Health comes from diversity, says Devon Girard, Chair of the Board of Directors for SelfDesign® Learning Foundation, about the board and the three new directors who recently have joined it. “These new members represent some great experience and, almost immediately, it feels like they’ve brought extra eyes and ears and perspectives to our work.”
In June, SelfDesign welcomed Ken Banister, Enid Elliot and Suzanne Weckend to the Board of Directors. On an individual level, their experience in education runs deep. Their combined expertise ranges from early childhood education through to post-secondary curriculum development, teaching, and education research.
For example, in addition to Ken’s considerable regulatory experience with the Alberta Energy Regulator and Indian Oil and Gas Canada, he guided the development and review of environmental curriculums at Royal Roads and Mount Royal universities and has delivered in-class education. Enid has a PhD in Early Childhood Education, teaches at Camosun College and the University of Victoria, and was involved in creating the Sooke School District’s Nature Kindergarten, which opened in 2012. Suzanne brings 19 years of experience as a teacher with the Greater Victoria School District, St. George’s School, in Vancouver, and now St. Michaels University School, in Victoria. They join Devon, David Tait, a professor emeritus at the UBC Faculty of Forestry and former SelfDesign parent, and Verena Gibbs, a former educator and vice-principal at Wondertree Learning Centre (a predecessor to SelfDesign) and a current principal with B.C. School District 50.
“Our diversity gives us a real depth of interest and experience to draw on,” Devon says, “and helps us do our work to support SelfDesign. With the extra capacity these new directors bring, we’ll have increased opportunities to delve deeper into more generative, future-focused work and on strategic planning.”
Like all boards of directors, the role of SelfDesign’s Board of Directors is to provide governance and oversight of the organization’s overall direction and strategy. Its membership, structure, and processes exist to advance the organization’s mission, vision, and long-term viability.
“Our job isn’t to make operational decisions or to run the organization directly,” Devon says. “That’s the job of Amber [Papou, SelfDesign’s CEO and President] and the leadership team, who do a stellar job. As board members, we’re the listening post – we’re there to support conversations with leadership that lead to deeper thinking, and help support long-term strategic and sustainability planning, as well as ensure the board’s more conservative responsibilities regarding financial oversight and risk mitigation are met.”
What is less typical is SelfDesign’s mission: to support learners, families and educators in creating what matters to them in their lives, through effective educational methods in alignment with the principles of SelfDesign.
“SelfDesign’s core ethos and philosophy cut all the way through the organization,” says Devon, who, as a former learner at Wondertree and Virtual High programs (predecessors to SelfDesign), thrived under that philosophy as a child. “It’s about allowing each person to unfold and find their own truths. It’s about finding the magic within each person and allowing self-authorship – becoming self-aware and accepting the responsibility for the choices a person makes.”
That core philosophy is what drew the three new board members to SelfDesign.
“Anytime learners are given voice and choice, their engagement levels are higher,” Suzanne says, “which brings about so much more reward and pride throughout the learning process. I see SelfDesign as a place that is deeply grounded in learner voice and choice.”
Ken, who has sat on our Board of Directors in the past and is now returning, says, “The SelfDesign community provides the opportunity for students to direct their own learning and allows them to explore the curriculum in ways that make sense to them so that they, too, can thrive.” He adds that one of his own children would have benefited from SelfDesign’s approach to learning. “When they reached university and were able to direct their own learning, they thrived and now have a very rewarding career.”
Enid has known about SelfDesign for years and used to discuss the ideas behind SelfDesign’s approach to learning with our late-founder Brent Cameron. Her current research concerns the teaching practice “that emerges as educators and children explore and engage deeply with all layers of the landscape found outdoors.”
SelfDesign’s Board members, both long-time and new, will further that philosophy by helping to develop strategies for SelfDesign’s long-term growth and sustainability and by streamlining the Board’s governance and oversight practices.
Read more about SelfDesign’s Board of Directors here.
If you are interested in serving as a member of SelfDesign Learning Foundation’s Board of Directors, we’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to us via our contact form.
