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Who We Are
Although the Ministry of Education likes to have a principal running each school, our Learning Community is anchored by a group of elders that work collaboratively to hold the vision and ensure the purpose and praxis of our community. The following people are the core team that meet electronically each week to maintain the integrity of the program. Executive Team 2010 Brent Cameron - Principal, Kathleen Forsythe - Vice Principal, Michael Maser - Program Executive, Darrell Letourneau - Learning Consultant Director, River Meyer - Family Liaison, Barbarah Nicoll - Vice Principal SelfDesign High, Parker Cook - Financial Director. Management Team 2010 Amalia Cook, Lisa Housden, Janet Letourneau, Regina Dirk, Clarissa Tufts, Shannon Loucks, Angela Fitzgerald, Shelagh Noonan. Learning Consultant Mentors 2010 LC Mentor Facilitator - Nancy Goldhar, LC Mentors - Jen Engracio, Angela Fitzgerald, Sue Lucy, Tracey Kennedy.
Executive Team 2010
Brent was inspired by his daugther's natural ability to learn from the day of her birth in 1977. In 1983 when she walked out of school after two weeks Brent and Ilana began an experiment that became Wondertree. For the next 13 years they worked together including many other people to develop a number of programs and to develop a body of work to describe a methodology of SelfDesign. Brent has been working with Wondertree for 21 years and working to sustain the rights of children to be legitimate in their desires to design their own learning path. Brent has created many workshops and presentations that feature multimedia presentations of the Wondertree experience. His focus is on understanding who we really really are and on how we naturally learn as an enthusiastic process. His current passion is to work with communities who are planning sustainable learning communities. He is consulting to a project in Colorado called VISION, and he has recently finished writing a book on his discoveries in SelfDesign.
Kathleen is one of the first 'knowledge architects' in the world and has been instrumental in introducing the concept of open learning to North America over the past twenty-five years. Her work has always put original ideas into practice in a practical and cost effective manner. She has been a Wondertree Board member for over 10 years and through her work in the epistemology of the imagination and the biology of love, has contributed to the foundational work in Natural Learning. A passionate educator, Kathleen Forsythe has worked with learners of all ages.
SDLC Executive and Special Projects (Co-founder of Virtual High and SelfDesign Learning Community) Michael began working as an educator after working as a geologist, journalist and researcher. Frustrated in pursuing conventional classroom teaching, Michael joined with Wondertree in 1992 where, with Brent Cameron, he co-created and directed the award-winning and innovative 'Virtual High' program for teens in Vancouver from 1993-97. Concurrently, Michael completed his Master's through Simon Fraser University on this pioneering, remarkable learning community. Michael, like Brent before him, is inspired by his daughter's innate intelligence and ability to learn. Michael has a wealth of knowledge of educational methodology that supports natural learning and he is currently writing and researching a book for teen-age learners. Since helping to co-design SelfDesign in 2002, Michael has completed Executive and Learning Consultant duties and many special responsibilties for SelfDesign. In 2007 Michael initiated SURPASS, a leadership training workshop for teens, 13 - 17 years, and in 2009 he joined SelfDesign High to work as part of the Stewardship team and as course mentor for 'Planning 10' (BC Grad Program).
Four wonderful mentors Darrell has in the learning process are his children. Through over two decades in the natural laboratory of their home, Darrell, Janet and their children have been actively exploring enthusiasm based learning in a variety of ways. With teaching experience from kindergarten to college, Darrell has enjoyed working with learners in the classroom, in gifted education, as a librarian, as a learning assistance teacher and as a distributed learning program coordinator. He also works as a consultant to business and education for organizations hoping to maximize their potential through e-learning opportunities. A most enriching influence was "learning about learning" during four years in an alternative school modeled on Summerhill. A founding member of SelfDesign from its inception in 2002, his greatest thrill in education has been helping SelfDesign sprout wings and begin to fly. River Meyer, M.A., has worked with children and families for 30 years in a variety of capacities including family support services for special needs infants and toddlers and for alternative learning programs, guardian ad litem for minors, counseling and mediation, and currently as Family Liaison for SDLC and writer for SelfDesign. She is co-author of Brent's book SelfDesign: Nurturing Genius through Natural Learning. Her current passions include expanding SelfDesign concepts throughout North America and internationally, exploring the interface between environmental languaging and the development of self, and deepening her understanding and use of SelfDesign by creating an emergent-learning home atmosphere with her daughter. Barbarah Nicoll has been involved with Waldorf Education for 20 years. As the past School Coordinator for the Nelson Waldorf School, Barbarah has created the foundation and vision for the development of the International School of the Kootenays. Barbarah holds a Bachelor of General Studies Degree, a Waldorf High School Teacher Diploma and a Masters of Arts in Integrated Studies from Athabasca University. An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding The Heart in Connection to Learning and Education, By Barbarah Nicoll Parker has been working and volunteering with SelfDesign and the Wondertree Foundation (as consultant, Treasurer and Board member) over the past 16 years. Parker is providing a business development framework to SelfDesign Learning Community. Parker is also Executive Director of SelfDesign Global & SelfDesign Learning Systems, leading it on it's journey to provide affordable access to SelfDesign Learning Communities and to the SelfDesign learning methodology and philosophy to children and adults of all ages anywhere in the world with internet access.
Management Team 2010
Amalia has been involved with the SelfDesign Foundation for many years. First as a Spanish mentor for the Virtual High learners and later as Office Manager and Executive Coordinator. During her year with SelfDesign Amalia has learned the importance of empowering children to make their own desicions and map out their learning interests. She has learned how to model self-empowering, and self-motivating behaviours. Amalia has two delightful children, who enjoy being part of the SelfDesign community.
Lisa has been working with and for the benefit of children for the past 25 years wearing a variety of different hats. She has worked as a professional actress touring educational puppet and live theater shows in English and French to elementary schools; taught high school English and Drama, ESL, Social Studies and Life Skills in public and independent schools; run a family day care; assisted in a French pre-school; and was the Children's Librarian at the Gibsons Public Library where she planned and implemented programming for children and youth (ages 2-18), toured puppet shows to the schools and provided readers advisory and reference services to patrons of all ages. In 2007 Lisa joined the SelfDesign Learning Community as a learning consultant and program assistant. Most importantly, she is the mother of Robin, a home learner for 12 of her 15 years, and the inspiration behind Lisa's commitment to natural learning and to supporting and celebrating the genius in all children.
Shannon is learning at home along side her two boys soon to be 7 and 5. Shannon has worked in the field of education for over 15 years. Self Design is the first organization who's guiding principles have been a match with Shannon's personal beliefs. Shannon is grateful for the opportunity to work alongside families and co-workers fully committed to bringing the natural joy of learning to life for children. When away from the computer, Shannon can be found in nature, walking, gardening, cycling, reading and writing.
Working one-on-one with ESL students in 2000 set Clarissa on the path of wanting to support children and youth as they explore their own unique learning journey. Since then, and after completing a teaching degree in 2003 from UBC, Clarissa has worked in a variety of educational settings both in BC and in Zacatecas, Mexico. Her experience teaching and assisting in subject ares such as ESL, English Literature, Drama, Social Studies, Spanish, Student Leadership, CAPP and a Waldorf grade 2/3 class allows Clarissa to draw from eclectic experiences, mentors and resources in her work with families in SDLC. Since joining the SelfDesign community in 2006, Clarissa has worked as a Learning Consultant and performed tasks associated with program evaluation. She is inspired by and honoured to continue working with colleagues and homelearning families in supporting the natural unfolding of each child's potential. Clarissa explores this concept daily with her husband and two-year-old daughter.
I love learning (especially anything to do with numbers), being outdoors, spending time with my kids, philosophy, yoga, athletic activities and meditation.
Janet has always been attracted to alternative ideas in education. When she found out about homelearning, she immediately knew that this was the right fit for her oldest son- to remain at home where he had been learning very successfully already for a couple of years! Janet now has four children aged 18, 16, 9, and 3 and feels very fortunate to continue this experience of learning at home with all of them. She has found it extremely rewarding to have the opportunity to work as a learning consultant with other homelearning families in the SelfDesign environment for the past few years. Recently, she has enjoyed her leadership support role in growing SelfDesign which has involved interviewing, training, and mentoring learning consultants.
In the upcoming year, Shelagh will join the Special Ed team as the Special Education Program Manager and Special Ed. Learning Consultant. Shelagh has enjoyed serving in a variety of capacities during her five years in the SelfDesign Learning Community – from Learning Consultant to supporting the various administrative processes and tasks that help the Selfdesign regular program to run smoothly. In respect to Special Education experience, Shelagh worked with adults and children with disabilities for several years, both in New York and in Vancouver, and has taken various Special Education courses within her BEd degree (UBC). She also holds a BA from UPEI.
Angela's formal training and education includes a BA in Math and English, a BEd in Secondary education, and a DipEd in Counselling Psychology. After teaching in public high schools for four years, having children of her own changed Angela's perspective around optimal learning environments/relationships for children, and she began researching alternatives. As Angela searched for an education model that could acknowledge authentic learning in the context of a loving and nurturing relationship, with the relationship prioritized as integral to the learning, she found SelfDesign. For the last five years Angela has been happily engaged in meaningful relationship with SelfDesign families, both as a homelearning parent and as a Learning Consultant.
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Kathleen Forsythe Ph.D.
Michael Maser B.A. B.Sc. B.Ed. M.A.
River Meyer M.A. 
Barbarah Nicoll 
Parker Cook
Amalia Cook 
Lisa Housden 
Shannon Loucks 
Clarissa Tufts
Regina Dirk
Janet Letourneau
Shelagh Noonan
Angela Fitzgerald