a journey that she believes is critical to
the development of the intellect.
Liz's graduate degrees
include a teaching degree from the University of Alaska, an MA in
Curriculum and Leadership from University of Denver, and a PhD in
Multicultural Foundations of Education from University of Colorado. Her
favorite pastimes include skiing, hiking, biking and swimming. Her
children are now grown and live in the mountains of Colorado.
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Cory Pavicich
Director of Educational Technologies and College Counseling
303-440-7520, extension 103
cory@watershedschool.org
Cory is a Colorado native born in the small town
of Rye, CO, southwest of Pueblo. As an undergraduate at the University
of Colorado, Cory taught both with Boulder-based Science Discovery, as
well as the Herbst Humanities for Engineers program. He graduated in
2004 with a double major in English and Humanities, and received Summa
Cum Laude honors for a thesis exploring images of teachers and teaching
in classic literature. Through 2005 Cory taught for the local
technology education camp, Bits, Bytes and Bots, where he designed a
substantial portion of their early curriculum. Before heading to
Harvard for an M.Ed., Cory was invited to work on a leadership book
project by the now director of Northwestern University's Leadership
Studies Program, Dr. Adam Goodman; he will be listed as a contributor
on the yet-to-be-published book in leadership studies: Not Another Rule
Book: 6 Leaders, 6 Questions, & You. At Harvard Cory studied under
Eleanor Duckworth and researched the role of freedom in learning, and
under Dr. Chris Dede looking into the growing impact of Google in the
classroom. Cory has also worked as an editor and tutor, and recently
spent a summer installing solar panels in the Denver area. As an
aspiring bohemian, when not at the Watershed School, Cory can most
often be found trying to make his Volkswagen street legal or building
giant domes for the Burning Man festival. |
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Alexis Rebane
Alexis
grew up surrounded by lakes in beautiful Minneapolis, MN. There
she went on frequent camping trips and incurred the wrath of thousands
of mosquitoes. Upon recovering from the bites, and graduating
from high school, she made her way to Beantown to attend Tufts
University. Double majoring in Women's Studies and American
Studies, she benefited from an interdisciplinary approach to education.
After college Alexis took a roadtrip to Colorado and was
drawn to Boulder, in large part because of the amazing Ultimate Frisbee
community thriving here. She also became invested working for
local young adult author T.A. Barron. A lot of her time and
energy went to The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, a non-profit
that gives grants to young people doing great work in their communities.
In
the spring of 2008, Alexis put her things in storage to travel around
Asia with her brother. In Korea, they had the opportunity to
design and implement an English-immersion summer camp progam for
kids. She also got to practice another love, black & white
photography, and would be happy to show you some of her trip
photos! Now that she's back, Alexis is excited to be a part of
the Watershed community. |
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Sarah Rebick
Sarah comes to Watershed after ten years at
Northfield Mount Hermon School, a competitive prep school in western
Massachusetts, where she taught English, and also designed and taught
several interdisciplinary and expeditionary courses. One such course,
Turtle Island Transformed: Literary, Ethical, and Historical
Perspectives on the North American Landscape, brought her and her class
to Boulder and other cities, parks, and towns as they studied the
complex relationship between people and the places where they live and
work. During their stay in Boulder, the students and teachers got an
early glimpse of the Watershed School when they slept on the floor in
the Big Room the year before the school opened!
Sarah
is a skilled teacher of writing and enjoys helping her students develop
their voices and hone their skills. In addition to academic teaching,
Sarah lived in boys' dorms, served as the head coach for girls cross
country and the distance coach for boys and girls track (2007 New
England Champions!), worked with a number of faculty and student
committees, and developed a reputation for good students/parent
advising. She was also instrumental in establishing a Task Force for
Sustainability, a committee of students, faculty, staff, and
administrators who work together to educate the community and advise
the administration in an effort to make the school of 700 students a
more sustainable institution.
Sarah has extensive
outdoor experience, having fulfilled a variety of staff roles at a
traditional summer camp in Maine, and traveled by foot and by bicycle
with her family when she was growing up. She has led backpacking and
canoe trips and has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Sarah
holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College where she
was also a 2-year captain of the nationally ranked womens cross country
team. She earned an MA in English from the Bread Loaf School of
English. When she is not at school, Sarah enjoys running, hiking,
biking, playing with her dog, and reading whatever she gets her hands
on. She looks forward to sharing these passions with the Watershed
community. |
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Taylor Replane
A proud Hoosier, Taylor grew up in South Bend, Indiana, home to corn,
pick-up trucks, and Notre Dame Football. At an early age, Taylor drew
constantly, encouraged by his mom and dad as they would position their
hands or set up objects to draw during dinners with friends and family.
In high school, Taylor took as many art classes as he could, and worked
under a great teacher and mentor, Mr. Thom Andrea. Mr. A's passion for
art and his ability to connect to his students, as well as a few other
outstanding teachers, first influenced Taylor to seek education. While
attending Indiana University, Taylor made a visit to a camp fair where
a big, friendly, Californian gave him a job as a camp counselor at
Mountain Camp, an overnight adventure camp near Pollock Pines, CA.
Mountain camp ignited Taylor's lifelong love with wilderness and
outdoor education.
After bouncing around from subject to subject at Indiana, Taylor
combined his two favorite loves, art and education, and graduated with
a degree in Visual Arts Education. Taylor spent his student teaching
year pursuing a graduate degree in Education in the Navajo Nation,
living at Grey Hills Academy in Tuba City Arizona. Always intrigued
with Native culture and lore from a young age, Taylor spent the year
teaching art, making lasting relationships, and living the very special
and important Navajo existence. This experience has had a huge impact
on Taylor's life and pedagogy.
Somewhere between Indiana and Boulder, Taylor worked every job from
Golf Caddy to Food Delivery Man. A few of the most inspiring and
influential have been working as a guide for 5 years for Moondance
Adventures, a wilderness adventure program for students that uses NOL's
guiding principles as a framework for their education. Also, a stint as
an organic farmer initially inspired Taylor to start a current
endeavor, Taylor's Tinys, an organic donut company located at the
Longmont Farmer's Market.
Between teaching the Culture and Community Expedition at Watershed, and
selling donuts, Taylor loves to be outside, create art, and ride his
scooter. Current passions include tennis with his friend Copeland,
Woodwork with tools from his grandfather, and playing music. Taylor
also is very lucky to have many wonderful friends and family, and lives
with a rather large dog named Avery.
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 | Bhavani Russell
Bhavani
Russell has been a yoga and meditation teacher at Shoshoni Yoga Retreat
in Nederland, Colorado for 17 years. A long-time camp counselor at the
Eldorado Yoga Kids Camp, Bhavani teaches science exploration projects
to elementary and middle school kids every summer. Inspired by the
natural surroundings of Colorado and the kids’ natural wonder at the
world, Bhavani spent this past summer studying insects, hatching
butterflies, and wading in Boulder creek to observe wildlife. Bhavani
holds a BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of
Colorado. |
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Pablo Stayton
Pablo's love of the outdoors, commitment to
innovative educational practices, and experience with teens is
reflected in his 20-plus years of professional work. For the past nine
years, Pablo taught high school Spanish and Humanities at the Rocky
Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning in Denver. When he wasn't
working with students exploring such complex topics as human rights,
the meaning of culture, or the relationship between the structure of
U.S. government and capitalism, he could be found teaching rock
climbing, Mexican cooking, or salsa dancing, or dressed up in a skirt
and sombrero telling a story in Spanish with animal puppets. Each year,
Pablo took students on trips to the Texas/Mexico border and the Copper
Canyon, two areas where, as an Outward Bound instructor, he had
developed deep connections with both the people and the natural
landscape.
Before becoming a high school teacher,
Pablo worked with Outward Bound in many capacities: senior instructor,
course director, instructor trainer, and safety coordinator. He has
spent 1200+ days leading wilderness expeditions with groups of all
ages. He was also a senior administrator, directing OB base camps on
the Texas/Mexico border, and in Arizona. This past summer, Pablo was an
instructor for Puerto Rican Expeditionary Learning teachers and
administrators; it was the first-ever Colorado Outward Bound course
conducted entirely in Spanish.
Pablo earned a
Masters of Global Studies from Denver University, with a concentration
in human rights. His thesis focused on the Tarahumara Indians in the
Copper Canyon.
Pablo's interests include
carpentry, backpacking, canoeing, traveling, and climbing. He also
enjoys playing musical instruments and singing with his three-year-old
son, Lee. |
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Rebecca YarmuthDirector of Admissions and Development
303-440-7520, extension 102
rebecca@watershedschool.org
A Seattle native, Rebecca graduated from The University of Washington
with a degree in Comparative Religion. She started her work as an
educator at New Beginnings for Battered Women and Their Children where
she advocated for teens affected by domestic violence. Through
this work, Rebecca became increasingly committed to helping teens live
healthy lives. To continue her work, Rebecca moved to New York City
where she attended Columbia University Teachers College and received
her Masters in Health Education while teaching at Stuyvesant High
School.
Craving an even more exotic experience, she moved
to El Salvador with her two cats and two dogs where she taught 8th
grade English at the American School of El Salvador, volunteered at La
Casa de Mi Padre orphanage, and traveled as much as humanly possible.
Having
satisfied her need for adventure, Rebecca moved to Boulder to appease
her dogs and indulge her love of the outdoors. There she was had
the good fortune of stumbling upon a new, innovative school called The
Watershed School which was about to open its doors to the Boulder
community. What luck. After wearing many hats over the
years, she continues as Director of Admissions and Marketing.
Rebecca
has lived and traveled extensively in Latin America, Europe, and
Africa. She laughs a lot and loves cooking in her wood-fired oven, running and biking
in the mountains, and anything involving her
dogs. |