Founder
The value of an alternative residential high school program strikes a chord with me because I was the kind of kid who needed something more. I was raised in a good home, with parents who were caring and attentive, but by the time I was 14 years old I was making poor choices and heading the wrong direction. Through the interest of a teacher I discovered an alternative high school program that was geared towards both students like me that needed to be there and students who were doing fine but wanted something more engaging and demanding.
That school helped me get on track, challenged me with an experiential education program, laid a foundation for sound decision making, and helped me become a constructive citizen. I graduated from high school confident with who I was, seeing myself as a capable student and with a desire to serve others. That experiential education program, coupled with the spiritual care I was getting from my mom, changed my life. Within a year I was getting all A’s in college at Principia and serving in the Marine Corps Reserves.
I felt well positioned to be able to launch this school in terms of personal and professional experience in wilderness guiding, education, ministry, and counseling.
As an educator, guide, and counselor, I feel confident that we can make a major difference in the lives of Christian Science teens who need a program where they are challenged, educated, inspired and loved.
Education
- BA, Principia College, Religious Studies & Political Science
- Masters of Divinity, Boston University, Biblical Studies
- Christian Science Class Instruction and active church member.
Experience
- Chaplain with Marines for 3 years of active duty and 11 years of reserve duty.
- Outward Bound instructor with teens for 5 years.
- Americorps counselor and instructor for 2 years.
- Counselor and expedition leader at Last Resort for 2 years – a program for at risk and adjudicated youth in Colorado.
- Director at the Adventure Unlimited Ranches for 11 years.
- Home school educator for our high school girls for 6 months as we hiked the 3,000 mile
- Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico.
- The Link School founder
- The Link School director 2008 – 2016
Certifications & Program Credentials
- Licensed and Certified Whitewater River Guide
- Swiftwater Rescue Tech Certified
- Life Guard Certified
- Class V kayaker: including the Grand Canyon and rivers world wide.
- Mountaineering Guide & Climbing Instructor
- American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA) rock, alpine, ice instructor courses
- Wilderness First Responder
- Search & Rescue Team Member
- High Angle Rescue Certified
- Avalanche Tech Level 1
- Ropes Course Supervisor Certification
- Climbed Colorado’s 60+ fourteen thousand foot peaks
- 5.12 rock climber: including the Nose route on El Capitan in Yosemite.
- Hiked the 3000 mile Continental Divide Trail as a family in 2006
- World Travels: decades of trips abroad to explore, boat and climb extensively.
- Ultramarathoner: including the Leadville 100 in Colorado.
- Drug and Alcohol Counselor Level 1 Cert.
- As an educator, guide, and counselor I feel confident that we can make a major difference in the lives of Christian Science teens who need a program where they are challenged, educated, inspired and loved.