Instructors

Brian Buettner began his teaching career when he was a junior in high school and was able to work in his former kindergarten classroom with his former kindergarten teacher as part of a cross-age tutoring program offered by his school. Brian went on to pursue elementary education as his major at the University of New Mexico where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a few years later a Master's Degree in Special Education. Most recently Brian earned an Educational Specialist Degree in Language and Literacy from Simmons College. Brian has 14 year of teaching experience ranging from working as a classroom, special education and title one teacher. He is currently working as a literacy coach in Windham Southeast Supervisory Union.

Elizabeth Van Cleef has previously taught couses at the Collaborative to rave reviews. She has served as a classroom teacher, math coach and Title I specialist in several schools, including the Multicultural Magnet School in New London, Connecticut. More recently, she has been a Senior Research and Development Specialist for the highly regarded curriculum, Investigations in Number, Data, and Space at TERC, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a workshop leader for Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) and has presented this course for several school districts in the northeast US, receiving very high evaluations.

Jane Wilde is a self proclaimed computer geek. She thoroughly enjoys technology and loves to teach people how to use it. Having the rare combination of technical skills and the ability to speak English (rather than computer-ese) she can show you how to engage your students and enrich your curriculum with computers, the internet, and multimedia materials. Having begun her teaching career in Special Education, Jane enjoys working with even the most computer challenged student. A twenty-five year veteran educator, Jane has taught at every grade level from Kindergarten to Graduate School. She is a doctoral student at the Univeristy at Albany in the field of Instructional Technology.

Kate Hudson is a Special Education teacher at Brattleboro Union High school . She is part of The Language Consortium at the high school where she teaches language arts, writing strategies and reading fluency. She has given numerous workshops and trainings in the district. She has spent considerable time and research on the subject of  literacy, fluency and technology.

Matt Kolan is a lecturer in the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, where he teaches courses in landscape analysis, natural history, educational design, environmental problem-solving, and power and privilege. His research explores diverse and innovative approaches to designing learning environments that attempt to reconnect and realign people with the wisdom of nature and the language of the land. Matt also works as an educational and ecological consultant for a variety of organizations.

Teri Young has served as a Co-Teaching instructor with Antioch's Center for School Renewal, and will be teaching a graduate course entitled Children with Special Needs at Antioch University New England this summer. She is also a doctoral student in Union Institute and University's Ed.D. program. Teri earned her M.S. degree in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, with a specialization in supervision and evaluation.  She has a wealth of experience in school administration, middle school teaching, and special education.

Tom Wessels is an ecologist and founding director of the Master's Degree program in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. He is former chair of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation that fosters environmental leadership through graduate fellowships and organizational grants. He serves as an ecological consultant to the Rain forest Alliance's SmartWood Green Certification Program. In that capacity Tom helped draft green certification assessment guidelines for forest operations in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Tom has conducted landscape level workshops throughout the United States for over 30 years. His books include: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, and The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future.