Our Story
The Collaborative Learning Network emerged from more than a decade of work with educators and creative professionals around the world focused on facilitating the creation of clear educational visions, strong connections to local communities and future-flexible facilities that support teaching and learning.
 
The Collaborative Learning Network offers a team of professionals who help you to articulate your educational vision, provide meaningful professional development for your staff and when needed, translate your vision into facility concepts for a future design team.   
 
We share current research and best practices in order to reflect upon thoughtful conversations about the future of education; we inspire your community with images, stories and data from highly-effective schools found around the world and utilize a proven framework to help you to discover a vision that is unique to your community.
 
We bring an independent perspective that does not assume that major facility impacts will be needed to implement your vision.
Collaborators
  1. Nick Salmon, President and Founder Collaborative Learning Network, LLC
    “The school of the future is likely to be a facility you already own, staffed with people you already employ, dramatically transformed with limited resources for teaching and learning in a dynamic century” - Nick Salmon, 9th Generation Educator . Facility Planner . Professional Development Coach
  2. Nedra Chandler, Cadence, Inc & Triangle Associates, Inc
    Nedra's work with Cadence, Inc & Triangle Associates Inc identifies the willingness of a community to engage in a conversation about change utilizing their readiness checker, and follows through with expert meeting facilitation.
  3. Dr. Boyd Dressler
    Dr. Boyd Dressler has been active at many levels of public and higher education including as a classroom teacher and principal providing instructional leadership facilitating positive partnerships with local communities. His work includes federal program consulting and implementing state and national curriculum standards. Boyd served as educational adviser to the governor of Colorado and in teaching positions with the University of Northern Colorado, University of Phoenix, Montana State University, and Walden University. Boyd brings experience and a keen knowledge of curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation nurtured in the experience of real-life schools. He remains active in the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Rural Education Association (NREA), and serves as one of the student teacher supervisors for Montana State University.
  4. Cyndi Elliot, I See Ability
    Cyndi is an engaging speaker and presenter, sharing valuable life-changing stories of her brother and others with different abilities she has encountered in her work. Cyndi’s enthusiasm, honesty, and real-life experience inspire others to explore fresh, creative ideas for adopting a more wholehearted approach to teaching and providing facilitation of skills for people with different abilities. Learn more about Cyndi on her website: http://iseeability.com/ and about her book: http://iseeability.com/wholehearted-book/
  5. Dr. Jerome McKibben, McKibben Demographic Research
    McKibben Demographic Research provides thorough enrollment forecasts for schools and communities across the nation. His field research on local economic conditions is coordinated with the most recent census data, national economic activity and past enrollment trends.
  6. Shonagh McDonough, Thought Exchange
    Thought Exchange supports a high level of community engagement in advance and current to facility planning processes. The digital platform allows community members to SHARE, STAR and DISCOVER common interests.
  7. Sue Walker, VS America
    VS first produced auto-didactic teaching tools for Maria Montessori more than 125 years ago. VS develops furnishings for future-flexible learning environments around the world.
  8. Sara Shifrin, Gould Academy
    Sara Shifrin is somewhat of an English teacher gone rogue. After 20 years of empathizing with protagonists and their conflicts and dilemmas, she discovered design thinking and began to re-frame what being educated means. A designer of flexible classroom spaces and making studios, she now stands at the intersection of education, design thinking, and doing as director of the Marlon Family IDEAS Center at Gould Academy. She inspires teachers to discover innovative ways for young people to awaken their empathic selves through the power of doing. And for her own doing, she leads design thinking activities with the Gould Academy community, Mahoosuc Land Trust in western Maine and the Tanzania Education Corporation’s schools, in Karatu, Tanzania.
  9. Hope Capon, Encompass V2
    Hope is a hard-working design professional with Encompass V2 with exceptional architectural graphic design skills developed over the past decade. Her contributions to the planning process help schools, communities and non-profits understand future-focused and creative design concepts that can be implemented today. Hope has volunteered with numerous organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers & Big Sisters. She brings her exceptional, organizational management and communication skills to encompass. Hope also has a strong background in business and sales which is reflected constantly in her success with client relationships and trust. Her contagious optimistic enthusiasm is one of her most valued qualities at Encompass V2 and as a contributor to the Collaborative Learning Network.
  10. Izgi Uygur
    Izgi brings her passion for creating vibrant learning environments into the natural and built landscape for schools and communities. Her work includes facilitating Harvard’s Learning Environments For Tomorrow Institute and working in MIT’s Office of Campus Planning while completing her degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture program. Previously in Istanbul, she worked on the design and construction phases of Sisli Terakki High School and Kadikoy Kindergarten.
  11. Regis Anne Shields, RAS Consulting
    Regis Anne Shields of RAS Consulting is an educational entrepreneur, thought leader and advocate for educational reform who brings depth in understanding of fiscal resources and strategies for aligning district priorities and educational best practices. Her work includes a history of successfully securing grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Foundation and US Department of Education in support of school transformation efforts. Learn more about Regis on her website: http://www.regisashields.com/
  12. Katherine Moore, AICP
    Katherine [email protected] has served in the sustainability, community development, and environmental fields for over 20 years. For 12 years Katherine worked in the private sector as a consulting planner addressing a variety of community issues and spent the last 10 years as the Director of Georgia Conservancy’s statewide Sustainable Growth program. www.georgiaconservancy.org This program brings educational training, technical development expertise, and community engagement services to a variety of client communities. This program has worked with over 40 communities across Georgia and nationally and is putting new emphasis on school siting, small town stabilization, and community redevelopment as an approach to sustainability. Georgia Conservancy, at 50 years old, is the state of Georgia’s second oldest nonprofit organization and has long been respected for its nonpartisan and inclusive approach to addressing community development issues. It has been called “Georgia’s most influential environmental organization” by Georgia Trend magazine. Learn more about Katherine’s work on school siting https://www.georgiaconservancy.org/schoolsiting/