Lisa K. Beck - Faculty

Lisa was raised in St. Louis, and fell in love with the West at age three while camping with her family. She was a competitive swimmer in high school and is a self-taught artist. Her work as a published artist includes pen and ink illustrations in technical reports, brochures, and periodicals. Lisa has a BS degree with a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies from Western Washington University. She also earned a MEd and teaching certificate from WWU. She has done research in biology and wildlife toxicology.

Lisa has worked in wilderness programs, taught in nature centers, and been an adjunct faculty member at WWU. She co-developed a wilderness first aid curriculum that she has taught extensively, combining her scientific background with practical application. Even as a mother of three she taught canoeing and mountaineering as a Chief Instructor for Pacific Crest Outward Bound until 2004.  Lisa values adventure and has traveled overseas with her children.

Sarah M. Lane - Administrative Manager

Bellingham has been home since age six; prior to that I lived in the small community of Stehekin, WA.  Some of my earliest memories are of the outdoors; gardening, snow, wild animals, and walks in the forest. I caught my first fish at age five in Lake Chelan, and have been a fish-nut since. The one room school in Stehekin was my first school experience for part of first grade. That brief time of being close to nature in the mountains has guided my path since; that, and the fishing.

I owned a coffee shop in my 20’s and returned to college at age 27. I received my degree from Huxley College in Environmental Education in 2004, and went to work soon after for the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association as an Administrative Assistant. I joined the Explorations staff in April 2007 as Administrative Manager. This position drew me because I want to do work that helps bring about positive ecological and social change in our world. I am challenged to keep learning and work hard in this small school environment. I find myself encouraged as much as the students are: to do excellent work, to be a compassionate leader, to go out in the woods, and to be motivated to learn to satisfy curiosity and find to find more about which to be curious.

Volunteering with NSEA and the Liam Wood Fly Fishers and River Guardians, and spending time with friends, family and husband Glenn; working and playing in the garden, snowboarding on powder days and hiking in the woods fills my time away from work.  Mostly, I live to flyfish whenever I can, usually in beautiful rivers for trout and usually with my best fishing pal, my husband.

J. Bacchus Taylor - Faculty

Bacchus has the unique distinction of being born in one of the few places in America that boasts a border patrol dedicated to the removal of any signs that might lead outsiders in that general direction, thus compromising the integrity of the town.  From that unique place, which shall remain nameless, he moved to the great state of Washington where he spent his formative years. After enough years in school to realize that there must be a more meaningful method of education, he received a B.A. in the liberal arts with emphases in Literature and Spanish from the Evergreen State College and a Master’s in Teaching with certification from Western Washington University.  Along the way, he has traveled throughout Central America and Europe including a period in which he lived in Granada, Spain where he studied the Spanish Language and flamenco guitar.  Additionally, he has played ultimate Frisbee competitively throughout the Pacific Northwest, and worked in a variety of alternative education settings at both the middle and high school level.

Now at Explorations Academy, Bacchus has the opportunity to be the change that he always envisioned during his own educational experience.  While the surprises and challenges inherent to working there keep him on his toes and the drive to be consistently improving leaves little in terms of a life outside of school, he is fully aware of being one of the lucky few who gets to go home at the end of the day with an overwhelming sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Daniel Kirkpatrick - Director

Daniel has a BS in Environmental Education from Western Washington University, and an MA in Educational Design from Antioch University Seattle. A father of three, he has worked in construction, fought forest fires, and led wilderness and mountaineering expeditions.  He has taught at many levels from 4th grade through college, including teaching classes and seminars for three colleges. Daniel also works as an educational consultant, specializing in experiential program development and human relations training for schools, school districts, and public agencies.

Daniel grew up in a multiracial housing cooperative in the Chicago area. He is a co-founder of Global Community Institute, the parent organization of Explorations Academy, and currently serves as the Executive Director.  In 1999, Daniel was honored with the Willi Unsoeld Award for contributions to the field of Experiential Education.

Frank Kühl - Faculty

I was born in Baltimore, Md. However, circumstances took me to Pennsylvania and I never lived in Maryland again. Music was such an integral part of my early life that I never imagined being without it. Early on, I took piano lessons. I was able to start playing trumpet and do lots of singing in high school. From then on it’s been pretty much an endless stream of lessons, courses, ensembles, bands, orchestras, liturgies, combos, shows, etc. It may sound strange, but I don’t listen to much music for my own enjoyment.

Currently I play trumpet in two ensembles at Western, and I play regularly with the talented people of Paul Sorensen’s Northern Lights Jazz Orchestra. I also am privileged to direct the Bellingham High School Alumni Band. My mornings are spent teaching math and music at Explorations Academy. Daniel, Lisa and all the staff comprise a rare blend of ability and dedication. I enjoy reading, and teaching math affords me psychological grounding and mental balance. My children and my wife bring me great joy.

Suzanne Wittman - Faculty

I was raised in a rural farming community in central Pennsylvania where I learned to appreciate being outdoors, garden-grown veggies, salamanders, and being part of a close-knit and creative community.  Fresh donuts and rootbeer from the Amish bakery were pretty good too!  After spending some time traveling and learning how tough the “real world” is, I decided it was time for college.  I attended Behrend in Erie, PA as an Environmental Resource Management major, but quickly realized that my creative energies were being stifled.  I transferred to Penn State’s main campus and began pursuing a BS in Art Education, later adding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree to satisfy my cravings for more studio time.  While my studio emphasis was printmaking, many late nights were also spent in the ceramics and metalsmithing studios.  My Honors thesis Exhibition, titled [MY]opia, was a collection of prints and mixed media work representing six years of study including a semester abroad in Ireland.

 I moved to Bellingham in 2006 to work as a printer and papermaker at Bison Bookbinding and Letterpress and obtained positions at Lowell and Larrabee Elementary Schools as a K-5 art teacher as well.  I’m still involved at Bison as a coordinator and teacher for the adult workshop series.  The decision to teach at Explorations was an easy one, as I saw the opportunity to combine my love of the outdoors, life-long learning, creativity, and meaningful relationships.  These days, my free time is spent throwing pots in my ceramics studio, snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, and cooking elaborate meals with my two favorite guys, my partner Garrett and Max the Wonder Lab.

Cherie Koss Waldo