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Kroka Expeditions SEMESTER Programs ABOUT
THE TEACHERS
We are a diverse community of people who are deeply committed to
the lives our students and the well being of the Earth. Kroka’s teachers
enrich students’ lives with a wealth of professional and personal
experiences along with strong and exceptional personal ethics. Kroka
teachers are committed to growing and learning; they serve as positive
role models for the students in their quest for realizing each individual’s
potential as a human being. In addition to our senior staff the semester
program is also joined by over a dozen of the most respected craftspeople,
local historians, outdoor guides, and experts from around New England
and around the world who share their knowledge and passion with students.
 KROKA
FOUNDERS
Misha Golfman, M.Ed. and Lynne
Boudreau, M.Ed. are professional guides and the cofounders
of Kroka Expeditions. They enrich the school with their clear vision
for young people, 2 years of leading unique wilderness trips, innovative
teaching styles and international teaching and wilderness guiding
credentials. Misha graduated from the Soviet National Outdoor Leadership
School and earned degrees from Leningrad Politechnical and Pedagogical
Universities, Plymouth State College and an M.Ed. from Antioch, NE
Graduate School. As a child he spent every summer expeditioning on
long Russian waterways with his mother, foraging and fishing. Misha
participated and led many expeditions including several in the Russian
and Canadian Arctic. He founded several initiatives, including the
Russian American Outdoor Educators Exchange, Adventures in Russia
and Piermont Outdoor Program. Misha was a guide for Mahoosuc Guide
Service for 1 years and Outward Bound for years. He also was a
public school and college teacher for 10 years. Lynne Graduated from
UMass, Amherst and Leslie College with degrees in Education and Creative
Arts. Prior to founding Kroka Lynne taught as a Special Education
Teacher, Public School Classroom teacher and Waldorf Nursery Kindergarten
teacher. Lynne also worked as a ski guide at Mahoosuc Guide Service.
Lynne brings to Kroka a wealth of teaching and life experience combined
with a deep understanding of child development and an unsurpassed
compassion for all beings. Besides running Kroka and raising a family
Lynne manages Kroka’s “Happy Hens” Chicken Farm.Misha
and Lynne live in Marlow, NH with their four boys and many animals. |
| SEMESTER COORDINATORS |
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Lisl Hofer, M.Ed. joined Kroka Expeditions
as the Semester Program Coordinator in August 2006. Born and raised
in a small village in the Austrian Alps in the family of a forest
ranger and teacher, she was an avid skier and very involved with
youth groups in the Austrian Alpine Club. She climbed, backcountry
skied and hiked extensively in the Alps. Lisl has been a teacher
all of her adult life. She graduated from the University of Innsbruck
with a Masters Degree in Education and had taught elementary as
well as high school grades. After moving to the United States
in 1985 she got involved in Waldorf education. Lisl is trained
in Spatial Dynamics and received her Waldorf High School and later
Remedial Teacher training at the Rudolf Steiner College in California.
For 13 years she taught at the Kimberton Waldorf School in Pennsylvania,
where she carried the Movement and Outdoor Education Department.
She also taught Earth Sciences in the High School and was a class
advisor for 10 years. Lisl devoted many years at Kimberton developing
an age appropriate outdoor curriculum. The Kimberton Waldorf High
School now successfully offers at least one weeklong trip in connection
to a Main block for each grade. Her son Stefan is an alumnus of
VSP ’04 and both of her children have taught at Kroka. |
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Michael Dammer coordinates the
semester program in Ecuador. Born in the Andes, Michael and his
brothers, Thomas and Mathias, grew up on horseback, helping their
parents on the family farm. During their childhood their father,
Francisco transformed a traditional hacienda into a progressive
and profitable farm that has since supported a village of indigenous
peopes. Michael, Thomas and Mathias followed their father traveling
around Ecuador as he helped native peoples in their fight against
the mining and oil companies. Through these experiences they grew
to love and understand their land and its people. For the past
six years the brothers have worked at Kroka Expeditions during
the summer. In the winter months they embark on remarkable climbing
expeditions to various remote mountain regions including Patagonia,
the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, Canada, Mexico and Colombia.
They co-founded Nahual—Kroka’s partner school in Ecuador.
The brothers are also developing an organic farmers market around
the Dammer’s Family Farm. Michael completed four years of
Industrial Engineering at the University of Quito and two years
of Adventure Guiding School in Canada. He is a certified CAA Avalanche
Technician, WFR, BC Canada Rafting Guide, and part of the BC Search
and Rescue Team. Michael is an excellent mountain biker and a
well-known climbing and mountaineering guide in Ecuador. Michael
was one of the co leaders of the first Kroka Ecuador Semester
in 07 and it is his sixth year as a teacher at Kroka. |
| TEACHING TEAM |
Two teachers and a teacher assistant lead Kroka’s Semester
Programs. Kroka senior staff are alternating in leading semester
programs. Teacher assistants usually come from the growing
ranks of Semester Alumni.
Chris and Ashirah Knapp, VSP ’04, ’06, ’08
Mathias Dammer, VSP ’04, ESP ’07, ’08
Thomas Dammer, ESP ’07
Marcea McInnes, ESP ’07
Stefan Hofer-Fay, VSP ’06
Tom Rosenberg, VSP ’08
Hannah Morgan, VSP ’08
In addition, over a dozen of the most respected craftspeople,
local historians, outdoor guides, and experts from around
New England and around the world will share their knowledge
with students.
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