Traveling School Board of Directors
Nancy is a strong supporter of the Traveling School and their mission in enriching the lives of young girls. Her daughter, Megan, was on TTS 20 to Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa, and attended college her freshman year in Italy. Her son also did an exchange in Japan his junior year of high school. She has a huge love and desire to travel, traveling to over 12 countries. Her driving interest stems for her college friend who grew up in Nicaragua. Nancy and her husband Wade have been a host parents to over 14 international high school students as well as a constant supporters of exchange opportunities. Nancy has a strong background in operations, planning, and project management. She currently works for Medtronic’s as a Program Manager in Supply Chain and held similar roles at both General Mills and Schwan’s. Nancy has seen the tremendous positive effect The Traveling School has on young women, opening the world to her daughter and other girls just like her. “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
Ellie grew up in the mountains of Colorado, where her passion for outdoor places began. While at Colorado College, she studied Environmental Science with an emphasis in Biology to gain a greater understanding of the science within our ecological systems. Her continued curiosity about the outside world prompted Ellie to seek out opportunities to work with others in wilderness-based programs, including Deer Hill Expeditions, SUWS Wilderness Therapy, and the National Outdoor Leadership School. Through observing the power of place-based learning and the capacity for healing that can occur in a natural environment, Ellie sought greater understanding of why people do what they do, as well as how people change, so she pursued a Master’s degree in Social Work. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Ellie works as a mental health consultant at Routefinder Consulting, which focuses on leadership development and resilience building with individuals and organizations. She brings her passions for expeditionary learning and empowerment to her role on the Traveling School board. When it’s time to play, you can find Ellie hiking, skiing, biking, and otherwise adventuring with her husband, Jim, and their pup, Riva.
Ian is a long time adherent to both experiential education and the value of travel. While growing up, and prior to moving to Bozeman, he lived in numerous (and visited many more) places both domestically and abroad. After graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Geography, Ian served as an Officer in the United States Marines Corps. Subsequent to his time in the Marine Corps, he moved to Bozeman and earned an M.S. in Earth Sciences at Montana State University (MSU). He has been a mountaineering, semester course, and professional development Instructor and Course Director at the Colorado Outward Bound School, a middle school science teacher at a prep school, and the Assistant Headmaster of a small independent school prior to starting work at MSU in 1999. At MSU, Ian has worked in the Graduate School, been the program manager of a Transition to Teaching program in the College of Education, Health & Human Development, the Director of Administration and Finance in the College of Nursing, has taught several undergraduate and graduate courses, and is currently the Assistant Director of the Office of Planning & Analysis. Ian has also earned an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration, and Certificates of Applied Science in both Welding Technology and CNC Machining Technology. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife and son, squirt boating, kayaking, biking, skiing and whatever else might seem like a good idea at the time.
John has spent the better part of his career rethinking secondary education and the better part of his adult life traveling the world. He began teaching at the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, later taught at the Eagle Rock School, co-founded the High Tech High Charter School, and has served as a high school principal in the US, India, and Panama. He has led student trips in the US and abroad. He is currently the principal of Somersworth High School. John has traveled through all fifty United States and close to seventy countries (much of it on bicycle). He has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from the University of Washington and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He completed in undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. Home is Portsmouth, NH, where he lives with his wife, three daughters (one of whom is a TTS alumna), and two cocker spaniels. John’s avocations include hiking, kayaking, cycling, politics, and writing. He is currently two thirds of the way through New Hampshire’s forty-eight 4000-footers.
Meghann is an enthusiastic proponent of the Traveling School and its mission to educate and empower young women. Meghann is an intellectual property attorney in Washington, DC. She has an undergraduate degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, a Ph.D. in Immunology from Northwestern University, and a J.D. from Georgetown University. Meghann enjoys travelling to new places and always learning new things. Most of all, she loves hanging out with her husband and their two beloved doggos.