At the confluence of her love of teaching and the outdoors, Julie Brisbin found her way into the Sierra Expeditionary Learning School community in 2010 as a Founding Teacher. Julie’s 11 years of classroom experience range from teaching middle school and upper elementary students, and prior to classroom teaching, was an Environmental Educator in Montana, Colorado, and Arizona.

Julie set her sights on Experiential Education (and EL Education) at Prescott College, where she earned her undergraduate degree. From participating in fieldwork in a marine mammals course in Kino Bay, Mexico to rainforest ecology in Costa Rica, and all fieldwork in between, Julie not only learned the pedagogy necessary to understanding learning behaviors, but also witnessed the miracle of learning in-the-field- a true cornerstone to education and sense of place. After obtaining her degree in Environmental Education, Julie earned her teaching certificate at Sierra Nevada College and is one long dissertation away from her Masters in Education.

The challenge of designing rich expeditions and the joy in implementing them is what hooked Julie on EL Education.  Currently, Julie is a 4/5 Crew Leader, and runs four expeditions (Redcoats and Rebels. Rock Jocks, Gold Dust and Gunsmoke, and Bills and Gills), with final products focused in the arts.  Students will be seen singing, acting, and designing their own productions based on the content of their expeditions.  The Brisbin classroom is a busy, focused, creative, and lively environment where students are challenged through strong Habits of Work, while maintaining a safe learning community for all.  Julie’s enjoys challenging her students to think outside the box when embarking on their educational journey, and loves to see students shine when they succeed in something they have worked hard for.

Julie runs a TEDx elective at Sierra Expeditionary Learning School in which students prime their public speaking skills by designing their own TEDx talk.  For fifteen weeks, students explore and research a personal topic to share with the world.  The annual event is a celebration of their hard work, and a sharing of their stories.  Julie was invited to present at the EL Education National Conference based on her experience facilitating these students through their TEDxYouth@SELS experience.

Julie is proud to be a team member at Sierra Expeditionary Learning School- a school where academic excellence, reinforcement of positive character, and supportive community produce happy, high achieving students.

Julie enjoys the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her husband, two children, and Golden Lab. When she is not trail running, skiing, climbing, entertaining her kids, sipping espresso, road-tripping, or grading papers, Julie picks up her guitar and plays a few gigs. A musician / singer / songwriter for over 20 years, she loves the Americana/bluegrass genres and loves to sing a tune or two out in downtown Truckee with whichever band she is playing with at the time.