2007 Fall Clockworks

7/31/2019 2007 Fall Clockworks

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From the PresidentMARK SCHULMAN

OST OF YOU HAVE PROBABLY

heard the announcementthat Antioch University is

suspending operations of theAntioch College campus in YellowSprings, Ohio. It probably strikesyou, as it does me, that theresbeen a remarkable amount of pub-licity generated around this event,including gloating by the enemiesof progressive, non-traditional,alternative education and lamenta-

tions from supporters (as well asplans to fight the closing by Antioch facultyand alumni/ae).

Im not sure how many of you are awarethat my own Antioch ties run deep. I graduatedfrom the college in 1969, taught there from

1976 to 1979 and was president of Antiochs

campus in Southern California just beforearriving here in 2003. As you might imagine,I have roiling emotions, and ambivalent atti-tudes, around all the issues that end up cir-cling around who is to blame for this tragedy(for it is that, no matter who is to blame) andthe questions of whether there can really be anew Antioch in 2012 (the plan their boardannounced).

There is clarity in my mind, however, that,despite superficial similarities, Goddards sit-uation is very different than Antiochs.

It is true that we no longer have a residen-

tial, undergraduate program. It is true that welost something by closing that piece ofGoddard. And thats the same piece of itselfthat Antioch is suspending, for reasons (itappears) parallel to Goddards: decliningenrollment, facilities needing much upgrad-ing and not enough support from an endow-ment to buttress tuition income.

Some think we have become a distance-

learning, adult-education venue,with the implicit assumption thatwe are less than we were before.Yet it becomes obvious that thisvenue is bloomingwith a 34percent increase in enrollmentsince 2002the moment peoplelearn about the Goddard of 2007.Are we distance learning? No,we are not. Are we adult educa-tion? Yes, we are, if by that youmean an age range of 18 to 80. Most

importantly, we are growing withstudents who have a sense of place, a vibrantcommunity, a transformative educationalexperience and a democratic process, even ifthey are in Plainfield, Vt., or Port Townsend,Wash., only 16 days a year.

What Goddard lostthe experiment in

democracy of 100 or so 18-to-22-year-olds inresidence together for 30 weeks of the yearhas been balanced by what we gained: morethan 600 students of all ages who are tremen-dously excited with their learning; and nearly100 faculty members who are astonishing intheir diversity and expertise working withstudents in small groups and individually,engaged in personal and social change, in themost radical and progressive curricular struc-ture (I would assert) in the United States.

Of course, I dont know what the futureholds for Antioch University after the college is

closed. But I do know whats happened toGoddard: we are stronger financially, philo-sophically and operationally (including a now-wonderful, fixed-up campuscome see inOctober!) than we have been for many, manyyears.

M

I dont know what the future holds for Antioch University after the college isclosed. But I do know whats happened to Goddard: we are stronger financially,philosophically and operationally than we have been for many, many years.


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15CLOCKWORKS FALL 2007

Trustees Work with Habitat

The Great Valentines Day Noreaster

closed airports on the East coast, so

the February trustee meeting inHattiesburg, Miss., didnt happen. But five

trustees (including three graduates)

showed up anyway and spent a day work-

ing with Habitat for Humanity, building a

backyard shed for Katrina victims. Alex

Rodriguez (RUP 64) reported back, The

folks in Mississippi and Louisiana have a

chin-up approach to the ongoing disaster

of Hurricane Katrina. The lament isnt a

despondent woe is me: it is a realistic

expression of the overwhelming difficulty

residents face (still) in the recovery.

DeGannes Gives Performance

Local alums and neighbors attended

a riveting performance by faculty

member Nehassaiu deGannes during theJune trustee meeting. In her one-woman

docudrama, Door of No Return, she tells

the stories of immigrants and slaves from

different cultures by inhabiting 18 different

characters. Tim Jennings (ADP 79) and

Leanne Ponder provided Celtic music for

the reception following the performance.

Get in touch with the Alumni/ae Office

toll-free, 866-614-ALUM. Send a class note

or update your address: www.goddard.edu

or alumninotes@ goddard.edu.

alumni/aecorner

1863

Goddard

Seminary

1938

Goddard

Junior

College &

Move to

Plainfield

1947

4-year

Residential

Program

Begins

1963

Adult

Programs

Begin

1970

New Low-

Residency

Programs

Added

1991

Expanded

Low-Residency

Programs

2002

Residential

Program

Ends

2005

MFA Writing

Expands to

Washington

State

When their February meeting in Hattiesburg, Miss., was cancelled because of bad weather,

several trustees who were able to get there stayed and worked with the local Habitat for

Humanity. Pictured here, from left, trustees Alex Rodriguez (RUP 64) and Chris Pratt with

trustee Peter Donovans (RUP 65) children, Aaron and Sara.

Goddard Unveils New Image

Over the past 24 months, Dean of

Enrollment Management Peter Burns

has been conducting surveys, focus groups

and interviews, collating responses and

soliciting feedback to generate the new

look for Goddard.

The new tagline,

Progressive Education

for Creative Minds,

proclaims and

expands Goddards

well-regarded role asa pioneer and explorer in

progressive education.

The new seal represents Goddards

150-year legacy; the logo (see it in full

color on the back cover) signifies rebirth

and continuity as they exist together in the

tradition of progressive education.

The new website reflects the people

who make the Goddard community what it is:

past, present and future. The site explains

Goddards unique programs and invites

prospective students to explore time-testedprograms based on the radical experiments

in progressive education that Goddard

began in the 1960s.

GODDARD COLLEGEP R O G R E S S I V E E D U C A T I O N F O R C R E A T I V E M I N D S


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16 CLOCKWORKS FALL 2007

SWIMMING IN CIRCLES:

AQUACULTURE AND THE END OFWILD OCEANSPaul Molyneaux (IBA 97)

A longtime fisherman turned marine

journalist, Molyneaux reports on the

troubling state of aquacultureor fish

farming. With both vivacity and

concern, he looks at the farming of

salmon and shrimp off the coasts of

Maine and Mexico.

Thunders Mouth Press (2006), $15.95

UNCODED WOMAN: POEMSAnne-Marie Oo men (MFAW 94)

Coding and decoding are the themesof this collection of poems, which

together tell the story of a woman

named Bead and her search for a safe

harbor. The beautiful terrain near Lake

Michigan forms a powerful backdrop

to the exploration of the life of a

woman and her Native American

lover.

Mi lk we ed Ed it io ns (2 00 6) , $1 4. 95

KEEPING HEALTHY

BY KEEPING TRACKLillian Shah (GGP 73)

and Laura Messinger

A simple yet comprehensive method o

maintaining your own medical records

at home. Using a red notebook, you

will hold vital emergency information

in one, convenient location.

Emergency? Grab the notebook and go

Infinity Publishing (2006), $19.95

LINE AND PAUSEForrest Rot h (MFAW 04)

In a poetic voice inflected by visual

and aural space, Line and Pause reveals

both the body and the spirit of the

artistic life. Kazim Ali

BlazeVOX Books (2006), $18

USE EAGLES IF NECESSARYJames T. Joyce (GGP 76)

As a psychoanalyst in three distinct

parts of the United States, James Joyce

has treated a diverse group of patients

rodeo riders, businessmen, policemen,

politicians, doctors, lawyers, artists,

professors, a drug dealer, a cowgirl,

nurses, Navajos and a hooker. They all

had one thing in common: they had

trouble in their minds.

Seaboard Press (2006), $14.95

DREAMING THE MISSISSIPPIKatherine Fischer (MFAW 98)

Offering a fresh perspective on the

rivers environment, industry and

recreation, Dreaming the Mississippi

challenges old stereotypes through the

experiences of modern Americans

who work the barges, struggle against

hurricane floodwaters and find new

meaning on this great watery corridor.

University of Missouri Press

(2006),$18.95

WOVEN: A BAUHAUS MEMOIRSuzanne Work Hokanson (IMA 99)

Woven is the journal of a youngwoman at an innovative art institution

chronicling her life during a chaotic

era: Germany between the two world

wars. Anna thoughtfully examines not

only her life but also the lives of the

Bauhaus and her native Germany.

The Troy Book Makers (2006), $22.95

HERE COMES THE BANDStephen Cohen (ADP 75-76)

Oregon artist Stephen Cohen has put

together his first CD of childrens

music. The CD features 14 original

and traditional songs and includes a

20-page illustrated booklet.

2006, $15

alumni/aeportfolio


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alumni/aeportfolio

IN THE BLACKJoe Lerner (George Dorner, IBA 94

In this fictional account of real-life

experiences, Joe Lerner is pitched into

whirlwind of violence when he is

forced into the Air Force. His trip into

the black netherworld of espionage is a

descent into a shadow play of deceit. I

is a world where you can drink beer

with your enemies, your friends can

vanish forever and your superiors can

be as dangerous as your adversaries.

iUniverse, Inc. (2006), $16.95

PROMISE NOT TO TELLJennifer McMahon (GV 91)

This debut novel offers a mix of mys-

tery novel and ghost story. School

nurse Kate Cypher returns to her

hometown in Vermont to care for her

mother. Not long after her arrival, a

local girl is murdered in the same way

Kates childhood friend, Del, was killed

30 years ago. Is Dels ghost afoot in the

woods and intent on seeking revenge?

Harper Paperbacks (2007), $13.95

LISTEN TO THE LANDSCAPELinda Nemec Foster (MFAW 79) and Dianne Burdick

Mirroring the human response to the natural world, this book

is a rare synthesis of stunning landscape photography and

understated haiku poetry. Burdick has photographed what she

sees but expressed what she feels by hand-coloring her photo-

graphic images. Foster has followed the traditional form created

by Japanese poets more than 500 years ago to pen elegant haiku.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2006), $16

STOP PROCRASTINATING NOWKerul Kassel (RUP 79, SBSE 80)

For procrastinators, the book helpsyou find your procrastination pro-

file, so you can discover your unique

kind of procrastination. From there it

will direct you to one of five strategies

to set you free from a bad habit thats

interfering with your life.

New Leaf Publishing; First edition

(2007), $16.95

GEOGRAPHY OF EVIDENCEAlan Semerdjian (MFAW 03)

Alan Semerdjians Geography ofEvidence reads like a long poem cycle

that pulls the reader into an open field

in which Semerdjian weaves his explo-

rations of language and art, Armenian

history and family. These dynamic

poems mingle the ghosts of the past

with the pace of contemporary life.

Peter Balakian

Spuyten Duyvil (2006), $13

THE DEATH OF GODS IN ANCIENT

EGYPTJane Sellers (ADP 79)

This groundbreaking book details a

concerted search for the origins of the

basic beliefs of the ancient Egyptian

religion. The author has thoroughly

examined the ancient texts and the

magnificent artwork of these enigmatic

people and has come to some startling

conclusions.

Lulu.com (2007), $24.95

Goddard Alumni/ae: Have you published a

book recently? Send us a copy to be included

in the Alumni/ae Portfolio and donated to the

library! Please send your notifications and

books to: Sarah Hooker, Goddard College,

123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield, VT 05667.


6/18


The station matures today with its original

purpose renewed. Its in good financial health,

has state-of-the-art equipment in a new pro-

duction studio in the basement of the Elliot Pratt Centerand is attended to by passionate paid and unpaid workers

and volunteer programmers (DJs) from the Central Vermont

community.

Its a beautiful story, says Bert Klunder, WGDR opera-

tions manager, of the stations current health, especially

given the financial crisis that hit Goddard in 2002 and near-

ly shut down the station. Bert has been involved with

WGDR since his days as an on-campus student in 1998.

Im one of the people, like many who have been

involved here for years and years, that consid-

ers this sacred space and an invaluable loca

social movement, he says. It really is quite

amazing.The birth of WGDR was influenced by an importan

Alternative Media Conference hosted by Goddard in the

early 70s, which drew a broad spectrum of national repre

sentatives of new alternative mediaradio, television

political theater and print journalism.

That was a really important conference in many ways,

remembers Kirk Gardner, WGDRs first faculty advisor

Marshall McLuhan had just written [The Medium is the

Message]. We were really seeing how we talked to each o ther

Operations Manager Bert

Klunder (left) and General

Manager Greg Hooker are

part of the team thats

mapping the stations

future, balancing its

community radio roots

with a new professionalism.

Operations Manager Bert

Klunder (left) and General

Manager Greg Hooker are

part of the team thats

mapping the stations

future, balancing its

community radio roots

with a new professionalism.

Nearly 35 years after its birth on the Goddard campus, WGDR (91.1FM) has not come full circle, for it never deviated from the missionit realized in the early 70s: to be a non-commercial alternative to

mainstream mass media, enabling a community committed to authentic,principled speech to connect with itself, entertain itself and be heard.

BY BONNIE BLADER(MFA 97)

toto WGDRWGDR

Tuning In


7/18


as a community in very different ways than we had before.

We could see that it was possible to get messages through to

each other in the community in other ways [than through

mainstream mass media].

A radio station seemed to be a better way to connect withthe community of Plainfield, so the college started the sta-

tion under the auspices of the Learning Aid Center. To

Gardner, who taught communications and directed the cen-

ter, the station was important because it gave students an

opportunity to try to build a new way. He envisioned a

future workforce, for those students who went on to work

in communications, that would be different as a result of

their experience.

I think the students had a very different perception, he

says. I think their idea was simple, pure excitementthe

idea that they could get their hands on something to talk to

each other and talk to the world around them.

Current WGDR General Manager Greg Hooker remem-

bers be in g dr aw n to ra di o or news pa pe r jo ur na li sm

because, I honest ly thought, theres a field where I could

work that is somewhat noble. Woodward and Bernstein

were his models at the time.

They were like heroes, and so my original attraction toradio was servingbeing of service to the community.

Greg spent 23 years in commercial radio in Vermont before

coming to WGDR this year, and he believes that commercia

radio is beginning to realize it has risked losing touch with

its audience. When this opportunity opened up, it was a

way to get back to the kind of radio I thought I originally

wanted to do, which was to really serve a community.

WGDR has gone from being a 10-watt station heard no

much farther than the campus and greater Plainfield, to

being a 920-wat t stat ion on the air from 6 a.m. to midnigh

and heard throughout Washington County, although hil ltop

listeners do better, Greg admits.

One of the issues that has been on the front burner for

Stu BautzStu started with WGDR in the

mid-80s as a community

volunteer. He aired a weekly

radio show on Sunday nights

and soon became the stations

manager. Besides managing

WGDR, he taught radio produc-

tion, pirate radio and radiojournalism, and advised Goddard

students over the years. Today,

he lives in Islamorada, Fla.

In 1989, the station was quite a

mess, operating at half power.

The station engineer had walked

out after being turned down for

the managers position, and

parties were a natural activity at

night for the on-campus pro-

grammers and community staff.

I often slept on a futon in my

office for the first six months,

before the station calmed down

and we got more volunteers to

staff our extended hours of

operation, from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Eventually, we had a volunteer

programming staff of over 70

Goddard student and community

programmers, with many from

high schools, too. Other than

the alterative news shows that

used up less than 30 percent of

our airtime, we were strictly

free-format, no playlist, no

favors to record companies.

All along we tried very hard to

have a repeater station set up to

help our broadcast signal over

the mountains and trees. But in

the end we built a real antenna

tower to replace the 15-foot

pole on top of the library roof

and placed real antennas inside

protective domes to keep them

from icing up in the winter.

Before the tower went up in thebackyard, you would have to

take a ladder and climb through

the roof access door of the old

computer lab of the library and

VERY CAUTIOUSLY lean the

ladder up against the pole,

next to the edge of the roof,

and scrape the ice or wet, heavy

snow off the antennas. This

was one of my least favorite

activities especially at night.

Goddard changed my life, even

though I wasnt an official

student. I was given a rare

opportunity to re-develop and

re-manage a true hybrid

community radio stationa

hybrid station of incredible

students and local residents.

I saw a station that had crum-

bled multiple times since 1973

and wanted badly to stabilize it,

no matter who the next manager

or president would be. This led

me into becoming an archivist

for the station which finally

helped me understand what

Goddard was all about.

I had only recreated what WGDR

started out to be many years

ago, and that was self-expres-

sion and self-discovery in a

local community. This has

turned out to be the most

important lesson of my life.

Stu Bautz at Goddard

in the 1980s


8/18


some time is how to upgrade and kind of boost the signal,

he says. Its an issue listeners listed as their first concern on

surveys former station General Manager Bon Kelly put outa year ago. In Montpelier, the higher up you are on the ter-

rain, the better the reception. We have listeners in the townof Middlesex, which is even farther west in the countybut

the people want us to have a s trong signal.Listening is also possible from the stations website,

managed by long time Goddard library cataloger, volunteer

DJ and station webmaster David Ferland. Thanks to a

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) grant, the web-site can be approached more systematically, David says.

You can find it at www.wgdr.org.

Anything the station wants to do is easier now, thanks to

what Bert calls some well-timed lucky breaks. Goddardwas able to invest more after 2002, supporting two full-time

positions and assisting with renovation to the facility itself,

including the on-air studio. Eligibility for multiple grants

also helped WGDR, Bert says. The most important is the

CPB community service grant that allows the station to hire

additional staff and improve its organization.The station also rebuilt its production studio thanks to a

grant from the California-based Cain Foundation, which a

grateful parent of a former station volunteer helped to

arrange. Greg says the new studio is now better than the

studio at the commercial station where he once worked. Inaddition, WGDRs most recent fund drive, overseen by

Christine Farren, volunteer and special events coordinator

for WGDR, was a resounding success with the station meet-ing its $15,000 goal.

With the help of very talented and passionately committed

volunteers, were able to have an organizational commitment

here that is much more sustainable, Bert says, reboundingout of a time not too long ago when we werent sure what

our future held.

Except for a few very popular syndicated programs like

Free Speech Radio News and Democracy Now, hostedby Amy Goodman, WGDRs program ideas are broug ht to

the station by the volunteer DJs who host the shows. Thevolunteers train at the station for a number of weeks to learn

how to operate the equipment and follow FCC requirements,and then they are on the air and on their own.

The age span of programmers is from 17 to 75, Greg

says. About 70 percent of the programs heard on WGDR are

music, covering all genres, but a range of locally developedpublic affairs programs spr inkle the weeks schedule.

Its a little rougher at the edge than NPR, Greg says.

The people who do our programs arent professionals.

They do it for the love of it.

It is precisely the nature of WGDRs open door tha

excites Bert.There are all kinds of human elements to this organiza

tional story that are far beyond unique. They are rareendangered, almost extinct, he says. There are few place

like this in the country, in terms of being up-to-date, func-tional, sustainable and freely accessible mediaso anyone

can come in here and learn the work of professionals. Its an

incredible resource.

Bert hopes to reincorporate a student presence lost afte2002, when the on-campus residency program closed. We

now have unlimited potential in all kinds of areas, including

reintegrating with the low-residency academic programs,

he says.Gregs goal is to take advantage of a rare opportu nity in

October to apply for a new FCC license that would extend

WGDRs signal. He also wants to work with his advisory

counsel on a policy about program preemption. Although

there is little disagreement in general among programmer

at WGDR, preemption is a subject of some conflict here,Greg says.

There are some people who think we should never pre

empt any programs because these programs belong to the

announcers, he says. But I feel, and many others feel, tha

thats not quite r ight. Election night, for example, might besuch an occasion. Its sensitive for some people, because

they think we shouldnt do it at all.

The stations policy advisory committee helps Greg sorout this and other issues that arise. The group is made up o

seven volunteer programmers who are elected at an annua

meeting. Theres so much democratic pr ocess here in com

munity radio, at least at Goddard community radio, hesays. I have the authority, but theres still an expectation

that we collaborate on these things.

Bert understands the need to balance practical consider

ations like preemption against the programmers enthusiasm for their programs. He sees WGDR as a part of a grass

roots movement toward independent alternative media, amovement that may have stalled but is now resurging. It is

a movement the world needs, he believes, and one that hasfound a heart and home at WGDR.

This is a gathering place, a connecting place. Its a place

to make things grow, Bert says. Its sacred space for any

one who wants to come in and work with people who areinclined to contribute, to give back really, to make the

world better.

Its a little rougher at the edge than NPR. The people who do

our programs arent professionals. They do it for the love of it.

GREG HOOKER, GENERAL MANAGER


9/18


Christine Farren, David Ferland

and his son,Tyler, show how

WGDR can become a family

affair. Christine is WGDRs

volunteer and special events

coordinator. David is the station

webmaster. He and Tyler have

hosted a radio music program,

The Dave and Tyler Show,

since 1995, when Tyler was a

young boy. Christines music

program, Hot Off the Press,

airs at 6 a.m. on Friday. She

blames David for getting her

started as a DJ.

David Ferland

Its been incredibly rewarding

and challenging for Tyler and

me to be co-producers of an

ongoing creative project every

week. That weve lasted this

long doing this together has

surprised both of us.

We had been doing the show

only a year or so when Tyler

pointed at the car radio. The

commercial rock DJs were

being, well, commercial rock

DJs. Tyler said,Hey, theyre

just some guys in a room,

making it up. We know how

to do that.

Participating in community

radio has demystified media for

us, helping us understand the

humanity behind the box.

Christine thought she could

never do a radio show. But she

has and then some. I simply

convinced her that it wasnt as

hard as it looked to run the

control board and talk on the

microphone. They can be

intimidating at first, especially

when you have to do them at

the same time. Plus, I trained

her. On air. It was fun and only a

little nervyand then she was

off and running. Now it seems

she cant get enough. This kind

of thing happens a lot at WGDR.

WGDRs license is classic

Goddard: learn by doing, lifelong

learning, relative creative and

intellectual freedom. That the

community can be a part of the

colleges overall transformative

process is truly remarkable.

Remove the profit motive from a

radio station and what you have

left is people. And were people

just some guys from around

here in a room.

Christine Farrenon volunteers and theWGDR community

There are probably as many

reasons why people volunteer

as there are volunteers. At thestation, the volunteers sort and

file CDs, do data entry, carry

equipment, come up with bril-

liant ideas, decorate for special

events, answer phones, drive

around in cars postering and

promoting, provide enthusiasm

and energy, and do a hundred

other tasks large and small.

Ongoing education in the world

of radio comes in part from

personal feedback. People

may call on the phone or stop

a programmer in person to say

they liked this or didnt like

that. It all goes into the mix.

Special events at WGDR include

the annual meeting and the

spring and fall pledge drives.

There have been other events

that have included a Halloween

party, cookouts, the Autumn

Leaves and Chocolate Lovers

Fling and Silent Auction and an

annual underwriter reception.

Many hands go into creating

these special events. The

station could not thrive without

the strong and generous hands

of the volunteers.

Tyler and David

Ferland on the

air at WGDR in

1996 (left) and

2006 (above).

BERT

KLUNDER

SHELDON

BALL


10/18


The program not only certifies future

educators but also nourishes progressive

thinkers and critical problem-solvers whoare committed to democratic education. Much like other

Goddard programs, the low-residency model allows students to

work in their communities as co-constructors of knowledge.

The program vision relies on three main components: personal

development, interpersonal competence and social responsibility.

It is this dedication to social responsibility and personal

growth that gives the program its strength.

David Solmitz (MA ED 00), an active proponent of stu-

dent-centered learning and a visionary of social equality,

comes from a legacy of progressive though

forged by such educators as Paul Geheeb

and Hans Maeder. His own strength as aneducator has been his untiring, and sometimes controversial

crusade to find joy and understanding between educators

and students while creating awareness and access to diver

sity. It was at Goddard that David wrote a book on his edu-

cational experiences in the field, Schooling for Humanity

For a college that was founded on the progressive, democratic ideals ofJohn Dewey and other educational reformers, it should come as no surprisethat Goddards own Education Program promotes those same ideals today.

RACHAEL A. M ROLLSON(MFAIA 06)

GRADUATES OF GODDARDS EDUCATION PROGRAM

ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, ONE STUDENT AT A TIME

Above, students at the Anglo-American International School in Bulgaria

perform the school song at the opening of a new building. Laura Giosh

Markov (MA ED 04), the music teacher and an administrator at the

school, collaborated with the choir to write the song.

Pioneers Futureof

the


11/18


When Big Brother Isnt Watching (Peter Lang Publishing).

My intention as a teacher is to be a facilitator who

excites and motivates students to learn, he says. Within

this process, [they] get to know themselves and each other

better as they become more caring and compassion ateindividuals and active citizens who uphold the princi ples of

our democratic society.

The center of continual controversy in his educational

climates, David challenged the administration by promoting

democratic learning. This included supporting self-directed

student activities and assessments, bringing in artists to

work with students and helping students create and run

courses on Experiencing Diversity, a project that received

resistance from both the administration and colleagues. He

once went to court because of the school districts prevention

of a lesbian speaker at Tolerance Day.

I imagine the challenge that I faced as a teacher, even at

the college level, was that some teachers felt threatened by

my approach to teaching and tried to block my methodology.

He says that the current focus in our public schools on

accountabilityconstant testing and judging students and

teachers based on test scoreshas left behind education

for humanity, or fostering the creativity, motivation,

insight and compassion of our students.

Today, after retiring from teaching, David has begun to

focus more on writing, watercolor painting and educational

consulting.

We constantly must believe in ourselves, David says,

realize that what we are doing works and continue to try

new approaches.

New approaches are exactly what Sara Barber-Just (MA

ED 02) created in the public school curricula when shebegan designing GLBT (gay, lesbian, b i-sexual , t ransgender)

courses in literature in Amherst, Mass. Looking to energize her

teaching career, she came upon the Goddard low-residency

program in education,

which she says fostered an

exploratory climate that was

socially and personally

meaningful.

When she began her

research at Goddard, she

found that GLBT youth were

often miserable in high

school, unsupported, unrec-ognized, even suicidal, and

though there were educa-

tors out there using gay

and lesbian literature in their classes, they were doing so in

primarily hetero-sexist contexts.

Sara felt that this could lead to more GLBT youths being

ostracized in unsafe environments. Her mission, then, was

to create a safe and understanding environment in which

GLBT history, activism, literature and culture were examined

in only that context.

I dont think of this material as alternative at all, she

says. Its powerful, renowned literature being placed in a

social and historical context, as any literature can and

should be!

For two years after her Goddard experience, Sara wasauthorized to teach a small Gay and Lesbian Literature

class, on the side and without pay, until she collected

enough substantiation to be approved by the school com-

mittee. The course was approved as an elective for 11th and

12th graders and is now one of the most popular English

courses at Amherst Regional School.

I have literally seen homophobic language decrease

straight allies increase, more students coming out and more

safety for teachers, she says. She also acted as advisor to th e

Gay/Straight Alliance that organizes a GLBT Awareness

Week each year, which has hosted lesbian author Leslea

Newman and educational athletics activist Pat Griffin. In

2004, her peers selected her to receive the schools highest

teaching award, the Robert Frost Chair, for her outstandingdevotion to her s chool and community.

While Saras challenge has been changing the cultura

environment in her school setting, Terry Holmes (MA ED

00) biggest challenge is more fundamental: adult literacy

As evening school principal for Granby High School in

Norfolk, Va., he oversees programs for high school seniors

and adult learners enrolled in General Education

Development (GED), English as a Second Language and

Adult Basic Education.

David Solmitz chronicled his 30-year struggle as a controversial,

anti-establishment teacher in a small Maine high school in Schooling

for Humanity: When Big Brother Isnt Watching.

Sara Barber-Just created a

healthier environment for gay

and lesbian students in

Amherst, Mass., by introducing

GLBT literature courses into the

school curriculum.


12/18


Most of our students basic edu-

cation test scores show deficiencies

in reading and writing, math, science

and social studies, he says. Many

of our adult students test scores fall

in the range of 8th grade or lower.

One of Terrys biggest challenges

is letting adults know about all theprograms that are available, and he

spreads the word via radio, TV, the

Internet, bulletin boards and local

literacy groups.

We make every effort to inform

the public of our extensive literacy

course offerings for adult learners,

he says. More must be done to close

the achievement gap.

When he came to Goddard, his

primary directive was to learn more

about the Harlem R enaissance era and its subsequent man-

ifestation of black conscio usness in the U.S.I focused on an era that had eluded me as a child, he

says, listening to my parents speak o f the key black figures

who were major players in the performing and visua l ar ts and

literature of the period.

Terry returned to the classroom to foster the strength

and inspiration of that consciousness through more student-

directed learning. As an administrator, he now encourages

his teachers to do the same.

As I returned to my classroom [after receiving my

degree from Goddard], my teaching modality changed, he

says. I experienced a total paradigm shift. I became more

of a facilitator and allowed my students more freedom of

expression in the classroom.Terry has won a host of awards to mark his impact on hi s

students, including Teacher of the Year and Virginia

Student Advisor of the Year. He has instituted a statewide

Race to GED initiative to combat local low literacy rates and

has earned School Bell awards for his dedication and con-

tr ibut ions to educat ion.

While Terrys students have flourished with more freedom

in the classroom, Laura Giosh-Markov (MA ED 04) has

found that not everyone is ready for democratic learning.

As the music teacher and school guidance counselor at

the Anglo-American International School in Bulgaria, Laura

has found that her American idealsher desire to make

things happenare in deep contrast to the political oppres-

sion that Bulgaria is just beginning to shed.

In her own school, the children are mostly international,

and the teachers hail from primarily English-speaking

countries and follow an American/British curriculum. The

Bulgarian school system, however, is still set in its post-

communist-era mold, in which low government funding

and adherence to traditional teaching methods continue to

block devel opment.

It is clear that major change needs to occur in Bulgarian

schools to give students the social and emotional skills to

truly compete, she says, especially

now that the country has joined the

European Union (EU).

Goddards education program

helped Laura hone her intuitions and

theories, especially with the experi

ments she had already been doing

with students combining musicdrama, dance, counseling and art. By

teaching the children in a variety o

holistic approaches that include

creatively moving and exploring

Laura promotes the perfect counter-

balance to the emphasis on academic

achievement.

Laura also creates professiona

development programs for the

teachers assistants, launching pilo

programs that engage them to partic

ipate democratically, choose their own topics and offer

feedback. Her vision is to further this with progressiveteacher training in the Bulgarian school system, to promote

self-directed modes of development for both the teachers

and their students.

I have talked with some people who are involved in

reforms with Bulgarian education who agree with my

ideas, she says, but [they] said the Ministry of Education

wasn't ready to incorporate such new ideas.

Laura finds that taking baby steps to introducing new

modes of teaching and learning is the best way to manage

There are many political transitions yet for Bulgaria, bu

Laura is already seeing how the countrys new democracy

and the transition into the EU have affected students. More

and more Bulgarians are getting the training they need tocompete with the new demands of their expanded borders.

Democratic learning

has its challenges and

rewards, and as these

Goddard educators have

seen, the challenges are

never easy, and the

rewards are greatest in

our communities. Laura

sums it up well, as she

promotes her democratic

ideals overseas.

The big enlightenment

for me has been that we are

all at different levels in

our learning, she says,

and only when we are

ready can we make a step

forward.

Laura Giosh-Markov is a teacher and guidance counselor at the

Anglo-American International School in Bu lgaria. She is hoping to

work with the Bulgarian school system to begin to introduce more

progressive, democratic teaching methods.

As an educator in Norfolk, Va., Terry Holmes has

collected many awards for teaching and advising.

He says his studies at Goddard transformed his

style in the classroom, leading him to encourage

more freedom of expression from his students.

ELLE

MAGAZINE


13/18


The program not only certifies future

educators but also nourishes progressive

thinkers and critical problem-solvers whoare committed to democratic education. Much like other

Goddard programs, the low-residency model allows students to

work in their communities as co-constructors of knowledge.

The program vision relies on three main components: personal

development, interpersonal competence and social responsibility.

It is this dedication to social responsibility and personal

growth that gives the program its strength.

David Solmitz (MA ED 00), an active proponent of stu-

dent-centered learning and a visionary of social equality,

comes from a legacy of progressive though

forged by such educators as Paul Geheeb

and Hans Maeder. His own strength as aneducator has been his untiring, and sometimes controversial

crusade to find joy and understanding between educators

and students while creating awareness and access to diver

sity. It was at Goddard that David wrote a book on his edu-

cational experiences in the field, Schooling for Humanity

For a college that was founded on the progressive, democratic ideals ofJohn Dewey and other educational reformers, it should come as no surprisethat Goddards own Education Program promotes those same ideals today.

RACHAEL A. M ROLLSON(MFAIA 06)

GRADUATES OF GODDARDS EDUCATION PROGRAM

ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, ONE STUDENT AT A TIME

Above, students at the Anglo-American International School in Bulgaria

perform the school song at the opening of a new building. Laura Giosh

Markov (MA ED 04), the music teacher and an administrator at the

school, collaborated with the choir to write the song.

Pioneers Futureof

the


14/18


When Big Brother Isnt Watching (Peter Lang Publishing).

My intention as a teacher is to be a facilitator who

excites and motivates students to learn, he says. Within

this process, [they] get to know themselves and each other

better as they become more caring and compassion ateindividuals and active citizens who uphold the princi ples of

our democratic society.

The center of continual controversy in his educational

climates, David challenged the administration by promoting

democratic learning. This included supporting self-directed

student activities and assessments, bringing in artists to

work with students and helping students create and run

courses on Experiencing Diversity, a project that received

resistance from both the administration and colleagues. He

once went to court because of the school districts prevention

of a lesbian speaker at Tolerance Day.

I imagine the challenge that I faced as a teacher, even at

the college level, was that some teachers felt threatened by

my approach to teaching and tried to block my methodology.

He says that the current focus in our public schools on

accountabilityconstant testing and judging students and

teachers based on test scoreshas left behind education

for humanity, or fostering the creativity, motivation,

insight and compassion of our students.

Today, after retiring from teaching, David has begun to

focus more on writing, watercolor painting and educational

consulting.

We constantly must believe in ourselves, David says,

realize that what we are doing works and continue to try

new approaches.

New approaches are exactly what Sara Barber-Just (MA

ED 02) created in the public school curricula when shebegan designing GLBT (gay, lesbian, b i-sexual , t ransgender)

courses in literature in Amherst, Mass. Looking to energize her

teaching career, she came upon the Goddard low-residency

program in education,

which she says fostered an

exploratory climate that was

socially and personally

meaningful.

When she began her

research at Goddard, she

found that GLBT youth were

often miserable in high

school, unsupported, unrec-ognized, even suicidal, and

though there were educa-

tors out there using gay

and lesbian literature in their classes, they were doing so in

primarily hetero-sexist contexts.

Sara felt that this could lead to more GLBT youths being

ostracized in unsafe environments. Her mission, then, was

to create a safe and understanding environment in which

GLBT history, activism, literature and culture were examined

in only that context.

I dont think of this material as alternative at all, she

says. Its powerful, renowned literature being placed in a

social and historical context, as any literature can and

should be!

For two years after her Goddard experience, Sara wasauthorized to teach a small Gay and Lesbian Literature

class, on the side and without pay, until she collected

enough substantiation to be approved by the school com-

mittee. The course was approved as an elective for 11th and

12th graders and is now one of the most popular English

courses at Amherst Regional School.

I have literally seen homophobic language decrease

straight allies increase, more students coming out and more

safety for teachers, she says. She also acted as advisor to th e

Gay/Straight Alliance that organizes a GLBT Awareness

Week each year, which has hosted lesbian author Leslea

Newman and educational athletics activist Pat Griffin. In

2004, her peers selected her to receive the schools highest

teaching award, the Robert Frost Chair, for her outstandingdevotion to her s chool and community.

While Saras challenge has been changing the cultura

environment in her school setting, Terry Holmes (MA ED

00) biggest challenge is more fundamental: adult literacy

As evening school principal for Granby High School in

Norfolk, Va., he oversees programs for high school seniors

and adult learners enrolled in General Education

Development (GED), English as a Second Language and

Adult Basic Education.

David Solmitz chronicled his 30-year struggle as a controversial,

anti-establishment teacher in a small Maine high school in Schooling

for Humanity: When Big Brother Isnt Watching.

Sara Barber-Just created a

healthier environment for gay

and lesbian students in

Amherst, Mass., by introducing

GLBT literature courses into the

school curriculum.


15/18


Most of our students basic edu-

cation test scores show deficiencies

in reading and writing, math, science

and social studies, he says. Many

of our adult students test scores fall

in the range of 8th grade or lower.

One of Terrys biggest challenges

is letting adults know about all theprograms that are available, and he

spreads the word via radio, TV, the

Internet, bulletin boards and local

literacy groups.

We make every effort to inform

the public of our extensive literacy

course offerings for adult learners,

he says. More must be done to close

the achievement gap.

When he came to Goddard, his

primary directive was to learn more

about the Harlem R enaissance era and its subsequent man-

ifestation of black conscio usness in the U.S.I focused on an era that had eluded me as a child, he

says, listening to my parents speak o f the key black figures

who were major players in the performing and visua l ar ts and

literature of the period.

Terry returned to the classroom to foster the strength

and inspiration of that consciousness through more student-

directed learning. As an administrator, he now encourages

his teachers to do the same.

As I returned to my classroom [after receiving my

degree from Goddard], my teaching modality changed, he

says. I experienced a total paradigm shift. I became more

of a facilitator and allowed my students more freedom of

expression in the classroom.Terry has won a host of awards to mark his impact on hi s

students, including Teacher of the Year and Virginia

Student Advisor of the Year. He has instituted a statewide

Race to GED initiative to combat local low literacy rates and

has earned School Bell awards for his dedication and con-

tr ibut ions to educat ion.

While Terrys students have flourished with more freedom

in the classroom, Laura Giosh-Markov (MA ED 04) has

found that not everyone is ready for democratic learning.

As the music teacher and school guidance counselor at

the Anglo-American International School in Bulgaria, Laura

has found that her American idealsher desire to make

things happenare in deep contrast to the political oppres-

sion that Bulgaria is just beginning to shed.

In her own school, the children are mostly international,

and the teachers hail from primarily English-speaking

countries and follow an American/British curriculum. The

Bulgarian school system, however, is still set in its post-

communist-era mold, in which low government funding

and adherence to traditional teaching methods continue to

block devel opment.

It is clear that major change needs to occur in Bulgarian

schools to give students the social and emotional skills to

truly compete, she says, especially

now that the country has joined the

European Union (EU).

Goddards education program

helped Laura hone her intuitions and

theories, especially with the experi

ments she had already been doing

with students combining musicdrama, dance, counseling and art. By

teaching the children in a variety o

holistic approaches that include

creatively moving and exploring

Laura promotes the perfect counter-

balance to the emphasis on academic

achievement.

Laura also creates professiona

development programs for the

teachers assistants, launching pilo

programs that engage them to partic

ipate democratically, choose their own topics and offer

feedback. Her vision is to further this with progressiveteacher training in the Bulgarian school system, to promote

self-directed modes of development for both the teachers

and their students.

I have talked with some people who are involved in

reforms with Bulgarian education who agree with my

ideas, she says, but [they] said the Ministry of Education

wasn't ready to incorporate such new ideas.

Laura finds that taking baby steps to introducing new

modes of teaching and learning is the best way to manage

There are many political transitions yet for Bulgaria, bu

Laura is already seeing how the countrys new democracy

and the transition into the EU have affected students. More

and more Bulgarians are getting the training they need tocompete with the new demands of their expanded borders.

Democratic learning

has its challenges and

rewards, and as these

Goddard educators have

seen, the challenges are

never easy, and the

rewards are greatest in

our communities. Laura

sums it up well, as she

promotes her democratic

ideals overseas.

The big enlightenment

for me has been that we are

all at different levels in

our learning, she says,

and only when we are

ready can we make a step

forward.

Laura Giosh-Markov is a teacher and guidance counselor at the

Anglo-American International School in Bu lgaria. She is hoping to

work with the Bulgarian school system to begin to introduce more

progressive, democratic teaching methods.

As an educator in Norfolk, Va., Terry Holmes has

collected many awards for teaching and advising.

He says his studies at Goddard transformed his

style in the classroom, leading him to encourage

more freedom of expression from his students.

ELLE

MAGAZINE


16/18


Her family and all the mining families lived in

coal camps, which consisted of a row of houses

built and owned by the coal companies. In the 60s

and 70s, union vs. corporate became the community conflict

due to the unhealthy conditions of the mines and the

companys unjust treatment of the miners. The men in her

family were union through and through, and they did

everything in their power to get the rights they deserved.

The rebellion against the company and the rebellion

against the authorities really set the tone for children raised

up in the aftermath of the last bloody strike in Letcher

County, Gwen Johnson (HAS 05) says.

Gwen lost three uncles and her only brother, Rex, to

mining accidents. But it was the only life she knew then.

It was this tumultuous settingwith mining conflicts,

poverty and struggle in every directionthat laid the path

Gwen would follow, one that would eventually lead her

back to her Kentucky roots. Today she spends her days

helping others with their struggles as a community activist,

a counselor and a teacher. And while her path led her away

from her faith in God, she found it again at Goddard.

Through her explorations in the Health Arts and SciencesProgram, Gwen came to embrace Christianity as an integral

part of her work.

BREAKING AWAY FROM HER ROOTS

Gwen grew up surrounded by rebellion, poverty and ill-

ness. Rooted in the ways of her fathers mother, she wanted

so desperately to help people, to heal people like her grand-

mother did. Her grandmother shunned doctors and instead

healed by way of home remedies and herbs. She was the

woman Gwen wanted to emulate.

But the ways of the people in rural Kentucky

didnt allow her to do much but find a breadwin-

ning husband at a young age and hope for the best. She

married her first husband when she was just a junior in

high school, but they soon divorced. Gwen married again

when she was 20 and stayed with her second husband for 17

years, until her eldest daughter, Hannah, decided to go to

college. Gwen decided that it was time for her to go back to

school, too.

I had been helping people write papers for school for

years, Gwen says. I guess I decided that it was time for

me, then.

Her coalminer husband saw no need to spend money he

didnt have on two women going to college, so Gwen

packed her bags, left with her two daughters and got a job

for minimum wage. With financial aid, both mother and

daughter finally began their journeys.

Gwen had always wanted to be a nurse midwife, and to

do this she had to be a registered nurse (RN). She started

taking general courses at Southeastern Community College

and was later accepted into an RN program. This studyhowever, did not last long.

When I got into clinicals is when I realized that I

wouldve died had I finished that RN, she says. Because o

the convictions instilled in her by her grandmother, Gwen

was terribly bothered by the things she had to see. At one

A.P. GRECO(MFAW O6)

The Coal Fields of Eastern Kentucky is what she calls herhometown. The natives call it Hemphill. The United StatesPost Office calls it Jackhorn. Regardless of the name, one thing

was certain about this place: mining was the way of life.

As a girl, Gwen Johnson lived in a coal camp like the one pictured

above. The camps housed the miners and their families but were

owned by the mining companies.

CoalminersHealingDaughter

The


17/18


clinical, she observed two young boys being circumcised.

She withdrew from the program the next day.

With her associates degree from Southeastern, she

decided to take another stab at college in a different med-

ical field: psychology. At Pikeville College in Pikeville, Ky.,she received her bachelors and met the man who would

indirectly introduce her to the world of Goddard.

Daniel Schnopp-Wyatt, the husband of Johnsons experi-

mental psychology professor at Pikeville, had just complet-

ed his masters study at Goddard. One day he asked Gwen

if she was going into a graduate study.

He said to me, I think you would love Goddard, and I

think theyd love you, she remembers.

FINDING GOD AT GODDARD

Her Goddard journey seemed to parallel the rocky path

she had taken in her life, and she struggled to get her study

where it needed to be. At first, she wanted to investigatetreating substance abuse using shamanistic techniques.

I have always been fascinated with anything occult,

she says. But it was hard for Gwen to get people in rural

Kentuckywho are very set in their Christian waysto

reach out to a belief in alternative healing.

I wanted to stay away from anything that had to do

with Christianity, she says. But this was pretty farfetched

with my [clients] here at home. They were suspicious of it.

Nothing she proposed in her hypothesis worked out,

and she worried because she didnt want to publish false

findings.

I struggled. I really struggled, she says. I was agoniz-

ing and agonizing about what to do about it.

One night, while contemplating what she should do, shehad an epiphany.

I had turned my back on my upbringing as far as reli-

gion or the things of God. I rebelled against that, she says.

That night I realized that there was help for my [clients],

but I had to approach them from where they were, instead

of where I wanted to take them.

With this new approach, one that would allow and even

invite religion, she started to rework her entire study plan.

She switched advisors and found S.B. Sowbel, the person

who would give her the encouragement and guidance she

needed.

Gwen trusted that all would work out, Sowbel says.

She followed her passion, she was and is committed tosocial change, she is what I like to call a superb hearthead,

and she was willing to explore new ways of responding to

an identified problem.

The Health Arts and Sciences Program at Goddard, as

Sowbel put it, interests those who are self-directed, have

passions that other programs do not support as viable areas

of scholarly inquiry and are deeply, deeply committed to

serving their community and the world.

Gwen fit this mold and after finally trusting the

process and letting her project go where it needed to go,

she achieved what she went to Goddard to achieve.

Her graduate thesis was a documentary-creative film in

which she interviewed her subjects on how they used

praise, worship, daily devotion and prayer to quickly comeout of their addiction.

In essence, what happened was, I took a journey and

came right back to where I started from, she says.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Today Gwen is a community activist, a volunteer, a pro-

fessional development counselor at the University of

Kentucky and a teacher for the Eastern Kentucky Child

Care Coalition.

At the university, she is a recruiter for a childcare

provider scholarship program called the Quality

Enhancement Initiative, which gives scholarships to early

childcare providers. At the Child Care Coalition, she teaches classes for childcare providers on topics ranging from

health and safety to abuse prevention to early literacy.

She still uses her grandmothers home remedies and

herbs for healing; in fact, she owned her own herbal store

for a few years, All Mystery Earth Medicine. But these days

music and faith have come to the forefront of her life. She

uses her music to heal and takes her guitar with her every

where she goes.

On Monday evenings, Gwen does Christian-based sub

stance abuse counseling for female prisoners at Letcher

County Jail.

A lot of those women know me from my rebellious

years, she says. Theres only one cell for the women and

only eight bunks. The eight bunks go to the ladies with sen-

iority. The other 10 or more ladies sleep on pallets on the

floor.

She is also the youth director at her non-denominational

church, Cornerstone. Despite the ultra-conservative ways o

the church she grew up inwhere women were not all owed

to speak except to sing and young men where not allowedto have their hair past their earsand despite the oppres-

sion of women that still lingers in rural Kentucky today

Gwen has found a reborn faith in Christianity and society

The firm philosophy of healing and change she found at

Goddard has only strengthened her resolve to stay with the

path she is on.

I had to get back to where I came from. Not the oppres-

sion, but the faith, she says. You can see Gods hand in

what has happened.

I had to get back to where I came from.

Not the oppression, but the faith. You can

see Gods hand in what has happened.GWEN JOHNSON (HAS 05)


18/18


Saving Paradise

As the heimong (high chief)

of Tobi, and one of the few

Western-educated environmental-ists in Palau, I was tired of feeling

disenfranchised with the environ-

mental movement in Palau, says

Sebastian Marino of his decision

to enroll in Goddards Individual-

ized Master of Arts Program.

He had also seen that the

environmental agenda for Palau,

an island nation in the Pacific,

was set by outside experts who

didnt understand its traditional

resource management systems.

Empowering KidsThrough the Media

Cara Lisa Powers considersherself really, really luckyand says that entering Goddards

Individualized Master of Arts

Program led to a transformation

that allows her to integrate the

varied aspects of her life.

I can pursue my masters

and not put my life on hold, she

says. My life gets to make sense

together.

Focusing on empowerment

through media education, Cara

says the central question to her

graduate work is, How canyoung people of the hip hop

generation use media to organize

for a more just and sustainable

future? This has led her to

explore social justice, sustainabil-

ity and ways to reengage a dis-

enfranchised youth population.

A self-proclaimed wearer of

many hats, Cara also runs her

own program, the Youth Media

Institute, at Project: Think

Different, a media arts empower-

ment organization in Boston.

It was a synergistic fit from

the beginning, she says of her

job, and she is an energetic

wealth of information on the

subject of empowering young

people and using the media as a

means for social change.

She cultivates a variety of

projects that aim to create

positive content for the media as

well as holding the media outlets

accountable for media bias.

Workshops, forums, community

discourse and creative projects

engaging youth are all aspects of

her work.

She also is a member of the

executive committee for Whats

Up? magazine, a publication

concerned with social justice, art

and activism. A life-long love of

poetry informs much of her work.

Her relationship with Goddard

began a number of years ago,

when she worked as an

AmeriCorps volunteer and shared

an office with a student in

Goddards IBA program. This

eventually led her to her graduate

endeavors at Goddard.

Its vital to me to understand

myself as a whole person, to live

holistically, so that I never have

to hit the stop button, she says.

I have performance work,

legislative work, grant writing,

my job I dont have to com-

partmentalize any of it. Goddard

has been huge in helping create

that dynamic.

ARTICLES BYCHRISTINE TOTH (MFAIA 07)

Cara Lisa Powers, a student in

Goddards IMA program, runs aprogram in Boston that uses the

media as a tool for social change

Nor did they recognize that

it was the existence of these

systems that has allowed Palau to

remain the pristine paradise that

they have come to conserve.

Sebastian enrolled at Goddard

as part of his effort to build a

conservation program for Tobi, a

small coral island that is the

remotest place in the Palau

Republic. The island is less than a

quarter of a square mile, with its

highest point less than 20 feet

above sea level.

I have been focusing on

indigenous conservation practices

and traditional environmental

knowledge,

Sebastian says of his

Goddard studies.

His efforts also

come in to play in his

work as chairman of

the board for the

Helen Reef

Conservation Area,

which is part of Tobi

and one of the largest

conservation areas in

Palau. Helen Reef is

an atoll, a ringlike

coral island that

encloses a lagoon,

and one of the most biodiverse

atolls in the Pacific, with a

significant turtle nesting site and

bird rookery. The area is being

threatened by global warming,

poaching and erosion, and the

community is working to protect i

Sebastian and the Helen Reef

board are negotiating with

Conservation International (CI)

to establish a conservation

concession agreement to extend

the legislation governing the area

for 25 to 30 years. In return, CI wi

raise funds to support conserva-

tion and community development

activities on the atoll.

To me the most exciting

aspect of this work is that

the conservation area will be

managed based on traditional

management practices, he says,

so we will be able to preserve no

only important biodiversity but

also to preserve our culture and

traditions.

Sebastian Marinos studies are fueling a conservation

plan to save Tobi, a biodiverse coral island in the Pacific.

Here, Sebastian sails to Tobi (visible in the background).

profiles: todays students

2007 Fall Clockworks

Documents

Transcript of 2007 Fall Clockworks