GYLI Staff
Meet our full-time staff members and our Institute Coordinators!
Matt Nink, WI--Executive Director
Matt has been the Executive Director of Global Youth Leadership Institute since its inception in December of 2005. He also has fifteen years of experience as an award winning English teacher and administrator at three high schools in Wisconsin, USA.
Among his achievements, Matt has developed and improved many dynamic programs for students and teachers in the areas of community building, student discipline, and student leadership. He was also a part of many successful efforts to raise awareness about diversity issues and global awareness in schools. He has conducted successful student and teacher workshops at schools throughout the USA, as well as in Costa Rica, India, and Nigeria.
Matt has presented widely on the major topics that have come out of his work for Global Youth Leadership Institute. His presentation credits include: National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conferences, NAIS People of Color Conference, Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) Annual Conferences Association for Experiential Education (AEE) Annual Conferences, Association of Private Educators Nigeria, and among many others.
Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Boston College and a Master’s Degree in English from Northern Illinois University. He also has experience in the business world from work at United Parcel Service, DeKalb Genetics, Printstar Publishing in Wisconsin. He lives in suburban Milwaukee with his wife and their four children.
M. Imroz, WI--Leadership Facilitator/Trainer
Beginning in July 2009, Imroz joins Global Youth Leadership Institute as a Leadership facilitator and trainer. Imroz will be assisting in summer programs and doing outreach workshops to schools on variety of topics. Most recently, Imroz worked as a facilitator at Waskowitz Outdoor School in North Bend, WA through Sam Tower and Vishwas Parchure. She comes to GYLI for a 6-month internship by special arrangement with Washington State University.
Imroz begin learning about leadership when she was fifteen years old through Play for Peace, an International organization in INDIA. She has been involved conducting trainings and facilitating diverse populations for the past nine years. Her travel includes India, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Pakistan, Cambodia and USA to work with organizations, schools, teachers, youth and children especially in areas of people and communities living in conflict covering major issues such as leadership, community development, and experiential & outdoor education. Her work acknowledgments are as follows: Association of Experiential Education, CRS (Catholic Relief service), YIP (Youth Initiative for Peace), World Vision, Oxfam, ASPBAE (Asia South Pacific Bureau for Adult Education, along with others.
She has completed her degree in Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Sociology and Public Administration from Hyderabad University, India. Recently, she has been accepted into the Masters in Women’s Empowerment and Development program from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) India.
Justin Brandon, PA--Year 1 Coordinator
Laura D Grodewald, NJ--Year 1 Coordinator
Laura teaches Spanish in public elementary schools in Jackson, NJ. In the evenings, she also teaches Spanish for Healthcare Workers at local colleges. Prior to teaching in Jackson, Laura taught Spanish for five years at Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ. While at Peddie, she initiated service-learning projects locally and abroad. She organized spring break community service trips to Nicaragua and Ecuador. Laura earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching degree through the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. She aspires to teach language that can be used and applied to connect people and build understanding. Laura is eager and excited to work with GYLI participants this summer.
Jeffrey Rauworth, WI--Year 1 Coordinator
Jeff Rauworth has been professionally teaching for the past 15 years. He has worked in both traditional and non-traditional educational settings. From high ropes to canoe trips to the classroom, Jeff has worked to inspire and encourage people to find their own path.
Dave Eckwert, MO--Year 1 and Year 2 Coordinator
I have been working with adolescents in many settings for the past 25+ years. Until recently, I was a counselor and teacher at John Burroughs School in St. Louis. I was also the GYLI coordinator for JBS. By training and profession I am a licensed clinical social worker with a specialization in families and youth. In reality I help kids work through difficulties to improve their lot in life by guiding them in the process of effectively taking charge of their own lives. I have worked with kids in academic settings but also those who come from dire circumstances who wind up, through no fault of their own, in the foster care and residential placement system. I have taught in outdoor education settings such as Outward Bound School as well. In my diversity/sustainability work with students, I strive to teach our young leader/activists how to manage their own emotional well being while we strive to heal our school, community and nation together.
Justin Braman, NM--Year 2 Coordinator
My passion is working outdoors with youth. As a graduate of Colorado Outward Bound School and an avid outdoorsman, I have long been a believer in experiential learning and the transformative power of wilderness. Currently I work at Santa Fe Mountain Center designing and implementing experiential programs for at-risk and adjudicated youth all over the state of New Mexico. I am a trained rock climbing and hiking guide, a wilderness first responder, and a ropes course extraordinaire. I enjoy rock climbing, cycling and anything else adventurous. I grew up in Cambridge Massachusetts and have a BA from Wesleyan University.
Kristoffer Barikmo, MO--Year 3/ISL Coordinator
Kristoffer has been working with GYLI in various capacities for the last 5 years as coordinator, faculty sponsor, and Curriculum Director. He is currently a teacher at Notre Dame de Sion School in Kansas City where he teaches social studies and civic education. He has been working in leadership development since his years at Saint Louis University with the Division of Student Development. His passion is empowering young people to go out and transform the world, be it their “small” world around them, or the entire globe. Working with many different leadership organizations over the past ten years has given him great opportunities to work with passionate and impressive leaders.
His published works and recognized presentations center around civic education, global citizenship, global problems, and transformative education. His presentations include work with public and private schools, sessions at the International Conference of Experiential Educators, and Independent Schools Association of the Central States annual conference.
Kristoffer is also the Founder of Palanca Discovery Learning, a consulting group dedicated to bringing groups towards transformative learning. Kristoffer believes firmly that Archimedes was speaking about more than simple machines when he said “Give me a place to stand, and with a lever I can move the world.” His work is ultimately focused on bringing people an understanding of the levers they have in their lives that can be used to transform the world.
Rik Dugan, NJ--Year 3/ISL Coordinator
Rik is the Director of Secondary School Counseling at Far Hills Country Day School, a Pre-K through Grade 8 independent school in Far Hills, NJ. In addition to his rewarding work with the Upper Schoolers on their way to secondary school, Rik teaches History, is an advisor, coaches lacrosse and works with students in the school’s Challenge 20/20 program. He is blessed that his current role has enabled him to visit over forty independent schools in the past calendar year. In the 2007 – ’08 academic year, FHCDS 8th graders partnered with students at Atlantic College in Sequirres, Limon, Costa Rica to problem-solve on the issue of Global Warming. The team hopes to sustain its collaboration for next year and FHCDS is looking forward to expanding other global partnerships as part of its mission to prepare students for “responsible citizenship in an interdependent world”.
A graduate of Williams College [B.A. English] and Columbia University Teachers College [M.A. Education Leadership], Rik enjoys reading, running & fishing in his free time [he recently finished His Excellency, a portrait of George Washington by Joseph Ellis and is currently reading Dr. Carol Dweck’s Mindset]. Rik’s greatest pleasure is derived by spending time with his family [wife, Joanna and children, Isabella & Roderik]; there is nothing he would rather do than conquer puzzles or reign supreme in Candy Land with his two children. He is filled with optimism and hope for the future by his work with young people and he believes profoundly that our world’s current generation of young leaders will work together to solve our planet’s most pressing issues.
Laurie Frank, WI--Year 3/ISL Coordinator
Laurie Frank is a former public school teacher who has worked in the adventure and experiential education arenas for over 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 people of all ages to create environments where everyone is invited into the process of working and learning together. Her major focuses are community building, collaborative leadership, and experiential education. Workshops with Laurie invite engagement by constructing knowledge through experience and exploration.
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. Ms. Frank wrote Journey Toward the Caring Classroom (2004), an experiential approach to creating community in schools. She also collaborated on four other books: Games (& Other Stuff) for Teachers (1999), Adventure Education for the Classroom Community (2000, Revised 2007), The Mohican People, Their Lives and Their Lands (2008), and Leading Together: Foundations of Collaborative Leadership (2008).
Laurie’s passion is to facilitate human interaction, and to create environments where everyone is empowered. A few of her projects include: YEP (Youth Empowerment Process), Inquiry Institute with the Chicago Teacher’s Center in Chicago, and Collaborative Leadership: a project of the Wisconsin Leadership Institute. She currently serves on the boards of the Association for Experiential Education and Hancock Center for Dance/Movement Therapy.
Meghan Wendland, CA--Year 1 Coordinator
Meghan returns for her third year with GYLI, after coordinating institutes in Costa Rica and New Mexico. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Meghan attended University School of Milwaukee and went on to receive her B.A in Theater from Dartmouth College in 2008. Meghan currently lives in Los Angeles, where she is working on statewide healthcare education, community outreach, and policy advocacy for girls and women of color.
Keith Ashley, KY--Year 2 Coordinator
Keith Ashley has completed three years of the GYLI program as a teacher participant. He was a coordinator for the Costa Rica GYLI / ISL program in the summer of 2008, and will be coordinating the New Mexico Lama Institutes 1 and 2 this year.
Keith has twelve years teaching experience at the middle school, high school, and college levels in Indiana, California, Kentucky, with the Navajo Nation, and with the Tibetan refugee community in India. He has taught German as well as English. Keith earned a B.A. in Journalism and German from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in German Language and Literature from Ohio State.
Jesse Blom, WI--Year 3 Costa Rica Director
Jesse was Assistant Director of Global Youth Leadership Institute from September 2007 - May 2010. He began with GYLI as a part-time administrator in November 2006, and served as Institute Coordinator for the Year 1 program in Milwaukee in 2007, for the Year 3 program in Costa Rica in 2008, and for the Year 2 program in New Mexico in 2010.
Jesse gained experience working with youth as a staff member for Camp Manito-wish YMCA in Wisconsin, where he worked as a wilderness trip leader, a seasonal administrator, and a facilitator in the leadership program. He has also worked as the program coordinator for Real Apprenticeships for Teens (RAFT), an after-school program for youth in Milwaukee.
Jesse graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from Dartmouth College in 2006, which led him to study, work and travel in many countries in South America. He has lived for several months each in Uruguay, in Venezuela, and in Chile. Jesse currently resides in his hometown of Mequon, Wisconsin, where he enjoys playing music, playing rugby, and gardening.
Together with his partner, Charlie, Keith has just this year begun an organic vegetable farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky.
Liz Bullock, MD--Middle School Coordinator
Liz Bullock began her journey with GYLI in 2008. Since then she has worn many hats as a curriculum writer, intern, and coordinator. She works for the Teacher at Sea Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She has a BA in International Development and an MA in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University in Worcester, MA. She currently lives in Bethesda, MD where she practices ultimate frisbee and yoga.
Ricardo Gonzalez, Costa Rica--Year 3/ISL Coordinator
BMeeorn in Costa Rica, Ricardo Gonzalez is the Creativity, Action & Service Program Coordinator at the United World College Costa Rica. This is his third year as a Year 3 Program Coordinator. He is a Computer Engineer by profession but an educator by heart. He has been involved with SOS Children Villages International and the United World Colleges Movement for the past four years. He has taken part in international experiences, especially in Italy where he was part of a volunteer program for a year and also went to a high school program. In the field of service and volunteering, he has worked with the kids of the slums in Cairo, Egypt in cultural workshops, spanish and guitar lessons. He is interested in Music, Photography, Cooking, Languages and any cultural aspects in general. He will now go back to his university studies in August 2010, where his goal is to obtain a Masters Degree in Management so he can pursue his dream of managing NGO‘s. He will join the Tecnológico de Monterrey University in Mexico City.
Melisse Reichman, MO--Middle School Coordinator
For as long as I can remember I have combined my love of art and nature. I do that in lots of ways. It’s about observation, close attention to detail while considering a bigger picture, noticing relationships, between physical characteristics and behavioral ones as well. It’s about thinking and feeling, about deepening appreciation of our natural world and our important role as stewards in it. As an educator, I love teaching art and biology in an integrated curriculum, and for many years have had the pleasure of working with students of all ages. Another way I combine my interests is through my work as an artist, fabricating exhibits for natural history museums and nature centers as well as making my own art in a wide variety of media. One of the most powerful ways I have explored the natural world, both aesthetically and empirically, has been by working as a wildlife biologist in remote areas of Peru, Madagascar, Denmark, New Mexico and Missouri. Through these experiences I have not only delved into the world of animals and plants but also the world of people, the workings of cultures integrated with their natural surroundings, with grand lessons to learn about sustainability and reverence for the earth. All these experiences and attitudes that I have accumulated and cultivated through the years are important to weave into my approach and intentions as I work with students in GYLI.
Last edited by Jesse Blom on Jul 28, 2010 - 12:52 PM