Position
Retired CEO of New Horizons for Learning, an international education network focused on helping students to learn at all ages and ability levels.
How did your interest in education begin?
My interest began when I was a student at the Bush School that was founded by Mrs. Helen Bush, who was a protégé of Dewey and Piaget.
How have you been involved in education, professionally or as an advocate, over the years?
I have been involved as a teacher on all levels including elementary, secondary and university, and as founder/CEO of New Horizons for Learning.
What one or two education issues are you most passionate about (and why)?
Because of my own experiences in school, I have always been passionate about involving the arts in the educational curriculum, as well as focusing on project-based learning, higher levels of thinking and learning, creativity, and problem-solving.
Tell us about an educator who made a particularly large impact on your life.
Margery Livengood, one of my best teachers and later principal of the Bush School, was always encouraging me to “go off the high-dive” to experience doing something I had never done before and finding success in the process.
Share an unusual/fun fact about yourself.
I began the Junior League’s Northwest Art Project 58 years ago when the arts were being cut back in the schools and it was the hey-day of the great Northwest Artists. The project takes original works of art into the schools with trained docents to help the students understand and appreciate the arts, and be inspired to create themselves. It now has 85 works of art and reaches thousands of students and teachers who learn to integrate the arts into the curriculum.