Board Of Advisors

Pablo Boullosa (Mexico): Half-time writer, half-time broadcaster and half-time unofficial teacher;  author of El corazón es un resorte (México, 2016)

Dr. Gerd Bräuer (Germany): Senior Lecturer at Freiburg University of Education

Dr. Federico Corni (Italy): Professor, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia, Director of the Primary Science Education (PSE) research group and the Scientific Committee of the Metaphor and Narrative in Science (MANIS) Research Centre

Di Fleming (Australia): Executive Director Ducere Foundation, Executive Ducere Global Business School Pty Ltd  and Honorary Consul for the Republic of Mauritius, (Vic), Australia

Dr. Glenn Ellis (USA): Professor in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, Director, Through My Window Project

Dr. Natalia Gajdamashcko (Canada): Director, Undergraduate Studies, Teaching Professor, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Yannis Hadzigeorgiou (Greece): Professor of Curriculum Theory and Science Education in the School of Humanities at the University of the Aegean, in Rhodes, Greece

Lydia Hedrich (Canada): Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Program Seven Oaks School Division Winnipeg, Manitoba

Dr. Rob Hopkins (UK): Activist and writer on environmental issues, founder and figurehead of the Transition movement

Kim Hudson (Canada): Director of the 2WK Project, Associate and past Fellow with the SFU Centre for Dialogue

Marilú Matte (Chile): Specialist in Primary Education, Director of the School of Education, Finis Terrae University, Chile, MEd

Dr. Qingyu  Pan (China): Professor at College of Liberal Arts at Shandong Normal University

Magdalena Merbilhaa Romo (Chile): Director Red Cultural Foundation and Educacion Imaginativa Chile; MA, Education Kingston University, London UK

Dr. Norman Jackson (UK): Emeritus Professor, University of Surrey UK, Founder Lifewide Education and Creative Academic

Dr. Keiichi Takaya (Japan): Professor, the Faculty of Letters, Kokugakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

Dr. Dave Trotman (UK): Professor of Education Policy and Co-Leader of the Education and Multi-Professional Practice Subject Area at Newman University, Birmingham, UK, Visiting Professor at the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice at Bournemouth University

Dr. Gad Alexander (Israel): Previously a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is now retired and lives in Tel Aviv.

Karen Steffensen (Canada): Collaborator in system and organizational change, senior educational leader (Ontario Ministry of Education) and arts educator.

**under construction**

Dr. Gad Alexander earned a BA and MA, from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a PhD from UCLA as a Fulbright exchange student. From 1976 to 2013 he was a senior faculty member in the department of education, Ben Gurion University (BGU),  Israel. At BGU he was head of teacher education programs and graduate programs in curriculum instruction and learning. He is particularly interested in the use of technology in schools and the cultivation of creative thinking. From 1984-1988 Gadi was head of product development in Edunetics, a high-tech company producing educational courseware for middle schools and from 1992-1999 he produced nine TV programs on creative thinking. A recent publication: Shall we draw them a sheep? (Tel Aviv: Resling, 2016).

Dr. Federico Corni is professor of Didactics of Physics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He teaches physics to prospective kindergarten and primary school teachers and trains groups of in-service teachers in various schools. His research focus is about narrative approaches to physics and science teaching. He is author of journal papers and editor of “Le scienze nella prima educazione. Un approccio narrativo a un curricolo interdisciplinare” (Erickson, Italy, 2013). Federico Corni leads the PSE – Primary Science Education research group (www.PSE.unimore.it) and the Scientific Committee of the research center MANIS – Metaphor and Narrative in Science (www.manis.unimore.i).

Dr. Glenn Ellis is a Professor of Engineering at Smith College. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University.  The winner of numerous teaching and research awards, Dr. Ellis received the 2007 U.S. Professor of the Year Award for Baccalaureate Colleges from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.  His current research focuses on investigating the potential of transmedia storytelling for supporting the development of STEM identity and the capacity for engaging in collaborative knowledge work.

As the Principal of Kilvington Girls Grammar, Di Fleming was the first educator to become Telstra Victorian Businesswoman of the Year. Di is the founder and CEO of Digital Harbour a major greenfield technology development at the Melbourne Docklands and an associate professor in education and digital design at the Universities of Melbourne and RMIT respectively. Di works across 24 African countries delivering the African Children’s Stories (ACS) program, which was a finalist for the 2018 WISE Awards.  The 53 ACS Collections are based on stories from the imagination, real life and preservation of oral tradition. (Executive Director: Ducere Foundation/Honorary Consul for the Republic of Mauritius in Victoria (Melbourne).

Dr. Natalia Gajdamaschko is a Teaching Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University (Canada). A Vygotskian psychologist, trained in Moscow, Russia, she has served as a visiting research fellow at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the Torrance Center of Creativity at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA, USA).  She also was a visiting scholar at the University of Connecticut (USA) as a recipient of an advanced scholars award from the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX).  She has presented papers at numerous international conferences if the fields of educational theory, educational psychology, and gifted education.

Dr. Yannis Hadzigeorgiou is a professor of curriculum theory and science education in the School of Humanities at the University of the Aegean, in Rhodes, Greece. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Aristotle’s University (Thessaloniki, Greece), a master’s degree in biomechanics (Leeds University, Great Britain), another master’s degree in education/science education (Leeds University, Great Britain) and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction/major in science education (University of N. Iowa, USA).  His work over the past ten years has focused on the role of imaginative engagement in school science education. His most recent book Imaginative Science Education: The Central Role of Imagination in Science Education (2016, Springer) is an attempt to reclaim the value of such notions as wonder, creative imagination, aesthetics, and romantic understanding in the context of school science.

Magdalena Merbilháa Romo is a historian and a journalist. She did an MA in Education at Kingston University, London. She studies imagination and phantasie in the fields of Education, History and Literature. Magdalena founded the Imaginative Education Chile organization and leads the Red Cultural Foundation. She is dedicated to enhancing humanities teaching and for including emotions and imagination in the curriculum and in general life.  Magdalena is an active support of Kieran Egan’s works; she started a crusade in the Spanish-speaking world to defend imagination as the key component of all learning. She has been invited to Mexico to Tecnologico of Monterrey on several occasions as a keynote speaker for the Congreso Internacional de Innovacion Educativa, a major event on innovation in Education.

Dr. Qingyu Pan received his BA, MA, and PhD in Pedagogy at Shandong Normal University, Jinan, Shandong Province, PR China. He is now a Professor in College of Liberal Arts at Shandong Normal University. His interests include Philosophy, Psychology, and Educational Theory. He is interested also in Imaginative Education and Chinese Language Education, and has published three books on imaginative educational research. He applied Kieran Egan’s cognitive tool theory to the practice of Chinese education and achieved remarkable results, which produced important educational influences in China. He currently holds research grants from the China National Social Science Fund.

Karen Steffensen holds an MEd from York University, with a thesis focus on Optimizing Innovation in Praxis. Passionate about imaginative leadership grounded by “artfulmindedness” (Steffensen, 2012), innovation & creativity in and through the Arts, Karen draws upon her depth and breadth of K-12 knowledge and experience serving as the current Field Team Lead for the London East Field Team with the Ontario Ministry of Education. In this role, Karen collaboratively supports school district leaders across the London East region of the province in their journeys of continuous improvement enhancing student success, well-being and achievement. Additional career highlights include serving as West Area Superintendent of Schools with Surrey School District (British Columbia), Course Director for York University’s Consecutive Education Program (Ontario), Curriculum Consultant with York Region District School Board (Ontario), and Principal of Sechelt Elementary, Sunshine Coast SD #46 (British Columbia).

Dr. Keiichi Takaya obtained his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University in 2004. His research interests are in philosophy and history of education, such as the history of educational practices that highlight the role of imagination, particularly in the progressive era, and the Pestalozzian movement and the development of normal schools in North America. He teaches English and Education at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, Japan.