Laurie Frank is a former public school teacher who has
worked in the adventure and experiential education arenas
for 25 years. She began her career as a special education
teacher in emotional disabilities, working with students of
all ages. Her path diverged upon the discovery of adventure
education and experiential methodologies. The need to
develop community within the school setting was apparent,
and the adventure philosophy seemed the perfect vehicle to
achieve that goal.
Laurie is the owner/director of GOAL Consulting, working
with school districts, camps and non-profit organizations
around the country to create environments where students,
faculty, staff, and families are invited into the
educational process. She also helps schools develop
experiential education curriculum for children and young
adults.
Ms. Frank was a leader in designing the nationally
recognized Stress/Challenge adventure program for Madison
(Wisconsin) Metropolitan School District, and wrote their
curriculum, “Adventure in the Classroom,” in 1988 and she
wrote Journey Toward the Caring Classroom (2004), an
experiential approach to creating community in schools. She
also collaborated on two books: one with Chris Cavert,
titled Games (& Other Stuff) for Teachers (1999), and
the other with Ambrose Panico titled, Adventure Education
for the Classroom Community (2000, Revised 2007).
Laurie has been a Certified Trainer with Project Adventure,
and is a recipient of the Michael Stratton Practitioner of
the Year award from the Association for Experiential
Education. She currently serves on the boards of the
Association for Experiential
Education,
Wisconsin Youth
Company,
Wil-Mar Neighborhood
Center,
and the
Hancock Center for
Dance/Movement Therapy.
In 2008 she became part of a collective of owners
with
Wood 'N' Barnes Publishing
dedicated to providing quality books by respected authors
on experiential approaches to learning.