School Instructor Profiles
Cliff DesMarais, Center for Technology - Essex
Cliff found his way into the woods as a wee cub scout with the Boy Scouts of America. After earning the rank of Eagle Scout during his high school years, he eventually parted ways with the organization for philosophical differences. Cliff’s passion for creativity in education began 16 years ago as a participant in Destination Imagination, to which he remains an active adult volunteer to this day. Cliff fell in love with Vermont after transfering from the tiny bubble of Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts to the University of Vermont at the beginning of his sophomore year of college. The Green Mountain state proved a better fit for Cliff as he quickly found his way to UVM’s College of Education and Social Services. Cliff graduated in 2007 with a B.S. in Education and a concentration in Social Studies. As a licensed social studies teacher in NH, VT, and CO, Cliff has played many roles in public schools from a young age, ranging from volunteer to Special Educator. His work in alternative education began with a volunteer "one on one" para-educator opportunity with the Hampstead Middle School at Nature’s Classroom in Freedom, NH. Cliff is excited to be a part of the VYCC school program and educating in a student centered inter-disciplinary environment.
cliff.desmarais@vycc.orgMatt Williams, Mount Mansfield Union High School
Matt grew up on a small sheep farm in Sharon, VT skiing, biking, climbing apple trees, running, and sugaring in the spring. He remembers getting called out of school a lot to help with lambing. He attended high school at Proctor Academy and split his college years between Lewis and Clark (Portland, OR) and Warren Wilson (Asheville, NC), double majoring in Political Science and Creative Writing. Matt currently spends much of his free time pedaling through the woods of Vermont on his bicycle. When not riding Matt enjoys reading good books, coffee, writing, live music, making delicious food with friends, and, of course, plotting how to get to the next weekend’s bike race. Matt is super excited to work with the MMU Crew this year—it’s Cougar Country.
matt.williams@vycc.orgMaddie Ruth, Mount Mansfield Union High School
Maddie Ruth arrived at the VYCC after graduating from Temple University with a degree in Geography & Urban Studies and a focus in Environmental Studies. After an inspiring semester with NOLS in New Zealand, Maddie went on to spend a field semester with Northwest Connections’ Landscape and Livelihood program and volunteered as an Environmental Educator at Little Stars School in Varanasi, India. This summer, Maddie co-led two amazing Roving 6 crews, after which she then transitioned into a leadership advisor for an accomplished Park Fall Crew. Maddie is psyched about the potential for place-based education and community development to foster a healthy, growth oriented, and inclusive learning experience. Her time is filled with an energetic school crew, diving into many used books, crafting creativeness, and signing onto the Vermont way of life.
maddie.ruth@vycc.orgKasie Enman, Champlain Valley Union High School
Kasie Enman lives in Huntington, VT with her husband Eli, and their two cats, Furball and Roamer. Their solar-powered house is still standing, despite the fact that they were its carpenters, electricians, and plumbers! Kasie’s first VYCC experience was leading the very awesome Richmond Career Development Crew in the Summer of 2009. Kasie holds a strong belief in the connectedness of education and the environment, as well as a Masters degree in Educating for Sustainability from Antioch University New England, so she is super excited to be able to put this into practice through the School Crew experience. When not at the VYCC, Kasie spends as much time as possible running, coaching, and learning to play bluegrass on her violin.
kasie.enman@vycc.orgMatthew Walker, Champlain Valley Union High School
Matthew grew up in Beverly, MA but was lured to the Green Mountains in 1995, when he attended Middlebury College. He played on the varsity lacrosse team as an All American Lacrosse Player, but a collision with a drunk driver sent Matthew on an unexpected course. As a result of his injuries, Matthew was unable to return to lacrosse. Alternative medicine played a big role in his healing process and as a result Matthew began studying integrative health and teaching yoga. He earned his BA degree from the University of Vermont with a major in Anthropology. He also took a Sea Kayaking Course with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Muluge, Mexico. After graduating from college, Matthew taught yoga and worked as an Outdoor Educator and Environmental Advocate for 5 years. Pursuing his alternative health interests further, he earned an MA degree in Health Arts and Sciences from Goddard College and wrote a thesis on adaptive yoga. For the past two years, Matthew has worked as the CVU School Instructor with the VYCC. Other interests include environmental law, walking in the woods, and kirtan music. If you see Matthew out and about, tell him congratulations as he was recently married this past summer!
matthew.walker@vycc.orgMeg Mullen, Lamoille Union High School
Meg grew up in ye grande olde city of Boston where she survived the public school system. This inspired her to enroll at Hampshire College, an institute founded on the principles of self-guided and experiential learning. Meg gained knowledge about timber framing, appropriate technology, the evolution of chair design, and green chemistry before creating her academic concentration in Outdoor Experiential Education and Social Change. Parallel to her educational experience, Meg gained a dearth of understanding of people and the outdoors through her life experiences. She worked several seasons as a backcountry guide for the Boy Scouts of America and spent this past year in Utah working with at-risk youth in an adventure-based therapeutic program. She saw many beautiful sights and gained much personal satisfaction from taking youth through slot canyons, backpacking across deserts, kayaking, rock climbing, and skiing snowy slopes as they explored their inner selves. Now Meg is living in Vermont, enjoying the change of seasons, and getting to know her students as they work and play together.
meg.mullen@vycc.orgAdam McCullough, Lamoille Union High School
Adam McCullough grew up in Montpelier, Vermont. He developed a strong connection to the state while he attended Montpelier High School. In 2004, Adam worked with the VYCC for the first time as a Corps Member. From that experience, he became devoted to the dream of leading a VYCC crew and having a positive impact on others. He studied in the school of Forestry at University of Montana for three years. During his 2008 summer break, he returned to the VYCC for another was a Corps Member experience. This crew convinced him to come home where his heart was truly rooted. In May 2009 he graduated with a B.A. in Conservation Ecology from Sterling College. After graduating, he led another VYCC crew, which camped in Kettle Pond and Lake Elmore State parks throughout the summer. His love of the outdoors and his devotion to Vermont has brought him to work with VYCC for the 2009-10 school year as a School Instructor at Lamoille Union High School. He lives a simple life with chickens, home baked bread, raw milk in a glass bottle, and an ongoing quest towards zero-waste. Huge props to Adam!
adam.mccullough@vycc.orgKristen Getler, Harwood Union High School
Kristen has been passionately committed to food and farm-based education in both urban and rural settings for the past 6 years. She has designed and facilitated youth and inter-generational garden programs in both school and hospital settings using gardens as context for learning and healing. Kristen gets excited about innovative program development and connecting youth with work, land, and the act of growing and eating REAL food. Kristen seeks to mentor youth and create rights of passage that cultivate their vision and personal strength. With her partner, Kristen maintains a 10-acre permaculture homestead yielding mushrooms, duck eggs, medicinal herbs, vegetables, rice, and obscure minor fruits. When not at VYCC, Kristen is either throwing pots, running with her pup, chasing her ducks, or hiding out on her farm. Kristen holds a degree in Environmental Studies from Brown University, in addition to certificates in Horticultural Therapy (NY Botanical Gardens, 2007) and Permaculture Design (El Poncho Eco-Center, Bolivia, 2002).
kristen.getler@vycc.orgAmanda Garland, Harwood Union High School
Amanda Garland is finishing her Masters at the University of Vermont in Natural Resources and the Environment and has moved from Burlington to the Mad River Valley, where she is excited to lose cell phone service and ski from her back door. Before her role as a School Instructoras at Harwood, she was a park ranger in NH, worked for the forest service, led a crew in The Bob Marshall Wilderness, and was a VYCC Crew Leader for the Burlington Community Crew. When not leading crews, you can find Amanda in her garden, kayaking, torturing a fiddle, tearing up ski trails, or reading a novel in a hammock by a babbling brook. She hopes to take the experience gained through the VYCC to start an alternative, skill based, work educational school of her own.
amanda.garland@vycc.orgCarrie Childs, Spaulding High School
Carrie developed a strong connection to Vermont while attending Middlebury College where she earned a B.A. in geology and geography. Before attending college, Carrie was able to see many beautiful sights and gained much personal satisfaction on a NOLS semester in Wyoming. The unexpected time off before college allowed Carrie to get excited about innovative life adventures and encouraged her to take advantage of opportunities that run less than parallel to traditional educational experiences. Through working for the Appalachian Mountain Club first as a crew leader at Camp Dodge and then for the one and only AMC TFC, Carrie became devoted to the dream of having a positive impact on trails. After college she followed this dream to Colorado, where she worked as a site supervisor on Windom Peak. While working as a Cook/Deckhand on the F/V Wonderland in Ketchikan and on the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in Antarctica, Carrie learned how to appreciate a good cup of tea while overcoming intense seasickness. After spending the last year in Wyoming attending the Teton Science Schools graduate program in environmental and experiential education, Carrie is super excited to find the Green Mountain State to be a better fit. When not working, Carrie enjoys making delicious ski turns, knitting by babbling brooks, spending time with family, friends, and fellow School Instructors, chillin’ with Milo Puppy, and, of course, plotting her next trail adventure.
carrie.childs@vycc.orgSebastian Chandler, Spaulding High School
Sebastian started his years in England, where he gained a funny accent and an appreciation for a good cup of tea. After moving to California at the age of 13, he started a wild exploration into High School Theater and a love for the outdoors. Climbing mountains, mountain biking, and summer camp all contributed to a dislike of cubicles and generally any indoor space. Sebastian loves to travel and found that traveling to India, Nepal, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, France, Germany and Brussels were more appealing then the college life, until he found an outdoor leadership program in Western Massachusetts. After MA, Sebastian moved to Utah to work with at-risk youth in a wilderness therapy program. He spent the majority of the next two years outside in similar programs in North Carolina and Connecticut, after which me moved to Vermont to start a family and enjoy the comforts of an actual bed. Finding work at the Laraway School as an adventure educator, Sebastian learned that alternative education could be fun, rewarding, and outside. VYCC is a natural progression that will allow Sebastian to continue his education in the education of others.
sebastian.chandler@vycc.orgKatie Johnson, Cabot and Twinfield High Schools
Katie moved to Vermont in August after working six years for the Minnesota Conservation Corps in a number of capacities including wilderness crew leader, central office IT, development and finance support, and even spent a summer in the woods as the head cook for the summer youth program. After leaving MCC, she led a strategic planning retreat to help community leaders reestablish the Wisconsin Conservation Corps and is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors. Katie holds a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Minnesota-Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and also holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science. In her free time, Katie can be found skiing, hiking, dancing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
katie.johnson@vycc.org