Sierra Expeditionary Learning School (SELS) is excited to introduce you to our new Founding Director, David Manahan.

Mr. Manahan arrives with nearly 20 years of educational experience in various roles and institutions. His background in outdoor and experiential education includes facilitation at environmental learning centers, curriculum development and start up, group and corporate team building, and educator training.

As a classroom educator, Mr. Manahan taught 5th grade, trained teachers in math, science, and social studies methods, and taught many years of geography and environmental studies in higher education. Additionally, he has designed and implemented professional development workshops, coordinated service learning projects for community gardens and rainforest restoration, and designed and mentored student environmental and socio-cultural research. Most recently, Mr. Manahan comes to us after two plus years at the Center for Rainforest Studies in Queensland Australia where he first taught, then served as Director and Site Manager. This administrative experience included managing the operations, programming, and staff of a remote residential teaching, learning, and research facility.

Mr. Manahan’s long standing dedication to the philosophies of Expeditionary Learning is further evidenced by his educational history: a 1995 Master’s of Science in Experiential Education and a 2006 PhD in Geography, focusing on the teaching and learning of geography education.  Mr. Manahan’s diverse array of educational, professional development, outdoor/environmental, and administrative experiences will provide a solid foundation in SELS’ start up journey.

During their personal time, Mr. Manahan, his wife, and two kids are avid outdoorspeople: they love to take long cross-country camping trips, ski, hike, paddle, surf, and rock climb, and are excited to be returning to the area where much of this is in abundance.  They also love to play a variety of sports (tennis, soccer, futsal, basketball) and family games on cold winter nights.