Vida Verde Nature Education




	Staff Shawn Sears: Co-Founder, Executive Director and Instructor Shawn grew up in West St. Paul, Minnesota. He attended The Colorado College for a degree in psychology. He then moved to the Mississippi Delta to teach 4th grade for two years (1999-2001) in underfunded public schools. Since then he’s been working with V.V. and living in the country near Half Moon Bay, CA. Shawn loves athletics, adventure in the outdoors, good food, working hard, thinking and learning, and sharing all of this with friends, family and his wife Laura. He also enjoys music with most things, even if it’s just singing the only line of a song that he knows, over and over again. In Vida Verde Shawn has found a perfect fit. It’s a job that suits him well, and is therefore the dream job. There’s always plenty of work, and the tasks are varied and challenging (from the business side: planning, troubleshooting, budgeting, raising money, working with donors and running an office; to the program side: working with and exploring with children, hiring managing and learning with the staff team; to the physical and maintenance side: building projects, maintaining the vehicles, landscaping, working with farm animals, etc.) Finally, and perhaps most importantly Shawn finds meaning in it, in that it’s exactly what he feels is the best way that he can use his skills to help the world be a better place. Laura Sears, Co-Founder and Director of Development Laura grew up in rural western Kentucky and graduated from The Colorado College with a degree in Geology in 1999. She joined Teach For America in ’99, and was a high school special education teacher for two years. In 2001 she moved to California and co-founded Vida Verde with Shawn Sears. She’s been working at Vida Verde ever since, and has worn a variety of hats, from visioning and curriculum planner, to naturalist instructor, to her current position of Development Director. Laura developed a deep appreciation for the importance of camp for kids, and also a lifelong love of the outdoors, as a camper and later counselor (for 10 years of her childhood) at Camp Kanuga in North Carolina. She feels privileged to now give lots of children opportunities similar to those that changed her own life for the better. Laura is a runner, cyclist, soccer player, and all around lover of competitive sports. She’s a voracious reader and knitter, and enjoys cooking, spending time with friends, and finding good music to listen to. Jody Peterman, Office Manager Jody grew up in Duluth, Minnesota near the shores of Lake Superior, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Psychology and Environmental Studies. She's had a passion for being in the outdoors for as long as she can remember, starting with family canoe trips to the Boundary Waters, and summers spent as a camper at YMCA Camp Miller in Minnesota. Jody started her work in summer camp in 1997 at Camp Miller and was excited to give back to the community where she first realized the far-reaching impact that positive outdoor programs can have on youth. Jody has worked in various summer camp programs over the years, most recently directing Camp Unique in Portola Valley. She has witnessed the sorts of amazing transformations that can happen in children who have the opportunity to try new activities, interact with their peers and positive adult role models, and learn about the natural world around them. Jody believes strongly in the Vida Verde program, and loves being part of the Vida Verde team! Jody gets the most excited about camping, swimming, reading, running on the beach, hiking, cooking, baking, biking to work, sailing, knitting, and sleeping outside. Kyle Macdonald, Operations Leader Kyle's experience in the outdoors began on family camping and ski trips in the Northeastern United States. This experience brought him to work in 1993 with the Appalachian Mountain Club for five seasons, maintaining backcountry facilities and leading groups of youth and adults in Maine and New Hampshire. He has worked with the Great Hollow Wilderness School, UC Berkeley's Cal Adventures Program, and The Bay Area Ridge Trail. He has worked as a 4th grade teacher in New Orleans and has worked both in and out of the classroom setting with urban youth in Boston, Detroit and Oakland, California. Kyle is known for his work as founder of Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT). While at BAWT, he was recognized by Stanford University’s School of Education for valuable contributions and outstanding service to the education of low-income children and youth. He is thrilled bring this passion and service for “Educational Equity in the Outdoors” to Vida Verde. In addition to working locally with Vida Verde Kyle is working regionally, with the Bay Area Children and Nature Collaborative, and nationally, building The Outdoors Empowered Network, which will replicate his success at BAWT. He lives in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood with his wife and two children, where he particularly loves both playing and watching baseball and soccer, and exploring San Francisco’s MacLaren Park. Leslie "Osprey" Beach, Head of Program Leslie grew up on a tidal creek, eating pickleweed, watching the patterns of migrating birds, and squelching her toes in the mud as often as possible. She considers the outdoors to be an extra parent, teaching strength and connection and playfulness, and feels strongly that every child should get a chance to explore its wildness. Working at summer camp and at two other residential outdoor programs, she's been lucky to spend more time outside than in and to create safety and comfort for those who join her. She also taught English to indigenous youth in Guatemala for a year, and is astounded by the similarities between learning language and learning comfort in a new world. When she's not running around with kids outside, Leslie can often be located behind the pages of a book of poetry or myths, chopping up vegetables for some sort of delicious soup, foraging for the component parts of forest tea, or writing letters to the friends she's scattered over the world. Muriel Vinson, Office Assistant Muriel was born in Hampton, VA and raised primarily in Southwestern Virginia in Blacksburg and Christiansburg. She attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and received a B.S. in psychology with a minor in biology. She then worked with Teach for America employees in Radford, VA elementary schools, implementing an afterschool program called Micro Society, promoting critical thinking skills, management skills, negotiation skills, and leadership skills. She then moved to Santa Cruz, CA with the intention of attending graduate school for social psychology. Soon after she moved to Santa Cruz she really found her niche in music and dance and is considering a Masters in one of the two. Muriel loves to be outdoors, preferably somewhere in the sun. She also loves anything aesthetically pleasing. Her favorite methods of self expression are dancing and writing/singing. She would like to make more time for drawing, painting, building things, hiking and cooking healthy extravagant meals. Muriel loves to read books, articles, and watch documentaries about history, consciousness & development, education, ancient religions and spiritual practices, and the universe. Muriel values knowledge and the love of family and friends. Muriel comes from a long line of educators. Her mother taught elementary education and is currently a professor in the Education Department at Radford University. Muriel’s Grandmother taught high school Biology in Valdosta, GA and her aunt taught literacy to male and females in prison. Muriel has always had a passion for educating herself and others, no matter what age they are, who they are, or where they come from. She recognizes the importance of spreading knowledge in order to facilitate the development of a whole empathetic person and thus have a positive effect on the world and its inhabitants. Muriel also recognizes that education is much more than classrooms, worksheets, tests, grades, and SOLs. Muriel really admired Vida Verde’s methods for creating an environment where each and every camper can truly thrive during their three days at camp. She aspires to become a naturalist and is excited for the unique experiences and teaching methods she will gain along the way. "Farmer Bobby" Kinnare, Farm and Facilities Manager Bobby is a transplant, originally from the suburbs of Chicago and drawn west after college by the romantic ideas of simple living, wilderness and mountains. Attending St. Olaf College was a very formative time, exposing Bobby to the environmental, economic, and social aspects related to “environmentalism.” Bobby led conservation crews of at-risk youth in the southwest and eventually worked for the National Park Service in Moab, Utah. Influenced by many of Wendell Berry’s writings on community, Bobby wanted to work within his local community and started apprenticing with The Youth Garden Project, a community organization that gardens with children. Bobby found great meaning in his time there, and spent the next season working on an organic farm in Eugene, Oregon. Bobby finds education to be the spark of empowerment and hopes to continue educating himself while being a source for others. Bobby enjoys growing vegetables, cooking those vegetables, learning from others, supporting local community, traveling, riding his bike, and rock climbing. Claire "Luna" McMurtry, Grants Manager, Instructor Claire has always had a passion for environmental education and for being outdoors, and has spent most of her working life with kids in beautiful places. After obtaining her BS in Botany, she worked as a naturalist instructor at several of California's outdoor schools until she found her way to Vida Verde in 2008. When school is out, she is the assistant director of an environmentally focused nature science camp, with which she has been involved from camper to leadership for more than twenty years. Claire grew up in Berkeley, California and early on in her education recognized disparities in access to education. Having been formatively affected by her own exposure to nature and environmental education, she believes that all kids should get to learn in, discover in, and develop a relationship with the natural world. At Vida Verde, she has found her niche in outdoor education working with urban kids and their teachers, and with her deeply committed coworkers. As she begins her fifth year with Vida Verde, she also enters her second year as Head of Program. This means that in addition to being in the field with the students, she gets to offer her support to and work closely with VV’s amazing instructors, while learning from them every day. As well, she is able to utilize her great love of details and organization while preparing for each program, participating in office life, and creating excel spreadsheets whenever possible. She is one lucky person. Claire loves to play her banjo and guitar, to prepare and eat healthy, nourishing, fabulous foods, to lose and find herself in wild places, to be near the ocean, and African dance which she dances as if no one is watching. She is nourished and sustained by these things, as well as by her connections with dear friends and family. Sam "Huckleberry" Modest, Summer Grants Manager Sam grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 2009 with a B.A. in South Asian Studies, along with a passion for teaching and for the outdoors. Soon after graduating, he spent the summer in Homer, Alaska running a digital photography club for middle school students. In the fall, he traveled to West Bengal, India to teach English and photography at a small village school. Upon returning from India, he worked with several friends to create the PhotoPals program, which links young people around the world through photography workshops and classes that enable students to exchange images and share their culture, community, and perspectives. Sam moved to California in the fall of 2010 to teach as a naturalist at San Mateo Outdoor Education, where he realized the sheer awesomeness of outdoor science education as a means to open students’ minds to the amazingly intriguing world in which we live. He is a firm believer in education through experience. Sam loves to swim, bicycle, run, surf, ski, backpack, travel, and play Ultimate. He bakes, ferments, and eats. He takes photographs, writes, and reads. He is fascinated by foreign languages, fungi, and funk music. Former Instructor Staff See photos, lower right What’s the History of Vida Verde? Who works at Vida Verde? Can I work at Vida Verde? What are the trips all about? Who are Vida Verde trips for? How can I support Vida Verde?		Shawn Sears Laura Sears Jody Peterman Kyle Macdonald Leslie Beach Muriel Vinson Bobby Kinnare Claire McMurtry Sam Modest Vida Verde Former Instructor Staff Tim Ward "Mapache" Alex Keilty "Fungi" Katie Khoury "Reed" Ben Graves "Hyphe" Reggie Yemma Emma Jones " "Redtail" "Mother Nature" Xochi Lubin-Amaya "Stardust"