Welcome to Geo Education::The mission of Geo Education is to apply knowledge in service to the Earth and its people in evaluation, education & environmental work with community development and empowerment methods

CURRENT POSITION
President, Geo Education & Research a consulting organization with services in various areas including program evaluation, geographic and community research, and community development and is a provider of educational services and products that promote geographic and environmental education in the U.S., India and other countries (see www.geoeducation.org)

PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Senior Associate, Organizational Research Services, Seattle, Washington (www.organizationalresearch.com)

(Responsible for developing contacts and contracts and managing budgets for evaluation activities; designing and managing program evaluations for nonprofit organizations, government agencies at various levels and foundations; training and coaching clients in evaluation methods for sustainable, internal replicability; and reporting to external funders for clients)

Director of Outreach, Department of Geography, University of Washington (Responsible for developing and implementing programs to encourage service learning abroad and applied research)

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1984-1999

Director, Center for Community Development & Design
(Responsible for facilitating the integration of service, education, and research activities at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and throughout the state through programs and projects that apply the skills of the staff, faculty, students and community professionals to the solutions of pressing local and state-wide problems)

Associate Research Professor, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies
Assistant Professor Adjunct, Graduate School of Public Affairs

ACADEMIC EDUCATION

1984 Ph.D., Geography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

1978 M.A., Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

1975-76 Scholarship student, Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität, München, Germany

1975 B.A., Geography, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia (Magna cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa)

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

1995-96 Leadership Pikes Peak Program in leadership education and public service

1991 Consensus Building Facilitation Training

1989 Computer Cartography and GIS Training

1987 Citizen Participation in Public Affairs Course with the Institute for Participatory Management and Planning

TEACHING AND TRAINING EXPERIENCE

I have extensive experiencing in teaching and training in university, community, government, school, and non-profit settings. Courses and topics are primarily in the fields of community development, planning, program evaluation, natural hazards, applied geography, group facilitation, citizen participation, service, and voluntarism. I currently teach and train students and clients in program evaluation techniques.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2002 How to Design and Carry Out Data Collection Strategies for Results-Base Budgeting: A Step-By-Step Guide (with Jane Reisman) for a training program provided (primarily by me) to staff members in many programs of the United Nations.

2001 International Learning Community Design and Implementation : A Review and Evaluation of the University of Washington – Auroville, India Programon Sustainability, Community and International Cooperation; An Interdisciplinary Learning Experience in South India .

1996 Teller County Growth Attitude Project , Community Development Monograph Series #71, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (with Kee Warner and Dan Ponder).

1994"Service-Learning in Geography and Environmental Studies Programs," invited chapter published in Service-Learning Handbook for College Teachers, Richard Kraft and Marc Swadener, eds.

1994 Teller County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Organizational Planning Guide , Community Development Monograph Series #64, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (with Scott Kieselbach and Mike Tesky).

1994"Service-Learning in Geography and Environmental Studies Programs," invited chapter published in Service-Learning Handbook for College Teachers, Richard Kraft and Marc Swadener, eds.

1993"Cultural and Environmental Sustainability in an Evolving Landscape: Lessons from Auroville," Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Village-Based Development, Maurice Albertson and Miriam Shinn, eds.

1993 An Introduction to Emergency Management: Student and Instructor Guides , (a training text for the Colorado Office of Emergency Management).

1991 Consensus and Community Building: A Model Needs Assessment Process for Community Groups , Community Development Monograph Series #53, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

1991 Perspectives on School/Community Relationships and Needs in the Mitchell High School Neighborhood, Colorado Springs , Community Development Monograph Series #51, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

1989 Great Plains Reservoirs Multiple Use Development Feasibility: Summary Report , Community Development Monograph Series #29, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (with Lynn Johnson and Larry Eubanks).

1989 "Social Service Priorities From the Perspective of Users: Methodologies and Results," Papers and Proceedings of the Applied Geography Conferences, vol. 12, 1989, pp. 54-60.

1986 "Attribute Preferences and the Non-Metropolitan Migration Decision", The Annals of Regional Science (with Richard Morrill and Jeanne Downing) Vol. XX, No. 1, pp. 33-53.

SELECTED COMMUNITY SERVICE

2000-present Stewards’ Council member, Thornton Creek Project, Seattle (a non-profit dedicated to educating students and other residents on environmental and social issues affecting the watershed).

1992-present, member and past-president, Board of Directors, Auroville International - U.S.A. (a nonprofit organization providing support to the international community of Auroville, India from the USA).

1992-98 Co-initiator, development facilitator, Board member, Board President of a public charter school called GLOBE stressing global and local objectives for better education through an international, interdisciplinary, coherent curriculum.

1995 Member, Sustainable Communities Task Force and facilitator for the Governor's Smart Growth and Development Initiative.

1993 Organizer of inter-agency workshop and action-oriented task forces to deal with the problems of minority and disadvantaged youth in the Pikes Peak Region.

SELECTED RESEARCH AND DESIGN
PROGRAMS, GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

1996-99 Denver Urban Revitalization Program Evaluation. $90,000 contract with the Denver Housing Authority to evaluate 18 programs for residents of the Quigg Newton Housing Project.

1995-99 Colorado Geological Survey Internship Program. $614,000 to review local development geology reports, perform wetlands research and conduct geologic field research.

1994-97 Neighborhood Resource Center. $163,500 grant from the Governor's Community Partnership Office to develop a training and technical assistance program to help organize low-income neighborhoods in Colorado Springs and Pueblo and assist them with community development projects.

1992-96 Natural Hazards Management. $835,752 in research, training and service contracts to develop courses and satellite delivery methods and to assist with numerous planning projects on natural hazard mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery in communities across the state

1995-96 Community Development Program for Ground Water Protection in Colorado. $75,000 from the Colorado Department of Health to assist Colorado communities with planning for the protection and testing of municipal ground water resources.

1996 Global and Local Population and Water Curriculum Project. $7,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Education to develop curriculum materials and processes for GLOBE Charter School.

1995-96 Cañon City Schools Growth Management Study. $26,828 contract to analyze population growth and school facilities in Cañon City, Colorado and design a self-directed planning guide for the school district (2 publications) .

1990 Boggsville Historic Site Master Plan, Community Development Monograph Series #43, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. $9,350 contract with The Boggsville Revitalization Committee, Bent County, Colorado (with Selena Vaughan).

1988 Colorado Landslide Hazard Mitigation Plan , Colorado Geological Survey. $13,500 contract with State Division of Disaster Emergency Services to help develop local and state inter-agency response and mitigation plans, (with George Weber).

SELECTED HONORS & AWARDS

1996 Mentor, Best Student Project Award, Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association.

1996 Governor’s Smart Growth Award for developing the state’s best Pollution Prevention Program, a community development approach and guidebook for groundwater protection.

1995 John R. Shaeffer Flood Proofing Project Award presented by the National Association of State Flood Plain Managers for organizing and facilitating a volunteer-staffed, Flood Hazard Mitigation Project during spring break, 1994 in Conejos County, Colorado (with Robert Kistner, Aimee Cox and Richard Muniz).

1994 Thomas Jefferson Award, given by the four-campus system of the University of Colorado to the member of the faculty, staff or student body who best advances the ideals of Thomas Jefferson. These include a strong sense of individual civic responsibility, a broad concern for the advancement of higher education, a deep commitment to the welfare and rights of the individual, and a lively interest in literature, the arts and sciences.

1993 Governor's Productivity Award (with Bob Kistner) for developing and administering the most productive program among all state government units (an internship program to prepare young professionals for careers in natural hazard mitigation while serving communities in every Colorado county).

TEACHING EXPERIENCE (1984-present)
Applied Geography
Citizen Participation in Planning and Community Development
Community Analysis
Community Development
Community Service: Theory and Practice (inter-disciplinary)
Community Service: Theory and Practice in Environmental Studies
Community Service: Theory and Practice in Ethnic Minority Communities
Environments & Humans
Environment and Development in the Third World
Evaluation
Human Geography
Natural Hazards and Emergency Management
Research Methods in Planning and Community Development
Sustainability, Community and International Cooperation: An Interdisciplinary Learning Experience in South India (including a service learning practicum in Auroville, India)
Taoism and T’ai Chi
Urban Environmental Problems and Policy
Urban Geography
Urban Planning
Urban Social Geography

TRAINING EXPERIENCE (1984-present)
Applied Research and Evaluation Techniques
Citizen Participation in Planning and Community Development
Community Development
Conflict Resolution
Consensus Building
Demographic Data Collection and Analysis
Environmental Analysis
Environmental and Cultural Sustainability
Evaluation (numerous aspects)
Experiential Education
Group Facilitation and Recording
Growth Management
Inter-Governmental Management
Inter-Jurisdictional Cooperation
Landscape Design
Managing Citizen Participation
Managing Community Development
Managing Service Learning Efforts
Master Planning
Natural Hazard Mitigation
Neighborhood Organizing
Neighborhood Revitalization
Nominal Group Process
Program Evaluation Techniques (numerous topics and clients)
Service Learning
Strategic Planning
Surveying Design and Application
Team Building Techniques
Volunteer Management